September 8 – Edwin van der Sar, the former Dutch and Manchester United goalkeeper and now CEO of his beloved Ajax, says something has to be done about the European loan system which, he says, is stifling the first-team development of the brightest young talent.
By Mark Baber
September 7 – The Head of the Iranian Football Federation, Mehdi Taj, has slammed claims that the Iran-Syria game was fixed. Analysis of the game highlights confirms the Iranians made a determined effort to win.
September 7 – Ten months after South Africa beat Senegal in a World Cup qualifier, FIFA has taken the unusual step of ordering the match to be replayed after the official who refereed the game was banned for life.
By Paul Nicholson
September 6 – Olympiacos president Evangelos Marinakis, speaking at the Athens conference ‘Reinforcing, Crossing, and Transcending Borders: Soccer in a Globalized World’ sent a message to the world’s leading clubs saying “it is vital that they now accept their social responsibility towards their communities, and the world, by means of promoting specific actions and initiatives that can change the lives of everyday people.”
By Andrew Warshaw at Soccerex, Manchester
September 5 – The UEFA official in charge of anti-doping procedures has played down alarming figures provided by the notorious Fancy Bears hacking group by insisting professional footballers are clean.
September 4 – German coach Joachim Low and his players have denounced a hardcore section of fans for their disgraceful pro-Nazi chanting during Friday night’s World Cup qualifier against the Czech Republic.
September 4 – Today Olympiacos FC is hosting a conference in partnership with Harvard University promoting football’s social responsibility, particularly in relation to refugees and other vulnerable groups. The Greek giants aren’t the only club in the country who believe that football has a social duty and ability to be a great equalizer.
September 1 – One key figure will conspicuous by his absence when Spain take on Italy in the mother of all World Cup qualifiers on Saturday in Madrid.
By David Owen
August 31 – The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has been forced to scrap original plans for a new version of its ADAMS data management system at considerable expense.
August 31 – Former FIFA vice-president Jeffrey Webb, the most high-profile official snared in the FIFAGate corruption scandal, has waived his legal right to so-called “unconflicted counsel”, agreeing to continue with his current law firm, according to local media reports in his native Cayman Islands.
August 30 – Forget the obsequious amounts of money being lashed out on footballers, next week Olympiacos FC is hosting a conference in partnership with Harvard University promoting football’s social responsibility, particularly in relation to refugees and other vulnerable groups. The real world people transfers that no-one really wants to face up to, and certainly not club owners.
August 30 – Spain’s 19 regional federations and the government’s council for sport (CSD) have unanimously called for the resignation of Spanish FA (RFEF) president Angel Maria Villar (pictured), the former FIFA and UEFA powerbroker, following an emergency meeting.
August 24 – Some of world football’s biggest stars, including Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Paul Pogba, are leading the #EqualGame campaign, a new digital and social media platform launched by UEFA to promote inclusion, diversity and accessibility to football.
August 24 – Steroids allegedly used by a string of players during the 2010 World Cup should be completely banned, according to FIFA’s former chief medical officer.
By Andrew Warshaw
August 23 – FIFA has been quick to condemn the notorious hacking group Fancy Bears for releasing documents alleging that 25 players were allowed to take prohibited substances for medical reasons – known as Therapeutic Use Exemptions (TUEs) – at the 2010 World Cup.