‘Minor’ fine for Man City for breaking under age transfer rules
August 14 – Don’t mess with FIFA and you might receive less of a punishment for breaking the rules.
World Football
Liberian FA bans ref for 2 years for taking bribe
August 14 – The Liberia Football Association (LFA) has banned referee Josephus Torjilar for two years for accepting a bribe.
Exclusive: FIFA swoops on African FAs’ World Cup rights with 8-day ultimatum
By Osasu Obayiuwana
August 13 – In a highly unusual move, FIFA has asked the 54 member associations of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to sign a one-page media rights “mandate” that gives the world governing body “an irrevocable mandate to implement a central marketing plan to market and commercialise the media rights for the FIFA African Qualifiers 2022 & 2026.”
Clubs concerned as Brazilian rhythm interrupted by long VAR pauses
August 13 – Brazilian club matches truncated by the intervention of VAR have stirred a nationwide debate over the pros and cons of the new technology. To remedy the situation, Sao Paulo giants Palmeiras have demanded the clubs meet the CBF’s refereeing committee.
Caged in Croatia: Aberdeen complain to UEFA over fan treatment
August 13 – Aberdeen have complained to UEFA over the treatment of their fans during last week’s Europa League qualifier against Rijeka in Croatia.
US Soccer appoint Markgraf as women’s supremo
August 13 – Kate Markgraf has been appointed general manager of the US women’s team and will immediately lead the search for a new head coach following Jill Ellis’ announcement last month that she is stepping down following the country’s World Cup victory last month.
Racist fans land Partizan Belgrade with a two-match closed stadium sanction
August 13 – Partizan Belgrade have been slapped with a two-match stadium ban by UEFA who have clearly run out of patience with the racist element of the club’s fans. The Serbian club have been punished because of behaviour of supporters in the first leg of their third qualifying round Europa League win over Yeni Malatyaspor of Turkey.
Argentine World Cup legend ‘Tata’ Brown dies, aged 62
August 13 – Argentine legend Jose Luis ‘Tata’ Brown, who scored the opening goal in the 1986 World Cup final against West Germany, has died at the age of 62.
Battle honours even between Rubiales and Tebas in LaLiga match date war
By Andrew Warshaw
August 12 – The bitter dispute between La Liga and the Spanish FA (RFEF) over which days are eligible for league matches has been resolved with a judge ruling that Fridays are fine but imposing a blanket ban on games being played on Monday nights.
FIFA inspectors visit Nigeria for 2020 U-20 Women’s World Cup bid appraisal
August 12 – Nigeria is in the running to host the 2020 U-20 Women’s World Cup. A FIFA inspection team visited facilities in the proposed host cities of Lagos, Benin City, Asaba and Uyo.
Winds remove section of AZ Alkmaar roof
August 12 – Dutch top-flight side AZ Alkmaar suffered a partial roof collapse at their stadium on Saturday after strong winds hit the country.
Bility armed for battle against FIFA ‘colonisation’ of CAF; Grafstrom denies threats
By Osasu Obayiuwana
August 9 – Musa Bility, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Executive Committee member, recently banned for 10 years, by the Adjudicatory Chamber of FIFA’s Ethics Committee, is accusing a key official of the world governing body of strong-arming him, over his refusal to accept FIFA’s direct intervention in CAF’s affairs.
Hamburg’s Gambian refugee midfielder accused of false age and identity
August 9 – A Gambian-born midfielder is reported to be playing in Germany with a falsified name and age.
Mane battles Messi and Ronaldo for top Champions League striker gong
August 9 – UEFA has unveiled its shortlist of players for its 2018/19 Champions League positional awards, with five Liverpool players dominating the 12 names that are in contention for the best Goalkeeper, Defender, Midfielder and Forward awards.
Doubts raised over Cameroon’s ability to host AFCON 2021
August 9 – Having been stripped of hosting rights for this year’s African Cup of Nations due to lack of preparations, Cameroon may not even be ready to stage the showpiece event in two years’ time, according to their all-time leading goalscorer.