San Francisco 49ers take $10m minority stake in Leeds United
May 25 – Leeds United owner Andrea Radrizzani has sold a minority stake in the club to 49ers Enterprises, an investment entity affiliated with the San Francisco 49ers NFL team.
Lyon retain Champions League title with extra time win over Wolfsburg
By Samindra Kunti in Kiev
May 25 – Lyon defeated Wolfsburg 4-1 to win the Champions League for a third consecutive time. They recovered form a goal down to run out classy 4-1 winners against ten Germans in a dramatic 30 minutes of extra time.
Surkis fury over timing of Ukrainian matchfixing raids and inaction of FFU
By Samindra Kunti in Kiev
May 25 – Accusations of match-fixing rocked Ukrainian football this week but UEFA Executive Committee member and former Ukrainian FA boss Grigoriy Surkis has blasted the timing of the police raids and the inertia of the local FA in not having dealt with the problems. He called for a thorough investigation. Kiev hosts the Champions League final on Saturday.
China’s CCTV breaks tradition to share Russia 2018 streaming and mobile rights with MIGU
May 25 – The digital streaming market received a significant credibility boost with the China’s MIGU being granted digital and telecoms rights from state broadcaster CCTV for the 2018 World Cup.
Hyundai teams with FIFA Museum for ‘History Makers’ exhibition in Moscow
May 25 – The budget beleaguered FIFA World Football Museum that has been a major casualty under FIFA president Gianni Infantino’s sweeping cost cuts, has phoenix-like re-emerged for the Russian World Cup to host major exhibition at Hyundai Motorstudio Moscow.
Grassroots mayhem: Attack on referee in London amateur leads to calls for bodycams
May 25 – An attack on a referee in an amateur game between two Turkish teams based in north London has attracted outrage after video footage of the incident was released in the media.
A 2018 World Cup finals England will host. eFIFA World Cup heads for London
May 25 – For the second year running London will host the FIFA eWorld Cup Grand Final 2018. The finals organised by FIFA video gamemaker Electronic Arts will be played from August 2-4, though the venue is still to be announced.
Watchfinder justs beats the clock with EFL play-off deal before weekend deciders
May 25 – Timed almost to the last minute, the English Football League (EFL) has announced Watchfinder is its first ‘Official Timekeeper of the EFL Play-Off Finals’ that play this weekend over three days at Wembley Stadium.
Ceferin turns full blast on Infantino accusing him of ‘selling the soul’ of the game
By Paul Nicholson
May 24 – If there was any lingering doubt that the relationship between former UEFA general-secretary-turned-FIFA-president Gianni Infantino and the head of the European governing body Aleksander Ceferin was strained, those doubts were blown out the water by a speech by Ceferin to the Council of European Union Sports Ministers in Brussels yesterday (Wednesday).
Cutting the cord: Wolfsburg face Lyon in Kiev before women’s final goes ‘standalone’
May 24 – Wolfsburg and Lyon meet in the final of the UEFA Women’s Champions League tonight in Kiev, two days before Liverpool and Real Madrid play the men’s final. In future UEFA says it is “moving the finals become a centrepiece of the calendar in their own right.”
Champions League final outside Europe a possibility, as Kiev logistics and prices frustrate
By Samindra Kunti in Kiev
May 24 – UEFA president Alexander Ceferin has remained tight-lipped about staging the Champions League final outside Europe, repeating that it is a ‘theoretical possibility.’ This week’s showpiece event in the Ukrainian capital has been a logistical nightmare, provoking renewed debate over which cities are suitable to host the showpiece game. The UEFA Executive Committee awarded the 2020 Champions League final to Istanbul.
Zwanziger, Niersbach and Schmidt indicted over World Cup 2006 tax evasion
By Mark Baber
May 24 – German prosecutors in Frankfurt have filed charges of tax evasion against former DFB Presidents Wolfgang Niersbach (pictured left) and Theo Zwanziger and the DFB Secretary General Horst R. Schmidt.
KPMG report shows European football business growing with English clubs dominant
By Paul Nicholson
May 24 – The top end of European football’s club financial pyramid is growing faster than Europe’s leading market-quoted businesses, according to KPMG global head of sports Andrea Sartori (pictured), speaking at the official unveiling of the third edition of the firm’s football club valuation report.
Liverpool goalie Karius is no keeper as extra-marital dating site ranks him most cheat-worthy
May 24 – Dangerous liaisons and sexy encounters seem to be a growing theme as football heads into its summer finales. First Argentina issued a manual with a chapter on how to pick up Russian women, now dating a dating website for married and attached people seeking an extra-marital affair has polled female members on who the sexiest, cheat-worthy players in the Champions League final are.
Ghana FA president Nyantakyi surrenders to authorities in corruption probe
May 24 – Ghana FA president Kwesi Nyantakyi (pictured) surrendered to Ghanaian authorities yesterday for questioning after Ghana’s president ordered his arrest on charges of “defrauding by false pretences” after he was caught on video accusing the president of corruption.