Bayern Munich stay in tune with Beats by Dr. Dre through to June 2019
June 26 – Germany’s FC Bayern has extended its partnership with Beats by Dr. Dre through to end June 2019.
Saudis seize token number of beoutQ decoders as F1 reveals it too is being pirated
By Paul Nicholson
June 25 – Saudi Arabia has responded, somewhat derisorily, to the dispute over the piracy of Russia 2018 World Cup matches, saying it has seized 12,000 beoutQ satellite decoders in the country which have been transmitting stolen sports content.
Puma go top as Nike fights back in Russia 2018 Battle of Brands
By David Owen
June 25 – Puma have taken over at the top of the table, but the story of the second round of group matches in Insideworldfootball’s World Cup Battle of Brands was a strong fightback by Nike teams.
High flying Swiss set to have their wings clipped over Albanian ‘eagle’ celebration
By Andrew Warshaw
June 25 – FIFA has begun disciplinary proceedings against two Swiss players over their highly sensitive goalscoring celebrations that infuriated Serbia during last week’s clash between the sides.
AC Milan bail out? US Ricketts family step up to the plate with buyout interest
June 25 – The saga of the ownership and funding of debt-ridden Serie A club AC Milan has taken another turn with a potential new owner emerging in the shape of the Ricketts family from the US who own the Chicago Cubs Major League Baseball team.
Chinese fans caught in fake ticket scam by bogus Russian ticket agency
June 25 – Chinese fans snapped up over more than 40,000 tickets for the World Cup in Russia via FIFA’s ticketing platform, but not all has been neighbourly love in Russia as a number have fallen victims Chinese of a counterfeit black-market ticket scam.
Blatter bullish as his Russia 2018 cameo ends
By Andrew Warshaw
June 25 – Sepp Blatter’s brief World Cup sojourn may be over but that didn’t stop the former FIFA president leaving his mark on the tournament in a series of interviews that showed that he has lost none of his appetite for arguing his case and defending his legacy.
Legal opinion: Will the VAR spot any Ambush Marketing at the 2018 World Cup?
With the World Cup in full flow and attracting global attention, the temptation by some businesses who lack the badge of ‘Official Sponsor’ to promote their global brand will be great. But, however tempting, the stakes for those businesses, so-called “ambush marketers”, are high. By Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner
Serbs file complaint over game-changing non-use of VAR by German ref in favour of Swiss
June 25 – Serbia have launched an official complaint about alleged bias by German referee Felix Brych in last Friday’s 2-1 World Cup defeat to Switzerland which seriously damaged their hopes of advancing.
Officially wrong: German joy at last gasp win triggers nasty taunting celebration
June 25 – FIFA has opened disciplinary proceedings against two German team officials for gloating towards the Swedish bench after the defending world champions’ last-gasp Group F victory on Saturday.
Foxes are new profit champions as Premier League smashes earnings record
By David Owen
June 22 – This week’s belated publication of Crystal Palace’s accounts means that Insideworldfootball’s 2016-17 Premier League of Profits listing can at last be unveiled.
Lionel Messed-up: Argentina crash in Russia as Panama papers open up new tax questions
June 22- Lionel Messi is not having the happiest of times. On Thursday his Argentina were dismantled by Croatia 3-0 as the team’s talisman failed to muster any sort of resistance against the Europeans. On top of that abject performance new data from the Panama Papers has revealed more of his offshore secrets.
Copyright theft: UEFA turns up heat on pirate Saudi broadcaster beoutQ
By Paul Nicholson
June 22 – UEFA has added its voice to the fast-growing lobby of broadcasters and sports rights owners lining up against pirate Saudi Arabian sports channel beoutQ that has so far stolen feeds for every game of the Russia 2018 World Cup and rebroadcast to a middle east and north African footprint via the Arabsat satellite.
100 regrets and a million thank yous. Infantino’s big big picture
By Andrew Warshaw
June 22 – Gianni Infantino may have emerged unscathed from the corruption scandal that brought FIFA to its knees before he took over as president, but that has not prevented continuing scrutiny of the way he is running the organisation.
FIFA gets shirty over Amrabat’s claim US ref Geiger asked for Ronaldo’s jersey
June 22 – FIFA have categorically denied claims that American referee Mark Geiger asked for Cristiano Ronaldo’s shirt during Wednesday’s match between Portugal and Morocco.