By Mark Baber
January 28 – Barcelona president Jorep Maria Bartomeu has told Catalan media that the club is considering alternatives to their kit deal with the Qatar Foundation over the worsening “social and political situation” in the Gulf state.
By Andrew Warshaw
January 28 – The international players’ union FIFPro is holding a crisis session of its members in Greece today and tomorrow after negotiations to overhaul the transfer system broke down.
January 28 – African countries, keen to maintain the level of developments funding they receive, will remain steadfastly behind Sepp Blatter in the forthcoming FIFA presidential election campaign.
By Jaroslaw Adamowski
January 28 – Legia Warsaw has collected €2 million from a group of investors with the aim of financing new transfers in the current window. The Polish club aims to repay its investors with the profits which are to be generated once the footballers are transferred to other clubs, according to Dariusz Mioduski (pictured), the majority shareholder of Legia Warsaw.
By Mark Baber
January 27 – The news that FIFA is in the process of gathering information and documentation regarding the signing of 51 underage players at Real Madrid has led to speculation that the club may face a transfer ban, similar to that imposed on Barcelona, as FIFA continues its effort to ensure the regulations regarding transfers of minors are firmly adhered to.
January 27 – Senegal striker Diafra Sakho says he is “saddened” and “angered” by criticism of his absence from the Africa Cup of Nations.
By Andrew Warshaw
January 27 – The rapid rise of England’s David Gill up the political footballing ladder has been given a further boost after the Englishman emerged as odds-on favourite to become the latest FIFA vice-president.
By Paul Nicholson
January 27 – With Rangers close to running out of cash and being unable to pay wages at the end of the month, the Scottish club has agreed terms for a £10 million loan from companies owned by Mike Ashley, the shareholder a majority of fans are desperate and aggressively campaigning to keep out of the club.
January 27 – UEFA have refused to confirm reports that they are brokering a separate deal for clubs playing in the controversial annexed region of Crimea.
January 26 – The steps towards a professional league in the Caribbean took another pace forward with the second meeting of the Caribbean Premier League Task Force which reviewed regional stadium infrastructure study with a view to identifying which countries could host league matches.
By Samindra Kunti
January 26 – The Dutch FA, the KNVB, and the Dutch parliament want to tighten the application of the ‘football law’ (Law MBVEO). The proposed amendments are aimed at further reducing violence and incidents at Dutch football grounds.
By Mark Baber
January 26 – The sense that the deck might be stacked against Iran in international football received a boost over the weekend as they were knocked out of the Asian Cup by Iraq, after a quarter-final match in which one of their players was sent off in a bizarre decision by the Australian referee, and which featured an Iraqi player who had produced a sample which proved positive for the banned stimulant methylhexaneamine whilst playing for an Iranian club last year.
January 26 – A compromise between UEFA and Russian football authorities over the future status of clubs in annexed Crimea could be about to take shape.
January 26 – A row has broken out between former German FA president Theo Zwanziger and Bayern Munich, after a Bayern blog on its official website accused Zwanziger of double standards over his criticism of the club for its friendly against Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal.
By Paul Nicholson
January 26 – FIFA president Sepp Blatter has launched his first serious rocket in the race for the leadership of the governing body and his fired it in the direction of Nyon and its grandees at UEFA, and what he sees as their behind the scenes manoeuvring.