By Paul Nicholson
August 8 – If the FBI is having trouble finding (and arresting) Brazilian football president Marco Polo del Nero then they should have a word with FIFA’s new president Gianni Infantino. He was pictured at the weekend hanging out with del Nero in Rio de Janeiro during the opening days of the Olympic games.
By Andrew Warshaw
August 8 – FIFA’s entire ethics framework has lost both credibility and independence as a result of the decision to clear Gianni Infantino of any misconduct despite a string of persistent allegations over serious ethics breaches. That is the view of Mark Pieth, the Swiss governance expert first brought in by FIFA to oversee the reform process.
August 8 – After 30 years in charge, Silvio Berlusconi has agreed to sell Serie A giant AC Milan to a group of Chinese investors for €740 million, a price that includes about €220 million of debt.
August 8 – Two games, no goals, booed off twice in four days by their own fans and now clinging on for dear life. Brazil’s men may have won the World Cup a record five times but their dreams of winning Olympic gold for the first time hang by a thread after another dismal performance.
August 8 – Nineteen members of La Familia, the rightwing faction of Beitar Jerusalem, whose fans are regarded as the most hostile in Israel, have been charged with attempted murder, aggravated sabotage, racist offenses and illegal possession of weapons.
August 7 – More detail on one of the MLS expansion franchises looks to be announced in Minnesota later this month. Fans leaving the NASL game between Minnesota United and Miami FC were handed a save-the-date card for August 19 with ‘#NextStopMLS’ printed on it.
August 7 – La Liga, keen to boost its international broadcast profile and revenue, has issued guidelines and a warning to clubs that if their stadia are not seen to be 75% full on the television transmission they will fine their clubs.
By Andrew Warshaw
August 5 – FIFA’s supposed new era of credibility and respectability under Gianni Infantino took a decisive and controversial twist today when he was cleared of any misconduct despite a string of serious and persistent allegations over ethics breaches.
August 5 – West Bromwich Albion are the latest English side to fall into the hands of ambitious Chinese owners following the acquisitions of neighbouring Midlands clubs Aston Villa and Wolverhampton Wanderers.
August 5 – The new English season has not yet started but Jose Mourinho, back in the Premier League with Manchester United, is already causing controversy, hurting feelings and facing accusations of disrespect.
By Paul Nicholson
August 5 –David Beckham’s Major League Soccer (MLS) franchise option of $25 million looks very cheap with league officials indicating earlier this week that they were preparing to double franchise fees to $200 million.
August 5 – Two days after the mass resignations of Turkey’s leading football executives, ostensibly to assist the government investigation into US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen who the authorities accuse of being behind the coup that left more than 200 people dead, almost 100 other staff, many of them referees, have now been suspended, boosting the autocratic regime of president Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
August 5 – UEFA have unveiled their final three nominations for the Gareth Bale, Antoine Griezmann and Cristiano Ronaldo – all three play for Madrid clubs and had outstanding European Championship performances for their countries this summer.
August 5 – William Hill have scored a Premier League hat-trick this week announcing a three-year deal with Chelsea to become the club’s new official betting partner. The deal is a global partnership.
August 4 – The federal judge overseeing the US-led corruption probe into FIFA and a raft of its former senior officials says the trial of the first eight defendants will probably now not start before September or October next year.