English crackdown on rapid increase in flares at Premier League games

flares at football

By Andrew Warshaw
December 3 – English football is clamping down on the use of flares and smoke bombs, widely used by supporters across much of Europe but, until recently, all but absent from the English game. According to new statistics, in the first three months of this season alone, there were 96 pyrotechnic incidents across the Premier League, Football League, non-league games and domestic cup competitions – compared to just eight throughout the entire campaign in 2010-11.

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Ranking puts Manchester clubs way ahead in the naming rights league

old trafford

By Paul Nicholson
December 2 – Manchester United are missing out on an estimated £16.93 million a year for stadium naming rights, according to analysis by American Appraisal, a specialist valuation firm and consultancy. The English Premier League champions, who have said they will never rebrand Old Trafford, come second in a list of Premier League stadium rights valuations – to near neighbour Manchester City who are valued at £18.23 million.

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Aeroflot snaps high flying United as part of sponsorship roll-out

MUaerial2

November 14 – Manchester United’s latest major sponsor partner, Russian airline Aeroflot, have released a series of new aerial images of Old Trafford. The sponsor, who recently signed a 5-year deal taking them up to the World Cup in Russia in 2018, is gathering aerial film and photography content of fans and the stadium as part of its sponsorship activation.

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Blurred picture from medics over whether Lloris should have played on

Hugo Lloris down

By Andrew Warshaw
November 5 – Far too risky or a calculated move that paid off? Very much the former according to both FIFA and the international players’ union FIFpro who have criticised English club Tottenham Hotspur for allowing their French international goalkeeper Hugo Lloris to play on last weekend after he briefly lost consciousness before recovering.

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