By Paul Nicholson
November 7 – The decision by WADA to amend their 2021 World Anti-Doping Agency Code to reduce disciplinary sanctions for athletes who test positive for substances that are unrelated to sports performance will doubtless come as a relief for players, but it is a ruling that could conceivably cover recreational drugs.
By David Owen
November 6 – Gene testing may be utilised as part of the battle against drug cheats at next year’s Olympic Games in Tokyo, according to International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach.
November 6 – The head of Hellas Verona’s ultras group has been banned by the club for 11 years relating to the racist abuse aimed at Bescia striker Mario Balotelli last weekend.
November 5 – The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) will hear Chelsea’s appeal against their two-window transfer ban on November 20.
November 4 – As well as VAR making headlines after another weekend of top-flight action across Europe, racism was once again at the forefront of controversy – and yet again in Italy where striker Mario Balotelli kicked a ball into the stands and briefly walked off in protest at being targeted by Hellas Verona fans.
November 1 – The fight against illegal streaming of English Premier League games has achieved a significant victory after a Singapore-based firm and its director were convicted of infringing copyright by providing pirated content via Android TV boxes
November 1 – English Championship club Queens Park Rangers have accused both FIFA and UEFA of brushing a racism complaint under the carpet as they wait to hear whether action will be taken over an incident that prompted their under-18 team to abandon a game in Spain.
November 1 – Manchester United have said they are “cooperating fully” with a review into historical sex abuse by the English FA after allegations against former club employee Billy Watts, who died in 2009.
October 31 – As Osasuna socios ask their board to rethink the club’s shirt sponsorship by Kirolbet, so betting company activity in football is also focussing minds in Belgium where the Belgium Gambling Commission (BGC) has opened an investigation into Jupiler Pro League club KAA Gent.
October 31 – An independent review of one of English football’s most respected anti-discrimination organisations, Kick It Out, has found a series of governance shortcomings including “failures of communication” concerning how it handled an allegation of sexual assault made by a member of staff in 2017.
October 30 – English anti-discrimination campaigners have denounced UEFA for failing to throw Bulgaria out of the competition, or at least dock points, as punishment for their fans’ racist abuse of England players in the recent Euro 2020 qualifier between the sides.
October 30 – LaLiga’s Osasuna will meet with betting firm Kirolbet who hold the club’s main shirt sponsorship to discuss the possibility of terminating the contract early. The current contract ends in 2021.
October 29 – Former Manchester City and Ivory Coast player Yaya Toure has slammed FIFA for doing “nothing” in the fight against racism. Toure has urged the world federation to step up its game.
October 29 – Haringey Borough and Yeovil Town say they “want the real winner to be football” when they re-stage an FA Cup match tonight after the original game was abandoned when the team players walked off the pitch because of racial abuse.
October 28 – SIGA (Sports Integrity Global Alliance) has expanded its base in South America with the addition of Brazil’s Pacto pelo Esporte joining the integrity organisation’s growing membership and adding a corporate backbone to the sports integrity lobby.