Stefan Szymanski

Este archivo solo abarca los artículos del autor incorporados a este sitio a partir del 1 de diciembre de 2006. Para fechas anteriores realice una búsqueda entrecomillando su nombre.

The arrests Wednesday of nine senior officials of FIFA, among 14 people indicted by the United States Department of Justice on corruption charges, shook soccer’s world governing body as it met in Zurich for its annual Congress. America’s new top law officer, Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch, told reporters that one FIFA official alone had accepted more than $10 million in bribes.

In one sense, this is no surprise: Allegations of corruption at FIFA go back decades. FIFA itself has long since admitted, for example, that its officials took kickbacks from a Swiss company that marketed broadcast rights to the World Cup between 1992 and 2000.…  Seguir leyendo »

The 161-page indictment filed against 14 individuals connected to FIFA makes depressing reading. It identifies page after page of what the U.S. Justice Department says are corrupt transactions, usually involving the sale of marketing or broadcast rights relating to national football teams and international competitions, not least the FIFA World Cup.

According to the indictment, the typical scheme went like this: someone senior in the federation (the indictment is entirely related to the federations of North and South America) would sell the distribution rights to a marketing company, which would then sell those rights to a TV channel or sporting goods company that would ultimately make money by selling to customers.…  Seguir leyendo »

How free do you think you are? Suppose someone approached you tomorrow and offered to double your current salary if you came to work for them — are you free to go?

You probably think you are but, depending on the type of contract you have, you might not be. If, for example, you are a smart software developer your employer may have put a clause in your terms of employment preventing you from working for the competition until your contract expires. And anyone inducing you to breach this contract would be guilty of tortious interference, and liable to pay damages if they succeeded in luring you away.…  Seguir leyendo »

World's greatest player, world's greatest transfer fee, the world's two greatest clubs (or so they would say): what is going on in world football? A seismic shift in the balance of power or just hype? Here is your quick guide to the winners, the losers and the score draws.

The Glazer family

The rich just got richer. Eighty million pounds represents an addition of about 5 per cent to the net worth of the Glazer family, who have a controlling stake in Manchester United; OK, not quite, since selling Ronaldo means a fall in shirt sales next year, but that's not as important as you probably think - all merchandising sales by United last year produced less than £80 million for the club (largely thanks to the counterfeit trade).…  Seguir leyendo »