By Andrew Warshaw
June 20 – Lionel Messi, the world’s finest footballer and one of the richest and most iconic sportsmen on the planet, has been sensationally summoned to appear in court on September 17 over tax fraud allegations.
By Andrew Warshaw
June 20 – In the same month that Scottish football agreed on a ground-breaking strategy to preserve the future of lower-league clubs, one of its most iconic, Heart of Midlothian, has ironically been forced to go into administration and has been docked 15 points for the start of the season.
By Mark Baber
June 20 – Beşiktaş has signed a preliminary agreement with Vodafone Türkiye for shirt sponsorship and naming rights to the team’s new stadium. The final agreement, which is expected to be signed shortly, is expected to be worth €20 million annually.
By Andrew Warshaw
June 20 – A relieved Michel Platini has heaped praise on Israel following the European Under-21 championships that ended with Spain beating Italy 4-2 to retain the title.
By Monica Villar
June 20 – The depth of the Spanish club football crisis become clearer this week with the LFP confirming a drop in attendances across the La Liga last season. Lower down the league Salamanca was liquidated and finally went out of business.
By David Owen
June 20 – The majority owner of CFR Cluj-Napoca, the Romanian champions, is looking for a financial partner to help consolidate the club’s place among the European elite.
By Tom Parsons
June 19 – Dusko Krtalica, an amateur goalkeeper from Bosnia, was shot in the head by a stray bullet during a match — only to finish the contest by brushing off the pain as a routine knock he’d taken!
By Mark Baber
June 19 – Sporting Chance, the charity set up by former England and Arsenal defender Tony Adams to support players with addiction problems, says the majority of its referrals are now gambling-related and that on-line bookies are actively targeting players with their aggressive marketing techniques.
June 19 – The trial of French football stars Franck Ribery and Karim Benzema over claims they paid for sex with an under-age call girl has been adjourned for procedural reasons until next year.
By Andrew Warshaw
June 18 – Turkish giants Fenerbahce and Besiktas have put their respective searches for a new head coach on hold pending the outcome of match-fixing hearings conducted by Uefa next week.
By Andrew Warshaw
June 18 – Six teenage footballers and one of their fathers have been found guilty by a Dutch court of beating an amateur linesman to death in an incident that shocked the nation and even prompted the intervention of Fifa President Sepp Blatter.
By Andrew Warshaw
June 14 – In the same week that Scottish football announced ground-breaking plans to preserve its future, crisis-torn SPL club Heart of Midlothian have been plunged into yet more turmoil with the threat of going out of business.
By Mark Baber
June 13 – The CIES Football Observatory has published the 2013 edition of its Annual Review analysing an eclectic mix of statistics, based on data from OPTAPro on the ‘Big 5’ leagues of Europe – the Premier League, Liga, Ligue 1, Bundesliga and Serie A.
By Gareth Messenger
June 13 – The headquarters of the Association of Spanish Footballers (AFE) yesterday hosted the first visit of D. Miguel Cardenal Carro (pictured) since he became the secretary of state for sport.
By Gareth Messenger
June 13 – Barcelona forward and World Player of the Year Lionel Messi is under investigation by Spanish tax authorities for allegedly defrauding the state of more than €4m. The Argentina international and his father Jorge have reportedly filed fraudulent tax returns for 2007, 2008 and 2009, according to a spokesperson for the prosecutor’s office, for tax crimes in Catalonia.