By Andrew Warshaw
November 28 – One of the world’s leading match-fixing investigators says it was “only a matter of time” before English football was targeted and says the latest case should serve as a wake-up call in the battle to bring down the criminal gangs and their ringleaders.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 28 – The endemic scourge of matchfixing, which has tarnished the reputation of leagues across the globe, has struck at the heart of English football, until now considered by many to be immune from what FIFA and crime-busters have long believed is the most serious danger to the sport.
By David Owen
November 28 – The UK has witnessed an explosion of TV gambling adverts since a new law entered into force six years ago, new research has shown. In statistics that will come as little surprise to regular viewers of sport on British commercial television, the research found that the total number of gambling TV advertising spots rose from 152,000 in 2006, prior to the new law, to 537,000 in 2008 and 1.39 million in 2012.
By Jaroslaw Adamowski
November 27 – The Polish Football Association (PZPN) has decided that clubs playing in the Esktraklasa, the top tier of Poland’s football league, will be allowed to include a maximum of three players from outside of the European Union per squad at any time of the match. The regulation will come into force in the 2015-2016 season.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 27 – The latest publicised outbreak of racism in a major European league has prompted FIFA President Sepp Blatter to intervene by saying he was “sickened” by the reports.
By Paul Nicholson
November 27 – The leading North American match analysis and statistical provider for football (soccer) is expanding into the European marketplace with its suite of game and performance analysis tools. Match Analysis, based in the San Francisco area, is targeting clubs and leagues in a bid to “change the culture” of strategic and technical analysis.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 26 – In an extreme case of fanaticism, a CSKA Sofia fan in Bulgaria has gone on hunger strike demanding a life ban for a referee who has already been suspended for his poor officiating in a domestic game.
By David Owen
November 26 – Swansea’s footballing stature has been on the rise in recent times, courtesy of the stylish play that has carried Michael Laudrup’s men to the Premier League and a trophy – last season’s Capital One Cup. Now the Welsh city has added another unique feather to its footballing cap: it is the home of Wolfestone, the company entrusted with the job of translating the Pope’s copy of The FIFA Weekly into Latin.
By Paul Nicholson
November 26 – The UK broadcast market continues to be fertile TV sales ground for the UEFA with TEAM marketing having concluded the final parts of licensing broadcast rights for the Champions League and Europa League in the UK for the 2016-18 cycle.
By Paul Nicholson
November 25 – A new insurance product launched today is providing Europe’s top clubs with the opportunity to insure their players against illness or injury that could affect the club’s performance on the field and hence its financial performance off it. A club could protect up to £100 million of revenue with the cover.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 25 – Football re-unification between Greek and Turkish Cypriots has moved a further step closer with the official Cyprus Football Association (CFA) approving the historic arrangement signed by the two sides at FIFA headquarters earlier this month.
By Jaroslaw Adamowski
November 25 – The city of Wroclaw has acquired full control over local football club Slask Wroclaw. Slask currently plays in the Ekstraklasa, the top tier of Poland’s professional football league and are currently the league champions.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 25 – One of Russian football’s leading officials has opposed the re-establishment of an old-style Soviet league featuring teams from Russia, Ukraine and other former Soviet states. The idea of a breakaway plan for a multi-national league of up to 16 teams was first floated a year ago but Nikolai Tolstykh (pictured), head of the Russian Football Union, says the money would be better spent domestically, not least on youth football instead.
By Alexander Krassimirov
November 25 – A 25 -year-old Bulgarian millionaire, Daniel Dimov, is in talks to buy third division French club FC Rouen. Dimov would take ownership of a club that has twice been champion of France – in 1940 and 1945.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 22 – Croatia, who this week qualified for the World Cup finals at the expense of Iceland, face a possible backlash over defender Josip Simunic’s controversial celebrations. FIFA have begun disciplinary proceedings into events that followed the playoff second leg after Simunic was fined 25,000 kuna ($4,400) by Croatian public prosecutors for apparent pro-Nazi chants.