By Andrew Warshaw
February 9 – True to his word in the wake of his stunning election victory last September, UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has announced sweeping changes to the organisation’s governance structure, highlighted by term limits and a ban on anyone outside senior national association positions from joining UEFA’s inner sanctum.
By Paul Nicholson
February 7 – The various charges against Olympiacos owner Evangelos Marinakis – some legally and others through the media – are rapidly dropping away one by one. The latest charge to be reversed was by the Greek Administrative Court of Appeal in support of the positions of Olympiacos and Marinakis.
February 7 – Real Madrid are reportedly stepping up their interest in a European Super league after being left high and dry by the late postponement of a recent league game.
February 6 – Borussia Dortmund have issued an apology after fans of RB Leipzig were attacked before the two sides met on Saturday leaving several supporters injured including women and children.
February 6 – Argentine World Cup winner Mario Kempes has been sacked from his ambassadorial role with Spain’s Valencia for fiercely criticising the team after their 4-0 thrashing at home to Eibar.
February 5 – The inaugural Sportego Celtic eSports League kicks off February 6 with a 14-week season that opens with Linfield against Shamrock Rovers followed by Crusaders vs Dundalk.
February 3 – In a fascinating case that will be noted by all stakeholders in football’s transfer landscape, player power has lost out to contractual obligations after Bayer Leverkusen’s Turkish international midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu had a four-month ban upheld by the Court of Arbitration for Sport meaning he will miss the rest of the season.
February 3 – In a significant break with the past regime of Michel Platini and as promised by his successor Aleksander Ceferin, UEFA have introduced an open tender process for cities keen to stage its major club finals and have named those interested in hosting in 2019, with formal bidding now under way.
By Andrew Warshaw
January 31 – Four and a half months into his UEFA presidency, Aleksander Čeferin says he’s having to work far longer hours than he imagined and has denounced those who doubted his ability – even within his own circles.
January 31- Premier League managers may have taken the opportunity to give key players a rest this week with the Fourth Round of FA Cup matches, but fans were in no mood to to take a week off. Five of the eight Premier League clubs with home matches sold out more than 95% of their capacities.
January 25 – French club Bastia have banned a supporter who made monkey chants at Nice’s Italian striker Mario Balotelli during last Friday’s Ligue 1 match.
January 25 – Who are the all-time champions of Europe? Not surprisingly it is the two Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona who lead the ranking, with Real edging ahead but only by five points over the 25 years of Champions League competition.
January 25 – Serbia’s appeal against Kosovo becoming a member of UEFA has been rejected by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, finally paving the way for the breakaway state to persue its footballing ambitions without interference from Big Brother.
January 25 – A lower-league English club has taken the rare step of sacking its head groundsman of 27 years – not because of anything to do with team but after a match was postponed because of a frozen pitch.
By Andrew Warshaw
January 19 – UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin sees no “rational or legal grounds” to strip Russia of the 2018 World Cup despite the recent doping scandal combined with persistent instances of racism and the ongoing probe by Swiss authorities into the bid process.