By Andrew Warshaw
November 11 – As traditional rivals England and Scotland prepare to defy FIFA when they square off at Wembley for their World Cup qualifier tonight, football’s under-fire world governing body insists it has not banned the display of poppies by players on both sides to mark Armistice Day.
November 11 – Former Venezuela FA chief Rafael Esquivel pleaded guilty Thursday as anticipated to multiple charges resulting from the global football corruption scandal.
November 11 – Former CONCACAF president Jeffrey Webb has succeeded in having his sentencing delayed for a third time. Webb, who has pleaded guilty in the FIFA corruption cases brought by the US Department, will now be sentenced by a US federal court judge on May 11 next year.
November 10 – Northern Ireland players will wear plain black armbands during Friday night’s World Cup qualifying match against Azerbaijan to mark Armistice Day – but not the poppy symbol that has caused so much controversy.
November 10 – FIFA’s ethics investigators have recommended a life ban from football for the former president of Honduras, Rafael Callejas, for his part in the ongoing corruption scandal which continues to plague world football’s governing body.
November 9 – The former president of the Venezuelan FA is expected to change his plea to guilty in Brooklyn on Thursday over his alleged role in the US-led football corruption probe, according to agency reports quoting court records.
November 9 – The sentencing of disgraced former CONCACAF leader Jeff Webb (pictured) could be delayed yet again if a court in New York grants another request for an adjournment.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 7 – Zambia’s FA is endorsing its former president Kalusha Bwalya (pictured) to run for a FIFA Council position next spring even though he is alleged to have accepted bribes from disgraced former FIFA vice-president Mohammed Bin Hammam.
I have been watching social events, political mayhem, financial meltdowns and cultural phenomena for too many years not to understand and accept how very important every human interaction is to, well, at least SOMEbody.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 4 – Battered by widespread criticism of his plans to expand the World Cup finals, FIFA president Gianni Infantino has come out fighting by insisting the move will provide a better spectacle for both fans and sponsors.
November 4 – Iran have been fined by FIFA after fans were asked to sing religious chants and wear black at a World Cup qualifier played on a holy day.
November 4 – FIFA’s women’s player of the year nominees include just one American, Carli Lloyd, who will defend her “title” against three Olympic champions from Germany and Brazil’s five-time winner Marta.
November 4 – The poppy dispute between the English and Scottish federations and FIFA has rebounded on the Republic of Ireland who have had a disciplinary case opened against them over a logo worn in March to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the so-called Easter Rising against British rule.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 3 – England and Scotland look set to defy a FIFA ban on players wearing poppy symbols on their shirts when the teams meet for a World Cup qualifier on Armistice Day on November 11 after British Prime Minister Teresa May waded into the dispute.
November 3 – The revolving door at FIFA under Gianni Infantino’s presidency has claimed yet another member of the old guard with the news that the organisation’s highly respected chief medical officer Jiri Dvorak has stepped down from his post after 22 years in the job.