Barca build for the future as members vote through Nou Camp revamp
April 8 – Barcelona’s planned €600 million redevelopment of the iconic Nou Camp stadium will go ahead after more than 27,000 of the Spanish club’s members voted in favour.
Europe
Former Romanian club owner ready to invest to save Rapid Bucharest
By Jaroslaw Adamowski
April 7 – Marian Iancu, the former owner of Poli Timisoara, has announced plans to become a shareholder in Rapid Bucharest as the troubled football club is struggling to stay financially afloat and return to the top tier of Romania’s professional football league.
Cellino wins appeal and declared ‘fit and proper’ to takeover at Leeds
By Andrew Warshaw
April 7 – English football’s guidelines designed to prevent anyone with a suspect or unscrupulous background taking over its clubs have been plunged into farce after Italian entrepreneur Massimo Cellino was cleared to complete his takeover of Leeds United.
Nissan takes over from Ford at Champions League to drive up market share
By Mark Baber
April 7 – Nissan confirmed it has agreed a four-year global partnership with the UEFA Champions League including the UEFA Super Cup. The agreement represents the Japanese manufacturer’s largest ever sponsorship deal and will establish Nissan as an official partner worldwide from 2014/15 to and including the 2017/18 seasons.
British government acts to shake-up English football’s transparency
By Mark Baber
April 4 – A bill passing its way through the British Parliamentary system will increase transparency in football club ownership and remove the protection so-called ‘football creditors’ have when clubs fall into financial difficulty.
Man City leads Premier League’s digital drive with top end stadium wi-fi
By Tom Parsons
April 4 – Following Liverpool’s move last year to introduce Wi-Fi to its 12,000 seater Centenary Stand, Manchester City has become the first Premier League Club to install free Wi-Fi throughout their whole stadium.
New evidence prompts more arrests as English spot-fixing scandal deepens
April 4 – The spot-fixing scandal that rocked English football at the back end of last year has escalated with the revelation that seven more professional players, all from the north of the country, have been arrested taking the number suspected to 13.
Barca say there will be ‘no change’ and searches for whistle-blower
By Andrew Warshaw
April 4 – Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu (pictured) says the transfer ban imposed by FIFA for signing under-age players is “unjust” and is standing firmly behind the Catalan giant’s system of nurturing some of the world’s biggest stars.
Lokomotiv flies into trouble as players unpaid and owner goes off the radar
By Alexander Krassimirov
April 4 – Players at Bulgaria’s Lokomotiv Plovdiv refused to train yesterday in a protest against unpaid wages. Meanwhile the club’s honorary president Hristo Bonev said publically that the future of the club was in doubt.
Wisla Krakow hires Germany’s UFA Sports to boost marketing efforts
By Jaroslaw Adamowski
April 3 – Wisla Krakow has inked a cooperation deal with German company UFA Sports in a bid boost its marketing efforts and stabilise its financial situation.
Barca to appeal FIFA transfer sanctions putting club ‘rights’ first
By Andrew Warshaw
April 3 – Barcelona have confirmed they will appeal against the 14-month transfer ban, covering two transfer windows, slapped on them by FIFA for signing up under-age players. And if it fails, they will take their case even further.
Zenit pour scorn on bribery charges but Russian FA taking a closer look
By Richard van Poortvliet
April 3 – Zenit St. Petersburg and the clubs former players have strongly denied allegations of match fixing made by Erik Hagen. The Norwegian defender, who played for Zenit between 2005 and 2008, claimed that players bribed an official in a UEFA Cup group stage tie against Vitória de Guimarães on 20 October 2005 in St. Petersburg.
Barcelona hit with transfer ban for breaking FIFA’s child trafficking laws
By Paul Nicholson
April 2 – FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee has handed FC Barcelona a two term transfer ban, fined the club CHF450,000 ($509,000) and given it 90 days to “regularise the situation of all minor (under 18) players”. The Spanish federation (RFEF) has also been fined CHF450,000 for breaking transfer and first registration rules for a number of ‘minor’ players.
Former Zenit player says officials were bribed, but club denies all claims
By Richard van Poortvliet
April 2 – Former Zenit St. Petersburg defender Erik Hagen has admitted he bribed a referee during his playing career in Russia. The former Norwegian international said he and his teammates each paid an official $3,000 who took charge of a European club match.
Shirt off their backs, England fans baulk at Nike’s replica kit rip-off
April 2 – English football fans have taken to social media to slam the cost of the national team’s new World Cup replica shirt.