Brych blows final whistle on international refereeing
July 15 – Leading German referee Felix Brych has retired from the international game and won’t officiate at the World Cup in Qatar, he announced.
Europe
Canal+ reconfirms intent to switch off French league deal over Amazon row
July 14 – Has a separation between France’s LFP and its traditional anchor broadcaster Canal+ become inevitable? With Ligue 1 kicking off the first weekend of August, the broadcaster has renewed its request to terminate its contract with the league, confirming its position after Amazon won broadcast rights for the first time in June.
Standard Liège and Mouscron allowed to return to transfer market
July 14 – The Belgian FA has lifted the transfer ban of both Standard Liège and Mouscron, allowing the pair of clubs to enter the market again before the 2021/22 season kicks off.
Rashford overwhelmend by community support after mural defaced
July 14 – England striker Marcus Rashford, one of the three black players racially abused on social media following the penalty shootout loss to Italy, says he is “overwhelmed” and “lost for words” after hundreds of messages of support were placed on a mural depicting the England striker.
Lopez plan saves Bordeaux, Angers also to keep spot in Ligue 1
July 13 – Bordeaux and Angers can breathe a sigh of relief. Both clubs will play in Ligue 1 next season after their appeals against relegation imposed by France’s financial watchdog DNCG were successful, the clubs announced separately on Monday.
UEFA increases resource to tackle match-fixing and organised crime
July 13 – UEFA have moved to increase the resources to fight against betting related match-fixing in European football.
Tebas brands bi-annual World Cup as self destruction; says ESL is dead whatever the courts rule
By Andrew Warshaw
July 9 – La Liga chief Javier Tebas (pictured) has rubbished the idea of staging the World Cup every two years – and also insists the European Super League is dead in the water whatever the European Court of Justice decides.
Motherwell fans raise cash to buy season tickets for unemployed and low income workers
July 9 – Fans of Scottish Premiership side Motherwell have raised £60,000 to buy season tickets for unemployed and low-income families this season, with the club matching that figure.
UEFA opens disciplinary proceedings against England after Wembley semi-final
July 8 – UEFA has opened disciplinary proceedings against England following the Euro 2020 semi-final match between England and Denmark at Wembley last night.
Portuguese police swoop on Benfica’s Vieira in money laundering and tax probe
July 8 – In a move that has rocked Portuguese football, Luis Filipe Vieira, president of Benfica, the country’s biggest club, has been detained as part of an investigation into alleged tax fraud and money laundering and forgery.
Bundesliga to restart with up to 25,000 fans at matches
July 8 – German authorities have green lighted the return of fans to next’s season Bundesliga with the total number of supporters per match capped at 25,000.
French football’s financial regulators send Girondins and Angers to Ligue 2
July 5 – Lurching from crisis to crisis, French football has been rocked again after the Direction Nationale du Contrôle de Gestion (DNCG) temporarily demoted both Bordeaux and Angers to Ligue 2 and placed Nantes under supervision.
Spanish court orders UEFA to stop penalising rebel ESL clubs
July 2 – The legal battle between UEFA and the three remaining heavyweight clubs seeking to keep alive a European Super League has taken another twist with the Spanish courts once again acting to protect their interests.
Late to the party? Nordic culture ministers combine for anti-corruption message
July 1 – Denmark’s culture minister, Joy Mogensen,has criticised the bid process that allowed Qatar to host the 2022 World Cup, saying it was “wrong” and raised questions of corruption in international sports organisations.
Standard Liege given go-ahead to expand Stade Maurice Dufrasne
July 1 – Belgian club Standard Liege have been given the green light by to expand their stadium capacity from 28.700 to 32.000.