LaLiga secures 3-year €980m domestic TV deal with Telefonica
June 26 – Spain’s La Liga has sold its 2019-2022 television rights for €980 million ($1.15 billion) per season to Telefonica, an increase of 15% on the last three seasons.
FIFA’s concussion headache will be treated at the end of the World Cup
By Andrew Warshaw
June 26 – FIFA is to consider tightening up its concussion protocol following the World Cup in order discourage teams and players from taking unilateral decisions in defiance of strict guidelines.
FIFA fine high-flying Swiss for ‘unsporting’ eagle celebration
June 26 – Switzerland’s Granit Xhaka and Xherdan Shaqiri have escaped a ban following their controversial goal celebrations in the 2-1 win over Serbia last week.
Toulouse rumoured to be next addition to CFG club stable
June 26 – French Ligue 1 club Toulouse is reportedly in discussion with Manchester City owners City Football Group (CFG) with a view to joining the club group.
SIGA tender contract for management of SIRVS federation governance rating system
June 26 – The Sport Integrity Global Alliance (SIGA) is tendering out its sports federation rating and verification system SIRVS (SIGA Independent Rating and Verification System) that will launch in 2019.
Bayern Munich stay in tune with Beats by Dr. Dre through to June 2019
June 26 – Germany’s FC Bayern has extended its partnership with Beats by Dr. Dre through to end June 2019.
Saudis seize token number of beoutQ decoders as F1 reveals it too is being pirated
By Paul Nicholson
June 25 – Saudi Arabia has responded, somewhat derisorily, to the dispute over the piracy of Russia 2018 World Cup matches, saying it has seized 12,000 beoutQ satellite decoders in the country which have been transmitting stolen sports content.
Puma go top as Nike fights back in Russia 2018 Battle of Brands
By David Owen
June 25 – Puma have taken over at the top of the table, but the story of the second round of group matches in Insideworldfootball’s World Cup Battle of Brands was a strong fightback by Nike teams.
High flying Swiss set to have their wings clipped over Albanian ‘eagle’ celebration
By Andrew Warshaw
June 25 – FIFA has begun disciplinary proceedings against two Swiss players over their highly sensitive goalscoring celebrations that infuriated Serbia during last week’s clash between the sides.
AC Milan bail out? US Ricketts family step up to the plate with buyout interest
June 25 – The saga of the ownership and funding of debt-ridden Serie A club AC Milan has taken another turn with a potential new owner emerging in the shape of the Ricketts family from the US who own the Chicago Cubs Major League Baseball team.
Chinese fans caught in fake ticket scam by bogus Russian ticket agency
June 25 – Chinese fans snapped up over more than 40,000 tickets for the World Cup in Russia via FIFA’s ticketing platform, but not all has been neighbourly love in Russia as a number have fallen victims Chinese of a counterfeit black-market ticket scam.
Blatter bullish as his Russia 2018 cameo ends
By Andrew Warshaw
June 25 – Sepp Blatter’s brief World Cup sojourn may be over but that didn’t stop the former FIFA president leaving his mark on the tournament in a series of interviews that showed that he has lost none of his appetite for arguing his case and defending his legacy.
Legal opinion: Will the VAR spot any Ambush Marketing at the 2018 World Cup?
With the World Cup in full flow and attracting global attention, the temptation by some businesses who lack the badge of ‘Official Sponsor’ to promote their global brand will be great. But, however tempting, the stakes for those businesses, so-called “ambush marketers”, are high. By Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner
Serbs file complaint over game-changing non-use of VAR by German ref in favour of Swiss
June 25 – Serbia have launched an official complaint about alleged bias by German referee Felix Brych in last Friday’s 2-1 World Cup defeat to Switzerland which seriously damaged their hopes of advancing.
Officially wrong: German joy at last gasp win triggers nasty taunting celebration
June 25 – FIFA has opened disciplinary proceedings against two German team officials for gloating towards the Swedish bench after the defending world champions’ last-gasp Group F victory on Saturday.