Bulgarian FA chief bemoans lack of state and sponsor support

BorislavMihaylov

By Alexander Krassimirov
November 21 – The president of the Bulgarian Football Union Borislav Mihaylov (pictured) has responded to criticism of a lack of money in Bulgarian football saying that sponsors have deserted the national team due to lack of success and that the government provides no funding to the federation.

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Apollon Limassol lines up new €17m stadium

Apollon Limassol

By Jaroslaw Adamowski
November 19 – Nicos Kyrzis, the chairman of Cypriot club Apollon Limassol on the Greek side of the partitioned island, has unveiled plans to build a new stadium with a capacity of 12,000. Under the scheme, the cost of the build will be up to €17 million.

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Czech FA chief sets up succession plan for Baumit Jablonec

Miroslav Pelta

By Jaroslaw Adamowski
November 21 – Czech businessman Miroslav Pelta has said he plans to hand over control of top tier club FK Baumit Jablonec, in which he holds a 80% stake, to a new investor. The sale could also solve a potential conflict of interest for the Pelta, who is also the president of the Czech football association FACR.

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The Marseilles Connection: detectives swoop on OM kingpins

Gignac

By Mark Baber
November 19 – In a throwback to the Bernard Tapie scandals of the 1990s, French police swooped in on the leading lights of Olympique Marseille (OM) on Tuesday morning, arresting club president Vincent Labrun and general manager Philip Perez at their homes in Saint-Remy de Provence and Marseille and questioning them over potential corruption and kick backs involving multi-million Euro transfer deals.

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Racism row over Roma team in Czech Republic

FC Decin racism poster

By Mark Baber
November 13 – The issue of a Roma football club based in Decin in the Czech Republic, whom five league opponents have refused to play, has highlighted the racism and discrimination faced by the Roma communities in Eastern Europe and illustrates the obstacles football administrators need to overcome to ensure equal access and opportunities for all.

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Russian Premier League signs ICSS for security help

Russian premier league logo

November 12 – Amid persistent crowd disturbances and allegations of corruption that do little to enhance the country’s staging of the 2018 World Cup, the Russian Football Premier League is the latest partner to be signed up by the Qatar-based International Centre for Sport Security (ICSS) to protect the country’s top division from emerging threats to safety, security and integrity.

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