After been served with a four-month ban for biting an Italian player during a World Cup Match, Luis Suarez has been dealt another blow after personal sponsor 888poker terminated its partnership with the Liverpool front man.

The gambling company ended their deal after it was revealed the Uruguayan striker bit Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini which led to FIFA suspending Suarez from all football activity for four months.

The forward has also been fined 100,000 Swiss francs (just under £66,000) and banned from nine internationals. 

888poker appointed Suárez as a brand ambassador in May but have confirmed that they are ending their partnership with the player after the incident, which took place in Uruguay’s 1-0 win over Italy on Tuesday.

A statement read: “888poker signed Luis Suárez following a fantastic season for which his achievements were widely recognised.

“Regrettably, following his actions during Uruguay’s World Cup match against Italy on Tuesday, 888poker has decided to terminate its relationship with Luis Suárez with immediate effect.”

Suarez could also be on the brink of losing major sponsor adidas who will have talks with Suarez about their partnership after the World Cup.

A statement from the sportswear manufacturer read: “adidas fully supports Fifa’s decision. 

“adidas certainly does not condone Luis Suarez’s recent behaviour and we will again be reminding him of the high standards we expect from our players.

“We have no plan to use Suarez for any additional marketing activities during the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

“We will discuss all aspects of our future partnership directly with Suarez and his team following the World Cup.”

Should sponsors end their relationships with Suarez? Have your say in the latest iSportconnect Discussion

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PwC and ING, stomach multinational giants of the professional and financial services sectors respectively, will be introducing their groundbreaking global ‘sporting family consulting service’ in partnership with Axis 10 Sports Consulting Group at the Soccerex Global Convention, taking place on 6-10 September in Manchester.

In a dedicated workshop, representatives will present the new joint venture, positioned as ‘a sport office for the soccer world’, which will offer players, agents, clubs and other stakeholders a full package of management services including asset/wealth management, life insurance, tax services & post-career income strategy.

In addition to that, ING Investment Management, being in charge of the Netherlands football pension fund, will discuss the importance of asset and fund management through their smart way of investing.

The presentation is the first part of a programme of dedicated finance and law workshops to be announced at the Convention which will see a range of different topics addressed; the new format has been positively received by the industry with a number of club finance directors confirming their attendance and a new media partnership signed with LawInSport, the industry’s leading international digital sports law publication.

Soccerex Marketing Director David Wright commented: “The pressure upon today’s sportsmen and women combined with increased financial earnings means it is now paramount to have assistance in managing and expanding their financial. The shared expertise and philosophy that PwC and ING are offering will provide a fresh approach and we’re delighted that they’ve chosen Soccerex as the event to present it to the industry.”

PwC & ING join an expanding conference programme which already includes FIFA President Joseph Blatter, FIFA Vice-President Jim Boyce, British Olympic Association Chairman Lord Coe, RFU CEO Ian Ritchie and England and Manchester United legend Sir Bobby Charlton.

The Convention kicks off with the Football Festival on 6-7^thSeptember with the Conference starting on Monday 8^th September. A packed international exhibition and a programme of networking and social events complete the schedule for what is widely acknowledged as the world’s leading football business event.

Racecourse Media Group (RMG) have announced that Simon Ellen has been reappointed as Chairman of the media rights organisation for a further four years with effect from December 31. 

RMG is the umbrella organisation for the 34 racecourses which own an interest in Racing UK TV, Turf TV (betting shop service) and GBI Racing (international betting shop service). 

Ellen, a keen racing enthusiast and racehorse owner, joined the RMG Board initially as a director in June 2010, before commencing his chairmanship two years ago. 

Speaking on behalf of all the RMG Non-executive Directors, John Sanderson, said: “We are delighted to announce Simon’s reappointment for a further four years, which reflects continuity and stability, and the high level of confidence that we hold within the RMG group of companies. 

“Through his excellent leadership and guidance, Simon has overseen a terrific period of growth for our business, which delivered £64m to our racecourse shareholders in 2013 and heralded the addition of four new racecourses, including Ascot, which joins RMG in June, 2014. 

“RMG not only delivers significant revenues to all our shareholder racecourses but has also developed into a serious commercial body and a key financial under-pinner for British racing. RMG is clearly evolving into the focal point of media operations, not just for our shareholders, but for the British racing industry.” 

Reappointed RMG Chairman, Simon Ellen, said: “I have been delighted with the company’s progress and am very much looking forward to working with our racecourses, the RMG Board, management team and all the staff in achieving our goals over the next four years. 

“Together, we have developed a very successful media rights business, the benefits of which are channelled directly back into racing for the good of the sport.”

Dr Klaus Schormann, President of Modern Pentathlon, has today reiterated his disappointment with London 2012’s coverage of the event.

Speaking exclusively to iSportconnect, Schormann said: “If you look at the last World Cup Final in Chengdu, there was perfect graphics and drama shown, but we are not satisfied with the television production in London.

“It was of a lower level and normally the Olympic Games have a higher level of presentation. What we have to find out now is why certain graphics that existed over the years have not been used. I do not know why these wishes that we have bought forward have not come to reality.”

However he did praise LOCOG for the staging of the overall event.

“In general, it was good and I was very impressed. They have been very open-minded with all the discussions and our wishes. I was impressed with how it was organised, the facilities, the spectators, the fantastic volunteers and the city.”

The President also suggested the organisation had done everything in it’s power to remain an Olympic sport for the forseeable future.

“We have fulfilled all the requests they (IOC) have given us over the years. If you take out Pentathlon, you take out part of the heart of the Olympics, as well as the legacy of Coubertin,” he said.

Read his full-length interview here>>

Despite missing out in qualifying for the Last 16 of the World Cup with a 2-2 draw with Portugal, the United States still saw the largest ever audience for a soccer match in the U.S.

The Nielsen company said that Sunday’s gripping game was seen by an average of 24.7 million viewers on ESPN and Univision.

That matches it with the 24.7 million US viewers who watched the 2010 World Cup final between Spain and the Netherlands.

ESPN said an additional 490,000 people streamed coverage of the game on their mobile devices through the company’s app.

Streaming numbers for 2010 weren’t immediately available, but it’s very unlikely they were that high because streaming apps were not as sophisticated then.

Many factors were in place to make it so popular: it was an exciting game, interest in the US team was high because of the first-game victory against Ghana and World Cup viewing in general has been high.

The Sunday evening time slot also meant many Americans were available to watch.

“It indicates that a large group in our audience is really following the story of the World Cup, which is really terrific,” said Scott Guglielmino, ESPN senior vice president of programming.