St Etienne strike sponsorship deal with pet food chain Rapid Croq
By David Gold
October 5 – Ligue 1 outfit St Etienne has agreed a new two-year sponsorship deal with pet food and accessories chain Rapid Croq.
Europe
Juventus President Andrea Agnelli set to speak at Leaders in Sport Summit
By David Gold
October 5 – Juventus President Andrea Agnelli is among the last batch of big name speakers who will be participating in the Leaders in Sport Summit next week at Stamford Bridge, the home of Chelsea Football Club.
Blatter disappointed as match-fixing whistleblower Farina is left out in cold
By Andrew Warshaw
October 4 – FIFA President Sepp Blatter has expressed his disappointment that the Italian footballer made a FIFA ambassador for reporting match-fixing has not been able to find a job since.
Masiello receives suspended sentence after admitting to deliberate own goal
By Andrew Warshaw
October 4 – Italy’s match-fixing scandal has taken another embarrassing turn with former Bari defender Andrea Masiello being handed a 22-month suspended prison sentence after admitting scoring a deliberate own goal.
Kosovan football officials slam FIFA and UEFA as it continues to push for recognition
By Andrew Warshaw
October 3 – Kosovan football officials have reacted with dismay at FIFA’s continual foot-dragging over whether to let them play international matches – and at UEFA’s decision to ignore their case while giving Gibraltar partial status.
Gibraltar provisionally accepted in UEFA’s inner circle
By Andrew Warshaw
October 1 – UEFA opened a political can of worms today by deciding to admit Gibraltar as a provisional member in a move that is bound to incur the wrath of Spain.
Debt-ridden CSKA Sofia faces expulsion from Bulgarian league
By David Gold
September 28 – CSKA Sofia are set to be thrown out of the Bulgarian championship, if UEFA carries through on its threat to ban the club from European competition for three seasons.
FIFPro slams Lokomotiv Plovdiv’s lie detector tests
By Andrew Warshaw
September 28 – The international players’ union FIFPro has criticised a Bulgarian club for requesting its players and coaches to take lie detector tests following a surprise defeat.
Real Madrid extend Adidas kit deal until 2019/2020 season
By Andrew Warshaw
September 28 – Real Madrid have tied up their existing kit supply deal with adidas until the end of the 2019-2020 season.
Almeyda reveals Serie A match-fixing and doping allegations
By David Gold
September 27 – Matías Almeyda has made a series of allegations relating to match-fixing and doping from his time in Italy’s Serie A, in another blow to a league already badly hit by scandal.
Putin wades into Zenit spending row
By Andrew Warshaw
September 27 – The spat over alleged overspending by Russia’s wealthiest club Zenit St Petersburg has gone all the way to the top with Russian President Vladimir Putin wading into the debate.
Ukraine’s Blokhin to take over Dynamo Kiev
By Andrew Warshaw
September 26 – Ukrainian coach Oleg Blokhin is to take over at Dynamo Kiev, the club where he became one of the world’s top strikers in the 1970s and 1980s.
Lokomotiv Plovdiv players to take lie detector tests over match-fixing fears
By Andrew Warshaw
September 26 – One of the most novel ways of detecting match-fixing is being implemented in Bulgaria with players and coaches of first division club Lokomotiv Plovdiv being ordered to take lie detector tests after a surprise defeat.
Denisov and Kerzhakov to return to Zenit first squad after wages row
By Andrew Warshaw
September 26 – Russian national team captain Igor Denisov and Aleksandr Kerzhakov are expected to return to Zenit St Petersburg first team this coming weekend after a spat over wages saw them dropped to the reserves, according to club sources.
Players push FIFA for Kosovo’s recognition
By Andrew Warshaw
September 26 – FIFA is being urged by Kosovan-born players not to renege on a pledge to offer the Balkan state partial acceptance into the international set-up.