Oyston left with egg on his face after Blackpool tumble to tier 3
April 8 – English football fans are normally pretty restrained when it comes to protesting about the actions of those who run their clubs.
Europe
You don’t win anything with kids in Europe. Big 5 league clubs spurn U23s
April 8 – New data from the CIES Football Observatory shows the dependence of Europe’s clubs from the Big 5 leagues of England, Germany, France, Spain and Italy on clubs outside their leagues to develop players.
Racist Torpedo Moscow handed 2 match closed-door sanction for Nazi banner
By Andrew Warshaw
April 8 – Dubbed Russia’s most aggressive club, Torpedo Moscow have been found guilty of racism yet again, this time for displaying a Nazi symbol during Sunday’s 3-1 win at Arsenal Tula.
Insulting banners force Serie A to close part of Roma’s Stadio Olimpico
April 8 – Roma have been ordered to close part of their stadium at their next home game after fans displayed banners mocking the mother of a Napoli fan who died following clashes between rival supporters last year.
Second Romanian club owner jailed, leaving team on financial knife-edge
By Jaroslaw Adamowski
April 7 – Romanian billionaire Ioan Niculae (pictured), who owns top flight club Astra Giurgiu, has been sentenced to two years and six months in jail for his participation in the illegal financing of the presidential campaign of Mircea Geoana who ran for Romania’s top office in 2009. Niculae cannot appeal the decision.
Turks suspend league after gun attack on Fenerbahce team bus
April 7 – Turkey’s top division and domestic cup matches have been suspended for one week following a chilling and unprovoked gun attack on the Fenerbahce team bus at the weekend which left the driver seriously injured but the players unharmed.
Rangers find Easter heart despite having their stock market eggs in the wrong basket
August 6 – It has been a mixed Easter holiday for Scottish giants Rangers. The Championship side are battling a long period of boardroom instability and shareholder infighting, while at the same time being embroiled in a dogfight for a return to the Scottish Premier League – and what would be their third promotion in three seasons.
UEFA holds steady banking €1.7bn with 2016 payday looming
By David Owen
April 5 – UEFA, the European football body, generated revenue of €1.73 billion in its latest financial year to the end of June. The figure was marginally up on the prior year’s total of €1.7 billion.
Sofia clubs’ cash crisis continues with Levski and CSKA calling for fan support
By Alexander Krassimirov
April 2 – Bulgaria’s Levski Sofia has thanked fans for their donations which helped the club clear its debts and cover the requirements for a European license. The club have urged fans to continue with their financial help.
UK agents protest to EC over FIFA’s global clean-up of agency rules
By Andrew Warshaw
April 2 – FIFA’s radical reform of the status of agents, brought into effect on April 1, has caused an immediate backlash. The deregulation move whereby agents are now the responsibility of national associations rather than world football’s governing body is designed to weed out rogue parties and make for a more transparent process.
Puma keeps faith with Italians and renew, Tavecchio tackles Juve’s €443m claim
By Mark Baber
April 1 – PUMA and the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) have renewed their partnership, whilst FIGC President Carlo Tavecchio, central to the racism scandals plaguing Italian football, focuses on the need for Juventus to drop their €443 million civil suit.
Bulgarian clubs now wait in battle to meet UEFA licensing criteria
By Alexander Krassimirov
April 1 – Bulgaria’s two most successful clubs, CSKA Sofia and Levski Sofia, just managed to beat the deadline to file their paperwork to obtain a license for European club tournaments. CSKA and Levski are plagued by deep financial problems which have threatened their eligibility for a license.
UEFA and FIFPro team up for EC complaint to keep TPO ‘slavery’ banned
By Andrew Warshaw
April 1 – UEFA and the international players’ union FIFPro have joined forces to try and re-inforce Fifa’s forthcoming worldwide ban on third party ownership. The two bodies are filing an official complaint with the European Commission about the practise in order to strengthen stopping outside investors partially owning transfer rights.
Ruch Chorzow lines up new stadium as club battles relegation
By Jaroslaw Adamowski
April 1 – The municipal authorities of Poland’s Chorzow have unveiled plans to launch construction works on a new stadium for local club Ruch Chorzow in early 2017. In the first phase of the project, the facility will be fitted with a capacity of at least 4,500 seats.
European clubs win two places at UEFA’s top table
April 1 – European club representatives will join the top table of UEFA in a major breakthrough in terms of the way European football is governed. Two European Club Association officials will sit on UEFA’s executive committee meeting as “co-opted” members with full voting rights to follow, to be implemented at next year’s UEFA Congress.