By Andrew Warshaw
May 19 – With a raft of clubs struggling to comply, UEFA have agreed to relax the rules on financial fair play that were introduced in 2011 to curb overspending, but which have led to the widely anticipated threat of legal challenges.
By David Owen
May 18 – Top football clubs face a common problem: as their global brands become more powerful, their fan-bases become more remote and harder to engage with – and to monetise. Digital technology seems an obvious route to addressing this issue, and this week Real Madrid, which has been notably quick off the mark in the use of social media, will launch its latest initative for connecting with supporters worldwide.
May 18 – Six months after federation president Carlo Tavecchio was banned for his notorious “banana eaters” comments when referring to African footballers, Italian football has been plunged into fresh embarrassment with another less than savoury verbal faux pas.
By Alexander Krassimirov
May 18 – Turkish international and current captain of Turkey’s Fenerbahce Emre Belozoglu (pictured) has been attacked by Besiktas supporters while traveling on a ferry.
By Matt Scott
May 15 – Major Greek clubs are in open revolt over the corruption scandal that has put the owner of Olympiacos in the dock over allegations of extortion, bribery and arranging a bombing.
By Andrew Warshaw
May 15 – If the FIFA presidency was awarded to the candidate with the best human rights approval ratings, Michael van Praag would be looking forward to a single four-year term of office come May 29.
By Samindra Kunti
May 15 – The president of RC Lens Gervais Martel has insisted a new investor will inject €15 million in the much troubled club to keep Lens afloat in France’s second division Ligue 2 after majority shareholder Hafiz Mammadov defaulted.
May 15 – Despite the Spanish courts lifting the threat of an end-of-season La Liga strike over the imposition of a collective TV rights bargaining agreement, the unsavoury war of words between the various parties shows little sign of abating.
By Samindra Kunti
May 15 – Ajax Amsterdam failed to win the Dutch title this season, finishing second behind champions PSV, but the club wants to reestablish itself as Holland’s number one team through the construction of Ajax City, a state of the art training complex. At the same time the Amsterdam Arena may seek a stadium naming rights deal.
May 15 – After a season in which his club has been at the forefront of a series of racist incidents, the president of Torpedo Moscow, instead of apologising, has indulged in an outrageous piece of self-denial.
By Andrew Warshaw
May 14 – It isn’t every day that a club in the eighth tier of its country’s football pyramid makes national headlines. But such is the gross injustice meted out to tiny Enfield Town in England’s Ryman Premier League that the club received nationwide support in their fight to avoid being sanctioned by the English FA for no other reason than showing integrity and good governance.
By Mark Baber
May 14 – Another milestone in the downward spiral of Turkish football has been reached with a statement by the Turkey Football Federation that six Süper Lig clubs have failed to meet UEFA’s requirements to participate in European football in the 2015-2016 season.
May 14 – Former Birmingham City chairman Carson Yeung (pictured) has lost an appeal against a six-year Hong Kong jail sentence for money laundering. Yeung moved HK$720 million (£55 million) though his accounts between 2001 and 2007.
By Andrew Warshaw
May 14 – In a major snub to the country’s national federation and its long-time leader, FIFA vice-president Angel Maria Villar Llona, Spain’s national court today blocked a proposed strike that would have thrown the end of the La Liga season into chaos.
By Jaroslaw Adamowski
May 13 – AS Roma is poised to sign a main sponsorship deal with Etihad Airways. Under the plan, the UAE-based airlines will pay the Italian side about €14 million per year as the club’s main sponsor, and a further €14 million per annum for the naming rights to its new stadium, Stadio della Roma.