By Andrew Warshaw
April 26 – Potentially explosive plans to overhaul the Champions League post-2024 and turn it into the nearest thing yet to a much-debated European Super League are causing an unprecedented rift between Europe’s clubs and leagues as well as threatening to destabilise the main stakeholders within the entire European football landscape.
By Paul Nicholson
April 26 – Saudi Arabia has been put on a ‘Priority Watch List’ by the US and in the UK questions were asked in the Houses of Parliament over the industrial scale copyright theft by Saudi-based pirate broadcaster beoutQ.
April 26 – Confidential meetings between FIFA president Gianni Infantino and Swiss attorney general Michael Lauber – reportedly set up by a childhood friend of Infantino – continue to be the subject of investigation in Switzerland amid intense speculation about exactly what was discussed.
April 25 – In the 2017-18 season English Premier League football clubs’ revenues reached a new high, but that was offset in the pre-tax profits by increased spending on player wages, according to a report by Deloitte.
April 24 – The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has committed to the Sports law at the Crossroads conference, May 10-11 in Madrid, as a supporting sponsor.
April 26 – The French league are investigating allegations of match-fixing made by EA Guingamp against their relegation rivals SM Caen before the latter’s 1-0 defeat against Angers earlier this month.
By Paul Nicholson
April 26 – The deepening discontent between La Liga and the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) has been further highlighted by LaLiga’s unequivocal rejection of RFEF president Luis Rubiales’ plan to reinvent the Spanish Supercup as a four-team competition, potentially in Saudi Arabia.
April 25 – After spending almost two years in custody awaiting trial, former Barcelona president and European football strongman Sandro Rosell has been acquitted of money laundering charges in a blow to Spanish prosecutors’ relentless campaign to wipe out football-related corruption.
By Samindra Kunti
April 25 – Belgian football was rocked again on Wednesday as Belgian police raided the offices of Anderlecht and the Belgian Football Association (KBVB) as part of an investigation into money-laundering. The 2015 transfer of Serbian player Aleksandar Mitrovic from Anderlecht to Newcastle United is reportedly under investigation with player agent Pini Zahavi emergent as a key figure.
April 25 – FIFA have issued lifetime bans to eight current and former players and an agent after they were found guilty of match manipulation.
April 25 – Brendan Menton, a former general secretary of the Irish Football Association (FAI), has called for the entire current board of directors to step down following the recent scandal involving chief executive John Delaney.
April 25 – Lazio have blamed “isolated elements” after around 50 supporters displayed a banner honouring Benito Mussolini and performed fascist salutes ahead of Wednesday’s Italian Cup match against AC Milan.
April 25 – One of Italian football’s most faithful and long term partners, Telecom Italia, has picked up what is probably the shortest ever title sponsorship for a premier national football competition.
April 25 – LaLiga, in co-operation with Denmark’s RettighedsAlliancen, scored a major victory in the battle against broadcast pirate with a Danish court ruling that sites offering illegal streams of live sport should be blocked.
April 25 – Barcelona have continued their push to capture Chinese hearts and minds via a partnership with the WE Red Bridge communications agency who have been brought in to develop the club’s Chinese growth strategy.