By Andrew Warshaw
May 28 – After months of bitter in-fighting that brought the game in the country to its knees, Sierra Leone Football Association (SLFA) President Isha Johansen has been acquitted on all counts of corruption and is set to regain control of the federation.
May 28 – Neymar has been stripped of Brazil’s captaincy in the build-up to this summer’s Copa America by the country’s coach Tite. He will be replaced by Daniel Alves.
May 28 – The reputation of African football administration has been plunged into yet more ignominy with former South Sudan FA president Chabur Goc Alei (pictured) the latest official banned by FIFA – for 10 years for misappropriation of funds and for bribery.
May 24 – Former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has added his voice to criticism surrounding UEFA’s choice of Azerbaijan for next week’s all-English Europa League final – and says the absence of Henrikh Mkhitaryan for political reasons “should not happen” in this day and age.
May 24 – UEFA look set to elect a replacement next week, most likely on an interim basis, for Germany’s Reinhard Grindel who was forced to resign last month as a UEFA vice president and as a member of the FIFA Council after being forced out as president of his national federation.
May 24 – Montenegro’s appeal against playing their next home match behind closed doors after supporters racially abused England players has been rejected by UEFA.
By Andrew Warshaw
May 23 – Is the noose starting to tighten around the neck of controversial African football supremo Ahmad Ahmad?
May 23 – With anticipation mounting ahead of a potentially pivotal summit of Europe’s clubs early next month to discuss the future direction of the Champions League, those who represent their inner sanctum are giving nothing away as to what the outcome might be.
May 23 – Juventus has said it plans to build a new stadium specifically for its women’s and youth teams near to its Allianz Stadium.
May 22 – The decision by Arsenal’s Armenian midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan not to travel to Baku in Azerbaijan to play in the Europa League final against Chelsea on May 29 has been described by the Azerbaijan FA (AFFA) as an “unwarranted decision”.
May 22 – LaLiga president Javier Tebas, who first applied the phrase “financial doping” to football to describe how the likes of Manchester City and Paris St Germain allegedly attempt to flout UEFA’s financial fair play rules, is back on the attack, repeating his stance that both should be kicked out of European competitions if found guilty of violations.
May 22 – Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool have taken action over fans trying to sell on Champions League tickets at inflated prices amid fears that thousands of ticketless supporters will converge on Madrid for the final on June 1.
May 22 – Angola have pulled out of the Cosafa Cup, the regional tournament for southern Africa that is due to begin Saturday – the second country to do so after Madagascar, throwing the competition into disarray.
May 21 – Initial 40-player team rosters have been announced for the 16 nations playing at the Concacaf Gold Cup that kicks off at the Rose Bowl in Los Angeles June 15.
By Andrew Warshaw
May 21 – Amid widespread condemnation of their decision to stage the all-English Europa League final in distant Azerbaijan, UEFA have defended their selection of the capital Baku saying all its member nations deserve a chance to host even though only a small part of the country actually lies within Europe.