Scudamore to have heart surgery but will be back for season kick off
June 5 – Premier League Chief Executive, Richard Scudamore, is to undergo heart surgery next week, Scudamore informed member clubs at the league’s annual meeting today.
Platini backs 2022 in the Middle East but distances himself from Qatari influencers
By Andrew Warshaw
June 5 – In a robust and passionate defence of his moral conduct as UEFA president, Michel Platini has denounced what he claims is a deliberate campaign to discredit him and says that despite all the allegations over Qatar staging the 2022 World Cup, the decision was the right one for football.
FIFA makes Austrian and Iranian match-fixing sanctions global
By Mark Baber
June 5 – FIFA on Wednesday confirmed the extension to have worldwide effect of the domestic sanctions imposed by the Austrian Football Association (OFB) and the Iran Football Federation (IRIFF) in relation to match manipulation.
Matt Scott: From graft to grass. Corruption allegations could stink out World Cup matches
“The Turks have a homely proverb: they say ‘the fish stinks first at the head’, meaning, that if the servant is disorderly, it is because the master is so.” Sir James Porter, Observations on the religion, law, government, and manners of the Turks
Considering its position as regulator of a game so steeped in laws, regulations and statutes, certain elements running FIFA have been disorderly for a long time.
Serbs abandon promotion play off after fan releases tear gas
June 5 – Serbia’s first division promotion playoff between Rad Belgrade and Metalac Gornji Milanovac was abandoned on Wednesday after a fan set off a tear gas canister and forced the players to leave the pitch.
Dilma upbeat on build to the ‘wire’ and guarantees public safety
By Andrew Warshaw
June 5 – Despite the stadium delays, overspending and widespread adverse publicity about crime and poverty, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has come out fighting ahead of the World Cup which kicks off in a week.
CIES report charts Euro club season by value; big is beautiful
By Paul Nicholson
June 5 – Lionel Messi would be worth almost twice as much in the transfer market than Cristiano Ronaldo, while the total asset value of Barcelona’s playing squad is still worth more than €100 million than Real Madrid, and almost twice that of Manchester United, according to the CIES Football Observatory Annual Review which looks at market value of players in Europe’s Big 5 leagues.
OFC keeps silent over Temarii and 2010 voting
By Andrew Warshaw
June 5 – The Oceania Footbball Confederation will make no comment over its alleged role into how Qatar won the right to stage the 2022 World Cup until FIFA’s ethics committee investigator has completed his inquiries.
Marta opens ‘Women on the Pitch’ expo in Rio
June 5 – While preparations for the high-profile main event move into their final few days, football with a more grassroots appeal is playing a key role on the sidelines of the World Cup.
Wages still powering ahead in top tiers of English club football
By David Owen
June 5 – Not for the first time, wage growth is casting a shadow over English club football’s financial performance. The latest issue of Deloitte’s Annual Review of Football Finance, covering the 2012-13 season, has found that the widely-watched wage:turnover ratio of the 20 Premier League clubs reached a record high of 71%. This was after wages rose by an enviable 8% to £1.8 billion.
Lee Wellings: The relief of kick off in Brazil
Brazil v Croatia. 5pm local time. São Paulo.
What a relief it will be when the first ball is kicked. When the world is reminded what the fuss is about. That there’s historic football to be played. We hope and expect it will bring great joy to hundreds of millions because we’ve become all too familiar with the negatives. Oh those negatives.
The riots, the protests, the huge political and social concerns over the money spent,
Aussies deny bid rules were broken with its financial support programme
By Andrew Warshaw
June 4 – The Australian football federation (FFA) has denied any wrongdoing in its failed bid for the 2022 World Cup, insisting it broke no FIFA rules.
Platini dismisses reports linking him to Qatar 2022 vote buying allegations
By Andrew Warshaw
June 4 – UEFA president Michel Platini has hit back forcefully at reports linking him to corruption allegations over Qatar’s victorious 2022 World Cup bid. Hours after INSIDEworldfootball exclusively quoted a source close to Platini that discussions the Frenchman held with disgraced former Qatari powerbroker Mohamed bin Hammam were solely about bin Hamman’s efforts to secure a rival to Sepp Blatter for the FIFA presidency and nothing to do with 2022,
Football’s politicos head for Sao Paulo with FIFA ExCo pow-wow first up
By Andrew Warshaw
June 4 – While considerable focus is on the FIFA Congress in Sao Paulo next week, the executive committee agenda which precedes it this coming weekend could be just as appetising, containing a number of highly significant items that have dominated the political landscape in recent months.
Barcelona back in Spanish court over Neymar tax evasion case
June 4 – Spanish tax authorities have re-opened the Neymar tax case by claiming Barcelona have evaded a payment of €9.2 million in the signing of Brazilian World Cup superstar.