Courting trouble: SFA fines Hearts and Partick for going to the law
August 7 – Scottish clubs Hearts and Partick Thistle have each been fined £2,500 by the Scottish FA for going to court to try and stave off their respective relegations.
Law
Sala transfer dispute rolls on as CAS agrees to give more time
August 5 – The unsavoury dispute over who was liable for Emiliano Sala’s €17 million transfer fee from Nantes to Cardiff City is set to drag on more than a year and half after the Argentine forward was tragically killed when the light aircraft carrying him to Cardiff two days after he signed crashed into the sea before he could play a single game.
2019 Asian Cup results stand: UAE lose CAS appeal over eligibility of Qatar striker Almoez
By Paul Nicholson
August 4 – A long running dispute between the UAE and Qatar that began in January 2019 at the Asian Cup over the eligibility two Qatari players, has finally been settled at CAS with the UAE losing its appeal against the Asian Football Confederation’s (AFC) decision that the players were eligible.
A win for FFP: Trabzonspor loses CAS appeal of UEFA club comps ban
July 31 – The UEFA Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules are not completely in tatters after the Manchester City case. The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has ruled against an appeal filed by Turkish club Trabzonspor that will see them banned from next season UEFA club competition.
With Saudi buy of Newcastle in limbo, KSA moves to appeal WTO piracy ruling
By Samindra Kunti
July 30 – Saudi Arabia has appealed the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) ruling that it facilitated piracy of Premier League matches after the Kingdom had first claimed that the ruling had been in its favour. It is a move that could impact on Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund’s (PIF) controversial bid to acquire Newcastle United.
CAS critical of Man City’s disrespect of UEFA, but saw no evidence of inflated sponsorships
By Andrew Warshaw
July 29 – Manchester City showed a “blatant disregard” for UEFA’s investigation into alleged Financial Fair Play (FFP) breaches but, crucially, no cover-up was committed by the club.
Lauber resignation over Infantino meeting ‘lies’ ramps up pressure on FIFA boss
By Paul Nicholson
July 24 – Switzerland’s embattled Attorney General Michael Lauber has offered to resign after a Swiss court concluded he had lied to investigators regarding his office’s corruption probe into FIFA.
Relevent lose USSF anti-trust case and right to stage foreign league matches in US
By Paul Nicholson
July 22 – US Soccer had another significant win in court this week in the lawsuit brought against the federation by Relevent Sports who have been campaigning to stage regular season league matches from non-US leagues in the country.
Portuguese police swoop on Benfica over tax evasion and money laundering claims
July 15 – The president of Benfica, Luis Filipe Vieira (pictured), plus the company that operates the club and the one that owns the stadium, have all been indicted by the Portuguese justice for tax evasion, according to unconfirmed local reports.
Rule of law? PL bosses jump to criticise CAS ruling, Pep says City should receive apologies
July 15 – Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola says his club deserve an apology from rival managers who criticised the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s decision to overturn City’s two-year ban from European competitions for alleged “serious breaches” of financial fair play.
Man City keep Champions League spot as CAS throws out 2-year UEFA ban
By Andrew Warshaw
July 13 – In a stunning reversal of the previous ruling by UEFA, Manchester City have won their appeal against a two-year ban from European football.
FIFAGate: Jailed Napout files another request for release on Covid-19 health grounds
July 9 – Disgraced former Conmebol president Juan Angel Napout has again petitioned court in the US to obtain an early release from prison because of the coronavirus pandemic. The Paraguayan is serving a nine-year sentence for his role in the FIFAGate scandal.
Santos lose €61m appeal at CAS over Neymar transfer to Barca
July 8 – After a long-running saga, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has cleared Barcelona of any wrongdoing when they signed Brazilian star Neymar from Santos back in 2013.
LaLiga wins piracy battle as Danish court rules ISPs must block illegal streams
July 6 – The war on global piracy has seen a new battle win for LaLiga who, working with the Danish Rights Alliance, have won a court ruling that pirate service Rojadirecta is illegal and must be blocked by Danish ISPs.
Swiss call in Extraordinary Prosecutor to examine criminal charges against Infantino
By Paul Nicholson
July 3 – FIFA president Gianni Infantino took a step nearer towards a full criminal investigation in Switzerland into his behaviour following the announcement today by the supervisory authority of the Federal Prosecutor’s Office that an extraordinary federal public prosecutor had been appointed to examine criminal complaints made against him and Swiss federal prosecutor Michael Lauber.