January 19 – The Court of Arbitration for Sport CAS has lifted a five-year ban imposed on Senegalese club US Ouakam. In July 2017 eight people were killed by a stampede at the game US Ouakam – Stade de Mbour during Senegal’s cup final.
January 16 – Has Lionel Messi done it again? The diminutive Argentine keeps scoring and evading his opponents on the field, but off the pitch he may not be as adept at evading tax obligations in Spain, according to various media reports.
January 16 – The extent to which football might have been affected by the Russian doping scandal has finally prompted action by FIFA which has confirmed it has questioned whistleblower Grigory Rodchenkov.
January 16 – One month after UEFA rejected a request to waive Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules for AC Milan, saying they remained unconvinced about the club’s new Chinese backers, reports have apparently been submitted by Italy’s finance police over potentially suspicious activities relating to the sale.
By Andrew Warshaw
January 15 – Disgraced former Asian football leader Mohamed Bin Hammam has broken his long silence by confirming he received €6.7 million in a payment that is long suspected to have been linked to the awarding of the 2006 World Cup to Germany.
By Andrew Warshaw
January 15 – The tired claim by Russia’s World Cup organisers that racism is no worse in their country than elsewhere in football and only occasionally rears its ugly head has yet again been called into question by the latest distasteful incident involving Spartak Moscow.
January 12 – While betting company sponsorship of clubs and gambling advertising targeted at football fans on mainstream media in England has come under increasing regulatory focus in England, in Scotland there appear to be fewer concerns.
By Paul Nicholson
January 10 – While dates have still to be set for the sentencing of former Brazilian FA president Jose Maria Marin and former South American confederation president Juan Angel Napout – both found guilty of corruption in the FIFA-gate case on December 21 – former CONCACAF president Jeff Webb’s sentencing date has been moved again, this time to March 7.
January 10 – The English Football Association has agreed to adopt the so-called Rooney Rule in future, interviewing at least one applicant from a black, Asian and minority ethnic background for future roles in the national team set-up.
January 10 – Florent Malouda, who was handed a two-match ban for playing for French Guiana at last year’s CONCACAF Gold Cup, is to appeal today before the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
January 4 – FIFA have launched an investigation into racial discrimination after England under-17 striker Rhian Brewster made a complaint about a teammate being abused in the under-17 World Cup final.
January 3 – Grigory Rodchenkov, the whistle-blower whose revelations led to the explosive doping scandal that rocked Russian sport, is now free to talk to FIFA about the extent to which football was involved according to agency reports.
By Paul Nicholson
December 27 – Former Peru football boss Manuel Burga, 60, has been acquitted of a corruption charge by the Brooklyn jury that found Juan Napout, of Paraguay, and Jose Maria Marin, of Brazil guilty of similar charges before Christmas.
December 20 – The dates for the first Tackling Match-fixing conference has been released for March 9-10. To be held in Chelsea, London, at the Chelsea Harbour Hotel, the conference will be the first dedicated to addressing the challenges faced by governing bodies, clubs and sports lawyers in addressing what is the biggest threat to the integrity of football worldwide.
December 22 – Peru captain Paolo Guerrero says he is innocent and will fight to clear his name despite FIFA reducing his doping ban to six months, allowing him to play at next year’s World Cup.