Santos lose €61m appeal at CAS over Neymar transfer to Barca
July 8 – After a long-running saga, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has cleared Barcelona of any wrongdoing when they signed Brazilian star Neymar from Santos back in 2013.
Law
LaLiga wins piracy battle as Danish court rules ISPs must block illegal streams
July 6 – The war on global piracy has seen a new battle win for LaLiga who, working with the Danish Rights Alliance, have won a court ruling that pirate service Rojadirecta is illegal and must be blocked by Danish ISPs.
Swiss call in Extraordinary Prosecutor to examine criminal charges against Infantino
By Paul Nicholson
July 3 – FIFA president Gianni Infantino took a step nearer towards a full criminal investigation in Switzerland into his behaviour following the announcement today by the supervisory authority of the Federal Prosecutor’s Office that an extraordinary federal public prosecutor had been appointed to examine criminal complaints made against him and Swiss federal prosecutor Michael Lauber.
FFP under the gavel: Man City to get ‘£200m’ CAS ruling July 13
July 3 – Manchester City are set to learn their European fate on July 13 in a ruling that will have major consequences for both the club and UEFA’s entire financial fair play strategy.
French want Benzema in court over role in Valbuena sex tape blackmail
July 3 – French prosecutors have asked that Real Madrid star and French international Karim Benzema face trial over his alleged involvement in the attempted sex-tape blackmail of former teammate Mathieu Valbuena.
Whistleblower Pinto’s Portuguese trial scheduled for September
July 3 – Rui Pinto, the Portuguese whistleblower whose string of incriminating revelations shook the footballing world before he was controversially extradited from Hungary to his native Portugal, will stand trial on September 4 accused of attempted extortion, computer hacking and breach of correspondence, according to reports.
Chelsea youth players go to High Court claiming racial abuse ruined their careers
July 2 – Two former Chelsea youth-team players say they are “still fighting for justice and equality” after alleging they were racially abused at the club in the 1990s.
FifaGate: Two-time Concacaf boss Hawit spared jail time
By Andrew Warshaw
June 30 – After somewhat of a lull, the FifaGate scandal is back in the headlines with two-time Concacaf stand-in president Alfredo Hawit spared further jail time as a US judge ruled he could return home to Honduras, four years after he pleaded guilty.
Swiss investigators to dig deeper into Platini’s ‘disloyal’ CHF2m
June 29 – Swiss federal prosecutors have cited former UEFA president Michel Platini in a widening of their probe into the infamous CHF 2 million “disloyal payment” made to him in 2011 by then FIFA president Sepp Blatter.
Infantino says his Swiss judiciary scandal is ‘absurd’, as buddy Lauber looks a lost cause
By Andrew Warshaw and Paul Nicholson
June 26 – FIFA president Gianni Infantino, unable to shake off continuing suspicion over his motives for undocumented meetings with under-fire Swiss attorney general Michael Lauber, has broken his silence by insisting it was “absurd” to suggest he had done anything wrong.
Napout and Marin lose FIFAGate appeals
June 23 – Former Conmebol president Juan Angel Napout and Brazilian FA (CBF) boss Jose Maria Marin have had their appeals dismissed by a US court against their sentences for their roles in the FIFAGate scandals.
Raab steps into Saudi row over Newcastle takeover, US investor says he has cash to step in
By Paul Nicholson
June 18 – The takeover of Newcastle United by a consortium led by the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF) looks in doubt after a senior government minister cast doubt on the legality of the takeover following the WTO ruling that the Saudi’s broke international copyright with their support of the beoutQ pirate broadcaster.
FIFA and UEFA welcome WTO ruling that Saudi connived with beoutQ to break piracy regs
By Andrew Warshaw
June 17 – The pressure on the English Premier League to step in and halt the £300 million takeover of Newcastle United following the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) verdict that Saudi Arabia had facilitated broadcast piracy by the Saudi-based BeoutQ operation is intensifying further after both FIFA and UEFA welcomed the ruling.
New criminal complaint against FIFA fixer Arnold plunges Infantino deeper into mire
June 17 – A key ally of FIFA president Gianni Infantino is reported to be the subject of a fourth criminal complaint to the Swiss authorities involving secret undocumented meetings between the FIFA president and under-fire attorney-general Michael Lauber.
Newcastle takeover under pressure as WTO rules Saudi state backed broadcast piracy
By Paul Nicholson
June 16 – The World Trade Organisation (WTO) has published its report into broadcast piracy in Saudi Arabia stating that the country has not acted to prevent the industrial scale copyright theft by pay broadcaster beoutQ.