By Paul Nicholson
May 22 – Italian competition regulators have ruled that Serie A missed out on international broadcast revenue because agents MP & Silva, B4 Capital and IMG fixed the acquisition price of the rights from the league over three rights cycles from 2008 to 2017.
May 16 – The ongoing saga over the conduct of Swiss Attorney General Michael Lauber relating to a series of private meetings he held with FIFA president Gianni Infantino has taken yet another twist with reports that Lauber may not be able to run for a third term.
May 13 – Swiss Attorney General Michael Lauber has been forced on to the attack following reports that an independent disciplinary investigation has been launched into his conduct relating to a series of private meetings with FIFA president Gianni Infantino.
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 – 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.
April 4 – The jury in the trial of the police chief facing allegations related to the 1989 Hillsborough stadium tragedy has been unable to reach a verdict with the prosecution now calling for a retrial.
April 4 – David Beckham’s dream of building an MLS franchise have hit a legal snag over trademark rights with reports from Italy that Inter Milan are planning to sue MLS over the name of Beckham’s proposed club – Inter Miami CF.
March 28 – FIFA’s chief legal officer Emilio Garcia Silvero and former CAS Deputy General Secretary William Sternheimer have joined the speaker line-up for the Sports Law at the Crossroads conference in Madrid, May 10-11.
By Paul Nicholson in New York
March 26 – FIFA beware, former investigators and prosecutors who worked on the US Department of Justice indictments in 2015 say that the investigation is still on-going and there will likely be more indictments on top of the 42 already charged.
By Andrew Warshaw
March 22 – Rui Pinto, the man behind a string of incriminating leaks that shook the footballing world, has been controversially extradited from Hungary, where he had been living, to his native Portugal.
March 22 – New FIFA regulations surrounding player transfers and their status, will be the focus of the Sports Law at the Crossroads conference, Madrid 10-11 May. A second day will examine the growth of esports and the game-changing regulatory issues it is presenting.
March 12 – A 27-year-old Birmingham City fan who ran on to the pitch and assaulted Jack Grealish of arch-rivals Aston Villa in Sunday’s Championship derby has received an immediate jail sentence of 14 weeks.
March 6 – A suspected hacker arrested in Hungary with links to the Football Leaks whistleblower website has been controversially ordered to be extradited to his native Portugal.
February 28 – Former Barcelona president Sandro Rosell has been released from prison on bail after 643 days in custody on charges of money laundering. He had been denied bail several times, but a defiant Rosell maintains his innocence.