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.
Integrity
Amnesty calls on Premier League for ‘sport-washing’ to be part of future ownership tests
August 6 – Amnesty International has written to the English Premier League proposing a new owners and directors test that covers human rights concerns and sport-washing following the collapse of the takeover of Newcastle United by a Saudi-led consortium.
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.
First Sports Integrity Week speakers announced for September webinars
August 5 – SIGA has announced the first set of speakers for the inaugural Sport Integrity Week, September 7-11.
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.
FIFA Council should be ‘terrified’, says Bility, as Infantino calls on his African support
By Paul Nicholson
August 3 – Musa Bility has made it a hat-trick of hard-hitting letters in the past week with his latest being to the FIFA Council demanding they force the standing down of FIFA president Gianni Infantino following the opening of a criminal investigation by the Swiss judiciary.
Blatter says it is ‘clear’ FIFA Ethics need to open a case and suspend Infantino
August 3 – Sepp Blatter has been quick to call for his successor, Gianni Infantino, to be suspended by FIFA after criminal proceedings were opened against the latter in Switzerland last week.
New email cache puts spotlight back at Man City’s sponsorship dealing
July 31 – Manchester City’s battle with UEFA over alleged financial fair play breaches is back in the spotlight after the German newspaper Der Spiegel, on whose leaked information UEFA originally based their case, claimed it had fresh evidence showing that City had lied to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
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.
English grassroots boosted by grants with 40,131 teams helped with return to play
July 30 – The £7 million government grant to England’s Pitch Preparation Fund, administered by the Football Foundation grassroots charity, will see 40,131 teams given a boost.
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.
Bility calls on UEFA and Conmebol chiefs to demand Infantino resigns
By Paul Nicholson
July 29 – Musa Bility, the banned former Confederation of African Football (CAF) executive committee member and former president of the Liberian FA, has kept up his pressure on FIFA and its president Gianni Infantino with an open letter to UEFA president Alexander Ceferin and Conmebol president Alexander Dominguez demanding they call for the FIFA president’s resignation.
SIGA launches Sport Integrity Week series of webinars for September
July 29 – SIGA has launched its first-ever Sport Integrity Week which will be conducted as a series of webinars taking place September 7-11.
Copyright protection: UEFA seek bigger guns to safeguard game from marauding pirates
July 28 – In the wake of the activities of pirate broadcaster BeoutQ, UEFA has moved to protect itself from similar behaviour by issuing a tender for companies to assist in its anti-piracy efforts, with a deadline of September 4 for bids.