Xavi picked Barca before Brazil
November 9 – New Barcelona head coach Xavi Hernandez says he wanted the job so much he turned down joining the Brazilian national team set-up.
Europe
Chelsea fan is jailed in for anti-semitic tweets aimed at Spurs supporters
November 8 – A fanatical Chelsea fan who posted antisemitic and racist tweets aimed at supporters of rivals Tottenham Hotspur, a club with large Jewish following, has been jailed for eight weeks.
Barca bring Xavi ‘home’
November 8 – Former Barcelona midfielder Xavi Hernández has returned to the Camp Nou as the new coach of his boyhood club following the sacking of Ronald Koeman.
Women’s Euro 2025 attracts record five bidders for hosting rights
November 5 – UEFA has received no fewer than five declarations of interest representing eight member associations to host the 2025 women’s Euros. It is another indication of the pace of growth of the women’s game, the increased profile it is achieving and the commitment from nations to invest in its expansion.
West Ham slam anti-semitic abuse by fans on flight to Genk match
November 5 – English Premier League club West Ham say they are appalled by video footage of fans singing anti-semitic songs at a Jewish passenger on a flight to Belgium for a Europa League tie.
Messi sets sights on return to Barcelona, once his playing days are over
November 5 – Lionel Messi says he wants to return to Barcelona, perhaps as technical director, after his contract with Paris Saint-Germain ends and he retires from playing.
English fan jailed for Facebook abuse of Rashford, Sancho and Saka after Euro final
November 4 – An English fan who racially abused Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka after England lost the Euro 2020 final to Italy has been sentenced to 10 weeks in jail.
CFG targets Russia and opens talks with Spartak Moscow
November 2 – City Football Group (CFG) have reportedly opened negotiations to acquire a 20% stake in Russian club Spartak Moscow.
Football Foundation launches PitchPower app in bid to reduce cancelled matches
November 3 – UK football charity, the Football Foundation, has launched its new ‘Power Up Your Grass Pitch’ campaign, with the ambition goals of reaching over 7,000 ‘good quality’ grass pitches by 2024 and 20,000 by 2030.
Antisemitic fans land Union Berlin with partial stadium closure for next European game
November 2 – UEFA have hit Germany’s Union Berlin with a partial stadium closure for the antisemitic behaviour of some of its fans towards supporters of Israeli club Maccabi Haifa.
Missing a beat: Aguero out for three months while health is monitored
November 2 – Argentine striker Sergio Aguero will not play for three months after suffering chest pains against Alaves on Saturday, his club Barcelona have announced.
UEFA pushes deeper into betting markets via data rights deal with Sportradar
November 1 – Sportradar has signed a deal with UEFA to be the European confederation’s exclusive betting data distributor. The agreement also makes Sportradar UEFA’s authorised data collector.
Italians rule out early Eriksen return to Inter Milan, but he could play in other leagues
November 1 – Inter Milan have ruled that Christian Eriksen, who was fitted with a defibrillator after he suffered a cardiac arrest while playing for Denmark against Finland at Euro 2020, will not be allowed to play this season.
Ligue 1 pulls out of switching Lyon vs Monaco to China citing covid travel issues
October 31 – France’s Ligue 1 has reportedly shelved plans to play a regular season league game in Shanghai, China, next February.
Swiss football violence forces league to consider banning away fans
October 29 – Following several recent incidents, the Swiss Football League are reportedly discussing whether to ban away fans.