Bayern boss Hoeness officially charged with tax evasion

Uli Hoeness

July 30 – Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeness has been formally charged with tax evasion by German prosecutors today. The high profile tax evasion case that has become a political football in Germany in election year, is refusing to be settled quietly. A statement by the Superior Court in Munich said that the decision on whether to go to trial will take place at the end of September. Hoeness’ legal advisors had asked for a month to respond to the charges.

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Dodd maps development plan for women’s game across Asia

Moya Dodd

July 30 – Asian Football Confederation vice-president Moya Dodd has vowed to work for the development of the game in the continent in her additional role as the co-opted member of the FIFA executive committee.

Dodd, who finished runner-up in the historic three-way battle for an elected women’s seat at the FIFA Congress in May, instead gained a one-year co-opted role.

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Kick It Out launches racism reporting app

kick it out

By Mark Baber
July 30 – Kick It Out, a campaign is supported and funded by the Professional Footballers Association (PFA), the Premier League and The Football Association to encourage equality and inclusion has today launched a new free mobile app which allows players and fans to directly report racist or homophobic abuse to Kick It Out which will then follow up with football authorities and if necessary the police.

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Tributes pour in for Ecuadorian striker Christian Benitez

Christian Benitez

By Andrew Warshaw
July 30 – Scores of tributes, including one from FIFA President Sepp Blatter, continue to pour in following the shock death of Ecuador international striker Christian Benitez from heart failure at the age of just 27. Benitez was rushed to hospital complaining of abdominal pains following his debut for Qatar’s El-Jaish as a late substitute on Sunday. He died the following day after what the Ecuadorean federation has now confirmed was a cardiac arrest.

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Europol turns its focus on Russian mafia over alleged match-fixing

Rob Wainwright

July 29 – Europol is spreading its football wings and has announced today it is to conduct an investigation into alleged football match fixing by the Russian mafia. The investigation will also look at organised crime groups in the Balkans. Rob Wainwright, the head of the EU police intelligence agency, told the Sunday Times said that in addition to the 380 matches that have been investigated since February, a further 300 were now considered suspicious.

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