Europa tie abandoned when Legia player floored by stone
July 31 – A Europa league qualifier between FK Kukesi of Albania and Legia Warsaw was abandoned Thursday when a Legia player was struck by a stone thrown from the crowd.
World Football
Greeks send 85 to trial for match-fixing, but Olympiakos boss clears first round
By Mark Baber
July 31 – A Council of Appeals ruled Thursday that 85 out of a possible 158 original defendants should go on trial for a variety of offences related to the match-fixing scandal of 2010-11, including membership of a criminal organisation, bribery, manipulation of results and illegal betting.
Zenit rack up huge losses, while Anzhi go down but profits go up
By Alexander Krassimirov
July 31 – Russian champion Zenit St. Petersburg has recorded colossal losses for the season ending 2014 according to the annual report of SPARK – Interfax. Despite winning the title in Russia, Zenit’s loss amounted to 5.2 billion rubles ($86 million). In 2013 Zenit’s losses were only 320 million rubles ($5.3 million).
Gambian refugee scores 4 in bid to secure his Bundesliga home
July 31 – An 18-year-old asylum seeker from Gambia is the talk of German football after scoring four times in his first match as a second-half substitute for Werder Bremen.
Hawit to lead CONCACAF refereeing review
By Paul Nicholson
July 31 – CONCACAF has moved swiftly to set up a review of its refereeing department following the bitter and very public complaints of Panama and Costa Rica about the standard of officiating at the just completed Gold Cup.
Garber muses on video replays, All-Star revamp and the long awaited Becks franchise
By Ben Nicholson
July 31 – MLS Commissioner Don Garber took the opportunity at the recent MLS All-Star game to show that, on the league’s 20th anniversary season, the MLS is a forward thinking enterprise. His half time comments indicated the league is seeking to evolve with technological growth and its own popularity growth.
Ludogorets follow up stadium build with training camp revamp
By Alexander Krassimirov
July 30 – Bulgarian champions Ludogorets are building for the future and have launched a new stage in the modernisation of their training facilities, just a few months after the club from Razgrad opened a new grandstand at its stadium.
Serbian MPs propose ways to combat match-fixing, including club privatisation
By Jaroslaw Adamowski
July 30 – Serbian Members of Parliament (MPs) have been discussing measures to combat match-fixing which has plagued the top tier of the country’s league. Some of the proposals put forward by local politicians include the much-awaited privatisation of state-owned clubs, introducing stricter regulations, as well as suspending the league.
CONMEBOL passes reform measures to clean-up South American deal-making
By Andrew Warshaw
July 30 – As FIFA prepares to put in place a raft of reforms designed to clean up the organisation in the post-Sepp Blatter era, the South American Confederation (CONMEBOL) has struck first by introducing almost identical measures.
MLS old Stars beat Spurs, but where now for the maturing US league?
By Ben Nicholson
July 30 – The MLS All-Star game is a peculiarity of the US soccer calendar that is unique in world football. This years opponents for the MLS side were Premier League Tottenham Hotspur who lost 2-1 to goals by two of the older player on the pitch – Kaká and David Villa.
Ronaldo spearheads Real push into China with Tmall Global deal
July 28 – As Cristiano Ronaldo and Real Madrid continue to woo Chinese fans on their pre-season tour, off the field the club has signed a deal with AliBaba’s Tmall Global to use the platform to sell Ronaldo (and Real Madrid) merchandise direct to the Chinese public.
Mexican counter-punch knocks Herrera out of coaching job
July 28 – Managers normally get fired for being knocked out of tournaments early but within a few of days of winning the Gold Cup, Miguel Herrera has been sacked as national coach of Mexico for punching a journalist.
Catalonia’s nationalist boo-boys land Barca with UEFA and government fines
July 29 – Spain’s anti-violence commission has fined Barcelona €66,000 after the Catalan club’s fans booed the national anthem before the Copa del Rey final in May.
Parma reboot in Serie D fuelled by pasta magnate Barilla
By Mark Baber
July 28 – Parma Calcio 1913, a new club backed by pasta maker Guido Barilla with ex-coach Nevio Scala (pictured) as president, has been given the go-ahead by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) to compete in Italy’s Serie D following the bankruptcy of the old club.
Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool and Man Utd top Euro league of big spending fans
By Paul Nicholson
July 28 – English Premier League clubs on average generate almost twice as much revenue per seat than clubs in Spain. While Chelsea top the list of clubs making the most per seat from their fans at €78, compare this with Italian giants Inter Milan who make more than seven times less at €7 per seat.