Perugia striker Han told to stay off Italian TV or be repatriated to North Korea
September 28 – A North Korean player on Perugia’s books has been barred from appearing on Italian TV – by the authorities in his own country.
Integrity
Former Neuchatel Xamax owner Chagaev convicted for fraud as club battles for top flight return
September 28 – The former Russian owner of Swiss club FC Neuchâtel Xamax, Bulat Chagaev, has been handed a suspended jail term in absentia for attempted fraud and a raft of other charges.
Borbely and Eckert tell EU that FIFA’s ethics code is good but lack of independence is bad
By Andrew Warshaw
September 27 – FIFA’s two former ethics chiefs, sacked last May during a purge of senior governance watchdogs, have made a strong appeal before the Council of Europe for the organisation’s supervisory bodies to be “totally independent” of its executive.
EU twitchy with football ‘double talk’ on tax evasion
September 27 – A special European parliamentary group set up to look into tax evasion in football has been given a worrying overview of the scale of the problem.
Juve and ECA boss Agnelli hit with ban for selling tickets to mafia-linked Ultras
By Andrew Warshaw
September 26 – Having only recently been elected as head of the European Club Association, the reputation of Andrea Agnelli has taken an immediate and somewhat embarrassing turn for the worse with the Juventus boss banned for a year by Italy’s soccer federation (FIGC) for his alleged role in the sale of match tickets to the club’s ultras fans.
Law: Does Bony’s £8m case show it is time for regulators to stop agents defrauding players?
By Ben Pilbrow and Annemaree McDonough
Football has often been described as the beautiful game, but never the beautiful business. Regularly tainted by allegations of corruption and shady-dealing, the importance of regulation in the sport increases in line with the flow of money into it. Between 1 October 2015 and 1 February 2016, intermediaries and agents received an estimated £46,582,843 from Premier League clubs alone.
ICSS hire Francis to drive revenue for growing integrity product portfolio
September 25 – The International Centre for Sport Security (ICSS) has hired Ty Francis to spearhead its commercial growth as the organisation builds its portfolio of products for the sports business and governing bodies.
Sierra Leone anti-corruption police charge FIFA’s Johansen with misuse of public cash
September 22 – Just days after announcing she will stand for re-election, Sierra Leone’s embattled FA president Isha Johansen has been charged with abuse of office and misuse of public funds by the country’s Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).
England fire Sampson after report on previous conduct at Bristol comes to light
September 21 – Having previously been cleared of any wrongdoing, Mark Sampson has been sacked as England women’s head coach following evidence of unidentified “inappropriate and unacceptable” behaviour with female players in a previous job.
Is Marin mafia? US prosecutor asks for jury to be given protection of anonymity
By Samindra Kunti
September 21 – Brooklyn federal prosecutors have asked for an anonymous and semi-sequestered jury in the upcoming trial of three former South American football executives, but Jose Maria Marin and his lawyers are challenging that motion. Marin faces trial on November 6.
Hurricane FIFA blows into the Caribbean to tear down the CFU
By Paul Nicholson
September 20 – Champagne corks will be popping in Miami, New York, and Zurich following the decision by the FIFA Ethics adjudicatory chamber to ban Gordon Derrick, the president of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) and general secretary of the Antigua and Barbuda Football Association (ABFA), for six years.
NASL hits US Soccer with antitrust suit as league fights for its life
September 20 – The fractious relationship between the North American Soccer League (NASL) and its national governing body, the US Soccer Federation (USSF) has boiled over with the NASL filing a federal antitrust lawsuit against the USSF in Brooklyn federal court.
FIFA helped CAF bury rigged election transgressions, says Maduro
By Andrew Warshaw
September 18 – Last week’s remarkable testimony to a group of British parliamentarians by former FIFA governance guru Miguel Maduro not only exposed the way FIFA, under Gianni Infantino, tried to exert influence on independent judicial bodies but also highlighted serious misgivings about FIFA’s electoral process.
Sampson dispute rumbles on with racism allegations still cutting deep
September 18 – English women’s coach Mark Sampson faces possible further questioning regarding claims that he used racist language to players.
Rooney apologises as judge orders community service and driving ban
September 18 – Former England captain Wayne Rooney received a two-year driving ban today after pleading guilty in a British court to drink-driving.