Bomb blast targets Cypriot referee outside home
February 27 – A pipe bomb exploded outside the home of a Cypriot referee early today, the latest in a string of threats and attacks against officials and their families.
Europe
Turkish Airlines break sponsorship records with Bosnia’s FK Sarajevo
By Mark Baber
February 26 – Vincent Tan’s FK Sarajevo has joined Barcelona, Manchester United, Feyenoord and Borussia Dortmund as a recipient of sponsorship from the fast-growing Turkish Airlines in a three and a half year deal reported to be the most lucrative ever in Bosnian sport.
Greek Super League suspended after violence runs out of control
By Andrew Warshaw
February 26 – Just as its new government struggles to come to terms with its enormous debt crisis, Greece now has a major sporting issue on its hands with domestic football plunged back into chaos after the authorities ordered the suspension of the top three league divisions.
Top Eleven 2015 game release adds 2m downloads in first week
By Paul Nicholson
February 26 – Nordeus, makers of the Top Eleven football management game, is reporting a successful relaunch with more than 2 million new downloads in the first week following the game’s release in the app stores.
Italian World Cup hero Cannavaro gets 10 months in jail for breaking into own home
February 25 – Former Real Madrid and Juventus defender Fabio Cannavaro has been sentenced to 10 months in prison for breaking the police seal at his home in Naples.
CIES stats underline Ajax position as Harvard of football
By Mark Baber
February 24 – The latest statistical analysis by the Swiss based CIES Football Observatory looks at which clubs have trained the most footballers currently playing in 31 European top leagues, with Ajax, which has long enjoyed a reputation as a training orientated club, topping the list.
Levski shares go on sale with all cash going to run the club
By Alexander Krassimirov
February 24 – Bulgaria’s Levski Sofia today opened the sale of shares in the club to fans. All those who buy shares will receive them from those held by majority owner Todor Batkov. All money received will go into the running of the club and not to Batkov.
GKS Katowice lines up €24m stadium investment from city
By Jaroslaw Adamowski
February 23 – Polish city Katowice is preparing to dip into public funds to build a new stadium for its struggling football club GKS Katowice and support its bid to return to the top division of the Polish league. The investment is estimated to be worth about PLN 100 million (€24 million).
The enemy within: match-fixers rampant in Cyprus, CL match probe in Romania
February 24 – Footballers in Cyprus have a 34% chance of being asked by a stranger to fix matches and a 23% chance of being approached by an official from their own club, according to a damning survey commissioned by the Cyprus Footballers’ Association.
Parma’s €16m debt crisis worsens as Serie A call league game off
February 23 – Italian Serie A club Parma, twice former winners of the old UEFA Cup, took the dramatic step of calling off Sunday’s league game against Udinese on safety grounds as the division’s bottom club edged closer towards the financial abyss.
IFA set September date for second digital talkshop in Berlin
February 20 – The International Football Arena (IFA) have set September 10 as the date for their second Berlin conference, following on from the success of last year’s inaugural trip to Berlin for the Zurich-based talk shop.
Young Celtic fan wins SPL Goal of the Month award with 97% of vote
By Jamie Styles
February 20 – Last week Jay Beatty, a young Celtic super-fan with Down’s Syndrome, was nominated in Scotland’s SPL Goal of the Month competition. Today the league announced that Jay had won the award with a landslide victory, receiving a massive 97% of the votes.
Europe’s football racism comes from the top of the game, says Powar
February 20 – One of Europe’s leading anti-racism chiefs believes the episode involving Chelsea supporters blocking a black man from boarding a Paris Metro train is part of a wider problem of racism in football despite stringent efforts to cut it out.
Tomov cleared of fraud and sets sights on Bulgarian league title
By Alexander Krassimirov
February 20 – Sofia City Court (SCC) cleared the chairman of the supervisory board of CSKA Sofia, Alexander Tomov, of charges of misappropriation of funds from metallurgical plant Kremikovtsi and the football club. On Monday, prosecutors requested 10 years in prison for Tomov, but Sofia City Court dropped all the charges.
Levski Sofia owner puts shares up for sale to raise cash for club
By Alexander Krassimirov
February 18 – With one Bulgarian club owner facing a possible prison sentence for fraud, another, Levski Sofia Todor Batkov (pictured) has said he has had enough and has announced he is ready to sell his shares in the club.