Barca’s Real Madrid blow-out ups pressure on Bartomeu and board
October 26 – Barcelona’s 3-1 defeat to Real Madrid in Saturday’s El Classico could shortly result in the entire board resigning according to Spanish reports.
World Football
UEFA probe Covid protocols at Rennes after fears safety rules were broken
October 26 – UEFA have opened disciplinary proceedings against Rennes for breaking strict Covid-19 guidelines at last week’s Champions League game against Russian side Krasnodar.
African FAs encourage Ahmad to stand for another term as CAF president
By Samindra Kunti
October 23 – Africa’s football electorate has given the strongest signal yet that it will support CAF president Ahmad for a second term at the helm after 46 FA bosses signed a letter of support.
Political battle lines: Qarabag’s military salute censored by UEFA
October 23 – Players and officials from Azeri club Qarabag have been reprimanded by UEFA for performing a military salute during their Europa League qualifying match away to Legia Warsaw on October 1.
Rapid covid spike forces Belgians to close doors on fans at top tier matches
October 23 – Belgium has become the latest country to ban fans from attending live football matches after a huge spike in coronavirus infections.
Covid crush: African Champions League semi-final postponed to just four days before final
October 23 – The second leg of the African Champions League semi-final between Egypt’s Zamalek and Raja Casablanca has been postponed for a week after eight players in the Moroccan club’s squad tested positive for Covid-19.
Nigeria’s Ogu calls for player boycott and for ‘police brutality to stop’
October 23 – Nigeria midfielder John Ogu is the latest footballer to denounce the police brutality going on in his country and has called for a boycott of all upcoming games.
Aussies and Kiwis pull out of European trips in November match window
October 23 – Australia have joined New Zealand in pulling out of planned national team events in Europe due to the Europe-wide spike in coronavirus cases and increasing international travel restrictions.
UEFA connects with smartphone maker vivo for Euro 2020 and 2024
October 23 – Chinese smartphone manufacturer vivo has committed to a four-year official partnership for Euro 2020 and Euro 2024.
Mediapro seeks rights fee rebate on €172m demanded by LFP
October 22 – Spanish media rights agency Mediapro is seeking a negotiated solution with the LFP after the French league issued a €172 million demand for unpaid rights fees.
Swiss cut stadium attendances to 1,000 as FC Sion puts whole squad into quarantine
October 22 – Top-flight Swiss side FC Sion have put their entire squad and medical staff into quarantine and have asked for their next two games to be postponed following the club’s latest coronavirus tests, though results were not revealed.
UEFA halts play in Armenia and Azerbaijan as military dispute intensifies
October 22 – UEFA have put a stop to all club and national team competitions in Armenia and Azerbaijan until further notice because of the continuing military conflict in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.
UEFA pushes button on second edition of eEuros on Konami’s PES platform
October 22 – UEFA has launched the second of its national team esports competition – eEuro 2021 – which will complete with a London final in the summer next year.
Super League plan would deliver £6bn breakaway for Europe’s biggest clubs
By Andrew Warshaw
October 21 – Yet another audacious challenge to the Champions League is reportedly being plotted behind the scenes involving Europe’s biggest clubs and altering the entire landscape of the game at elite level. It is a repeating narrative in Europe but this time round appears to have FIFA’s encouragement.
Big clubs set dominate cash safe haven of UEFA’s Champions League payouts
October 21 – With the uncertainty surrounding club revenues in domestic leagues, particularly around match day revenue, clubs that have qualified for the UEFA Champions League will be grateful for the relative the financial stability that competition brings.