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Steven Bank

@profbank.bsky.social
804 followers 369 following 291 posts

Professor of Law at UCLA. Posts are primarily about sports law, but may be about tax or corporate law. Posts are not legal advice

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Steven Bank @profbank.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
Kind of hard for a business to plan knowing that prices could rise or fall at a drop of a hat without notice, explanation, or long-term commitment to the change. That's the type of environment where investment craters altogether.
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Steven Bank @profbank.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
I read this post and the one that preceded it quickly and I thought @jtannenwald.bsky.social was positioning Infantino as a late candidate for MLS Commissioner. And, honestly, not only would that be on brand, it would be a bigger splash than almost any player they could sign on the transfer market
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Steven Bank @profbank.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
FIFA is not in the habit of leaving money lying on the table. Whether it's Infantino or someone else, this kind of thing will pop up again and next time it will be packaged and rolled out in a more politically savvy way.
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Steven Bank @profbank.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
In my article on whistleblower reforms - "Reforming FIFA from the Inside Out," 52 Vand. J. Transnat'l L. 265 (2019) - I emphasized the notion that for insiders "global football is a mission more than it is a business," concluding that "this kind of loyalty is the seed upon which reform can be sown."
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Steven Bank @profbank.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
AFC issues a non-rejection rejection of the FIFA proposal on the World Cup. www.theguardian.com/football/202...
theguardian.com
Fifa ‘undermining the very foundations of football’, says AFC as Uefa talks loom
The AFC has accused Fifa of undermining the foundations of football by failing to consult confederations over its plan to sell off World Cup stakes
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Steven Bank @profbank.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
A reminder that these Confederation responses are just non-binding straw polls. If Mexico is still reviewing the proposal, you can bet a number of other CONCACAF members could be persuaded if FIFA upped the payoff.
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Steven Bank @profbank.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
CONCACAF rejects FIFA's proposal, but the members do leave themselves straddling the fence a little because the statement does not indicate that they are joining UEFA in boycotting all FIFA events. www.concacaf.com/competitions...
concacaf.com
Statement on behalf of Concacaf and its 41 Member Associations  | Concacaf
Statement on behalf of Concacaf and its 41 Member Associations
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Steven Bank @profbank.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
This is correct, but today's emergency meeting at CONCACAF will be telling. Its statement was more of a disapproval of the process than a condemnation of the substance. It left itself room to straddle the fence while their smaller members see if they can still get paid under a compromise proposal.
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Steven Bank @profbank.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
What is it with NWSL and fireworks? First Angel City FC shoots fireworks into the stands and then this?
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Steven Bank @profbank.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
Note that the IOC was faced with a related controversy earlier this year after Infantino appeared at the inaugural meeting of Trump's Board of Peace, a rival to the UN, but the IOC ruled that it did not violate its political neutrality requirement. www.reuters.com/sports/socce...
reuters.com
FIFA boss Infantino's Board of Peace appearance does not violate political neutrality, IOC says
FIFA president Gianni Infantino's presence at the inaugural meeting of The Board of Peace this week alongside United States President Donald Trump and other heads of state does not violate any Olympic...
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Steven Bank @profbank.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
It's also ironic that it's Belgium because there's a history of bad blood there with FIFA. It's the country who gave us the modern football transfer market after the old rules were invalidated in the Bosman case and who undercut CAS and FIFA's mandatory arbitration clause in the RFC Seraing case
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Steven Bank @profbank.bsky.social · 05/07/2026
Maybe they just followed the Cristiano Ronaldo precedent, where FIFA explained that it was his first red card in 225 international appearances. This was Balogun's first red card in 30 international appearances. ;-)
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Steven Bank @profbank.bsky.social · 04/07/2026
I know they want to make a point about Vozhina's dramatic rise and the World Cup effect, but if they acknowledged the two most followed MLS player (Messi with ~530M followers and Luis Suarez with ~48M), they could also demonstrate soccer's massive global following
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Steven Bank @profbank.bsky.social · 03/07/2026
If this is a niche tax law/soccer mashup joke about Messi's Spanish conviction for tax fraud involving shell companies in Uruguay and other places, I'm here for it. I'm probably the only person here for it, but two of us is kind of a lot.
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Steven Bank @profbank.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
FIFA might like a rebrand, but they would be far more likely to use it as an excuse to sell high-priced naming rights than to only change the name and incur needless expenses to implement the change.
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Steven Bank @profbank.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
The reflecting pool screwup is the Four Seasons Landscaping screwup of Trump's second term. It's absurd, everyone can acknowledge it's absurd without it calling into question their own policy priorities, and it has metaphorical qualities about it that makes for great press.
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Steven Bank @profbank.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
The number of pre-revolution Iranian flags visible in photos and on the broadcast made it feel like the stadium security version of jury nullification.
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Steven Bank @profbank.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
Ruling that a valid defense to the charge that a hand gesture was intentionally offensive is that "I repeated this movement many times while holding a pen between my fingers" creates some perverse incentives. Kind of like saying it can't be fraud because I didn't try to hide it
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Steven Bank @profbank.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
If you're looking for some light reading before today's Mexico v. South Africa game and want to learn about how FIFA resisted and then tried to undo the boycott against South Africa during the apartheid regime, check out the draft of my latest paper
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Steven Bank @profbank.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
Many people have focused on protests disrupting the games in the U.S., but the opener in Mexico may be the World Cup of protests with 8 separate protests (on different issues) all expected to converge on the stadium today
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Steven Bank @profbank.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
Just in time for the start of the World Cup, here's a draft of my new piece: "The Duality of FIFA Neutrality: Law, Politics, and the 2026 World Cup" papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
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Steven Bank @profbank.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
If I'm correct that truth is a defense to slander under French law, although interpreted very strictly to require truth in all respects, this could end up being the European revival of the FIFA corruption case. They could also rely upon good faith as the defense, though, which is probably simpler
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Steven Bank @profbank.bsky.social · 06/06/2026
Before the US visas were issued, Taj reportedly said that "the FFIRI has formally notified FIFA that if visas are not issued for every single member of the travelling contingent, Iran will take "another decision" regarding its participation in the tournament." www.insidethegames.biz/articles/ira...
insidethegames.biz
Inside The Games • Iran's World Cup path in US limbo despite Mexico approval
While the Western Asia squad has spent the final days of its preparation camp in Antalya, Türkiye, navigating complex logistical shifts, the scheduled departure to its base camp has been put on hold d...
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Steven Bank @profbank.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
Oaks Sport Holding was the operator for the business side of VCFC. Its payroll was for things like ticket sales, marketing/sponsorships, social media, game day programming, etc. AEG and LA Galaxy owned the team, paid for the players, coaches, training set-up etc., and operated the technical side.
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Steven Bank @profbank.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
Mark Noorzai, the principal owner of Oaks Sports Holding, tried to start a stand-alone lower division club in the area before when he submitted an application to NISA for a new club starting in 2023. 2/2
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Steven Bank @profbank.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
It looks like Ventura County FC's operators, Oaks Sports Holding Group, might be ending their relationship with the Galaxy in MLSNP and starting a new team in USL League One. Perhaps MLSNP's new private equity investors reduce the benefits for independent operators. 1/2
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Steven Bank @profbank.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
NASL can file for a rehearing en banc with the full 2nd Circuit or press on with an appeal to the Supreme Court. Both are long shots, but that hasn't stopped this litigation, which began in 2017, before. 2/2
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Steven Bank @profbank.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
NASL lost its appeal of the jury verdict against it in its antitrust lawsuit against US Soccer and MLS. The court ruled that NASL's claim that it was erroneously required to prove a relevant market had been waived. 1/2
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Steven Bank @profbank.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
Trying to avoid judicial oversight over any settlement?
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Steven Bank @profbank.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
A two-semester season is consistent with the US Soccer/NextGen White Paper recommendation for college soccer, but it omits a regionalized structure. That's critical to making college soccer sustainable. Otherwise, the cost of two semesters will lead to programs being cut.
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Steven Bank @profbank.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
Aubrey made $75,000 base salary and $93,500 total with Toronto FC in Major League Soccer in 2017 before leaving soccer and eventually transitioning to the NFL
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Reposted by Steven Bank
Steven Bank @profbank.bsky.social · 09/04/2026
Just in time for Tax Day, my new book, High Rates and Low Taxes: Tax Dodging in Mid-Century America (Cambridge University Press 2026) is now out
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Steven Bank @profbank.bsky.social · 15/04/2026
Sounds like FIFA is contemplating asking Trump to declare a form of domestic "Olympic Truce" during the World Cup
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Steven Bank @profbank.bsky.social · 09/04/2026
Just in time for Tax Day, my new book, High Rates and Low Taxes: Tax Dodging in Mid-Century America (Cambridge University Press 2026) is now out
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Steven Bank @profbank.bsky.social · 31/03/2026
According to this, Trusty didn't make the move from forward to defender until he was 16 www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/footba...
dailyrecord.co.uk
Celtic ace Auston Trusty says his big sister was his big footballing inspiration
Defender is the youngest of six sporting siblings and has a lot to thank his big sister for.
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Steven Bank @profbank.bsky.social · 31/03/2026
If you want to go crazy, I think Auston Trusty played as a forward growing up
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Steven Bank @profbank.bsky.social · 23/03/2026
While I'm not sure marketing or branding is an art or a science, this sounds like they came up with Mutiny for somewhat logical reasons for Tampa Bay and then someone higher up - MLS? Nike? Ownership? - intervened and decided it had to be changed at the last minute and they pivoted to this
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Steven Bank @profbank.bsky.social · 17/03/2026
Fair enough. It would make "little" sense (putting asidewhether Iran is serious about sending a team).
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Steven Bank @profbank.bsky.social · 17/03/2026
See above. It makes no sense to move group stage games when elimination round games are also in that country. If the basis for decision is host country actions, then stripping hosting rights is the only thing that makes sense.
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Steven Bank @profbank.bsky.social · 17/03/2026
What doesn't make sense is to grant an individual nation's request to move the country for its group games, especially with elimination rounds played in that country. If, on the other hand, the move is based on host country actions, they should strip the country of hosting rights.
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Steven Bank @profbank.bsky.social · 17/03/2026
FIFA opened itself up to this kind of request when it started multi-country hosting, but it would make no sense for FIFA to set a precedent like this
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Steven Bank @profbank.bsky.social · 07/03/2026
Either this means there are serious problems on the horizon for the World Cup or the State Department does not consider the Concacaf Champions Cup to be a "major sporting event" even though it's an event hosted by one of FIFA's confederations.
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Steven Bank @profbank.bsky.social · 07/03/2026
The 2d Circuit Court of Appeals has scheduled the date for oral argument as April 22, 2026 in NASL's appeal of its antitrust case against US Soccer. That's a little over 8.5 years since the complaint was first filed.
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Steven Bank @profbank.bsky.social · 02/03/2026
The trustees of Rocco Commisso's estate must consider NASL's lawsuit against US Soccer to be an asset that justifies them continuing to spend legal fees pursuing its appeal b/c the parties are still submitting filings with the 2nd Cir. about scheduling it for oral argument
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Steven Bank @profbank.bsky.social · 01/03/2026
There have been other instances when World Cup qualifiers withdrew - for example, India withdrew in 1950 after qualifying by default because the other teams in its group had already dropped out - but this situation, especially given the involvement of a co-host, is unprecedented
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Steven Bank @profbank.bsky.social · 22/02/2026
Maybe his kids go to Wonderland Elementary in Laurel Canyon. I'm picturing a cafeteria worker named Alice who makes a mean cheesy pillow.
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Steven Bank @profbank.bsky.social · 20/02/2026
You know that Infantino's actions have become brazenly close to or over the line when the IOC is the one to investigate him for violating the organization's political neutrality requirement.
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Steven Bank @profbank.bsky.social · 12/02/2026
Question is whether this would backfire by putting pressure on Republican Senators in swing states who try to slow things down until after the midterms.
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Steven Bank @profbank.bsky.social · 11/02/2026
True, but I was just saying the money was too tempting for someone else not to try given that the ruling is supposed to provide some runway for them to do so. In other words, Real Madrid ending the fight doesn't mean someone else won't try it.
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Steven Bank @profbank.bsky.social · 11/02/2026
We're talking about different things. Those all reasons to bet on UEFA, for now, on the politics and public opinion against a parallel system, but not on the law. On those matters, however, there's love for UEFA's function, but not UEFA. Another org could compete to do it better.
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