The penalty given in the early stages of the Champions League fixture between Manchester City and Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday night has been hailed as amongst the “worst penalty decision[s] ever” by the BBC. Since there was no VAR and the fourth official appeared silent on the issue, the penalty stood and Gabriel Jesus put … Continue Reading
Eleven Sports, the global sports provider, has contravened UEFA rules, which prohibit live coverage of football in the UK between 14:45 and 17:15 on Saturdays by broadcasting Barcelona’s La Liga fixture against Athletic Bilbao. This period on a Saturday afternoon is commonly referred to as the football “blackout” as the UK does not broadcast any matches during … Continue Reading
In recent weeks, the media has reacted rather dramatically to the decision handed down by the Brussel’s Court of Appeal on 28 August 2018, in a case brought by Belgian football club RFC Seraing (Seraing). The precise impact of the decision remains to be seen although it is unlikely that this represents the fall of … Continue Reading
Traditionally during the British summer months, sports other than football get to dominate the headlines through the game’s summer break. Despite recent events in Russia lengthening last year’s football season, this weekend saw a number of non-football related events take the sporting headlines: England won a thrilling test match in the first of five this … Continue Reading
On 27 June 2018, UEFA’s Adjudicatory Chamber of the Club Financial Control Body (“CFCB”) issued a decision to exclude AC Milan from participating in the next UEFA club competition for which it would otherwise qualify in for the next two seasons. This meant that AC Milan would be prevented from competing in the Europa League … Continue Reading
Italy’s Council of Ministers has approved a blanket ban on gambling advertising in the country, which will take effect on 1 January 2019. The Council of Ministers has the power to pass decrees with legal force in cases where Parliament has expressly delegated legislative authority to the Council. In recent years, there has been a … Continue Reading
Scoring at a World Cup deserves a celebration and we have been entertained by a range of them throughout the tournament. From Fortnite inspired dances by Lingard and Griezmann to Colombia’s choreographed routine and Batshuayi’s self-inflicting kick in the face. Yet none of these resulted in the same reaction from FIFA as Xhaka and Shaqiri’s … Continue Reading
With most footballing eyes firmly on the World Cup, and England’s crunch match with Belgium, the Football Association’s League Committee (FALC) has announced a change in the way the National League System (NLS) is going to be structured going forward in order to create a more consistent system across the country that standardises the movement … Continue Reading
I admit I was disappointed picking Iran in the office World Cup sweepstake. I was even more disappointed when I then discovered the national side had not been supplied with their usual Nike football boots shortly before the tournament. Nike withdrew their supply of boots to Iran due to US sanctions. In May 2018, Donald … Continue Reading
The 2018 FIFA World Cup has now kicked off in Russia after much anticipation. So far, it has not failed to entertain, ensuring a number of dramatic upsets and last minute goals that remind us why it is the most watched and highly anticipated competition in the world. As such, one can see why it … Continue Reading
The 2018 FIFA World Cup, which kicked off today in Moscow, will be Paolo Guerrero’s first. He is the captain of Peru’s football team and it will be the country’s first World Cup in 36 years. Yet for months it was feared that Guerrero would not be able to play due to his 14-month ban … Continue Reading
A controversial question I know, but let’s looks at the facts: Cricket – Yesterday, Scotland beat a full strength England side, the number one ranked side in the World, in a One Day International in Edinburgh. The host team scored a record beating 371 runs before dismissing England for 365 with more than an over … Continue Reading
As the Turkish Süper Lig draws to a close a record 16 match ban (i.e. the rest of this season and 14 games in the following season) has been given out to Barcelona loanee Arda Turan for pushing a match official during a heated 1 – 1 draw between İstanbul Başakşehir and Sivasspor. After the … Continue Reading
UEFA, the governing body for European football, has issued a stark warning to European clubs not to breach its licensing rules and regulations. The UEFA Club Financial Control Body Adjudicatory Chamber (the “Adjudicatory Chamber”) imposed a €235,000 fine on FC Sion as well as a two year ban on competing in UEFA competitions for breaching … Continue Reading
UEFA is investigating the conduct of Liverpool fans over the two-legs of Liverpool’s Champions League quarterfinal fixture. UEFA has charged Liverpool under Article 16(2) of the UEFA Disciplinary Regulations, which provides: However, all associations and clubs are liable for the following inappropriate behaviour on the part of their supporters and may be subject to disciplinary … Continue Reading
Norwich City Football Club has successfully issued a bond for £5,000,000. The five year, fixed term unsecured bond is intended to be ring-fenced to be invested in the club’s academy. The terms of the bond include a 8% annual interest rate that the club will pay to investors, of this 5% of the interest will be … Continue Reading
Planning disputes don’t often lead to the host of Match of the Day tweeting their outrage. However, the ongoing saga between Southwark Council and Meadow Residential LLP (“Meadow”), has drawn the ire of Gary Lineker and other prominent figures in the football world. At the centre of the dispute is non-league Dulwich Hamlets FC (“DHFC”). … Continue Reading
UEFA has today announced a raft of new changes to the regulations of the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League for the start of the 2018/2019 season. Following February’s UEFA Executive Committee meeting in Bratislava and the decisions taken by the International Football Association Board (“IFAB”) on 3 March 2018 in Zurich, the following … Continue Reading
UEFA has announced that it will implement a number of changes to its UEFA Champions League competition, commencing from next season. The summary of the key changes are listed and explored further below: More teams will qualify directly for the group stage of the competition: 26 next season compared to 22 this season. The top … Continue Reading
On Wednesday evening, while the inclement weather brought about by The Beast from the East caused chaos to the United Kingdom’s basic transport infrastructure, another form of chaos was evident in North West London. At Wembley, Tottenham Hotspur played the replay of their FA Cup tie fifth round tie against Rochdale AFC in freezing conditions. … Continue Reading
In 2016, FIFA disbanded its anti-racism task force, citing that its work was complete ahead of the 2018 World Cup in Russia. FIFA wrote that the task force “completely fulfilled its temporary mission”, which was to develop concrete solutions to fight discrimination in football and strengthen FIFA’s approach to the issue. Whilst FIFA declares that … Continue Reading
This article sets out a summary of several recent cases involving intermediaries and seeks to distill the lessons that can be adopted by intermediaries in what is, two years after the changes to the regulatory landscape, still an uncertain time for intermediaries. Introduction Football intermediaries (or football agents, as they were formerly known) are of … Continue Reading
Having won its group in the Champions League this season, Manchester United meet Sevilla in the last 16 stage of the Champions League. This round will be made up of two legs: the first match will be played at Sevilla’s Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium whilst the return leg will be played at Old Trafford. However, … Continue Reading
In 2015, it was announced that Nike had agreed an apparel deal with the NBA, beginning with the 2017-2018 season. At the time, Adam Silver, the NBA Commissioner, stated that: “This partnership with Nike represents a new paradigm in the structure of our global merchandising business. As our exclusive oncourt apparel provider, Nike will be … Continue Reading
