LONDON: Newcastle United have appointed Canadian David Hopkinson as chief executive officer to replace Darren Eales, the Premier League club announced on Thursday.
Eales stepped down for health reasons after announcing last September that he had been diagnosed with a chronic form of blood cancer.
“This club represents something truly special,” Hopkinson said. “It has extraordinary history and heritage, incredibly passionate supporters, and ownership, players and staff who are committed to excellence.
“Having worked with iconic teams across different countries, I understand what it takes to build sustainable success at the highest levels of global sport.
“I greatly admire what has been achieved by the club so far, and I am excited and motivated by what is ahead as we strive to position Newcastle United among the world’s elite clubs.”
Hopkinson has joined Newcastle after serving as President and Chief Operating Officer at Madison Square Garden Sports, where he led the business operations of the New York Knicks and New York Rangers.
Both teams, who play out of Madison Square Garden in New York City, are among the most valuable franchises in the NBA and NHL respectively.
Hopkinson was previously Global Head of Partnerships at Real Madrid, who cemented their place as one of the world’s most valuable football clubs during his tenure.
He also spent over two decades at Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Ltd. as Chief Commercial Officer, overseeing commercial activities for the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs and NBA’s Toronto Raptors.
Newcastle chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan called Hopkinson an “outstanding executive” with a top track record.
“His experience and strategic capabilities will be invaluable as we continue to build on the club’s presence locally and grow it globally on and off the pitch,” he said.
“David’s leadership will be critical as we build upon what we have already achieved since the acquisition toward an exciting future and sustainable success.”
In 2021, a consortium led by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund became majority owners of Newcastle.
Last season, the club ended a 56-year trophy drought when they beat Liverpool 2-1 in the
League Cup final.
Canadian Hopkinson replaces Eales as Newcastle CEO
https://arab.news/rw2dv
Canadian Hopkinson replaces Eales as Newcastle CEO
- “This club represents something truly special,” Hopkinson said
- Hopkinson has joined Newcastle after serving as President and Chief Operating Officer at Madison Square Garden Sports
Turkiye orders arrest of 29 footballers in betting scandal
- Among the players, 27 are suspected of having bet on matches involving their own teams, prosecutors said
- One was Metehan Baltaci, who plays for reigning Turkish champions Galatasaray
ISTANBUL: Istanbul prosecutors on Friday ordered the arrest of 46 people, among them 29 football players, as part of a sprawling investigation into illegal betting on Turkish matches.
Among the players, 27 are suspected of having bet on matches involving their own teams, the public prosecutor’s office said in a statement.
One was Metehan Baltaci, who plays for reigning Turkish champions Galatasaray, it said. Earlier this month, he had been suspended for nine months over the betting scandal.
The investigation has rocked Turkish football, with six referees placed in pre-trial detention on November 10, along with the president of Eyupspor, a club in Turkiye’s top Super Lig division.
Prosecutors did not identify the other 26 players suspected of bets involving their own teams, but said Mert Hakan Yandas, who plays for Fenerbahce, another major Istanbul club, had placed bets through someone else’s account.
The prosecutor’s office said police had so far detained 35 of the 46 people named in the arrest order. Five were known to be currently abroad, it said.
- Zero goal attempts -
Two club presidents were among those targeted by the order for “attempting to influence the outcome” of a match between their two third-division teams in the 2023-2024 season, the statement said.
The match had caught the attention of investigators because neither side had even made one attempt to score a goal, Turkish media reported, with several newspapers saying that was where the entire investigation began.
Six other suspects, one of them a player, are accused of conspiring to influence the result of a second-division clash between Umraniyespor and Giresunspor in December 2023.
A first-division referee, the ex-president of second-division side Adana Demirspor, and a well-known football commentator and his wife were also targeted for “suspect financial transactions” in their bank accounts.
So far, the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) — which has said it wants to “clean up” the beautiful game in Turkiye — has suspended more than 1,000 players, 25 of them from the Super Lig, with the sanctions ranging from 45 days to 12 months.
Only one was a foreign national — Konyaspor’s Senegalese winger Alassane Ndao, who was suspended for 12 months.
In October, the TFF suspended nearly 150 referees for betting on matches, all of whom have since been dismissed.
