Partizan Belgrade hunts for African talent as it locks squad out for failing to agree pay deal
May 29 – Serbia’s FK Partizan has agreed a co-operation with the Uganda and Kenya FAs based around bringing players from Africa to Europe.
Europe
FK Tirana ultras storm pitch and attack officials after late penalty knock them off the top league
May 26 – Supporters of Albania’s FK Tirana attacked the match officials after the club’s game against with FK Bylis. The Tirana Ultras of Tirana stormed the pitch and chased the referee after the match ended 2-2.
German clubs walk away from €2bn private equity deal for stake in their media rights
May 25 – The German Football League (DFL) has walked away from a potential €2 billion of private equity funding for a stake in the Bundesliga’s media rights.
Tebas apologises to Vinicius over fast-fingered Twitter post
May 25 – LaLiga President Javier Tebas has issued an apology for his online rant at Vinicius Jr after the Real Madrid star said the Spanish league belonged to racists following the racist insults he suffered at Valencia last Sunday.
Bulgaria issues licenses to enable clubs to play but BFU will monitor debt repayments closely
May 25 – Bulgaria’s Levski Sofia received a ‘conditional’ license for the next season but will be under constant monitoring by the Bulgarian Football Union (BFU).
The club has debts of over BGN 11 million (€5,5 million) to the National Revenue Agency (NRA). The BFU said it will track whether Levski regularly pays its debts to the state. The monthly instalment to the NRA is approximately BGN 140,000 (€70 000).
Napoli’s Stadio Diego Armando Maradona home put up for sale
May 25 – The Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, desperately in need of renovation, has been put up for sale by the city.
LaLiga demands greater powers to punish racism, police make arrests over Vinicius ‘hate crimes’
May 24 – In the aftermath of the Vinicius Jr racism scandal, La Liga will request greater power to punish incidents of racism in Spanish football.
Serbian FA sanctions FC Kolubara with 9 point deduction for match-fixing
May 24 – The Football Association of Serbia (FSS) has punished Serbian Super League team FK Kolubara Lazarevac with a nine point deduction, one round before the end of the season, virtually ensuring the club will be relegated to the second tier for next season.
Serie A’s De Siervo promises ‘zero tolerance’ on racism
May 25 – The head of Serie A Luigi De Siervo has said that Italian football will adopt a “zero tolerance” stance towards racist fans, and will leverage technology to identify culprits and enforce stadium bans.
Manchester City are bookies favourites for Champions League Glory
May 24 – The Champions League final is fast approaching and the betting market is becoming frenzied with guides and betting tips providing online players and bettors with winner odds and lists of the latest soccer betting sites and best betting apps available on the market.
Istanbul warms up for final with UEFA Champions Festival
May 24 – UEFA has launched detail of its Champions Festival that will run alongside the Champions League Final between Manchester City and Internazionale at Atatürk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul on Saturday June 10.
More monkey chants at Vinicius sparks wider racism row over LaLiga’s failure to act
May 23 – Real Madrid star Vinicius Jr has said La Liga is a league of racists, but Javier Tebas has vehemently defended the way the Spanish topflight deals with racism.
Juventus hit with new 10 point penalty, pushing them out of European club qualification slots
May 23 – Juventus have been pushed back down the Serie A table after an Italian tribunal made a ruling to dock them 10 points for the current season. The points loss puts them outside European club competition qualification with two games left to play.
Ukraine’s Shaktar condemn Barca stars’ Russian message; FIFA extends contract suspension rule
May 23 – Shakhtar Donetsk CEO Sergei Palkin has condemned FC Barcelona players after their video message thanking Russian fans for their support on La Liga’s Telegram Channel.
Van Damme joins elite group of female FA presidents as she tackles task of uniting Belgian game
May 23 – Pascale Van Damme has become the first female president of the Belgian FA (RFBA) succeeding Paul Van Den Bulck, who departed after an internal power struggle.