Europe Archives - Page 386 of 517 - Inside World Football

Infantino says new Nations League is a win-win, except for the losers

Gianni Infantino4

By Andrew Warshaw
October 9 – UEFA’s new divisional Nations League, scheduled to start in 2018, has been met with caution by leagues and clubs concerned that the game could become far too saturated, with unnecessary additional fixture pressure placed on their much-prized players. But Uefa’s plan to replace friendly internationals with another meaningful competition every two years will ultimately take off, according to UEFA general secretary Gianni Infantino.

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UEFA renews betting fraud detection services with Sportradar

uefa flag

October 9 – UEFA has renewed its agreement with betting fraud monitoring service Sportradar for another four years. The new agreement will also see Sportradar provide e-learning services to the confederation in the battle to contain one of the biggest threats to the integrity of the game.

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Spanish switch to collective TV rights sales set for 2016-17

TV camera

By David Owen in Monaco
October 9 – Spain looks increasingly likely to switch to a collective model for the sale of broadcasting rights to La Liga for the 2016-17 season.

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Money doesn’t buy you love, or World Cup success, says Seifert

Christian Seifert

By Andrew Warshaw
October 9 – The Premier League may be the most watched in world football worth a staggering £5.5 billion over three years, including overseas rights of £2.4 billion, but money doesn’t necessarily buy you world-class stars.

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La Liga slams total ban on TPO but proposes compromise

Javier Tebas

By David Owen in Monaco
October 9 – Battle-lines over the issue of third-party ownership (TPO) are being drawn, with Spain’s La Liga coming out strongly against FIFA’s decision to ban the practice.

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Swiss second tier club lines up new €43m stadium development

FC Schaffhausen

By Jaroslaw Adamowski
October 9 – Swiss club FC Schaffhausen has unveiled the design of its planned CHF 52 million (€43 million) new stadium. Under the plan, the stadium will be built on a recently-acquired 33,000 square metre site. The construction project will be jointly implemented by Aniello Fontana, the club’s chief executive, and local real estate developer Gallus Immobilien AG.

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Winter 2022 no problem, just shift the Winter Olympics, says club chief

Umberto Gandini2

By Andrew Warshaw
October 8 – As debate continues to split opinion over the best time to stage the 2022 Qatar World Cup, a leading representative of Europe’s clubs says if the tournament is switched to January and February, the winter Olympics should move, partly because it means far less to most fans.

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UEFA newcomer Gill heads straight for FIFA’s top table

David Gill

By Andrew Warshaw
October 8 – The battle to replace FIFA vice-president Jim Boyce at the top table of world football administration has been stepped up with the announcement that England’s David Gill is putting his name forward even though he has only been a member of UEFA’s executive committee for less than 18 months.

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Italian chief Tavecchio banned for 6 months for ‘banana eaters’ slur

Carlo Tavecchio

By Andrew Warshaw
October 8 – The administration of Italian football has been plunged into disrepute after federation president Carlo Tavecchio was banned from all European roles by UEFA for six months over his infamous ‘banana eaters’ comment whilst running for election.

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UEFA punish Partizan Belgrade for anti-Semitic banner

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By Mark Baber
October 7 – UEFA have fined Partizan Belgrade €40,000 and imposed a partial stadium closure for their next Europa League home game in response to the display of a banner reading “Only Jews and Pussies” by fans at their 18 September game against Tottenham Hotspur, a north London club with a strong Jewish tradition.

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Romania latest to suffer racist abuse by fans but coach in denial

Rapid Bucharest fans-v3

October 6 – The Romanian league is the latest to experience racist abuse after Concordia Chiajna’s Brazilian striker Wellington complained about persistent insults from visiting Rapid Bucharest supporters.

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Austria matchfixing case hands down jail terms

Sanel-Kuljic

October 6 – Austria’s notorious match-fixing case has been concluded with a series of jail sentences handed down to those at the centre of a nine-year manipulation scandal.

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New investors to acquire Slavia Prague with city backing

Slavia Prague stadium

By Jaroslaw Adamowski
October 3 – A group of investors led by Czech businessman Karl Pražák is targeting a takeover of Slavia Prague. The group says it will also bring in over the municipal authorities of the Czech capital’s Prague 10 district as a new shareholder, reported local daily Mlada fronta DNES.

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Platini OK with bid report disclosure, if it is within FIFA ethics code

Michel Platini10

By Andrew Warshaw
October 3 – UEFA president Michel Platini has broken his silence over FIFA’s refusal to publish the 430-page report into the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups by saying he favours disclosure – but with the caveat that FIFA’s code of ethics is not breached.

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Ricksen takes the fight for his life to ALS

Fernando Ricksen

October 3 – In September 2013 the 38-year-old former Dutch international Fernando Ricksen was diagnosed with the terminal nerve disease ALS. A year later, the former football Wildman with a best-selling autobiography under his belt, has become the face of the fight against the killer disease. Interview extracted from FIFA Weekly