Indonesian players tell fans how they were forced into match-fixing
August 4 – Eight months after a match-fixing scandal in Indonesian domestic football featuring PSS Sleman and PSIS Semarang, PSS players have spoken out about what happened.
Europe
Romanian FA limits job-hopping officials to two clubs per season
By Jaroslaw Adamowski
August 4 – In a bid to introduce more transparency into the country’s football league, the Romanian Football Federation (FRF) has decided to limit the number of clubs where officials can work to two per season.
Dutch launch stepping-stone league to build pro-club base
By Samindra Kunti
August 4 – The KNVB, the Dutch FA, is implementing a structural reform of its domestic club football. From the 2016/17 season onwards professional and amateur football in the Netherlands will be integrated through a mandatory system of promotion and relegation.
PSG and Arsenal win their super cups: but is competition being strangled?
By Mark Baber
August 3 – The victory of Paris St Germain in the Trophee des Champions has been greeted by predictable headlines regarding the club’s dominance of French soccer, but statistical analysis shows that behind Arsenal’s victory over Chelsea on Sunday lies an historically significant stranglehold on the Community Shield by a small group of England’s top clubs.
WATCH the Audi Cup LIVE on Insideworldfootball Spurs vs Real Madrid, Bayern Munich vs AC Milan
Real Madrid and Tottenham Hotspur will meet in the first semi-finals of the Audi Cup in the Allianz Arena tomorrow, with a place in the final of the competition on Wednesday up for grabs. They will be followed by Bayern Munich vs AC Milan. Both matches can be viewed free on Insideworldfootball – note some countries are geo-restricted so check your local broadcast schedules. The link to the Real vs Spurs match is http://bit.ly/1KLQoQ2,
CSKA Ultras storm pitch and chase Israel’s Ashdod players off
By Alexander Krassimirov
August 3 – There were more scenes of players being attacked by fans in Bulgaria at the weekend at a pre-season friendly between CSKA Sofia and Ironi Ashdod FC from Israel. Enraged CSKA Sofia Ultras stormed on to the pitch in Sofia on Sunday evening and charged at the Israeli players. The fans were angered by a series of hard fouls against CSKA players.
Mutko set to return as boss of Russian football
By Andrew Warshaw
August 3 – Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko, chairman of the 2018 World Cup Organising Committee and a FIFA executive committee member, looks set to cement his power base even further by becoming head of his country’s football federation after his only rival for the position, Igor Lebedev, withdrew from next month’s election.
Europa tie abandoned when Legia player floored by stone
July 31 – A Europa league qualifier between FK Kukesi of Albania and Legia Warsaw was abandoned Thursday when a Legia player was struck by a stone thrown from the crowd.
Greeks send 85 to trial for match-fixing, but Olympiakos boss clears first round
By Mark Baber
July 31 – A Council of Appeals ruled Thursday that 85 out of a possible 158 original defendants should go on trial for a variety of offences related to the match-fixing scandal of 2010-11, including membership of a criminal organisation, bribery, manipulation of results and illegal betting.
Zenit rack up huge losses, while Anzhi go down but profits go up
By Alexander Krassimirov
July 31 – Russian champion Zenit St. Petersburg has recorded colossal losses for the season ending 2014 according to the annual report of SPARK – Interfax. Despite winning the title in Russia, Zenit’s loss amounted to 5.2 billion rubles ($86 million). In 2013 Zenit’s losses were only 320 million rubles ($5.3 million).
Gambian refugee scores 4 in bid to secure his Bundesliga home
July 31 – An 18-year-old asylum seeker from Gambia is the talk of German football after scoring four times in his first match as a second-half substitute for Werder Bremen.
Ludogorets follow up stadium build with training camp revamp
By Alexander Krassimirov
July 30 – Bulgarian champions Ludogorets are building for the future and have launched a new stage in the modernisation of their training facilities, just a few months after the club from Razgrad opened a new grandstand at its stadium.
Serbian MPs propose ways to combat match-fixing, including club privatisation
By Jaroslaw Adamowski
July 30 – Serbian Members of Parliament (MPs) have been discussing measures to combat match-fixing which has plagued the top tier of the country’s league. Some of the proposals put forward by local politicians include the much-awaited privatisation of state-owned clubs, introducing stricter regulations, as well as suspending the league.
Ronaldo spearheads Real push into China with Tmall Global deal
July 28 – As Cristiano Ronaldo and Real Madrid continue to woo Chinese fans on their pre-season tour, off the field the club has signed a deal with AliBaba’s Tmall Global to use the platform to sell Ronaldo (and Real Madrid) merchandise direct to the Chinese public.
Catalonia’s nationalist boo-boys land Barca with UEFA and government fines
July 29 – Spain’s anti-violence commission has fined Barcelona €66,000 after the Catalan club’s fans booed the national anthem before the Copa del Rey final in May.