By Andrew Warshaw in Belo Horizonte
June 25 – Uruguay’s Luis Suarez faces the possibility of a lengthy FIFA ban after bringing infamy to the World Cup with yet another biting storm that has once again cast a dark shadow over the brilliant but highly temperamental striker.
June 24 – Die Unken haben gerufen, und was ist geschehen? “The best world cup ever”, meinte ein ITV Sportskommentator. “Die besten Fussballspiele seit Jahrzehnten”, meinte ein anderer Kollege aus deutschen Landen. “Korruption aller Orten”, heisst es allerdings in einschlägigen Kreisen.
By Mark Baber
June 24 – The French League (LFP) issued a statement yesterday announcing that 87 professional players in France will be investigated for having failed to comply with the regulations banning players from betting on LFP competitions.
June 24 – Spain may have tumbled out of their World Cup defence in Brazil but broadcast viewing figures of Spanish clubs Barcelona and Real Madrid globally suggest that the appetite for their brand of football will not be diminished, and the opportunity for advertisers and sponsors similarly.
By Andrew Warshaw in Belo Horizonte
June 24 – FIFA medical executives have hit back over Costa Rica’s protests about dope tests on its players as the row continued to simmer on the eve of the tournament’s surprise package playing its final Group D tie against England here tomorrow.
By Ben Nicholson
June 24 – The MLS has experienced a 6.1% year-on-year average increase in attendance, as recorded prior to the start of the FIFA World Cup. The league average attendance currently sits at 18,497 spectators per game.
By David Owen
June 24 – The exploits of Costa Rica and Belgium have helped smaller combatants in Brazil 2014’s Battle of the Brands to steal a march on their Big Three rivals. The perfect records compiled by the Red Devils and their Central American counterparts after two rounds of matches have provided four of the five wins recorded by teams not sporting Adidas, Nike or Puma shirts.
By Andrew Warshaw in Belo Horizonte
June 23 – The first match-fixing scam surrounding a country participating at the World Cup – though not linked to any of its actual matches here – has been fiercely denied by Ghanaian officials.
By Mark Baber
June 23 – Macau police claim to have smashed two illegal gambling rings, arresting 26 people in separate hotel raids and seizing cash and other evidence. The raids uncovered evidence of HK$5 billion in illegal bets on World Cup football matches in a week – including a single HK$40 million (£3 million) bet on one World Cup match.
By Paul Nicholson
June 23 – Human rights group Nonviolence International has released the full report written in conjunction with the Palestinian FA into the abuses and disruption by Israeli authorities of footballers and football in the Palestinian occupied territories.
By Jaroslaw Adamowski
June 23 – Eintracht Frankfurt is eyeing an expanded sponsorship deal with German airline Lufthansa. The deal could generate revenues of about €5 million for the football club over the next five years.
By David Owen
June 23 – South American teams have excelled in the second round of World Cup group matches, taking over from CONCACAF as the competition’s most successful region. While this could be interpreted as an example of making home advantage count, host-nation Brazil, held to a goalless draw by Mexico, were ironically the only South American side not to win their second match at the tournament.
June 23 – Cost control of World Cup stadium build and accusations of corruption is not an issue confined to Brazil. Russia’s state Audit Chamber has found that the design work for its 2018 stadia has been over-priced by as much as 3 billion rubles ($88 million).
By Andrew Warshaw in Belo Horizonte
June 22 – Costa Rica’s football federation has sent a letter to FIFA demanding an explanation for why so many of its players were required to take dope tests following their stunning victory over Italy that qualified them for the last 16 of the World Cup for only the second time in their history.
By David Owen
June 21 – FIFA has set out detailed arrangements for payment of the $750,000 bonus promised earlier this month by its President Joseph Blatter to all 209 member associations.