SIGA Strives III: Laureus Sport for Good Foundation joins integrity body
March 24 – Laureus Sport for Good Foundation USA has joined the SIGA community as a ‘Committed Supporter’. .
Integrity
SIGA Strives II: Integrity body lists on European Union Transparency Register
March 23 – Sports integrity body SIGA has listed on the European Union Transparency Register which makes information public on how the body governs itself as well as information on its financial structure.
SIGA Strives: 5-year partnership signed with UNICRI to prevent crime in sport
March 20 – SIGA and the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI) have entered into a 5-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to prevent corruption and other crimes in Sport.
Man Utd commit to paying casual workforce whether games are played or not
March 19 – With the Premier League having announced that all matches are currently suspended until April 30, Manchester United have announced they will pay wages to their casual workforce whether games are played or not.
SIGA Strives: Integrity group rolls out series of 30 initiatives
March 19 – Battling for sports integrity is not unlike the fight against coronavirus. You can’t see the enemy but you know that it is there and potentially can destroy everything you hold close. And you can’t let your guard down.
Coronavirus backlog means Man City will have to wait for CAS hearing on suspension
March 16 – Manchester City’s appeal against their two-year ban from European football for allegedly breaking financial fair play rules is suddenly up in the air as a result of the coronavirus.
Cordeiro promises ‘respect’ but ‘lesser’ claim throws fuel on flames of WNT discrimination case
March 12 – US Soccer has apologised after a backlash against statements in court documents this week that players on the men’s national team possess greater skill and have more demanding jobs than their female counterparts. The federation is also feeling the heat from sponsors.
Niersbach makes it to Swiss court for 2006 World Cup fraud trial
March 12 – Former DFB President Wolfgang Niersbach (pictured) has made a surprise court appearance at the 2006 World Cup tax fraud trial – despite the advice of his doctor not to attend.
Coronavirus: SIGA pushes back New York integrity forum from March to Autumn
March 11 – Coronavirus fears have prompted SIGA to postpone its VI SIGA Sport Integrity Forum and general assembly, scheduled for 24-25 March in New York. The integrity group will now rearrange for a date in the Autumn.
Covid-19 halts 2006 World Cup vote buying trial after Zwanziger, Schmidt and Niersbach stay home
By Andrew Warshaw
March 10 – The eagerly awaited trial of three of Germany’s most high-profile former football chiefs plus ex-FIFA Secretary General Urs Linsi linked to suspicions that Germany bought votes to obtain the 2006 World Cup has been adjourned after three of the four were absent from the courtroom near the Swiss-Italian border because of the coronavirus.
Agnelli puts money and privilege above sporting integrity in call for CL protections
By Andrew Warshaw
March 6 – After a relatively quiet few months in the delicate debate over how European club football should be organised in the future, Juventus president Andrea Agnelli has re-stoked the flames of controversy by again making the case for the most prestigious clubs to be commercially prioritised.
LaLiga loses court appeal over staging league match in US match, but vows to fight on
By Paul Nicholson
March 6 – LaLiga has responded swiftly to a Madrid court ruling today that dismissed the league’s appeal against the RFEF’s decision not to authorise the Miami match between Girona and Barcelona that was going to be played January 26.
UEFA’s Foundation for Children celebrates 5 years and more than 1 million lives impacted
March 6 – It may not carry the same clout as the Champions League or be as newsworthy as financial fair play or VAR but UEFA is celebrating the fifth anniversary of its Foundation for Children, using football as a tool to aid vulnerable kids, particularly in less-privileged parts of the world.
Portuguese police raid clubs and agents in nationwide financial fraud probe
By Samindra Kunti
March 5 – Portuguese police have raided 76 addresses, including the home of super-agent Jorge Mendes, as part of a nationwide investigation into money laundering and tax evasion in 2015.
Swiss AG Lauber sanctioned for lying. Doubt cast over impartiality of FIFA indictment
By Paul Nicholson
March 5 – Controversial Swiss attorney general, Michael Lauber (pictured), who led the Swiss investigations into FIFA but mysteriously failed to remember or document meetings he held with FIFA president Gianni Infantino, has been sanctioned for disloyalty, lying and breaching his office’s code of conduct.