February 1 – English Premier league club West Ham United have become embroiled in a race row that has that has seen their director of recruitment suspended after reportedly claiming that the club do not want to sign African players because “they can have a bad attitude” and “cause mayhem”.
February 1 – The managing director of Spanish second-tier side Cadiz has been arrested in relation to a money-laundering investigation, sources close to the operation told AFP.
January 31 – A German-Turkish player known for his pro-Kurdish views, who was targeted in a recent drive-by shooting, has been banned for life by the Turkish Football Federation.
By Paul Nicholson
January 30 – Greek football is in chaos and the crisis in the top professional tiers is not showing any signs of improvement. This is despite a FIFA normalisation committee led by Portuguese Vitor Melo Pereira and the parachuting in last week of UEFA director of national associations Zoran Laković. Rather than finding solutions, his trip in fact just rubber stamped the ‘new’ status quo.
By Tim Rohn and Andrew Warshaw
January 26 – The growing sense of unease pervading FIFA under the regime of Gianni Infantino has been exposed by a blatant attempt to undermine a scathing report into the organisation’s record on governance by the Council of Europe. FIFA’s lobbying fell on deaf ears as the council overwhelming voted in favour of adopting the report with 131 votes in favour and just five against.
January 26 – Bayern Munich, chasing their sixth consecutive Bundesliga title, has defended sponsorship and training links with Qatar after criticism from Wenzel Michalski, the director of Human Rights Watch Germany.
January 26 – Manchester City have made a significant step towards raising the profile of the women’s game and recognising greater gender parity with the launch of a media campaign titled Same City, Same Passion.
January 25 – Former South American powerbrokers Jose Maria Marin and Juan Angel Napout, both awaiting sentence in the United States having been found guilty in the FIFAGate corruption trials, are still fighting their corner demanding to be acquitted or face a retrial.
January 25 – It was supposed to be a new dawn free of controversy. But the appointment of former England international Phil Neville as the new coach of the national women’s team has hardly got off to the best start.
By Andrew Warshaw
January 24 – Former UEFA president Michel Platini, a largely peripheral figure in the game since his ban for financial wrongdoing, has decided to take one last stand to try and clear his name by going to the European Court of Human Rights, according to reports in France.
January 24 – A former England international who was banned by the Football Association in April last year for breaching betting rules claims 50% of professional players bet on matches and that gambling is “culturally engrained” in the sport.
By Paul Nicholson
January 22 – Allegations of match-fixing are still blighting Greek football with clubs complaining that the promised clean-up has not happened and that referees appointments are being influenced and that in turn is manipulating results.
January 22 – With US Soccer president Sunil Gulati and CONCACAF president Victor Montagliani about to begin their charm offensive in Europe for the North American bid for the 2026 World Cup, Gulati has been hit with new problems.
By Andrew Warshaw
January 22 – The head of Norway’s FA has called on FIFA to step up its investigation into the Russian doping scandal and even consider a ban, comments that have prompted a furious response from his Russian counterpart.
July 19 – The confirmed speaker line-up for the Tackling Matchfixing conference, March 9-10, has been released. The conference, to be held at the Chelsea Harbour Hotel with a Gala Dinner at Stamford Bridge on March 9, is now open for registration.