By Samindra Kunti
October 24 – Club Brugge president Bart Verhaeghe (pictured) has reignited talk around the formation of a ‘BeNe League’, saying that Belgium and the Netherlands are in discussion on how they join forces to found an 18-team league that could begin play as early as 2021.
October 24 – LaLiga is considering legal action after the season’s first El Clasico between Barcelona and Real Madrid was rescheduled for December 18 by the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF).
October 23 – UEFA are reported to be considering whether to join Tottenham Hotspur in launching an investigation into how more than 200 Red Star Belgrade fans “illegally” bought tickets for their side’s away Champions League fixture on Tuesday despite a blanket ban for racism.
By Richard Heller
October 11, 2019 will go down in football history. Andorra won its first match in the European Championships, ending a run of 56 consecutive defeats. Fewer than a thousand fans were at the Estadi Nacional to see Marc Vales head the hosts into a shock lead against Moldova in the 63rd minute. Then the Andorran defence stood tall to protect it, as befits their mountain nation (current population 77,000 or so) which has preserved its independence against powerful neighbours for centuries.
October 22 – A landmark study into the links between football and brain disease has produced alarming results which suggest that professional players are more likely to suffer than others.
October 22 – Serbia have been ordered to play their next home game behind closed doors in the latest sanction imposed by UEFA for racism.
October 22 – An English FA Cup qualifier abandoned at the weekend because of racist abuse when the home players walked off is to be replayed rather than the tie be awarded to either team.
October 22 – South American football governing body Conmebol has confirmed that the 2020 Copa Libertadores final will still be staged in Santiago amid growing fears over the social unrest engulfing the Chilean capital.
October 22 – UEFA has signed three start-up businesses as part of its business innovation drive to develop new technologies and products that will significantly impact the commercial management and promotion of football and its assets.
October 21 – Plans to stage a La Liga fixture in Miami have been resurrected, this time involving Villarreal’s home game against Atletico Madrid on December 6.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 21 – Everyone was appalled by the headline-making events in Sofia recently when England’s black players were verbally abused by a section of the Bulgarian fans.
October 21 – Racism has once more marred Italian football. This time Sampdoria and England U-21 midfielder Ronaldo Vieira was the target of monkey chants from AS Roma fans.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 21 – In another strategic move to preserve football’s geo-political status quo, UEFA have decided to keep apart Russia and Kosovo in European competition because of “security risks”.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 18 – No final decision on the format to revamp the Champions League post-2024 will be taken for at least a year but a closed shop competition is a “no go” area, according to the head of the umbrella body representing Europe’s major leagues.
October 18 – Senegal has denied reports of age-cheating after announcing their 21-man squad for the Under-17 World Cup in Brazil later this month.