Napoli owner de Laurentiis tells Chelsea and Sarri to back-off stealing his team
July 23 – New Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri has been accused of trying to “dismantle” former club Napoli by the Italian club’s president Aurelio de Laurentiis.
Integrity
Premier League granted further blocking order in battle against live match piracy
July 23 – With broadcast piracy issues increasingly concerning sports rights owners anxious to maintain their TV deals and value in an increasingly disrupted marketplace, the Premier League has won a further blocking order in the UK High Court forcing pirate streams to shut down.
FIFA issues fines to non-paying clubs failing to follow the rules, and rulings
July 20 – Clubs from Russia and Qatar, World Cup hosts past and future, are among six fined by FIFA and warned they risk one-year transfer bans for failing to settle debts to players.
Israeli siding with Saudi? Politico jumps on wearied anti-Qatar bandwagon
July 20 – An Israeli lawmaker close to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has sent an open letter to FIFA urging it to strip Qatar of 2022 World Cup hosting rights because of its alleged support for Hezbollah and Hamas, regarded by Israel and others as terrorist organisations.
French World Cup win sparks ugly series of racist innuendos
July 19 – France’s victory in the World Cup may have “given the country optimism”, according to President Emmanuel Macron, but elsewhere it has sparked an unsavoury and unnecessary atmosphere of racism.
SIGA readies for Sport Integrity Forum at United Nations in Geneva, July 26
July 18 – The Sport Integrity Global Alliance (SIGA) has announced His Excellency the Director General, Michael Møller will open its fourth edition of the Sport Integrity Forum next Thursday, July 26, at the United Nations, in Geneva.
MediaPro affiliate in US DoJ corruption case handed $24m fine. Investigations ‘ongoing’
July 11 – As the World Cup reaches its climax in Russia, the FifaGate scandal has reared its head again with The Imagina Group, parent of Spanish broadcaster MediaPro, agreeing to pay $24 million after its US-based affiliate US Imagina pleaded guilty to charges of corruption.
When is a transfer embargo not an embargo? Birmingham City sow confusion in England
July 11 – The transfer window is open, but not for everyone, at least theoretically. Birmingham City, who have reportedly been placed under a transfer embargo by the English Football league, have nevertheless continued to pursue players currently under contract at other clubs.
Swiss FA boss’s comments fly him into trouble with dual nationality players
By Andrew Warshaw
July 9 – The extent of the rift within the Swiss camp following their exit from the World Cup has been widely exposed by an unprecedented outburst from their Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka in response to comments made by Swiss FA secretary general Alex Miescher.
FIFA warns Vida after Croatian offends Russians with bad Ukrainian ‘joke’
July 9 – In the latest political row involving players at the World Cup, Croatia’s Domagoj Vida has avoided punishment from FIFA after being filmed proclaiming “glory to Ukraine” in the wake of his side’s quarterfinal victory over Russia.
Serie A says betting sponsorship ban will destabilise Italian football’s economic model
By Paul Nicholson
July 6 – Italian football faces a sponsorship crisis following a government proposal to ban on all gambling advertising, including sponsorship or promotional deals with gambling companies.
Hand of cash: Maradona’s $10k-a-day apology to FIFA and Infantino, but not the match ref
July 6 – After describing Colombia’s World Cup loss to England as a “monumental theft” and being wrapped over the knuckles by FIFA, for whom he is a well-paid ambassador, Diego Maradona has apologised for the comments he made about the refereeing during the last-16 tie.
Piracy: LaLiga condemns BeoutQ as world tennis bodies demand its shut down
By Paul Nicholson
July 5 – Spain’s LaLiga is the latest football rights holder to condemn the on-going copyright theft by pirate satellite broadcaster BeoutQ that is transmitting sports content it does not own. Separately world tennis’s various governing bodies and major tournaments have combined to issue the strongest demands yet, calling for the “immediate closure” of the channel.
Swedish court fines Arabic TV pirate channel and sends owners to prison
July 5 – A Swedish court has ordered an Arabic internet TV company to pay 210 million Swedish crowns in damages for distributing content including English Premier League soccer without permission.
Spanish trial looms for former Nike rep Rosell over Brazilian team TV rights deals
July 2 – Imprisoned former FC Barcelona president Sandro Rosell is to stand trial for alleged money laundering related to television rights and sponsorship of the Brazilian national football team.