Alves wins appeal against rape conviction
March 31 – Former Barcelona and Brazil player Daniel Alves has won his appeal against a rape conviction, with a Spanish court overturning the ruling.
Legal
Former Kiwi keeper Gleeson wins $20m settlement after US surgeon ends his career
March 31 – Former New Zealand international goalkeeper, Jake Gleeson, has been awarded over $20 million by a jury in his medical malpractice lawsuit against the Portland Timbers team doctor, Dr. Richard H. Edelson.
Joey Barton convicted of assaulting his wife
March 26 – Joey Barton has never lived a quiet life and yesterday was found guilty of assaulting his wife.
Blatter and Platini again cleared of corruption charges in Swiss court
March 26 – Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini were again acquitted of corruption charges on Tuesday, after Swiss prosecutors appealed a previous ruling that cleared them over a payment of two million Swiss francs in 2011.
Trial into Diego Maradona’s death begins in Buenos Aires
March 11 – Seven members of Diego Maradona’s medical team who treated the former Argentine superstar before his death have gone on trial, charged with homicide, in Buenos Aires.
CAS overturns CAF decision to allow Samuel Eto’o to run for seat on ExCo
March 10 – Fecafoot boss Samuel Eto’o has scored a victory at the highest court in sport to allow him to run for an executive committee seat at the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
Spanish prosecutors call for retrial of Rubiales case
March 7 – Spanish prosecutors are seeking a retrial of the country’s disgraced former FA leader Luis Rubiales, arguing the judge incorrectly kept some evidence from the court and questioning his impartiality.
European Leagues confident of winning legal dispute with FIFA over match calendar
March 6 – The umbrella body covering Europe’s major leagues says it won’t back down in its legal dispute with FIFA and that it is increasingly confident of its case.
Last October, European Leagues joined forces with FIFPRO, the players’ international union, in filing a complaint to the European Commission over FIFA’s “abuse of dominant position”, specifically the international match calendar.
Court case was ‘means of getting Michel Platini out of the way’, lawyer claims
March 6 – Former UEFA boss Michel Platini was accused of fraud in order to scupper his chances of becoming the head of FIFA, his lawyer claimed at the Frenchman’s corruption trial.
NASL seeks new trial in long-running battle with USSF and MLS
March 6 – Despite losing its recent court battle with the U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF) and Major League Soccer (MLS), the North American Soccer League (NASL) is requesting a new trial.
Prosecutor scorns Blatter-Platini $2m payment, calling for 20-month suspended jail terms
March 5 – The Swiss public prosecutor in the Sepp Blatter/Michel Platini fraud trial has requested suspended sentences of 20 months for the former FIFA and UEFA chiefs for allegedly cheating FIFA out of CHF2 million.
Blatter protests innocence again in latest Swiss fraud trial against ex-FIFA president
March 4 – A frail-looking Sepp Blatter told the opening day of his latest fraud trial that he was not guilty of “falsehoods, lies and deception”.
Fenerbahce files suit against Galatasaray over claims Mourinho made racist comments
March 3 – The fierce rivalry between Turkish giants Fenerbahce and Galatasaray has reached new heights off the field after the former revealed it had filed a lawsuit against the latter for suggesting Fenerbahce coach Jose Mourinho had made racist comments.
Premier League’s Masters refuses to be drawn on when Man City case will be decided
February 28 – English Premier League boss Richard Masters has refused to set a date on when the footballing world will learn the outcome of the 115 financial fair play charges against Manchester City.
Crime does pay. Pirates are robbing broadcasters’ revenues unchallenged, says conference panel
February 28 – Piracy used to be a problem relegated to the seven-seas, however in the 21st century, the piracy crisis is fought in the airwaves.
DAZN’s, Head of Global rights, Tom Burrows, speaking at The Financial Times’ Business of Football Summit on Wednesday, said piracy is a huge problem for the broadcaster.