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A European Commission investigation into illegal state aids to Spanish football clubs will be concluded by the end of the summer. Seven clubs are involved, including Barcelona and Real Madrid.
If the allegations are found to be justified, they could face paying back billions of euros. However, the Spanish government has said it will defend the clubs to the last as they are part of Spain’s ‘brand’.
Commercial sponsors could hold the key to the outcome of the crisis at Fifa. MacDonalds and adidas, two of the headline sponsors for the 2018 World Cup, expressed grave concern at the fresh wave of allegations of systematic corruption within Fifa.
However, the strongest line has taken by Visa. Any company involved in financial services has a particular interest in not being tainted by allegations of corruption.
In a statement, Visa said:
To compound their misery at relegation from the Premier League, Queens Park Rangers face the prospect of a fine in excess of £50m for breach of financial fair play regulations. They could even be expelled from professional football.
The Labour Party manifesto issued today contains a section on football, a subject of considerable interest to shadow health minister Andy Burnham.
It states, ‘Football clubs are an important part of many people’s identity and sense of belonging. They are more than just businesses. But despite their importance in the lives of their members and supporters, too often there are no effectivemeans for fans to have a say in how their clubs are run.’
Football Association chairman Greg Dyke has declared war on the Premier League with his proposal for drastic changes to the home grown player rule. The Premier League relies on searching the world for the best mature talent and enticing players with high wages, even if sometimes expensive mistakes are made.
While saying that he would prefer to proceed by consensus, Dyke has made it clear that he will be prepared to force the changes through. He has said that he could get Uefa to change the rules or the Football Association could change the rules.
The chief operating officer at Leeds United, Matt Child, has left the club. The lifelong fan only took up the role in December and was running the club while owner Massimo Cellino was serving his ban from the Football League.
Reference is sometimes made to the British equivalent of the ‘California effect’ in the United States. This means that legislation pioneered in California is then adopted by other states or used as a model at a federal level. Air quality law offers a good example.
The equivalent in the UK is the Scottish Parliament passing laws which might then be adopted elsewhere in the UK. However, the ‘Barnett formula’ does ensure that the Scottish Government has more money to play with.
Mick Williams has resigned from the board at Portsmouth after a disagreement over a decision involving the Supporters’ Trust. He was a key figure in rescuing the club from liquidation and bringing it into fan ownership.
He has not elaborated on his reasons, but says that it is a matter of principle.
Plans are in place for Bath City to become the next supporter owned club. However, fans need to raise £1.4m to acquire the club, pay off creditors and provide enough working funds for next season. Former chairman Mandy Rigby is owed £170k.
The new left-wing Greek Government has had to compromise in its negotiations with the European Union and now it has had to back down on a proposed indefinite ban on football in the Greek Super League. Governing party Syriza is facing internal tensions over its deal with the EU and could not expend political capital stopping the country’s favourite sport. There will now be just a ban on this weekend’s Super League Matches.