December 19 – Greek club Olympiakos Piraeus have appealed against the partial closure of their ground for their glamour Champions League last-16 tie with Manchester United, denying claims by UEFA that a section of their fans acted in a racist way in last week’s final group game.
By Paul Nicholson
December 19 – Brazilian, coach and former World Cup winner Leonardo has accused UEFA president Michel Platini of not knowing what he is talking about when it comes to the importance of third-party player ownership in South America, and that the 14 month ban he received in France at PSG for allegedly pushing a referee on the touchline “had a political logic to it”.
December 18 – Champions League knockout stage qualifiers Olympiakos and Zenit St Petersburg have both paid the penalty for racist behaviour by their respective fans.
December 18 – The Global Player, a new magazine, was published this week by the International Football Arena (IFA) and is as eclectic and elegant in its look and feel as the IFA conferences are themselves. Originally planned as a one-off to celebrate 15 years of IFA in Zurich, the magazine will now be published regularly, though the commitment to the publishing schedule is to be announced.
By Andrew Warshaw
December 18 – One of the players at the centre of the English spotfixing scandal has been sacked by his club on the grounds of gross misconduct.
By Andrew Warshaw
December 17 – Seven Spanish clubs, including Real Madrid and Barcelona, could be investigated for allegedly obtaining illegal state aid or loans in breach of European Union regulations.
December 17 – Former AC Milan midfielder Gennaro Gattuso, one of the most iconic figures in Italian football, is reportedly being investigated for match-fixing.
By Tom Parsons
December 17 – Twitter accounts predicting the outcomes of several high-profile football draws, leading some to conclude that those in charge of the draws are corrupt, have turned out to be a scam to build twitter audiences for these newly created and so-called ‘ITK’ (in the know) accounts.
By Jaroslaw Adamowski
December 17 – The majority shareholder of Lechia Gdansk, currently playing in the Ekstraklasa, is planning to sell its stake in the Polish football club.
December 16 – Big-spending Manchester City’s reward for reaching the knockout stage of the Champions League for the first time is a mouth-watering clash with four-time winners Barcelona, while holders Bayern Munich face Arsenal for the second year in a row in the other big tie of the last 16 following today’s draw.
December 13 – Valencia, struggling with €300 million of debt, has run into further trouble with Bankia, who holds most of the debt, saying there will no refinancing available for the club.
December 13 – Zenit St Petersburg have admitted their Champions League fixture against Austria Vienna this week was almost called off because of their fans. The Macedonian referee had to stop play for several minutes in the first half of Zenit’s 4-1 defeat when a number of flares were thrown from the visiting Russian supporters.
By Alexander Krassimirov
December 13 – Bulgarian club Levski Sofia has put the reconstruction of its Georgi Asparuhov stadium on hold which new money is sought to complete the build.
By Andrew Warshaw
December 13 – Wales could be a surprise bidder for the 2026 World Cup in partnership with England and/or other British federations. Cardiff has already been selected to host next year’s UEFA Super Cup, only the second time it has not been staged in Monaco, and Wales First Minister Carwyn Jones said his country was keen to use the opportunity to further its credentials.
By Andrew Warshaw
December 13 – UEFA wants football’s lawmakers to scrap the so-called “triple punishment” rule that many in the game feel is too draconian.