July 23 – English Premier League champions Manchester City took their players off the pitch during an Elite Development Squad U21 fixture against Croatian side HNK Rijeka because of an alleged incident of racism against one of them.
By Andrew Warshaw, chief correspondent
July 22 – The boss of the FIFA affiliate at the heart of the ongoing World Cup ticket tout investigation in Brazil has made an impassioned plea to the authorities to release its director caught up in the probe, insisting he has done nothing wrong and is simply the victim of a huge misunderstanding.
July 22 – English Premier League champions Manchester City have launched a new membership and loyalty scheme, Cityzens, costing £35 per year for adults and £25 for under 16s.
July 22 – The Danish Football Association (DBU) has backed FC Copenhagen’s bid to move their Champions League qualifier at Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk later this month to a neutral venue following the Malaysia Airlines crash over territory controlled by pro-Russian separatists.
July 22 – South African football, going through a rebuilding phase under Danny Jordaan (pictured), is set to appoint a new head coach for its national team, but at club level it still has difficulty convincing everyone that country comes first.
By Andrew Warshaw
July 22 – The eagerly awaited report into possible wrongdoing during the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bid process has been delayed for several weeks. FIFA’s chief independent prosecutor Michael Garcia was expected to deliver the findings of his investigation this month but has delayed handing it over to ethics committee adjucatory chamber chief Hans-Joachim Eckert until the first week of September.
By David Owen
July 21 – The President of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) is hoping that next year’s Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Presidential election will usher in a period of much-needed harmony in the region’s football affairs. Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah, the former OPEC chairman who has become one of world sport’s foremost power brokers, said he thought the 2015 election “will found the unity of Asia”.
July 21 – Chinese telecommunications specialist Huawei has unveiled its first Arsenal smartphone as part of a multi-million pound sponsorship deal that was signed in January and will see the brand as the Official Smartphone Partner of the north London club until the end of season 2015/16.
July 21 – Three Russian cities have been identified as being those which face being cut from the country’s 2018 World Cup programme.
By Paul Nicholson
July 21 – Interpol are claiming a major success in the battle against illegal betting rings in Asia with a six-week World Cup operation carrying out more than 1,000 raids, 1,400 arrests and the seizure of $12 million.
By Andrew Warshaw
July 21 – Qatar’s authorities have approved key measures to improve the treatment of foreign workers amid pressure to comply with international standards in the buildup to the 2022 World Cup.
By Paul Nicholson
July 21 – The Ukrainian national championship is still scheduled to start this week (July 25), despite fears over national security following the downing of Malaysian Airlines MH17 and the loss of 295 lives. Several international players have refused to return to the Ukraine with their clubs.
By Andrew Warshaw
July 21 – Former World Cup-winning captain Dunga looks set to succeed Luiz Felipe Scolari as Brazil’s national coach following the World Cup host nation’s 7-1 semi-final humiliation against eventual winners Germany.
The Noam Chomsky quote appears to apply to all sorts of societies, businesses and people. One is tempted to add a variation of the theme and say: “For the hypocrites, crimes are those that others commit”. Far too many Brits have been claiming rather jingoistically, and for many years, that Britain could never compete with the massive corruption scandals that “those awful aliens” seem to specialise in.
July 21 – BMW Northern California has become the official automobile partner of San Jose Earthquakes, in time for the opening game of at the new Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara. BMW will be the presenting sponsor for the match against Seattle Sounders on August 2.