Damaged image. Spanish taxman chases Ancelotti for unpaid €1m on hidden income
June 23 – Spain’s crackdown on tax evasion in football has snared yet another alleged culprit – Everton’s much-travelled manager Carlo Ancelotti.
Europe
Ligue 1 cancelled but French to allow up to 5,000 fans in for Cup games in July
June 22 – By a supreme irony, France, the only one of Europe’s major leagues to shut down the domestic league season prematurely because of Covid 19, has now become the first country to announce that a limited number of fans can attend when stadiums re-open in July.
Calendar crunch: FIFPro calls for more time between seasons to allow player recovery
June 22 – Football’s world players’ union has expressed its concern that players are suddenly being asked to play too many games and may not have enough time to fully recover between this season’s revised calendar and the start of the next campaign.
Platini celebrates retirement age raking over his past achievements
June 22 – Former UEFA president Michel Platini turned 65 on Sunday – retirement age in Switzerland where he still lives for most of the year.
European Leagues body shows solidarity with UEFA as football’s comeback accelerates
June 19 – If the Covid-19 crisis has had one beneficial effect on European football, it is perhaps that fact that the various stakeholders have pulled together for the common good.
Ceferin suggests French league finish was premature
June 18 – UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has commented for the first time publicly on the decision to shut down French football while every other major league is restarting.
German authorities refuse DFB request to bump up stadium limit to 1,000 for Cup final
June 18 – Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich will play the German cup final behind closed doors after local authorities rejected a request from the German FA (DFB) for fans to attend the match.
UEFA confirm Lisbon Champions League finale with option of fans attending still open
By Andrew Warshaw
June 17 – This season’s Champions League, suspended in March at the last-16 stage because of the Covid-19 pandemic, will be completed with a mouth-watering eight-team knockout tournament held in Lisbon over 12 days in August, UEFA confirmed today following a meeting of its executive committee.
Lewandowski equals scoring record as Bayern wrap up 8th consecutive league title
June 17 – Bayern Munich wrapped up their eighth consecutive Bundesliga title on Tuesday night – in near silence.
Hunger games: Boris backs down as Rashford stands up for 1.3 million children
June 17 – Already facing widespread condemnation over playing catch-up with regard to Covid-19, the British government has now been forced to bow to pressure from a 22-year-old footballer and scrap its controversial policy of stopping free meals for needy school children.
Hearts refuse to be broken over failure of reconstruction talks and issue legal challenge
By Andrew Warshaw
June 16 – Scottish professional football has been plunged into yet more disarray after Heart of Midlothian, arguably the country’s biggest club after Celtic and Rangers, announced it was taking legal action following relegation from the top flight because of the curtailed season.
UEFA put finishing touches to Lisbon mini-tournament to complete Champions League
June 16 – Reports that UEFA will complete the Champions League with a mini-tournament covering 11 days in a single city have been given further credence on the eve of a vital summit of its top brass.
Debt fears and cash crunch force FC Kaiserslautern to file for bankruptcy
June 16 – Fabled German club FC Kaiserslautern has filed for bankruptcy after a mounting debt and cash-flow crisis. The club have been crowned German champions four times.
Danes plan to open stadium to fans for Copenhagen derby
June 16 – With the derby in the capital between Bröndby and FC Copenhagen taking place this weekend, Danish football fans will be allowed to return in greater numbers to stadiums.
Mediacom picks up a slice of the future with Brazil and Real Madrid starlet Vinicius Jr
June 16 – Move over Neymar Jr, Brazil’s hottest young talent Vinicius Jr has signed a big deal with a giant agency.