FIFA bans Pogba’s agent Raiola from trading in the summer transfer window
May 13 – One of football’s best-known super agents, Mino Raiola, has had a three-month ban on working in his native Italy extended to a global sanction by FIFA.
Injured, abusive, punchy: Neymar hit with another ‘severe’ 3-match ban
May 13 – The colourful and controversial career of Brazilian superstar Neymar on and off the pitch has been further underlined after the Paris St Germain forward was handed a three-game ban for lashing out at a fan following last month’s French Cup final defeat to Rennes.
Women’s World Cup trophy arrives in France for 9-city tour
May 13 – With less than a month to go before the Women’s World Cup June 7 kick-off in France, the trophy is the first arrival in country and will begin a national tour.
UK government vows to take on Saudi pirates BeoutQ with ‘robust attack’
May 13 – The on-going battle against rogue Saudi Arabia-based pirate broadcaster BeoutQ that has seen the Saudi channel steal thousands of hours of sports and entertainment programming is causing government concern with a committee of UK Parliamentary MPs now calling for a “robust attack” on the channel.
West Ham engage with MuchBetter as digital payments partner
May 13 – Premier League West Ham have announced MuchBetter as their official online and digital payments partner.
New FIFA player contract rules aim at stability and clarify termination conditions
By Andrew Warshaw in Madrid
May 10 – Recently introduced legal moves designed to improve the financial relationship between clubs and players will act as important milestone in contractual stability, according to one of FIFA’s top legal experts.
Ban served, Mayne-Nicholls returns to football with Colo Colo in Chile
By Andrew Warshaw
May 10 – Harold Mayne-Nicholls, the FIFA-appointed official who led the inspection team that evaluated the credentials of all 2018 and 2022 World Cup bidding candidates – only to be later banned for requesting work placements at Qatar’s famed Aspire academy – is back in football.
Arsenal and Chelsea make it an all-English party at top of UEFA’s club competitions
May 10 – Whether or not it is healthy for the European game remains highly questionable but English clubs have made history by taking all four spots in the finals of UEFA’s two major competitions, the first time this has happened anywhere on the Continent.
Greek Cup final to be played in an empty Olympic stadium
May 10 – The Greek Cup final between AEK and PAOK tomorrow will be played in an almost empty stadium following a government decision to ban fans for fear of crowd trouble.
LaLiga unveils record combined revenues of €4.4bn
May 10 – LaLiga’s aggressive international expansion and the smart player trading of its clubs has seen combined club revenues hit a record €4.479 billion for the 2017/18 season, a growth of 20.6% over the previous year.
Virgin Media extend with Saints and add women’s team to sponsor package
May 10 – Premier League Southampton have secured Virgin Media as the club’s sleeve sponsor in a three-year deal taking the partnership through to the end of the 2021/22 season.
Genius Sports wins ‘betting’ data contract for English and Scottish football
May 10 – Genius Sports, via its Betgenius division, has been won the exclusive rights from Football Dataco to collect and distribute official betting data for all the professional league and cup competitions in English and Scottish football, including the Premier League and English Football League.
Facebook to go behind the scenes at Copa America
May 10 – Facebook, which is gradually becoming a broadcast rights competitor for premium tier live football rights, has signed a content deal with Conmebol for this Summer’s Copa America in Brazil.
Expect the unexpected: Spurs deliver stunning second night of Champions League drama
By Andrew Warshaw
May 9 – Never in the modern era of European football’s greatest club competition have there been two back-to-back semi-finals quite like it.
Ceferin calls for calm as stakeholder debate over Champions League reform intensifies
May 9 – UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has issued a call for all relevant stakeholders not to jump to conclusions amid ongoing heated debate over proposed radical changes to the Champions League post-2024.