Big score, but no problem? Paide put 31 past Raudteetoolised
July 2 – No-one is suggesting any shenanigans or rigging by Asian syndicates but yet another football scoreline in Estonia has raised eyebrows.
Europe
Where Blatter could be talk of the Toon
By Paul Nicholson
July 2 – If Sepp Blatter is looking for something to do when he finally hands in his FIFA presidential mandate we think we may have found just the activity in England’s Newcastle upon Tyne.
Romanian federation boss stands himself down amid corruption probe
By Mark Baber
July 2 – Gheorghe Chivorchian (pictured), the general secretary of the Romanian Football Federation (FRF) has suspended himself from his position after prosecutors charged him with abusing his position and forging documents when he was chairman of club side Poli Timisoara.
Infantino urges Spanish league to drop Winter 2022 legal challenge
By Andrew Warshaw
July 1 – Clearly aware that his president Michel Platini voted for Qatar to stage the 2022 World Cup on condition it was held in winter, UEFA general secretary Gianni Infantino has urged Spanish football officials to stop challenging the decision to switch the tournament from its traditional summer slot to November-December.
UEFA stick by Olympiakos despite match-fixing shame, for the moment
July 1 – Olympiakos are for the moment retaining their spot in the Champions League despite the Greek club’s owner Evangelos ‘Vangelis’ Marinakis being accused of running a racketeering and match-fixing ring.
UEFA tweaks FFP to allow clubs to invest new cash
By Andrew Warshaw
June 30 – UEFA’s tweaked financial fair play rules come into effect tomorrow with the organisation re-iterating the system has been a success despite the highly-publicised legal challenge from Belgium which threatens to undermine years’ of painstaking work to ensure clubs balance their books.
Serie B Catania faces drop as president admits buying matches
June 30 – Italian Serie B club Catania faces relegation after its president admitted fixing five games last season to avoid dropping out of the division.
De Keersmaecker re-elected in Belgium but clubs threaten sanctions
By Samindra Kunti
June 29 – Francois de Keersmaecker has been reelected as president of the Belgian Football Association, the KBVB, but the Pro League has already threatened to take financial reprisals after a contentious voting procedure and more accusations of mismanagement at the KBVB.
As UEFA top brass meet, will Platini take the FIFA challenge?
June 29 – UEFA’s new-look executive committee holds its first meeting today and tomorrow with financial fair play and the format for the 2016 Euro finals the top items on the agenda though discussions on a successor to FIFA president Sepp Blatter seem certain to take place, whether formally or informally.
Spanish league takes on FIFA over €65m losses of a 2022 Winter World Cup
By Mark Baber
June 29 – The Spanish League (LFP) has filed an appeal regarding the playing dates for the 2022 World Cup, according to a spokesperson for the Court of Arbitration for Sport, although a date for the hearing has yet to be set.
Duchatelet sells Standard Liege but keeps his foreign club stakes
By Samindra Kunti
June 26 – Charlton Athletic owner Roland Duchatelet has sold leading Belgian club Standard Liege to Italian Bruno Venanzi for an estimated €30 million. Duchatelet insists that this does not signal a retreat from football.
Chemical giant Grupa Azoty cooks deal for buyout of Ekstraklasa’s Pogon Szczecin
By Jaroslaw Adamowski
June 26 – Poland’s leading chemical company Grupa Azoty is planning to become the majority shareholder in top tier club Pogon Szczecin. The company is currently the club’s main sponsor and is in negotiation with the municipal authorities of Szczecin to buy the club.
Batkov quits Levski in tears and with huge losses
By Alexander Krassimirov
June 26 – The on-off ownership of Bulgaria’s Levski Sofia has been resolved with Todor Batkov announcing that he is stepping down after 17 years at the helm. At an emotional press conference the lawyer said that he will transfer his shares to the Chairman of the Board of the club, Ivo Tonev, and two other businessmen, Alexander Angelov and Nikolai Ivanov.
CSKA Sofia name and logo go up for auction
By Alexander Krassimirov
June 25 – Humiliated by their forced relegation to Bulgaria’s amateur leagues, the country’s tax collectors have heaped further misery on the team by announcing an auction of the club’s brand assets – it’s name, logo and trademarks.
UEFA picks six boffins for football research grant initiative
June 25 – UEFA has selected six proposals for its Research Grant Programme for the 2015/16 programme. 52 applications were received from 25 different UEFA member associations supported projects.