Integrity – Inside World Football

French launch criminal probe into Belgian football agent Mogi Bayat

Paul Nicholson — Wed, 12 Apr 2023 05:17:13 +0000

April 12 – Authorities in Rennes have launched a judicial investigation into Belgian-Iranian football agent Mogi Bayat on suspicion of “illegal exercise of the profession of players’ agent, money laundering and gang formation”.

“The preliminary investigation carried out by the Rennes public prosecutor’s office led to the launch of a judicial investigation on June 29, 2022,” local prosecutor Philipe Astruc told the French sports daily L’Equipe.

Bayat has long enjoyed strong ties with FC Nantes,

Freedom of speech therapy: Lineker to return to BBC’s after suspension over asylum tweet

Paul Nicholson — Mon, 13 Mar 2023 07:50:25 +0000

March 13 – The BBC staged a u-turn and reinstated its highest-paid tv presenter Gary Lineker today following a near-mutiny over its decision to take the former England captain off the air because of his criticism of the rhetoric around government migration policy.

Lineker will return to the airwaves after the BBC reversed his suspension for a tweet last week that slammed Britain’s new asylum policy.

“Gary is a valued part of the BBC and I know how much the BBC means to Gary,

Indonesian court jails match officials over 135 deaths in Kanjuruhan stadium disaster

Paul Nicholson — Thu, 09 Mar 2023 09:30:09 +0000

March 9 – An Indonesian court has handed prison sentences to two match officials after finding them guilty of negligence over one of the world’s deadliest stadium disasters.

The October 2022 derby in Malang, East Java, at the Kanjuruhan stadium between Arema FC and Persebaya Surabaya ended in chaos with 135 spectators killed, many crushed as they fled for exits after police fired tear gas into the crowd.

Match organiser Abdul Haris was found guilty “due to his negligence causing people to die and get severely injured”,

Barca to face prosecution over payments made to former referee boss, reports

Paul Nicholson — Wed, 08 Mar 2023 09:31:45 +0000

March 8 – Prosecutors are poised to charge Barcelona over the club’s alleged payments to a company that belonged to the former the vice president of Spain’s refereeing committee, according to Spanish media.

El Pais said its report was based on unnamed sources close to the matter.

Barca denies any wrongdoing and says the money paid to DASNIL 95, owned Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira, between 2016-18, was for consultancy advice on referees and that it never tried to influence their decisions in games.

Italian prosecutor Polcini takes chair of global integrity group SIGA

Paul Nicholson — Mon, 06 Mar 2023 08:41:38 +0000

March 5 – The Sports Integrity Global Alliance (SIGA) has elected Italian magistrate Giovanni Tartaglia Polcini as the integrity body’s new independent and non-executive Chair. He replaces Franco Frattini who passed away on Christmas Eve.

Polcini (pictured) has been a Public Prosecutor in Italy for almost 20 years. Currently, he is the senior Legal Advisor of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Italy, coordinator of anti-corruption activities and co-chair of the G20 Anti-Corruption Working Group,

PSG and Moroccan star Achraf Hakimi charged with rape

Paul Nicholson — Fri, 03 Mar 2023 07:21:22 +0000

March 3 – Paris St Germain’s Moroccan international Achraf Hakimi is facing a criminal investigation in France following an allegation of rape, prosecutors have confirmed.

Hakimi, 24, was questioned by prosecutors on Thursday in connection with accusations from a 24-year-old woman, and subsequently charged.

The Madrid-born player, who was a key part of Morocco’s historic run to the semi-finals of the World Cup in Qatar, was seen at PSG training on Friday morning.

Russia remains out in the cold after Swiss court rejects appeal against CAS ruling

Paul Nicholson — Fri, 24 Feb 2023 08:58:21 +0000

February 24 – The Russian Football Union’s (RFU) has had its appeal to the Swiss Supreme Court over the suspension of its national teams and clubs from international tournaments dismissed as it missed the deadline.

“The appeal was filed late and therefore cannot be considered,” said a court statement.

“Therefore, the judge declared the appeal inadmissible.

“No costs are charged or awarded.

“This decision is brought to the attention of the parties and CAS.”

‘Flight risk’ Alves refused bail in Spain over sexual assault charges

Paul Nicholson — Wed, 22 Feb 2023 08:34:23 +0000

February 22 – Brazil’s former Barcelona star Dani Alves has had a request to be released from jail on bail rejected by a Spanish court as the investigation into an alleged sexual assault continues.

Alves (pictured) has been described as a flight risk due to his wealth, meaning he will stay behind bars – stopping him from returning to his homeland.

Alves was arrested last month after he was accused of sexual assault in a nightclub on December 30 and was jailed without bail after an initial investigation.

Spurs, FA and Kick It Out demand action by social media firms after online abuse of Son

Paul Nicholson — Mon, 20 Feb 2023 12:14:13 +0000

February 20 – Tottenham Hotspur have called for social media companies to take action after their South Korean forward Son Heung-min, captain of his national team, was subjected to “utterly reprehensible” racist abuse online.

The abuse occurred during Sunday’s 2-0 Premier League victory over West Ham, during which substitute Son scored Spurs’ second goal.

“We have been made aware of the utterly reprehensible online racist abuse directed at Heung-Min Son during today’s match,

Scots and Welsh FA’s dedicate Pinatar Cup clash to Football v Homophobia campaign

Paul Nicholson — Sun, 19 Feb 2023 09:00:21 +0000

February 19 – The Scottish FA and the Football Association of Wales (FAW) have dedicated the February 21, Scotland v Wales match at the Pinatar Cup tournament to the Football v Homophobia campaign.

The Pinatar , now in its third edition, is an international women’s tournament being held in San Pedro del Pinatar, Spain, from 15 to 21 February 2023. Iceland and the Philippines are the other two competing teams. Iceland and Wales are joint top of the table going into the final round of matches on February 21.