February 18 – First it was hotly rumoured, then it picked up steam – and now it’s confirmed. Spain’s World Cup-winning goalkeeper Iker Casillas has announced his intention to run for the presidency of the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) against the present incumbent Luis Rubiales.
By Andrew Warshaw
February 15 – In a seismic ruling that has sent shockwaves across the sport, English Premier League champions Manchester City have been banned by UEFA from all European club competition for the next two seasons and fined €30 million after being found to have committed “serious breaches” of financial fair play rules.
February 17 – In what must surely be a first of its kind, a top-flight game was postponed at the weekend not because of weather conditions, fixture congestion or fan disruption but for environmental reasons in the shape of air contamination.
February 17 – Former Manchester United goalkeeper Harry Gregg, hailed as a hero for his role in the 1958 Munich air disaster, has died at the age of 87.
February 14 – Ticket demand for the one-off pan-Continental European Championship this summer, being staged in 12 cities, has gone through the roof.
February 14 – With the elections for president of the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) due to take place in March, Spanish goalkeeping legend Iker Casillas is back in the frame to stand against the incumbent, Luis Rubiales.
February 13 – UEFA has renewed its Memorandum of Understanding with South American confederation Conmebol covering collaboration across a number of areas from education to refereeing and new competitions.
February 12 – FIFA and UEFA will be making what has become a regular trip to Athens to attempt to progress solutions to yet another Greek football crisis.
February 12 – An Italian referee has been banned for a year for losing his cool and headbutting a goalkeeper he had sent off during a minor league game.
February 11 – Belgium’s professional clubs suffered a combined record loss of €87 million in the 2018-19 season, the Belgian FA (KBVB) has revealed. Anderlecht incurred the lion’s share with €25 million.
February 10 – Portuguese super-agent Jorge Mendes (pictured), who represents some of football’s biggest names, is among a number high-profile figures being investigated in his homeland for alleged tax fraud and money laundering according to Portuguese publication Sabado.
February 7 – English and Austrian fans will be able to warm-up for the 2020 Euros warm-up game on June 1 by watching two of the oldest clubs in the world – they have 287 years of history between them.
February 7 – Former Irish international Niall Quinn (pictured) has welcomed the end of the crisis afflicting the Irish Football Association (FAI) following a torrid financial period that threatened to plunge the federation into liquidation.
February 6 – The president of French Ligue 1 club Angers, Said Chabane (pictured), was detained and questioned by French police on Wednesday after allegations of sexual assault by an employee at the club. Chabane denies the accusations, but is under formal investigation and is police custody.
February 6 – Premier League clubs have voted to change the summer transfer window to bring it in line with the rest of Europe.