Bad luck of the Irish as Windsor Park close to breaking point
April 17 – The Irish Football Association has been advised to demolish a damaged stand at the national stadium following a preliminary structural report.
Europe
Greek government steps in tackle football violence, but so does FIFA and UEFA
By Andrew Warshaw
April 17 – The Greek authorities are on a collision with FIFA and EUFA over plans to tackle violence in domestic sport, with the two bodies warning the country could be thrown out of international football because of government interference.
Belgium finalise plans for 8-team women’s Super League
By Samindra Kunti
April 17 – Next season the women’s Super League will replace the BeNe League in Belgium. Eight teams will compete in the newly designed league format with the champions crowned after play-offs.
Croatian FA officials in motorway stand-off with Hajduk Split fans
April 15 – Croatian football, marred by constant problems involving hooligan fans, is back in the spotlight again for all the wrong reasons after national team coach Niko Kovac was assailed by a group of supporters wearing Hajduk Split colours.
Bulgaria hit with further match-fixing allegations
April 15 – Bulgarian football is facing yet another potential match-fixing scandal following allegations of games being manipulated in the country’s second division.
Russian racism escalates with Spartak under fire after Arsenal game
April 15 – Anything Torpedo Moscow can do when it comes to discrimination, Spartak Moscow can seemingly match. Within days of Torpedo being found guilty of racism and ordered to play two more home games behind closed doors after their fourth offense of the season, so Spartak Moscow have been punished after fans displayed racist images during the April 9 fixture at Arsenal Tula.
UK Labour Party commits to giving fans right to appoint directors and buy shares
By Mark Baber
April 15 – Football has made it on to the election agenda in the UK with the Labour Party making a manifesto commitment to introduce legislation to allow football supporters to appoint club directors and also to give fans the right to purchase shares in their club when there is a change of ownership.
CSKA Sofia confusion as Tomov quits board and transfers shares
By Alexander Krassimirov
April 10 – The financial turmoil and instability at Bulgaria’s CSKA Sofia has taken a new turn with major shareholder Alexander Tomov saying that he has filed an application to quit his post as Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the club and no longer continue as a shareholder.
Ibrahimovic to miss key PSG ties as foul-mouthed TV rant lands him 4-game ban
April 10 – Paris St-Germain’s star Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been suspended for four league games as a result of his foul-mouthed outburst that was captured live on TV.
Penalty re-take lasts just 18 seconds as England and Norway both go through
April 10 – After a five-day wait, they ended up playing for just 18 seconds! UEFA’s unprecedented decision to order England and Norway to replay the last moments of their women’s under-19 European qualifier duly took place Thursday night with the English grabbing the 2-2 draw they thought they had achieved first time round.
Lifeline for England after UEFA order teams to return for penalty retake
April 9 – In an extraordinary decision that UEFA admit is unprecedented in their competitions, England and Norway have been ordered to replay the last few seconds of their women’s under-19 European qualifier tonight – starting with a retaken 96th-minute penalty.
UEFA slams Croatian racists with order to play Italy behind closed doors
By Mark Baber
April 9 – The UEFA Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body (CEDB) has hit back at those using football to spread their message of racial hatred with an order that Croatia’s upcoming game against Italy must be played behind closed doors.
Quaestor failure triggers seizure of Hungary’s Gyori ETO FC
By Jaroslaw Adamowski
April 9 – The failure of Hungarian financial services group Quaestor has pushed top division club Gyori ETO FC out of their stadium, into bankruptcy and almost out of the league.
UEFA sanctions Montenegro and hands Euro points to Russia
April 9 – UEFA have awarded Russia a 3-0 walkover win over Montenegro following the abandonment of their Euro 2016 qualifier that saw Russian keeper Igor Akinfeev felled soon after kickoff when struck on the head by a flare.
Dyke hands back watch in time to clear FIFA ethics investigation
April 8 – The so-called ‘Watch-gate’ saga is back in the news again with FIFA announcing no action is being taken against English FA chairman Greg Dyke.