Trabzonspor release Sturridge over four month ban for breaking betting rules
March 3 – Former England striker Daniel Sturridge has been banned from football for four months and fined £150,000 for breaching betting rules.
Integrity
Bayern fans’ anti-Hopp banner offends players who refuse to play on
March 2 – Bayern Munich, flying high both domestically and in Europe, have had to issue an apology after their fans shamed the club by displaying an insulting banner at Hoffenheim that led to a protest by players on both sides taking matters into their own hands by refusing to play on and simply swapped passes with each other for the last 13 minutes.
Ceferin and Montagliani to headline as SIGA unveils more speakers for New York Forum, March 24
March 2 – UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin, and Concacaf president Victor Montagliani will headline the 6th SIGA Sport Integrity Forum in New York on March 24.
Man City lodge formal appeal against UEFA ban at CAS
February 26 – The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has confirmed it has received Manchester City’s appeal against UEFA’s two-season European ban and €30 million fine.
Juninho continues at CBF after conflict of interest issues with Ituano player profits ruled out
February 24 – The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) has retained Juninho Paulista as national team coordinator after a conflict of interest arose over Paulista’s ties with Sao Paulo club Ituano.
Mastercard sends integrity message with sponsorship of SIGA’s New York forum
February 24 – Mastercard has sent a clear integrity message to the sports industry that it expects its sponsor partners to meet the highest standards of governance.
Anti-corruption in sport: takeaways from SIGA’s Rome conference
February 20 – In a week where financial cheating and corruption have again dominated sports headlines with the UEFA ban on Manchester City and the Swiss indictments surrounding FIFA’s media rights, SIGA’s conference in Rome which focussed on Anti-Corruption in Sport had an almost eerie-like timing.
Fury and intrigue as Swiss charge Valcke and Al-Khelaifi with bribery over World Cup rights
By Paul Nicholson
February 20 – The Swiss Attorney General has issued an indictment against the former FIFA secretary general Jerôme Valcke, the chairman of the BeIN Media Group, Nasser Al-Khelaifi (who is also president of PSG and a UEFA executive committee member), and an unnamed businessman.
Sport must be given tools to fight piracy and protect income, demands anti-corruption panel
By Paul Nicholson
February 20 – Sport must be given more power to protect its rights and commercial income from criminal piracy in any form, was the overriding demand from a panel at the World Congress on Global Leadership and Anti-corruption in Sport hoisted by SIGA in Rome.
Spanish women break new ground with first collective pay deal
February 20 – Spain’s women footballers have signed a historic first collective agreement over pay and conditions, after a battle for rights that led to an unprecedented strike in November.
Man City’s Soriano blasts UEFA ban as being about politics, not justice
By Andrew Warshaw
February 19 – Five days after the club were sensationally banned from Europe for two seasons by UEFA, Manchester City’s chief executive has denounced allegations of financial fair play “serious breaches” as totally untrue and politically motivated.
Sport must contribute financially to the battle against organised crime, says SIGA boss
By Paul Nicholson
February 19 – If sport, and football in particular, wants to get rid of the increased presence of organised crime both within their ranks and profiting from their activity, then sport must allocate some of its revenue to tackle criminals head-on.
Cincinnati coach Jans quits after out-of-tune racist comments
February 18 – Football-related racism doesn’t usually hit the United States but FC Cincinnati head coach Ron Jans (pictured) has resigned in the wake of an incident in which he is accused of making “extremely inappropriate comments”.
Italian mafia judge calls for money from organised crime cases to be returned to sport
By Paul Nicholson in Rome
February 18 – Money confiscated from the prosecution of sport crime should be returned to sport, says Franco Frattini, Justice and Chamber President to the Italian Supreme Administrative Court and the leading judge tackling mafia and organised crime in Italy.
Barca bosses deny ‘dirty tricks’ social media campaign
February 18 – FC Barcelona have lurched from one crisis to the next this season. The latest controversy is over local media reports that the Catalan giants contracted the services of I3 Ventures, a social media company, to damage the reputations of key players, including Lionel Messi and Gerard Pique.