Just three in a thousand football anti-doping samples tested positive in 2018
By David Owen
December 22 – If there is a doping crisis in football, it is still not being picked up by the authorities.
Integrity
Law: Avoiding the data compliance offside trap
Data has become a core function of a football club’s business. Managing and monetising that data efficiently, legally and privately is a focal point. By Bryony Long, Mark Hersey and Lauren Stone at law firm Lewis Silkin
Game over for Ozil in China as Netease removes him from PES 2020 video title
December 20 – Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil who tweeted about China’s detention and persecution of Uighurs and other Muslims in the Xinjiang province, has been removed from the Chinese edition of Konami’s PES 2020 video game.
Serie A apologise for inappropriate ‘monkey’ paintings
December 18 – Serie A has apologised in the wake of the furore over imagery of monkeys being used in artwork for their anti-racism campaign.
Condemnation over Serie A’s ‘sick joke’ monkey paintings
December 17 – Less than three weeks after Serie A clubs in Italy pledged collectively to combat the “serious problem” of racism, further criticism has rained down from anti-discriminatory bodies following a totally ill-judged campaign featuring paintings of apes.
CAF win Round 1 of contract dispute but Lagardère still punching for a knockout finish
By Paul Nicholson
December 16 – CAF has won the first round of the legal battle over the cancellation of its contract with Lagardère Sports. The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in Geneva ruled Friday rejected Lagardère’s application for emergency measures that would have allowed the agency to continue as per the contract.
English forced to face uncomfortable home truths as 13-year-old comes under investigation
By Andrew Warshaw
December 10 – Quick to point the finger at football-fuelled racism elsewhere in Europe, the English game is going through a period of intense soul-searching following a spate of instances over the weekend from the Premier League to the fourth tier, one of the alleged culprits being as young as 13 years old.
Man City fan arrested over alleged racist abuse of Man Utd’s Fred
December 9 – Police have arrested a man in connection with alleged racial gestures and chanting in Saturday’s Premier League derby between Manchester City and Manchester United.
CAS clears Chelsea to re-enter transfer market after ban is cut in half
December 6 – Chelsea have been cleared to re-enter the transfer market in the January window after a Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruling halved the transfer ban to just one window from the original two-window ban imposed by FIFA.
Italian whitewash. Institutionalised racism now making the headlines?
December 5 – A leading Italian sports daily has been widely criticised for a headline reading ‘Black Friday’ featuring two leading black Serie A players.
Nantes have to wait on Sala €6m as CAS set Cardiff’s appeal ruling for June 2020
December 6 – The final decision on whether Cardiff City have to pay the first instalment of €6 million to Nantes for €17 million striker Emiliano Sala will not taken until June 2020.
Ceferin says more will be done to fight racism but warns Boris to look closer to home
By Andrew Warshaw
December 4 – UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has re-iterated his long-held view that more needs to be done to combat racism in European football following an unwelcome resurgence of discrimination across the Continent, from Bulgaria to Italy.
Serie A clubs unite for anti-racism message
December 2 – Not before time, all 20 Serie A clubs in Italy have made a united pledge to combat the “serious problem” of racism which, they say, “shames us all”.
Premier League back in hunt for CEO as Pemsel forced to quit before he starts
December 2 – In what has become an almost farcical situation, the English Premier League’s search for a new boss is back on after David Pemsel resigned as chief executive two months before he was even due to start.
Justice? Police chief Duckenfield escapes manslaughter conviction of Liverpool’s 96
November 29 – In a ruling that prompted outrage among relatives of the victims, the police commander in charge of operations at Britain’s worst sporting disaster, the Hillsborough stadium tragedy, was acquitted Thursday of gross negligence manslaughter.