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It is clear that the Northamptonshire Police inquiry into alleged financial impropriety connected with a £10.25m loan to Northampton Town Football Club (under its previous ownership) is consuming considerable resources and is being conducted in a commendably thorough fashion.
Spanish league president Javier Tebas is keeping up the heat on Manchester City. He has threatened to complain to the European Commission if Uefa do not take action against Manchester City as well as Paris Saint-Germain for an alleged breach of state aid rules. If that complaint does not succeed, they will resort to the courts.
However, he has also opened a new front over five players loaned to Girona, which is part-owned by City. For their part, City have described some of Tebas’s comments as ‘pure fiction’ and they are taking legal advice.
Uefa is becoming increasingly concerned about competitive imbalance in European football with the emergence of super clubs, state surrogates in the case of Paris Saint-Germain. They think that a situation in which only a small number of clubs could win the Champions League could reduce the appeal of the game and hence broadcast income.
Premier League clubs have long been frustrated at their lack of success in the Champions League, falling foul of the likes of Barcelona, Real Madrid, Athletico Madrid, Bayern Munich etc. Now they have another super club to contend with in the shape of Paris Saint-Germain (PSG). Up to now there has been a tendency to dismiss what has been happening in France and it has to be admitted that the league as a whole is not that strong.
Bolton Wanderers are hoping a solution can be found between Dean Holdsworth’s Sports Shield company and its creditors. Sports Shield have a 37.5 per cent stake in the club. The hearing of a winding up order against Sports Shield has been deferred until August 21st.
The whole matter is complicated and the English Football League has become involved. Their agreement is required to a proposed solution. However, there is no impact on the club’s day-to-day operations.
Sports lawyer Daniel Geey discusses how the signing of Neymar by Paris Saint-Germain relates to financial fair play (FFP) rules.
The FFP rules were revised in 2015, so clubs must show that they do not have losses of more than €30m over a three year period, although spending on stadiums and youth development are exempted. Javier Tebas, La Liga president, believes the Neymar deal would breach FFP.
Football fans will find it more difficult to stream matches illegally after a High Court blocking order hailed as a major victory by the Premier League.
The Premiership has obtained an injunction requiring internet service providers to promptly block access to servers that are illegally showing its games this season. Once notified by the Premier League, the ISPs must act while the match is being played. Some ISPs will be especially willing to cooperate as they are the victims of piracy themselves.
The head of Spain’s football federation was arrested yesterday in an investigation into suspected corruption by top officials.
Angel Maria Villar, his son Gorka Villar, and several Spanish federation executives were detained by Spanish police on suspicion of embezzlement, fraud and collusion. Mr Villar Snr, a former player for the Spanish national team, has been president of the federation for almost 30 years and is also a vice-president of Fifa and Uefa.
A profit of £180k at Gillingham in 2015 turned into a loss of £800,000 in the year ended May 2016. Turnover was flat at £5.68m.
The wage bill was up 10 per cent in 2016, but is less than Ibrahimovic earns in ten weeks, illustrating the gap between the Premier League and League One. The whole squad cost £80k and no player was signed for a fee in 2016.
A dispute with caterers Centerplate is to go to court in November 2017. Out of court settlements have been rejected.
A winding up petition has been issued against Bolton Wanderers over an unpaid £5m loan. The loan, from a finance company, was used to fund the takeover of the club. The case will be heard on May 22nd.