Europol say Portuguese raids have clamped down on Russian crime gang
May 5 – European and Portuguese police claim to have put a stop to a mainly Russian criminal gang laundering money through football in Portugal.
Milan venue for Madrid derby to decide the Champions League
May 5 – One of Europe’s most iconic stadiums, the San Siro in Milan, will play host to the second all-Madrid Champions League final in as many years on May 28 after 10-time titlists Real joined Atletico in a repeat of their 2014 showdown.
Dafabet puts its money on Celtic shirt as SPL sees Rangers return
May 5 – Scotland’s Celtic, who celebrated a fifth consecutive Scottish Premier League Championship last weekend, have followed this up with the announcement of what they say is the biggest shirt sponsorship deal in the history of Scottish football.
Premier League’s new brand strategy calls for a Carling
By Mark Baber
May 5 – The Premier League’s new ‘clean brand’ strategy took a big step forward as Carling was announced as Official Beer Partner of the Premier League in a new deal which will cover the three seasons from 2016/17 to 2018/19.
FIFA ups ante in war on Webb calling for lifetime ban
By Andrew Warshaw
May 4 – FIFA ethics prosecutors want a lifetime ban imposed on former FIFA vice president and ex-CONCACAF leader Jeffrey Webb, who has admitted taking bribes as part of the widespread corruption probe being conducted by United States authorities.
Andrew Warshaw: UEFA flexes its political manliness over women’s election
As Europe’s blazered football leaders filed out of Budapest following one of the shortest UEFA congresses on record, how many of them were examining their consciences?
Leicester’s Thai owners vow not to sell Vardy, Mahrez or Kante
May 4 – The Thai owners of shock Premier League champions Leicester City insist they will resist attempts by more glamorous clubs to lure away their top players following their remarkable triumph that captured the imagination of fans worldwide.
Portuguese police swoop on 22 clubs with suspected Russian crime links
May 4 – Portuguese police have carried out searches at several clubs, including Lisbon rivals Benfica and Sporting, as part of ‘Operation Matryoshka Dolls’, an investigation into suspected money laundering with possible links to Russian crime.
Leicester’s title winning party is the start of a whole new social world
By Paul Nicholson
May 4 – Leicester City’s meteoric rise from the Premier League’s relegation zone to championship winners over the past 45 games has seen a similar rise in the club’s social media, propelling it into the big league of social media engagement.
Sunderland’s Black Cats in the red again
By David Owen
May 3 – Sunderland, the Wearside club battling hard to escape relegation from the Premier League under Sam Allardyce, have rounded off the annual financial results season in the English top tier by reporting a £25.4 million pre-tax loss for the year to 31 July 2015.
UEFA’s concentrated club wealth leaves little room for Infantino’s ‘solidarity’ pitch
By Paul Nicholson
May 4 – On the day that FIFA president Gianni Infantino addressed his former UEFA colleagues in Budapest with a plea for them to forgo their $5 million grants from FIFA for the greater good of developing world football, KPMG’s Football Benchmark team (also based in Budapest) produced an analysis of how UEFA has distributed its substantial wealth from its two major competitions (Champions League and Europa League) over the past three seasons.
Football or politics? Kosovo wins UEFA vote despite vehement Serbian opposition
By Andrew Warshaw
May 3 – Kosovo finally won its long battle for footballing recognition today when it became the 55th member of UEFA and, like Gibraltar, could now be fast-tracked into the 2018 World Cup qualifying programme.
UEFA plans post-Platini; Infantino wants their $5m FIFA grants for bigger picture
By Andrew Warshaw
May 3 – UEFA finally acknowledged today it is preparing for life after Michel Platini by tabling an emergency meeting of its executive committee later this month with a view to choosing an election date in case its French president loses his appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), the outcome of which will be announced within a week.
Aussies and Japanese team up in bid for greater glory
By Mark Baber
May 3 – The Hyundai A-League and Japanese J-League have signed a co-operation agreement which will see the two leagues share technical, marketing and administrative expertise as well as paving the way for more matches at elite youth level between Australian and Japanese clubs and encouraging loan deals between the leagues.
Hummels and Lahm head defender rankings. A Euro 2016 indicator?
May 3 – The CIES Football Observatory has released more details of its ranking of the best players in the Big 5 European leagues for this season. Dortmund’s Mats Hummels leads the list of best centrebacks while Atlético Madrid’s Filipe Luís tops the full back table.