Italian moral leadership: Racist monkey chants, OK. But DO NOT slander God
October 30 – Two Italian Serie A players have been handed one-match bans – for blasphemy.
World Football
Spanish women hold strong on pay claims as strike deadline nears
October 29 – Top-flight women footballers in Spain are carrying out their threat to go on strike indefinitely from November 16 over a disagreement about pay and conditions.
Andonovski takes over US’s World Cup winning women’s team in time for Sweden friendly
October 29 – Vlatko Andonovski has been named as the new head coach of the United States World Cup-winning women’s team.
Pushy Ribery given 3-match suspension by Serie A
October 29 – Former French international star Franck Ribery has been suspended for three Serie A matches after twice pushing an assistant referee in Fiorentina’s 2-1 home defeat by Lazio on Sunday.
Okraku promises to rebuild trust as he takes over from disgraced Nyantakyi at Ghana FA
October 28 – Ghana has elected a new FA president more than a year after a corruption scandal forced a major shake-up of the game in the West African nation.
Tite heads to Saudi for Argentine and South Korean friendlies with no Brazil-based players
October 28 – Brazil coach Tite has refrained from calling up home-based players for November friendlies against Saudi Arabia and South Korea, avoiding another club versus country row.
Breaking boundaries: Irish clubs discuss all-island domestic league
By Andrew Warshaw
October 28 – Plans are afoot to create a ground-breaking all-island domestic league in Ireland that would completely change the landscape of the sport on both sides of the border.
Germans put Koch forward for place at UEFA’s top table
October 28 – Despite being embroiled in an alleged case of threatening behaviour at home, DFB vice-president Rainer Koch (pictured) has been nominated by his federation to sit on the UEFA executive committee and FIFA council in succession to disgraced former DFB chief Reinhard Grindel.
UEFA set to rule on Bulgarian racism at Euro 2020 qualifier vs England
October 28 – Bulgaria will learn their fate later today for the racist abuse England players suffered during the recent Euro 2020 qualifier in Sofia.
Bility pays CAS costs for CAF and FIFA to force hearing on legality of African takeover
By Osasu Obayiuwana
October 26 – Musa Hassan Bility, the former Liberia FA boss, who has taken FIFA and CAF to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), has been compelled to pay CHF 42,000 in additional arbitral costs, to ensure his case is heard.
Chilean unrest forces Conmebol to suspend Futsal Copa America, but Libertadores still on
October 25 – Conmebol have suspended the Futsal Copa America in Chile amid ongoing social unrest in the country, fueling speculation that the Copa Libertadores final could be shifted away from Santiago.
FIFA warns Kenyans that political meddling in FA elections may force a ban
October 25 – Kenya is facing potentially serious sanctions from FIFA if there is any outside interference over the composition of the Kenyan FA’s (FKF) board mandated to oversee upcoming elections.
Olympiakos vs Bayern U19s abandoned after thugs invade pitch
October 25 – Bayern Munich have made an official complaint to UEFA after a youth match against Olympiakos was abandoned because of crowd violence.
Spanish women vote to strike over minimum wage conditions in club game
October 24 – Almost 200 women players in Spain’s first division have voted to strike in a disagreement over pay and conditions.
Flamengo turn on the style at Maracana to set up Copa Libertadores final against River Plate
By Samindra Kunti in Rio de Janeiro
October 24 – Flamengo trashed Gremio 5-0 to reach the Copa Libertadores final. They will meet Argentina’s River Plate, who had previously eliminated Boca Juniors. The winner of South America’s premier club competition will represent the continent at the Club World Cup in Qatar.