By David Gold
April 29 – The row between Real Madrid and Barcelona has escalated further still after Real insisted that they would report the Catalans to UEFA for their behaviour during the bad-tempered Champions League semi-final between the two sides on Wednesday night (April 27).
By David Gold
April 29 – The French Football Federation (FFF) will hold an investigation into reports emanating from French website Mediapart, which claimed officials within the organisation are in favour of quotas limiting the number of players recruited by academies from immigrant communities.
By David Gold
April 28 – Rangers were fined €40,000 (£36,000/$59,000) and their fans banned from the club’s next European away game following the behaviour of its supporters during a Europa League match earlier this season.
By Andrew Warshaw
April 28 – FIFA Presidential contender Mohamed Bin Hammam flew into London for a meeting with Football Association officials today and afterwards declared himself “well-placed” in the contest against Sepp Blatter.
By David Gold
April 27 – Junji Ogura, President of the Japanese Football Federation, is seeking FIFA President Sepp Blatter’s help in putting together a Japan squad for the Copa America this summer.
By Andrew Warshaw
April 27 – The previous ownership at Liverpool was a classic example of why new financial fair play rules have to be introduced, a top UEFA adviser has warned.
By Andrew Warshaw
April 27 – A complaint that the BBC damaged England’s bid for the 2018 World Cup by broadcasting a hard-hitting Panorama documentary presented by Andrew Jennings three days before the vote has been rejected by the Corporation’s governing body.
April 27 – FIFA President Sepp Blatter has sent a personal message to Prince William and Kate Middleton ahead of the Royal Wedding on Friday (April 29).
By David Gold
April 27 – Orland Silva, Brazil’s Sports Minister, has cast fresh doubt on whether São Paulo will be able to host games during the 2014 World Cup, with construction still yet to begin on the city’s Itaquera Stadium, which is intended to host the tournament’s opening match.
By Andrew Warshaw
April 27 – Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko has been appointed chairman of the organising committee for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
By Andrew Warshaw at Westminster
April 26 – UEFA President Michel Platini’s top adviser says the English Football Association is arguably the worst run in Europe – mainly because of the power of the Premier League.
By David Gold
April 26 – The purchase of debt ridden Swiss Super League club Neuchâtel Xamax by Chechen businessman Bulat Chagaev will go through on May 12.
By Andrew Warshaw at Westminster
April 26 – Sport and Olympics Minister Hugh Robertson waded into the Olympic football row today by warning that the women’s game would lose out most if there is no unified UK team.
By David Gold
April 26 – An escalating row between Lyon Mayor Gérard Collomb (pictured) and France’s Sports Minister Chantal Jouanno is threatening to derail plans for Olympique Lyonnais’ proposed new stadium, the Stade des Lumiéres, which is a probable venue for the 2016 European Championships.
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The race for the FIFA Presidency is turning out to be as dull as those for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups were fascinating.
The incumbent, Joseph Blatter, is thus far adopting the wholly predictable strategy of emphasising the value of continuity in an unstable world while detailing the torrents of cash that have rained down on planet football over his 13-year tenure – and critically, he says, will continue to do so.