Italy

Italian rugby union club Benetton Treviso has said it will exit the Pro12 at the end of the current season due to uncertainty over the league’s future.

Massimo Cellino, the owner of Cagliari, has reached a deal to sell the Italian Serie A top-tier football club to Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) owners the Al Thani family, according to Gazzetta dello Sport.

Sports media and technology firm Deltatre has acquired German premium sports data and digital media services provider Impire, with the agreement marking the first corporate acquisition in the Italian firm’s 28-year history.

Lega Serie A president Maurizio Beretta has said the organisation is considering returning to an 18-team format in the top division of Italian football.

Italy and AC Milan football star Mario Balotelli has agreed a long-term partnership with German-based sportswear brand Puma.

Former AC Milan star and Italy midfielder Gennaro Gattuso was placed under investigation today as part of the latest development in Italian football’s long-running ‘Last Bet’ match-fixing scandal.

Rugby Football Union chief executive Ian Ritchie has said he is optimistic that a pan-European rugby union competition can be salvaged for next season.

Italian Serie A football club Inter Milan has announced a strategic partnership with US Major League Soccer outfit D.C. United, with both teams owned by Indonesian businessman Erick Thohir.

Long-time AC Milan chief executive Adriano Galliani will stay on in his position at the Italian Serie A football club despite handing in his resignation, according to president Silvio Berlusconi.

AS Roma president James Pallotta has rejected speculation surrounding possible Chinese investment in the Italian Serie A football club, criticising Italian banking group UniCredit’s “foolish and embarrassing” comments on the matter.

Italian banking group UniCredit has said it would consider the sale of its indirect stake in Serie A football club AS Roma, following reports linking a Chinese investor with the American-owned club.

Italy’s deputy prime minister Angelino Alfano has cited English Championship football club Brighton and Hove Albion as a role model for Italian clubs in a campaign to improve ageing football stadia.

Italian Serie A football club Inter Milan has appointed new owner Erick Thohir president.

Sports marketing researcher REPUCOM has acquired Italian sports research agency Immagine & Sport.

The International Centre for Sport Security (ICSS) has partnered with the Italian Professional Football League (Pro League) in a bid to combat match-fixing.

Italian Serie A football clubs Juventus and Livorno have appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), following FIFA’s order for the teams to help foot English Premier League (EPL) Chelsea’s bill for its former player Adrian Mutu.