Video refs coming to Europe: Bundesliga to lead way with trials this season
January 2 – Germany’s Bundesliga will become the first major league to use video assistant referees next season for game-changing decisions.
FIFA
Van Basten puts forward radical plan for sin bins and an end to offside rule
By Andrew Warshaw
January 19 – Not to be outdone by the innovations of his boss Gianni Infantino, FIFA’s new technical director Marco van Basten has come up with arguably the most ground-breaking blueprint ever for the future of football including scrapping offside and introducing sin-bins in place of yellow cards.
Club vs country: Matip waits in Liverpool’s wings as eligibility fog set to clear Friday
January 18 – Liverpool expect to discover on Friday whether Joel Matip is eligible to play for them as confusion continues over the defender’s availability.
FIFA passes the buck, leaving Liverpool in lurch over ruling on Matip eligibility
By Andrew Warshaw
January 27 – FIFA faces accusations of buck-passing and shirking its responsibility after effectively telling Liverpool to make up their own minds and suffer the consequences over whether to select Cameroon defender Joel Matip after he declined to represent his country in the African Nations Cup.
Palestine’s Rajoub under fire from media watchdog as Israeli supporters up the ante
By Andrew Warshaw
January 16 – An Israeli-based media watchdog has sent a detailed and highly damning file on Palestine football leader Jibril Rajoub to FIFA in the latest tit-for-tat exchange over the sensitive issue over Israel’s treatment of Palestinian players and officials in the occupied territories.
$ billions more or $ billions less: does FIFA really have its World Cup numbers right?
January 16 – The British sponsorship consultant widely acknowledged as one of the pioneers of modern sports marketing has described as “absurd” FIFA’s decision to expand the World Cup to 48 teams.
2026 World Cup hosting: Morocco could challenge US’s ‘done’ deal
January 13 – Is Morocco secretly planning to put a spanner in the works of a 2026 CONCACAF World Cup bid?
‘Are you Blatter in disguise?’ goes the chant
By Andrew Warshaw
All the benefits with no negatives. So proclaimed Gianni Infantino immediately after this week’s seismic decision to expand the World Cup to 48 teams. This is not about politics, he said. This is not about money. This is purely about serving football and redressing the game’s imbalances. Does anyone in their right mind really believe that?
Watch out, there’s a thief about. Six €93K timepieces go missing at FIFA
January 12 – Different regime, new ‘Watchgate’ probe. FIFA has filed a report with police in Switzerland after six Hublot watches embarrassingly went missing before Monday’s Best Awards gala in Zurich.
Infantino defends 48 team World Cup as a 21st Century-looking, ‘football fever’ decision
By Andrew Warshaw
January 11 – FIFA president Gianni Infantino has defended the expansion of the World Cup to 48 teams, insisting the change from 32 was based on “sporting merit” and not a money-making exercise despite his need to find promised additional revenue for FIFA’s 211 members.
Montagliani backs expanded 2026 as CONCACAF looks set for co-hosting bid
By Andrew Warshaw
January 11 – CONCACAF president Victor Montagliani has given another strong hint that the first 48-team World Cup could be jointly staged by the USA, Mexico and his native Canada.
FIFA goes dark on Israel/Palestine dispute as Infantino says report is coming
By Andrew Warshaw
January 11 – FIFA appears to be no closer to a solution to the increasingly fractious dispute in the Middle East and specifically the issue of Israeli lower-league clubs based in the occupied West Bank.
ECA slams 48 team World Cup as a political not football decision
January 10 – Despite losing the battle over FIFA’s decision to expand the World Cup finals, the European Club Association (ECA) says it is still vehemently opposed to the idea.
FIFA Council rubber stamp Infantino’s push for 48-team World Cup
By Andrew Warshaw in Zurich
January 10 – It’s official. Despite strong opposition from Europe’s clubs, the World Cup will be expanded to 48 teams as of 2026 after FIFA’s new ruling Council decided unanimously today to open up the finals to 16 more countries in a major victory for FIFA president Gianni Infantino.
FIFA’s ‘Best’ snubbed by world’s best Barca. Ronaldo pockets another prize
By Andrew Warshaw in Zurich
January 9 – As widely anticipated, Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo was duly crowned FIFA’s World Best player at a no-expense-spared gala in Zurich on Monday but the glittering awards ceremony – rival to the Ballon d’Or from which FIFA recently disassociated itself – was marred by a fierce attack on Barcelona for snubbing the world governing body’s inaugural showpiece event.