UEFA accused of rigging Ronaldo vote
January 20 – UEFA stand accused of deliberately manipulating their team of the year award to accommodate Cristiano Ronaldo.
Europe
UEFA and ECA rumoured to be close to deal on expanded Champions League
By Andrew Warshaw
January 17 – In a hugely significant move that will have major repercussions for domestic leagues, UEFA and the European Clubs’ Association (ECA) are apparently “close to an agreement” to add four more rounds of fixtures to the Champions League each season.
Europe’s leagues generate record €21bn but obesity warnings issued on Big 5 clubs
January 17 – The 712 top-flight clubs in Europe’s 55 leagues earned a record €21 billion in the 2018 financial year, up by 20% according to the latest “benchmarking” report from UEFA.
Medical research into ‘football dementia’ prompts SFA to ban headers for U-12s
January 16 – In a ground-breaking move, children under-12 in Scotland could be banned from headers due to links between football and dementia.
Liverpool players dominate UEFA.com fan vote, Ronaldo and Messi make Best XI again
January 15 – Liverpool players dominate a fan vote on UEFA.com for the website’s team of the year 2019. While the club are the new face of European football dominance, two old faces, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, both made the final XI.
New year, same old issues. Greek FA raided by financial police
January 16 – Greek football has been plunged into further controversy following a raid by local police on the headquarters of the Hellenic Football Federation (HFF).
Irish FA’s €60m bail-out talks ‘positive’ as negotiation enters crucial end-phase
January 15 – A rescue package to save the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) from complete collapse has moved a step closer following survival talks between Irish officials and UEFA.
Anderlecht reshuffle board as Kompany-led team fails to catch fire
January 15 – Belgium’s RSC Anderlecht have reshuffled their boardroom in a bid to halt the club’s dramatic, recent slide. Earlier this season, the appointment of Vincent Kompany as player-coach backfired.
Clermont Foot 63 take a knee as French ramp up anti-racism messaging
January 13 – On a weekend when France’s top two divisions staged a collective protest to mobilise the fight against racism in football stadiums, a second division club went one step further.
Club Brugge to build new €100m, 40,000-seat new stadium
January 13 – Club Brugge have said they will build a new 40,000-seater stadium on the site of their current ground, the Jan Breydelstadion, at a cost of €100 million. Stadium construction is to be completed by the 2022-23 season.
Greeks condemn Larissa fans who racially abused French youth star Abou Ba
February 13 – The Greek football union have joined a chorus of condemnation over the racist abuse of Aris Thessaloniki’s young French midfielder Abou Ba during a top-flight fixture at Larissa on Saturday.
Spanish fans set record attendance levels acoss LaLiga’s top two divisions
January 13 – LaLiga is reporting more than 7.6 million fans attended matches in the first half of the 2019/20 season in Spain’s top two divisions, up by 85,727 on last season (a rise of 1.53%).
Barrett takes over crisis hit FAI with mandate to overhaul finances and governance
January 10 – The embattled Football Association of Ireland (FAI), desperately looking for a financial bailout by the Irish government, has appointed Roy Barrett (pictured), managing director at Goodbody Stockbrokers, as the board’s new independent chairperson.
Serie A gets another new boss with Dal Pino given mandate to sort mess out
January 10 – Italy’s Serie A, mired in multiple integrity issues including its failure to act on institutional racist issues, election malfeasance and its controversial Super Cup deal with Saudi Arabia, has elected Paolo Dal Pino as its new president.
Le Graët cleared to take UEFA seat on FIFA Council
January 9 – At 78, he would be too old to serve on UEFA’s executive committee yet can still represent Europe at the top table of FIFA.