By Paul Nicholson
August 27 – The soap opera that has become Trinidad and Tobago football took another turn for the worse for the rank and file of the game on the islands yesterday as FIFA issued a deadline, via letter, and a clear warning of suspension. At the same time former TTFA former president William Wallace issued his own warning to FIFA that he and his allies will not back down.
By David Owen
August 25 – Gianni Infantino’s pay has crashed through the $3 million barrier. FIFA’s 2019 annual report has made an appearance on the world governing body’s website, revealing the amounts that the FIFA president and his secretary general were awarded in salary and allowances last year.
August 25 – The noose is beginning to tighten around the neck of outgoing Swiss attorney general Michael Lauber (pictured) which could potentially have significant consequences for FIFA president Gianni Infantino amid the ongoing saga of those infamous undocumented meetings between the pair.
August 25 – FIFA president Gianni Infantino’s predilection for private jet travel looks likely to cause him more discomfort than a trip in economy class.
August 25 – FIFA have relaxed the rules on the release of players for the upcoming international matches because of the repercussions of the coronavirus pandemic.
By Paul Nicholson
August 24 – William Wallace, removed from the presidency of the Trinidad and Tobago FA by a FIFA Normalisation Committee just three months after being elected to office, is not backing down in the dispute to have the legality of board’s removal contested in Trinidad rather than at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland.
August 21 – FIFA is planning a change in its rules that will allow players to switch eligibility and represent a second national team.
August 21 – FIFA is not stepping back from its own statutes and rules of law and is maintaining that the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) is the correct forum for the ousted former Trinidad and Tobago FA leadership who have complained against their replacement by a Normalisation Committee.
By Andrew Warshaw
August 19 – FIFA’s ethics body today stood firm behind Gianni Infantino in the wake of the much-publicised Swiss criminal investigation into his conduct, refusing to suspend him by arguing the allegations did not “ justify the adoption of any kind of measure”, yet seriously calling into question its credibility and so-called independence.
By Samindra Kunti
August 19 – In the latest modification to the international match calendar, FIFA has replaced the September fixtures window with a new window at the end of January 2022 for all confederations with the exception of UEFA.
August 17 – Another weekend, another member of FIFA’s staff rolled out to stand fully behind FIFA president Gianni Infantino and his ‘innocense’ campaign, a public relations push that is threatening to become the football PR campaign to end all football PR campaigns by a sitting FIFA president.
August 14 – Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter has launched another attack on his successor Gianni Infantino, claiming the present incumbent “thinks he is untouchable” and should have an ethics inquiry opened against him immediately.
August 13 – The defence of FIFA president Gianni Infantino by Olli Rehn (pictured), chairman of FIFA’s Covid-19 steering committee, has prompted a sharp response from a former FIFA staffer and a former candidate to represent CAF at the FIFA council.
By Andrew Warshaw
August 12 – At first glance it looks like just another routine FIFA press release, this time about the organisation’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
By Andrew Warshaw
August 11 – A strongly worded press release in Q and A format; a hastily arranged virtual press conference denouncing the Swiss judicial authorities; an attack on the reform process under the previous regime; letters fired off to every national association and every member of the all-powerful FIFA Council; and, if rumours are to be believed, the hiring of at least three (no doubt expensive) external specialist lawyers to help fight the case.