Governing Bodies
ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE AT RISK OF NOT FINISHING THIS SEASON
British football is facing a crisis that is unprecedented in the modern era, after the postponement of the league seasons in England plunged clubs into a spell of financial and legal uncertainties.
While there is relief across the game that football has taken the decision to suspend play until April 4 amid the coronavirus pandemic, there is concern that the season may never be completed.
With a three-week period at least before another ball is kicked, many issues are set to come to the fore that could provide clubs with significant challenges.
One senior figure in broadcasting told the Times of London: “The commercial reality for the Premier League and Uefa is that if they don’t complete their seasons, then they are in breach of their broadcasting contracts.
“You would have broadcasters from all around the world saying, ‘In that case we are not paying for the season’. For the Premier League you are talking around £3 billion (S$5.24 billion) income a year from overseas and domestic TV rights.”
Football finance expert Kieran Maguire told the BBC that, with the uncertainty surrounding the way the Premier League will finish, if at all, some have suggested clubs could have grounds to sue if they are relegated in the unusual circumstances.
“Certainly clubs will be taking legal advice,” he said. “The difference between a Premier League broadcasting deal, which is worth a minimum of £100m a season, to the £7m you get in the Championship is so significant that I think clubs would be foolish not to explore all options, including making a litigious appeal.”
Contractual obligations with sponsors could also affect clubs up and down the football pyramid.
“At the moment every club will be looking at key contracts with sponsors and advertisers, trying to identify where the risk hotspots are,” said Andrew McGregor, a senior associate at sports law firm Brabners.
“The commercial concerns will be around a reduction in value of contracts caused by suspension or playing behind closed doors. Take perimeter advertising, which in the Premier League can sell for anything from £30,000 to £60,000 a minute. Partners will have minutes included in their deals with the club; so what happens if there are no fans in the stadium?”
Contractual obligations to partners and sponsors are just one part of the picture. Centrally there is the issue of wages, not only for players but support and ground staff.
There is also the possibility of legal claims being brought by third party contractors such as caterers or in-house betting providers, if games do not go ahead.
Another factor that could complicate any hopes of completing the season is the timing of players’ contracts. Commonly contracts run until June 30, which would mean that, if delayed matches were to be played later than that date, players who had previously been under contract, may no longer be and could in fact have agreed deals to sign at new clubs.
Uefa is calling for a meeting this Tuesday, when it is expected to postpone Euro 2020 till next year, which will vacate the summer for domestic league matches to resume. But even if the tournament is called off, it is unsure whether there is sufficient time to complete league matches, particularly as resumption is unlikely in three weeks.
Football Association chairman Greg Clarke has reportedly told the Premier League he does not believe the season will be completed because of the pandemic.
The issues would probably apply as well to the rest of Europe’s top leagues, which are mostly also suspended till April 4 and are likely to feel a greater impact if they are unable to complete their seasons.
In England, Premier League clubs who have profited from huge TV deals should be able to handle a few weeks without matches, but the effects will immediately be felt elsewhere.
“At the end of the day, it’s about financing professional football,” Bayern Munich chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge warned when asked if it might be better to stop playing football in Germany for the rest of the season. “If payments due from broadcasters don’t come in, a lot of small-and mid-size clubs will have liquidity problems.”
According to a study by Spanish radio station Cope, La Liga clubs would lose a combined total of over €600 million (S$943 million) in income from television and ticketing if no more matches were played this season.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said on Friday football was no longer a priority amid the pandemic and society must do all it can to put health first.
But perhaps, the financial and legal repercussions could be too great for European football to bear.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS, THE GUARDIAN
World football governing body, FIFA, today clocks its 122nd anniversary, celebrating more than a century of overseeing and expanding the global game.
Founded on May 21, 1904, in Paris, France, FIFA began with just seven member associations — France, Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.
From that modest beginning, the organisation has grown into the most influential sports governing body in the world, with 211 member associations spread across all continents.
Over the decades, FIFA has transformed football into a truly global phenomenon through competitions such as the FIFA World Cup, Women’s World Cup, Club World Cup, youth tournaments, and developmental programmes aimed at growing the game worldwide.
The organisation has also witnessed remarkable milestones, including the expansion of the men’s World Cup from 13 teams in 1930 to 48 teams beginning from the 2026 edition to be jointly hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
FIFA’s journey has equally reflected football’s growing influence beyond sport, with the game becoming a major tool for diplomacy, social inclusion, youth empowerment, and economic development across the world.
As FIFA celebrates 122 years of existence, attention is now focused on the future of the game, technological innovations, expanded competitions, women’s football growth, and the continued globalisation of football.
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UEFA has issued a lifetime ban to Petr Vlachovsky, a Czech women’s soccer coach who secretly filmed his players, the governing body announced on Tuesday.
Czech media reported that the coach was convicted in May 2025 and initially received a suspended one-year prison sentence and a five-year domestic coaching ban for filming FC Slovacko’s players in changing rooms, the youngest of whom was 17.
In a statement, UEFA’s Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body (CEDB) said it had decided to ban Vlachovsky “from exercising any football-related activity for life” following the appointment of an Ethics and Disciplinary Inspector to investigate allegations of potential misconduct.
“The CEDB further decided to request FIFA to extend the abovementioned ban on a worldwide level and to order the Football Association of the Czech Republic to revoke Mr Petr Vlachovsky’s coaching licence,” the statement added.
FC Slovacko did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
Football players’ union FIFPRO welcomed the ban as well as UEFA’s request for world soccer governing body FIFA to impose an international ban on Vlachovsky.
“This outcome sends a strong and necessary message that abusive and inappropriate behaviour has no place in football and that safeguarding the well-being of players must remain a priority at every level of the game,” FIFPRO added in a statement.
Vlachovsky had also previously served as coach of the Czech women’s Under-19s team.
RELATED STORY: https://sportsvillagesquare.com/2026/04/08/outrage-as-male-coach-who-secretly-filmed-women-players-still-free-to-work-in-football/
-Reuters
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Southampton have been kicked out of the Championship playoff final after being found guilty of spying on semi-final opponents Middlesbrough, the English Football League said on Tuesday.
Middlesbrough, who lost 2-1 to Southampton on aggregate in the semi, have been reinstated and will face Hull City on Saturday in what is dubbed the world’s richest soccer match.
Promotion to the Premier League, even with an immediate relegation, is estimated to be worth in the region of 200 million pounds ($268.10 million) over three seasons.
Southampton, who admitted the charges, were also found guilty of filming training sessions involving Oxford United in December and Ipswich Town in April during the regular season.
They have also been deducted four points from the start of next season in England’s second tier.
“An Independent Disciplinary Commission has today expelled Southampton from the Championship play-offs after the club admitted multiple breaches of EFL regulations related to the unauthorised filming of other clubs’ training,” the EFL said.
“Southampton admitted breaches of Regulations requiring Clubs to act with the utmost good faith and prohibiting the observation of another Club’s training session within 72 hours of a scheduled match.
“The effect of today’s order is that Middlesbrough are reinstated into the 2026 play-offs and will proceed to the play-off final against Hull City. The final remains scheduled for Saturday 23 May, with the kick-off time to be confirmed.”
The EFL confirmed that Southampton could appeal against the decision and that “parties are working to try and resolve any appeal on Wednesday 20 May.
“Subject to the outcome, it could result in a further change to Saturday’s fixture,” the statement said.
‘BORO CALLED FOR SOUTHAMPTON EXPULSION
Middlesbrough had called for Southampton’s expulsion after having a training session at their Rockliffe Park site filmed 48 hours ahead of the first leg of their playoff semi-final with Southampton which ended 0-0.
The north-east club said they welcomed the decision.
“We believe this sends out a clear message for the future of our game regarding sporting integrity and conduct,” the north Middlesbrough said in a statement.
“As a club, we are now focused on our game against Hull City at Wembley on Saturday.”
Southampton were relegated from the Premier League last season and were struggling in the early part of this campaign until a storming finish in which they went unbeaten in 19 league games to finish fourth and enter the playoffs.
The south-coast club are the first to fall foul of the Football League’s regulation 127 — brought in after Leeds United were found guilty of spying on Derby County seven years ago, an offence for which they were fined 200,000 pounds.
-Reuters
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