By Andrew Warshaw
May 21 – As Scottish football prepares to discuss ground-breaking plans to preserve its very future, crisis-torn Edinburgh club Hearts have avoided immediate relegation after the Scottish Premier League decided the club’s financial problems had not breached its rules before the end of the season.
By Mark Baber
May 21 – UEFA has signed an agreement with the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) which becomes the seventh official sponsor of UEFA’s national team competitions, including the UEFA European Football Championships.
By Andrew Warshaw
May 21 – Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff staged a bullish defence of her country’s preparations for the forthcoming Confederations Cup when she officially inaugurated the last of six stadiums being used for the World Cup warm-up event.
By Andrew Warshaw
May 21 – Despite renewed efforts from football’s authorities to try and eradicate racism, Italy’s season ended with yet more examples of discrimination – just a week after FIFA president Sepp Blatter’s personal intervention over the issue.
By Andrew Warshaw
May 21 – George Becali, outspoken owner of leading Romanian club Steaua Bucharest, has been jailed for abuse of power in his role a member of parliament, according to local reports.
Today, in Switzerland, corruption is only a crime when it involves state employees or – in the private sector – when it occurs in a competitive environment. This will change soon.
Last week, the Swiss government published a proposal to tighten their corruption law. Even though, officially, it does not target FIFA, it is clear that the new law is nothing else than a Lex FIFA.
Since 2006,
May 20 – With FIFA having concluded all its 2014 World Cup sponsorships last week with the announcement of Brazilian sports retailer Centauro as the sixth and final national sponsor, it has followed up swiftly this week with the unveiling of INTERSPORT as the Official Event Shop of the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil.
By Mark Baber
May 20 – Mixed messages have been emerging over the last week regarding the controversial issue of allowing Saudi women to attend football games.
By Andrew Warshaw
May 20 – The timing could hardly be more embarrassing. Just days before the great and the good of world football roll into town for the FIFA Congress, the Indian ocean island of Mauritius – usually known more as a luxury holiday destination than for any major involvement with football – has been hit by a match-fixing scandal.
By Mark Baber
May 20 – In a deal estimated to be worth €25 million per season, newly crowned French champions Paris St Germain (PSG) have officially extended their shirt sponsorship deal with Dubai airline Emirates for another five years until the end of the 2018/19 season.
By Andrew Warshaw
May 20 – Activists from several European countries are planning to stage a rally outside this week’s UEFA Congress in London protesting against the decision to hand this summer’s European Under-21 championship to Israel.
By Andrew Warshaw, chief correspondent
May 20 – Monaco are planning to take the French football authorities to court after being refused permission to rejoin the country’s top flight in a seething row over tax status. Although a self-contained adjacent principality, Monaco have been playing in the French league for nearly a century and were Champions League runners up in 2004.
By Andrew Warshaw
May 17 – FIFA looks set to be among a raft of international sporting organisations that will be subject to new anti-corruption laws under Swiss government proposals designed to make sure the country’s image doesn’t suffer.
By Mark Baber
May 17 – Singapore and Vietnam have both appointed new supremos for their national teams in advance of the upcoming Asian Cup qualifiers.
