The Sun has reported that the Football Association (FA) is set to block Championship soccer leaders Queens Park Rangers’ automatic promotion to the Premier League with evidence that the club broke player-trade regulations said to be “damning.”

QPR are likely to face a deduction of as many as 15 points if they are found guilty of breaching third-party ownership rules over the 2009 signing of Argentine midfielder Alejandro Faurlin, according to the newspaper.

The hearing into the signing of Faurlin two years ago begins next Tuesday and a verdict will be delivered three days later.

An FA source said: “There’s no question QPR have broken the rules. They know it as well. The only debate is what to do about it.

“If they aren’t found guilty you might as well scrap the rules about third-party owners.”

Such a drop would put them in the playoff positions rather than an automatic promotion spot.

Leading Russian satellite broadcaster NTV-Plus has obtained the rights to the country’s Premier Football League for the next three seasons.

Gazeta reports that the main matches will be shown on NTV, pills with the remainder being carried on a newly created channel named TV League.

NTV-Plus has also secured the internet rights to the league for the next three seasons.

Significantly, ed the rights are not exclusive and negotiations are still continuing with the state broadcaster RTR.

As the two sides clashed for the second of four occasions in the coming weeks, it was revealed that Spanish La Liga soccer giants Barcelona and Real Madrid pay their players more than US$7m a year, on average.

Both sides have therefore overtaken Major League Baseball’s (MLB) New York Yankees as the best paid global sports teams after a review by Sporting Intelligence, found first team players’ average pay for the last season was $7.9m for Barcelona and $7.4m for Real Madrid, while the Yankees pay their players an average of $6.8m.

The fourth and fifth spots are occupied by National Basketball Association (NBA) teams the Los Angeles Lakers and Orlando Magic respectively, ahead of the reigning English Premier League soccer champions Chelsea in sixth.

Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal were also among the 30 best-paid teams, making the Premier League the best-paying soccer league in the world.

This year’s report has been compiled in association with ESPN The Magazine in the US.

Earlier this year it was revealed in a study by Deloitte that Real Madrid are at the top of the league table of the world’s 20 richest soccer clubs for the sixth straight year.

Barcelona was second on the list, with Manchester United third, but that particular review concentrates solely on day-to-day income from soccer business, and does not include debt, something that a number of top British clubs are financed by.

The 2012 Reebok CrossFit Games will be carried live on ESPN3 each day of the three-day competition.

The CrossFit Games will also be televised on ESPN2 as a multi-part series starting in September.

Each day, generic ESPN3 will have at least six hours of highly produced coverage of the key heats, cialis along with analysis, viagra 40mg highlights and athlete interviews. ESPN3 is available at no additional cost to fans who receive their Internet or video subscription from an affiliated provider in the U.S. It is accessible online at WatchESPN.com, on smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN app, and through ESPN on Xbox LIVE. For fans outside the U.S., ESPN International will be delivering the events through its online players by region and on the CrossFit Games website, which will also include extended coverage, features and information.

The CrossFit Games are an annual fitness competition—the Sport of Fitness—where elite athletes compete to be crowned the Fittest on Earth. At the CrossFit Games, individuals and teams are faced with a wide variety of athletic challenges that include, but are not limited to, Olympic lifts, gymnastics movements, running, powerlifting, rowing, rope climbs, swimming, kettlebell swings, obstacle courses, and much more.

Unlike other sports where athletes can tailor their training to the specific demands of the event or sport, CrossFit Games competitors do not know the nature, duration, number, frequency or timing of the workouts they will be required to complete during the competition until shortly before each of the events begin.

This year marks the sixth annual CrossFit Games and the second year in which Reebok is the title sponsor. The first round of competition featured nearly 70,000 athletes competing to qualify for one of the 17 worldwide Regional events. CrossFit athletes who qualified for the finals of the 2012 Reebok CrossFit Games will compete for a piece of the $1 million purse. The male and female individual champions each win $250,000.

“Having the CrossFit Games on ESPN networks has provided significant exposure to the event as the ultimate proving grounds for the fittest athletes on earth,” said Steve Weiss, Corporate Development, CrossFit, Inc. “We are excited about our increasing involvement with ESPN and the advancement of CrossFit as the sport of fitness.”

“We’re pleased to announce that we’re once again carrying the 2012 Reebok CrossFit Games on our networks,” said Todd Myers, ESPN director, programming & acquisitions. “The event will feature tremendous athletic performances, abilities and skills that fans will be able to access live across all platforms.”

Dubai-based investment group, symptoms the Royal Emirates Group, for sale  chaired by HRH Sheikh Butti Bin Suhail Al Maktoum, has reportedly acquired a Spanish La Liga soccer team, thought to be debt-ridden Real Zaragoza, in a deal worth about US$90m.

Media reports suggest that the new owners would attempt to change the name of the team to ‘Team Dubai’, though it is unclear as to whether Royal Emirates Group would be allowed to press ahead with any name change.

Suleiman al Butti, project manager of Royal Emirates Group, told Reuters: “We confirm that the company will buy a Spanish team.”

According to Arabian Business, a spokesperson for Royal Emirates Group added: “The said team will be named as ‘Team Dubai’.”

A Dubai investment vehicle was linked with a move for Zaragoza back in February. A spokesperson for Royal Emirates Group said the Spanish club’s chairman and several high-profile players will travel to Dubai to mark the start of the deal in the next 24 hours.

Commercial free-to-air broadcaster SBS has secured the broadcasting rights to the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League  in Australia while Setanta have gained the Europa League rights in Oceania.

SBS will broadcast the best live UEFA Champions League match each matchnight and Wednesday highlights. SBS has also been granted rights to broadcast the best live UEFA Europa League match each matchweek, arthritis as well as the weekly highlights programme.

Pay television operator Setanta has been awarded the rights to all UEFA Europa League matches. Setanta Sports will broadcast one live match from each kick-off slot each matchweek, as well as the weekly highlights programme.

All rights have been granted on a platform-neutral basis with the rights being exploited on television, their websites, as well as on mobile.

Commercial free-to-air broadcaster SIC has been granted Europa League rights in Portugal until 2015.

SIC will broadcast the best live game each matchweek. A highlights programme of the matchnight’s action will follow SIC’s live transmission.

All rights have been granted on a platform-neutral basis with the rights being exploited on television, on the internet and on mobile.

This announcement concludes the sale of the 2012–15 UEFA Europa League media rights in Portugal, SporTV having previously acquired the remaining matches and highlights.

Russian billionaire and 27 per cent shareholder in English Premier League soccer club Alisher Usmanov says he will not sell his Arsenal shares after fellow shareholder Stan Kroenke triggered a mandatory buyout offer.

Kroenke increased his stake in the club earlier this week to nearly 63 per cent having bought Lady Nina Bracewell-Smith’s 15.9 per cent stake along with Danny Fiszman’s 16.1 per cent, who sadly passed away yesterday.

Doing so meant that he was forced to make an offer for the remaining shares under UK law but Usmanov told Bloomberg: “I’m not going to sell my stake.

“I love Arsenal, that’s why I’m a shareholder.”

A spokesperson for the Arsenal Supporters’ Trust (AST) welcomed Usmanov’s stance, stating: “AST welcomes Red and White Holdings’ [Usmanov’s investment company] commitment to Arsenal and calls on all shareholders to work together.

“Their priorities should firstly be making Arsenal a successful football team, secondly placing no leveraged debt on the club or taking dividends and management fees out of the club, and thirdly helping supporters be directly involved in the club’s shareholding.”

When news broke that Kroenke had become the majority shareholder, BBC business reporter Robert Peston reported that he had been told Usmanov was “hopping mad” and felt he had been “stitched up” by Arsenal.

Russian billionaire Usmanov bought into Arsenal in August 2007, when he paid former vice-chairman David Dein about £75m (US$122.4m) for his 14.65 per cent stake and in December 2009, Usmanov increased his interest to just over 26 per cent.

The supporters trust has already indicated it will not sell its shares, adding: “Arsenal is too important to be owned by any one man.”

The ATP announced today a two-year extension to their Barclays ATP World Tour Finals broadcast agreement with the BBC.

The new deal will see the BBC broadcast the next two editions of the event at The O2 in London in November 2012 and 2013.

The BBC will broadcast one live match every day of the tournament including the opening match, one semi-final and the final. The BBC iPlayer will offer all BBC broadcast matches. 

Brad Drewett, ATP Executive President & Chairman, said: “We’re very happy to continue our partnership with the BBC for a further two years. This agreement provides a fantastic platform for showcasing our jewel event to millions of people on terrestrial television in the UK. We look forward to the best players in the world putting on another fantastic show for fans worldwide.”

The Barclays ATP World Tour Finals is the year-end culmination to the men’s professional tennis season, featuring only the world’s best eight singles players and doubles teams. Featuring a unique round robin format, and with only the world’s elite players competing, the season-ending tournament guarantees more top eight match-ups than any other event throughout the season. In 2011, Roger Federer captured the season-ending title for a record sixth time. More than 250,000 fans have attended the tournament in each of the past three years.

Barbara Slater, BBC Director Sport, said: “The tournament is a prestigious and fitting finale to the season and we’re delighted that BBC viewers will continue to be able to see top quality tennis as the world’s best players compete in London.” 

The BBC first broadcast the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in 2009 when the event moved from Shanghai to London. This year’s tournament takes place from 5-12 November.

Thomas Di Benedetto has confirmed that his consortium has sealed a deal to take over Italian Serie A soccer club AS Roma, subject to regulatory approval.

The new ownership group is split between American Di Benedetto’s investors, who own 60 per cent, while the remaining 40 per cent is owned by Italian bank UniCredit, and has acquired a 67 per cent stake of Roma for Eur70.3m (US$100.7m).

Di Benedetto’s group will be obliged to make an offer to purchase the remaining 33 per cent of the club having bought Italpetroli’s stake in the club which has been heavily indebted for several years, and the takeover marks the end of a lengthy ownership saga.

Di Benedetto spoke at a news conference in Boston, stating: “The deal is done…good things don’t come easy. I never felt that I would give up on the quest for this team.”

In referring to Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s ownership of AC Milan, Di Benedetto added: “Our hope and our objective is to be as successful in Rome as Mr Berlusconi was with his team in Milan.”

Di Benedetto has been a partner of New England Sports Ventures, which owns the Boston Red Sox Major League Baseball team and English Premier League side Liverpool.

Di Benedetto added that he would like more players from the local region surrounding Rome to play for the club: “If you look around professional soccer today, there are a number of players who grew up in greater Rome. It’s our goal to have more of them playing for AS Roma. I think we will put in place the people who will make it attractive for these young men to sign with us.”