The Argentine FA Exec Committee decided to raise ticket prices, effective this weekend. General admission tickets for the Argentine first division will cost 120 Argentine pesos ($13.48), up from 90 Argentine pesos ($10.11). General admission tickets for second-tier games will increase from 75 Argentine pesos ($8.42) to 100 Argentine pesos ($11.23). In the third tier, the price of a general admission ticket will increase from 65 Argentine pesos ($7.30) to 90 Argentine pesos. This is the first price increase since August (OLÉ, 4/28). ... Real Madrid President Florentino Pérez said in court that he hired Alejandro de Pedro in Oct. '13 at a salary of €25,000 per month -- €300,000 per year -- to "elevate the club's positioning on social media in China, the U.K. and Brazil, among other countries." He admitted that he did not consult with the board on the decision because it was a "minor subject." De Pedro is suspected to have been involved in the '14 "Operation Punica" corruption scandal centered around town halls in Madrid, Murcia, Leon and Valencia (AS, 4/29). ... UEFA General Secretary Gianni Infantino said on Wednesday that Greece is "unlikely to be suspended" from int'l competition after its government pledged to make "key changes to a new sports law aimed at fighting violence and match-fixing." Greece's top league has been suspended three times this season because of crowd violence and an attack on a senior referee, "and a high-level judicial investigation is probing alleged corruption in the sport." The draft law is to be voted on next week, but government officials said they had agreed to delay the debate for two days to allow for "further consultations with UEFA" (AP, 4/29). ... Football's global players' union FIFPro is backing the idea of allowing a fourth substitute in games. The Int'l Football Association Board, the sport's rule-making body, has "twice rejected proposals to allow an additional substitute in extra time of knockout matches." But it has requested that more research be carried out on the idea (BBC, 4/28). ... A Liverpool supporters' organization has condemned "greedy" clubs as away fans stayed away from the match at Hull City because of the £50 ($77) ticket price. The Spirit of Shankly group requested that fans not attend Tuesday's Premier League game, "and there were empty seats in the away end despite the club having sold the allocation of 2,500 tickets" (BBC, 4/28).
