Thursday 29 September 2011

Ferdinand loses privacy action

16:52 Posted by Marbella Times No comments

 

Rio Ferdinand has lost his privacy action over a "kiss and tell" story. The England and Manchester United centre back was not at London's High Court to hear Mr Justice Nicol dismiss his claim against MGN Ltd. Ferdinand, 32, brought his case for misuse of private information over an April 2010 Sunday Mirror article in which interior designer Carly Storey gave her account of their 13-year relationship in return for £16,000. The judge said: "Overall, in my judgment, the balancing exercise favours the defendant's right of freedom of expression over the claimant's right of privacy." Ferdinand had branded the piece - "My affair with England captain Rio" - a "gross invasion of my privacy", and said he had not seen Ms Storey for six years by the time it appeared. At a hearing in July, his lawyers asked for a maximum of £50,000 damages and a worldwide gagging order. Afterwards, Sunday Mirror editor Tina Weaver said in a statement: "The Sunday Mirror is very pleased that the court has rejected Rio Ferdinand's privacy claim. "The judge found that there was a justified public interest in reporting the off-pitch behaviour of the then England captain and discussion of his suitability for such an important and ambassadorial role representing the country. "There has never been greater scrutiny of the media than now, and we applaud this ruling in recognising the important role a free press has to play in a democratic society."

Friday 9 September 2011

Soccer chief quits amid email probe

20:20 Posted by Marbella Times No comments

 

Manchester City chief executive Garry Cook has resigned following an investigation into claims he sent an offensive email to the mother of club player Nedum Onuoha. The club launched the internal probe earlier this week after it was alleged Mr Cook made light of cancer sufferer Dr Anthonia Onuoha's condition. Mr Cook had denied he sent the message and claimed his email had been hacked, possibly by a rogue employee. The club, however, have now concluded "there is foundation to Dr Onuoha's allegations" and Mr Cook has admitted to an "error of judgement". Mr Cook, whose tenure has been blighted by several public relations gaffes, said: "I am privileged to have held my position at Manchester City Football Club and to have experienced the opportunities that it has presented. "The privilege is in part offset however by the significant personal focus which has at times detracted from the magnificent achievements of those working at the football club. It is that factor, together with my error of judgement in this matter, that has prompted me to reach this decision, which I believe is in the best interests of the football club." The offending email, which was sent 11 months ago, only came to light this week. The message had apparently been intended for City's football administrator Brian Marwood but was sent to Dr Onuoha by mistake. Dr Onuoha, who was representing her son at the time and was involved in a contract dispute with the club, had emailed Mr Cook prior to that. She had written that while she was "ravaged with cancer and ongoing chemotherapy" she was still able to fight on her son's behalf. The reply she received, addressed to "Brian", read: "Ravaged with it! I don't now how you sleep at night. You used to be such a nice man when I worked with you at Nike." Dr Onuoha this week said: "When I opened up my emails and saw the message, it was the worst day of my life. Even worse than being diagnosed with cancer."

Thursday 8 September 2011

Spanish clubs gang up for TV rights battle

 

The chiefs of 12 Spanish first division clubs fighting giants Barcelona and Real Madrid over television rights called Thursday for the sales to be centralised under the Professional Football League (LFP). "We are going to push for a form of joint marketing of the television rights, and that the LFP handles it," Sevilla president Jose Maria del Nido told a news conference after a meeting of the 12 clubs. He said that "none of the clubs present would fail to respect the agreements that we have signed with different broadcasting groups." But "that does not mean that we will not work to ensure the sale (of television rights) is done centrally and jointly by a body that must, in our opinion, be the LFP." In a statement earlier Thursday, Del Nido slammed the "unequal, unfair and outrageous system of distributing the financial rights from television, which is unique in the big European leagues. "It is a distribution that year after year favours Madrid and Barcelona to the detriment of the rest, with the differences in sporting performance ever greater, since with more television income for the giants they get better players, which in turn means better sponsors and better brand-related sales." Real Madrid and Barcelona receive about 140 million euros ($197m) a year each from television rights, while small clubs such as Levante, Malaga or Real Sociedad get just 12 million. The outspoken Del Nido blasted the existing Spanish league as "the biggest rubbish not only in Europe but in the world," in an August 29 interview with state radio RNE. "It is a Third World league in which two clubs subtract the television money from the rest of us who are competing," he said. "We are running down the Spanish league." Besides Sevilla, clubs at Thursday's meeting were Athletic Bilbao, Atletico Madrid, Real Betis, Espanyol, Granada, Malaga, Osasuna, Racing Santander, Valencia, Villarreal and Real Zaragoza. Del Nido has also criticised Spanish league demands that radio stations pay a levy for the right to make live match reports of first and second division matches. "For the clubs, the amount they are asking from the clubs is insignificant so it is shameful," he told RNE in last week's interview. At a news conference in Madrid, radio stations said on Thursday they were united in refusing the demands for payment from rights holder Mediapro and the LFP. It is the first time in the history of the game in Spain that radio stations have been asked to pay for coverage. "We refuse negotiation. We will not pay the levy," said the movement's coordinator Alfonso Ruiz de Assin, secretary general of Spain's association of commercial radio broadcasters. Radio stations say they are being asked to pay several million euros a season for the right to transmit live reports. They argue that listeners have a fundamental right to information about the matches. But with few exceptions, Spanish football stadiums are barring access to radio reporters because their stations have refused to comply with the new accreditation rules. The league says many radios skirted the rules to give live reports anyway: some following the games on television from the studio, some from public seats in the stadium and others from nearby bars. It has threatened legal action against the radio stations.