Finance & Law

Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A club Botafogo, one of Brazil’s most historic football teams, has had its accounts frozen as its financial crisis deepens.

Laura Phillips and Matthew Duncan from Kingsley Napley LLP are both part of the firm’s ‘Public Eye, Private Lives’ campaign that supports high-profile figures in the media. They explain the possible repercussions for sportspeople who get caught up in the furore around tax avoidance schemes.

The European Commission (EC) has rejected a legal challenge to the Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules that have been implemented by football’s European governing body Uefa.

English and French champions Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) have agreed settlements with Uefa involving €60m ($83.4m) fines for breaching Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations, but maintained their unhappiness at the assessment of their financial status by football’s European governing body.

Doyen Sports, an investment fund that finances player purchases for professional football clubs, has announced its intention to expand into the English Premier League.

Sports venues and hotels that were used during Sochi’s hosting of the 2014 winter Olympics have been granted a tax break by the Russian city’s regional government in an attempt to save on costs following the Games earlier this year.

Manchester United has continued its descent down Forbes’ annual rankings of the world’s most valuable football clubs as Real Madrid and Barcelona ensured a Spanish lockout of the top-two positions for the first time since the business media outlet began the list a decade ago.

French Ligue 1 champion Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and English Premier League club Manchester City are facing fines of €60m ($83.4m) and restrictions on their Champions League squads for next season for breaking Uefa’s Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations, according to multiple reports.

Spanish Liga club Barcelona has announced that the Spanish Football League (LFP) has found no evidence of any “irregular conduct” from its controversial summer signing of Brazilian superstar Neymar.

Formula One chief executive Bernie Ecclestone today launched his defence against charges of bribing a public official as court hearings commenced in Munich that could ultimately result in the 83-year-old losing his long-held status as the motor racing series’ most powerful figure.

Michel Platini, president of European football’s governing body Uefa, said he does not expect clubs that breach its Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules to be banned from next season’s Champions League or Europa League club competitions.

Spanish Liga football club Barcelona will be able to strengthen its squad during the summer transfer window after Fifa elected to suspend a ban it had imposed on the Catalan giant.

The much-hyped Indian Super League (ISL) took another major step towards its launch on Sunday as the likes of Spanish Liga club Atletico Madrid, cricket legends Sachin Tendulkar (pictured) and Sourav Ganguly and Bollywood stars were confirmed as owners of the eight teams that will compete in the new football competition.

NBA basketball franchise the Indiana Pacers are set to remain in Indianapolis after a deal worth a reported $160m (€116.1m) was agreed to keep the team in the city.

Tom Ricketts, owner of MLB baseball outfit the Chicago Cubs, has said the franchise is considering selling minority shares in the team in order to help finance a $500m (€362.8m) renovation of its Wrigley Field ballpark.

The New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU), the governing body of rugby union in the country, has posted a NZ$2.9m (€1.8m/$2.5m) profit for the 2013 financial year to boost its cash reserves by more than $13m to $63.7m.