About: football Archives

Joaquín Almunia, the Spanish Commissioner in charge of policing the EU's antitrust rules, has denied accusations of a conflict of interest in the handling of an investigation into unfair tax breaks worth billions of euros given to Spanish football clubs, including Real Madrid and Barcelona.

The European Commission plans to reject a complaint filed against UEFA's new rules punishing soccer clubs which run up big financial losses, a source close to the process said yesterday (20 May).

The European Commission will begin disciplinary action against seven Spanish clubs including Real Madrid and Barcelona over possible illegal state aid, Spanish foreign minister Jose Manuel Garcia Margallo said on Monday (16 December).

EXCLUSIVE / A call has gone out for the international community to shun the 2022 World Cup in Qatar unless it reforms its indentured labour practices on the Unesco International Day for Remembrance of the Slave Trade (23 August).

Plans for an EU-wide legal approach to match-fixing and money laundering in sport are under way, with the European Parliament committee on mafia and organised crime holding a debate on the issue yesterday (17 September).

The Euro 2012 became a genuine festival of people-to-people contacts and cultural exchange in a wider United Europe by taking place in "undiscovered territory" - Ukraine, Kostiantyn Yelisieiev say in an op-ed first published in The Guardian.

A Ukrainian diplomat yesterday (5 June) slammed a BBC documentary depicting the presence of racism and hatred at stadiums in his country. The documentary was released just days before Friday's start of the Euro 2012 football cup, which Ukraine is co-hosting with Poland.

UEFA President Michel Platini this week (22 March) pledged to continue his efforts to keep a lid on club spending and combat match-fixing and crowd violence following his re-election as president of European football’s governing body. 

EU Sport Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou has described as "incredible" some of the recent multimillion euro transfer fees paid for professional football players. In an interview with EURACTIV, she announced that the European Commission will look into the possibility of taking action, including capping fees.

FIFA awarded the 2018 World Cup finals to Russia yesterday (2 December), shattering the hopes of a bemused England and rejecting joint bids from Spain/Portugal and Belgium/The Netherlands.

Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) could be excluded from playing international football. In football as in politics, the country is represented by its three ethnic entities, but international football bodies FIFA and UEFA have warned that the relationship is unmanageable.

While the International Monetary Fund has predicted a 0.4% decrease in the Spanish economy this year, economists note that the euphoria generated by Spain winning the FIFA World Cup for the first time ever yesterday (11 July) may boost growth by up to 0.7%.

The successful preparation of Euro 2012 will be a moral application for Ukrainian EU membership, the country'se deputy foreign affairs minister, Konstantin Yelisieiev, told EURACTIV in an exclusive interview.

European football clubs who train young players only to see them sign their first professional contract with another EU team can now claim compensation for the loss, European judges ruled yesterday (16 March).

Poland and Ukraine still have minor problems to solve but are otherwise making good progress as they prepare to host Euro 2012, UEFA President Michel Platini said last weekend.

The 'United Against Malaria' campaign hopes to use the excitement of preparations for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa to help the continent win the fight against malaria, a preventable disease which kills a child every 30 seconds and nearly one million people per year.

The Homeless World Cup 2009, an international street soccer event for homeless people around the globe, is underway in the city of Milan, providing players from 48 nations with a unique chance to change their lives. 

Due to the ongoing economic crisis, Ukraine is having difficulty financing the infrastructure needed to co-host Euro 2012 with Poland. According to UEFA's alternative plan, some matches may take place in the German cities of Berlin and Leipzig instead.

While football clubs have not been hit directly by the economic crisis, the time is right to take a closer look at clubs' balance sheets and oblige them to respect a safe ratio between income and cost, argued a representatiive of the European Clubs Association in an interview with EURACTIV.

While football clubs have not been hit directly by the economic crisis, the time is right to take a closer look at clubs' balance sheets and oblige them to respect a safe ratio between income and cost, argued a representatiive of the European Clubs Association (ECA) in an interview with EURACTIV.

Sepp Blatter, the head of the world football governing body FIFA, yesterday (6 October) defended a proposed rule according to which no more than five foreign players per team would be allowed to start a match.

Pressure is building on European football authorities to step up the fight against racism as the chair of the sports intergroup in the European Parliament called on UEFA to impose punishments on clubs, players and fans involved in racist acts.

FIFA is determined to convince the European Commission that imposing the controversial '6+5' rule on football teams does not breach EU law and will benefit the sport by restoring some level of national identity to clubs, combating the over-concentration of wealth in top clubs and guaranteeing equal opportunities to compete in the sector, FIFA's chief of international relations told EURACTIV in an interview.