Greek court turns focus on ‘Mr Big’, Olympiacos’ Marinakis
By Matt Scott
June 18 – Olympiacos’s president Evangelos ‘Vangelis’ Marinakis is due in court today to enter his plea in the match-fixing scandal gripping Greek football.
Europe
Exclusive: UEFA ethics chief clears Greeks in match-fixing scandal for Europa League
By Matt Scott
June 17 – UEFA’s Ethics and Disciplinary Inspector has recommended the inclusion of a club under criminal investigation for match fixing into next season’s Europa League competition, Insideworldfootball can reveal.
Swiss prosecutor identifies money laundering targets but says no to US link-up
By Mark Baber
June 17 – Switzerland’s top federal prosecutor Michael Lauber (pictured) has revealed that more than 104 banking relationships are being looked into as part of its investigation into the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bids. Each of these relationships involves several accounts, with 53 banking relationships (some overlapping) having been separately been flagged up by the Swiss Money Laundering Reporting Office.
Zawisza Bydgoszcz up for sale after relegation from Ekstraklasa
By Jaroslaw Adamowski
June 17 – Radoslaw Osuch, the owner of Zawisza Bydgoszcz, has announced plans to sell the club following its relegation from Poland’s top tier, the Ekstraklasa, and the decision by the municipal authorities of Bydgoszcz to reduce their support to the troubled side.
Belgian reform cuts professional leagues to 24 teams in two tiers
By Samindra Kunti
June 17 – The Belgian National Study Commission has approved a new league format that will be introduced in the 2016/17 season. Only 24 clubs will continue to play professional football with 16 clubs in the top-flight and eight clubs in the second division.
CSKA Sofia battles on with plan reverse into Litex Lovech
By Alexander Krassimirov
June 17 – One of Bulgaria’s leading clubs looks set to disappear from the country’s football map if ownership negotiations over the franchise and its name are completed. Litex Lovech owner Grisha Ganchev is currently in discussions to rename the club ‘CSKA’.
‘He who has the peso has the say so’ – €200m+ is wage cost to win CL
By Paul Nicholson
June 17 – You can’t win the Champions League unless you lash out at least €200 million in wages, according to the first set of figures and analysis released from the new Football Benchmark database launched by accountancy giants KPMG’s sports team.
Hankook re-treads for another 3 years of Europa League
June 17 – South Korea-based Hankook, one of the world’s biggest tyre production companies, has renewed its sponsorship of the UEFA Europa League for a further three years it was announced on Tuesday.
Foreign invasions leave Italian and English players on the football scrap heap
June 17 – Updated figures for the CIES Football Observatory show the numbers of home grown players at clubs and getting first team playing time is at an all-time low, with Italy and England having the lowest amounts of local talent in their teams.
A new Colosseum for Roma
By Mark Baber
June 16 – A new stadium for AS Roma has moved a significant step closer with a media briefing to mark the submission of the master plan for the development of the Tor di Valle-Stadio della Roma construction project to the Rome municipality.
Bulgaria’s A league reports €30m loss with few bright spots for clubs
By Alexander Krassimirov
June 16 – Clubs from Bulgaria’s elite A group recorded cumulative financial losses amounting to BGN60 million (€30 million) over the past two seasons. The figures were calculated from documents provided by the clubs to the Bulgarian Football Union’s club licensing committee.
Are the English FA now a target in the FBI’s sights?
By Mark Baber
June 15 – In an ironic twist to the FIFA corruption scandal, given the grandstanding by FA Chairman Greg Dyke and vice-Chairman David Gill, British newspapers were full of reports at the weekend of how the FBI had the FA “in its sights.”
Croatia faces hardline sanctions over swastika etched on pitch
By Mark Baber
June 15 – Croatia faces severe sanctions from UEFA, possibly including disqualification from Euro 2016, after their televised qualifier against Italy, played behind closed doors in Split due to earlier incidents of racism by Croatian supporters, went ahead with a swastika marked out on the pitch.
Will Mr Bee save AC Milan?
By Mark Baber
June 12 – A week into the eight week negotiating period for Mr Bee Taechaubol (known as “Mr Bee” in the Italian media) to take a 48% stake in AC Milan, what the deal will mean for one of Europe’s most illustrious clubs is unclear, with Mr Bee denouncing Italian press speculation as to his meddling in team affairs whilst the end for manager end of Filippo Inzaghi seems certain.
Cristiano Ronaldo tops Europe’s ‘Most Marketable’ footballer ranking
By Mark Baber
June 11- The latest study by market research company Repucom has again ranked Cristiano Ronaldo top of the list of European as well as the world’s most marketable football players.