By Paul Nicholson
April 26 – Saudi Arabia has been put on a ‘Priority Watch List’ by the US and in the UK questions were asked in the Houses of Parliament over the industrial scale copyright theft by Saudi-based pirate broadcaster beoutQ.
April 26 – Confidential meetings between FIFA president Gianni Infantino and Swiss attorney general Michael Lauber – reportedly set up by a childhood friend of Infantino – continue to be the subject of investigation in Switzerland amid intense speculation about exactly what was discussed.
April 25 – After spending almost two years in custody awaiting trial, former Barcelona president and European football strongman Sandro Rosell has been acquitted of money laundering charges in a blow to Spanish prosecutors’ relentless campaign to wipe out football-related corruption.
April 4 – The jury in the trial of the police chief facing allegations related to the 1989 Hillsborough stadium tragedy has been unable to reach a verdict with the prosecution now calling for a retrial.
April 4 – David Beckham’s dream of building an MLS franchise have hit a legal snag over trademark rights with reports from Italy that Inter Milan are planning to sue MLS over the name of Beckham’s proposed club – Inter Miami CF.
March 28 – FIFA’s chief legal officer Emilio Garcia Silvero and former CAS Deputy General Secretary William Sternheimer have joined the speaker line-up for the Sports Law at the Crossroads conference in Madrid, May 10-11.
By Paul Nicholson in New York
March 26 – FIFA beware, former investigators and prosecutors who worked on the US Department of Justice indictments in 2015 say that the investigation is still on-going and there will likely be more indictments on top of the 42 already charged.
By Andrew Warshaw
March 22 – Rui Pinto, the man behind a string of incriminating leaks that shook the footballing world, has been controversially extradited from Hungary, where he had been living, to his native Portugal.
March 22 – New FIFA regulations surrounding player transfers and their status, will be the focus of the Sports Law at the Crossroads conference, Madrid 10-11 May. A second day will examine the growth of esports and the game-changing regulatory issues it is presenting.
March 12 – A 27-year-old Birmingham City fan who ran on to the pitch and assaulted Jack Grealish of arch-rivals Aston Villa in Sunday’s Championship derby has received an immediate jail sentence of 14 weeks.
March 6 – A suspected hacker arrested in Hungary with links to the Football Leaks whistleblower website has been controversially ordered to be extradited to his native Portugal.
February 28 – Former Barcelona president Sandro Rosell has been released from prison on bail after 643 days in custody on charges of money laundering. He had been denied bail several times, but a defiant Rosell maintains his innocence.
February 27 – On the second day of his high-profile trial, Sandro Rosell, the former Barcelona president who is accused of money laundering related to television rights and sponsorship of the Brazilian team, denied any wrongdoing but spoke only through his lawyer.
February 26 – A European court has delivered a legal victory for Barcelona, Real Madrid and two other top Spanish clubs annulling a 2016 EU state aid ruling that had penalised them over tax breaks.
February 25 – The high-profile trial of Sandro Rosell, the former Barcelona strongman who is accused of money laundering related to television rights and sponsorship of the Brazilian national football team, finally got under way today with Spanish prosecutors seeking an 11-year prison sentence plus a fine of nearly €60 million.