By Samindra Kunti
July 20 – Football-related violence and hooliganism is back on the rise in Belgian football, according to statistics released by the Belgian interior ministry. The Pro League vehemently debunks such an assertion.
By Mark Baber
July 20 – Josep Maria Bartomeu won the backing of 54.63% of Barcelona members voting in the club’s presidential election, decisively beating former president Joan Laporta who received only 33.03% of the votes.
By Jaroslaw Adamowski
July 20 – Poland’s football federation PZPN has passed draft regulation under which sides competing in the country’s top tier Ekstraklasa will be allowed a maximum of three players from outside of the EU on the pitch at one time. In the 2016/2017 season, this will be further decreased to two players per team.
By Samindra Kunti
July 20 – In a surprise move former France international Nicolas Anelka has bought Ath, a Belgian fourth division club on the brink of extinction.
July 17 – A case involving alleged anti-semitism, sexism and homophobia and which lasted 11 months has finally been resolved, though with an immediate backlash, after English football authorities announced no disciplinary action will be taken against former Cardiff City manager Malky Mackay.
By Alexander Krassimirov
July 17 – The Ministry of Youth and Sports in Bulgaria has committed to allocating substantially increased funds to club youth academies in 2016. The announcement was made by Bulgarian sports minister Krassen Kralev (pictured) who outlined what would the subsidies for the Bulgarian Football Union would be for the new season.
By Alexander Krassimirov
July 15 – The new owners of Bulgaria’s Levski Sofia have taken emergency measures to financially stabilize the club, imposing a wage limit on players in advance of the new season.
By Andrew Warshaw
July 15 – Controversial FIFA vice-president Angel Maria Villar (pictured) is poised to stand for a remarkable eighth term of office as head of Spanish football despite being widely reported as being under investigation by FIFA. If re-elected the new term would take him through 30 years as the head of the Spanish federation.
By David Owen
July 14 – FIFPro, football’s international players’ union, is to provide financial support to Claudia Pechstein (pictured), a German speed skater, in a legal battle that could have profound consequences for the way international sport settles its disputes.
By Jaroslaw Adamowski
July 14 – Partizan Belgrade is aiming to open a new stream of revenue with plans to sign a stadium naming rights deal, according to Milos Vazura, the chief executive of the Serbian football club.
By Andrew Warshaw
July 14 – An investment company supporting Third Party Ownership says it hopes to learn by July 24 whether it has been successful in challenging FIFA’s recently introduced global ban on the practise.
By David Owen
July 13 – Telefónica, the Spanish telecommunications group, has agreed to pay €600 million for domestic broadcasting rights to La Liga for the forthcoming season, in a landmark deal for Spanish football.
By Mark Baber
July 13 – Friday’s decision by the Court of Arbitration in Sport (CAS) to overturn the ruling of UEFA concerning the Serbia-Albania game of October 14 and award the game to Albania leaves the court open to accusations it has been influenced by anti-Serbian sentiment.
By Alexander Krassimirov
July 13 – The Ultras of Bulgaria’s Cherno more prematurely ended the club’s last friendly game before the start of the season against Lokomotiv Gorna Oryahovitsa. Fans of Bulgarian Cup holders, invaded the pitch during the first half, an attacked the Lokomotiv players.
By Samindra Kunti
July 13 – Belgian top-flight outfit Club Brugge has set its sights on acquiring an American club from the lower divisions in the future in a bid to bolster its youth operations.