Tax officials have been "banned from examining material seized" from Premier League side Newcastle United's ground, "following a legal challenge mounted by the club." St. James' Park and West Ham United's ground were raided in April by U.K. tax authority HMRC as part of a £5M ($6.3M) National Insurance fraud investigation. Newcastle Managing Dir Lee Charnley was "among several men arrested and later released without charge." The "ban remains in force" until a court hearing on June 22 (BBC, 6/8).
Paul Baccaglini's consortium has reportedly "been given until June 20 to complete its takeover" of Serie A side Palermo. The transfer in ownership has been "marred by hold-ups and even the threat of bankruptcy" (FOOTBALL ITALIA, 6/12).
Forty-eight players have been "shortlisted in the draft for selection for the franchises of the Ultimate Table Tennis" league, which contains an "equal mix of Indian and foreign players." Each franchise "had to pick four Indian and four players from the draft." UTT "will be telecast live on Star Sports select2 SD HD and Hotstar." The UTT will be hosted in Chennai (July 13-20), New Delhi (July 21-26) and Mumbai (July 27-30) (INDIAN TELEVISION, 6/12).
