Former Crystal Palace owner John Textor scores temporary block of Brazilian football club share sale Lawsuit Former Crystal Palace owner John Textor has been granted a temporary injunction from the High Court to block City-based administrators from selling his 90 per cent stake in Brazilian football club SAF Botafogo. The order follows the American business mogul launching multiple parallel lawsuits in England, the US, and Brazil against his UK holding company, [...]
HMRC handed red card in £584,000 football referee tax lawsuit Legal HMRC has lost a long-running legal battle against the UK’s football refereeing body over the employment status of 60 referees, after the tax authority issued a £584,000 tax bill. In a judgment on Friday, the First Tier Tribunal (FTT) upheld that the referees were self-employed and not employed by the body, the Professional Game Match [...]
Football clubs are starting to build out their legal benches Legal As they say, if you love what you do, you will never work a day in your life. With the popularity of sports ever-growing, it is no surprise that lawyers are flooding into legal work involving sports. Even the driest M&A deal can be a little more exciting when it involves deals for your favourite [...]
AI-driven workforce fuels private equity surge in sports February 3, 2026 The influx of businesses investing in AI is a key factor driving the surge in private equity (PE) within the leisure and sports sector, as sports is the new luxury. Cleary Gottlieb partner Tihir Sarkar explained to City AM, “With day-to-day activities being taken over by AI, there’s going to be a lot more time for participation [...]
Punk Padel and Tough Mudder: It pays for sports to buy into fun innovation October 30, 2025 I am happy to go down any rabbit hole, or country lane, in search of innovation in sport. Driving back from a trail race the other day, I passed a small sign tucked on a grassy verge in deepest Sussex. “Punk Padel”, it seemed to whisper rather than shout, as if conscious it was out [...]
London Sports Festival Unveils New Pop-Up Padel Court at Hay’s Galleria in Partnership with London Bridge City July 8, 2025 London, 7 July 2025 — Central London Alliance’s London Sports Festival is thrilled to announce the launch of a brand-new pop-up padel court in the heart of the city at the iconic Hay’s Galleria, in collaboration with London Bridge City. This exciting activation celebrates London’s dynamic role as a global hub of innovation, community engagement, [...]
TNT Sports loses almost £190m since BT Sport rebrand April 25, 2025 TNT Sports, the broadcasting giant co-owned by BT and Warner Bros Discovery, lost almost £190m during its latest financial year, it has been revealed. The business, which rebranded from BT Sport in 2023, has posted a pre-tax loss of £187.5m for the 12 months to 31 July, 2024, new accounts filed with Companies House show. [...]
Umbro owner at Supreme Court over football boot logo row March 17, 2025 Umbro's owner is at court seeking to fight off an appeal over a ruling in its favour over the similarity between its logo and an online footwear brand
Chelsea FC : Abramovich ally Granovskaia at High Court over Alrubie dispute February 28, 2025 Former Chelsea director Marina Granovskaia is at London's High Court today as she seeks to pause a civil claim against her by football agent Saif Alrubie
Luke Littler dumped out of Winmau World Masters by Jonny Clayton February 2, 2025 World champion Luke Littler saw his Winmau World Masters hopes ended by a 4-2 defeat to Jonny Clayton in Milton Keynes. Littler had been in blistering form at Arena MK, blitzing Andy Baetens 3-0 in his first-round match on Friday before demolishing James Wade 4-0, winning eight straight legs, to cruise into the quarter-finals. However, [...]