January 28 – Amnesty International have criticised the potential £340 million purchase of Newcastle United by Saudi Arabian investment fund (PIF) – a vehicle of Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman – saying the deal is “sportswashing, plain and simple.”
January 27 – Belgian second-division club Sporting Lokeren has partnered with Chinese consortium Ke Hua Sports in a bid to stave off relegation, but the move has raised eyebrows over the integrity surrounding the deal.
January 27 – Britain’s Sports minister Nigel Adams has denounced football’s “dependency” on sponsorship from gambling companies and warned clubs to look for different income streams.
January 24 – Players who defy Olympic rules by making political protests at the Tokyo Olympics this summer will be supported by their global union..
January 22 – Qatar and FIFA have jointly published a comprehensive strategy covering sustainability ahead of the 2022 World Cup, including pledges on workers’ rights and environmental issues.
January 16 – FIFA has updated its Integrity Officer toolkit with an updated handbook, promotional materials a new e-Learning platform.
January 16 – Greek football has been plunged into further controversy following a raid by local police on the headquarters of the Hellenic Football Federation (HFF).
January 14 – The GLMS (Global Lottery Monitoring System) has sent 787 alerts of potential betting related match fixing events to its sports partners. 570 of these alerts have been in Europe and 450 them in football.
January 14 – Anti-discrimination body Kick It Out has leaped to the defence of an English second tier player who continues to receive abuse based on sectarianism rather than outright racism.
January 13 – On a weekend when France’s top two divisions staged a collective protest to mobilise the fight against racism in football stadiums, a second division club went one step further.
February 13 – The Greek football union have joined a chorus of condemnation over the racist abuse of Aris Thessaloniki’s young French midfielder Abou Ba during a top-flight fixture at Larissa on Saturday.
January 10 – The embattled Football Association of Ireland (FAI), desperately looking for a financial bailout by the Irish government, has appointed Roy Barrett (pictured), managing director at Goodbody Stockbrokers, as the board’s new independent chairperson.
January 9 – English football authorities have agreed to review their decision to allow broadcast rights for FA Cup games to be sold for streaming by betting companies after critics warned the arrangement could encourage gambling.
January 9 – Lazio have been fined a token €20,000 for their fans’ racial abuse of Mario Balotelli during last weekend’s Serie A fixture at Brescia, avoiding a stadium closure.
January 9 – The UK’s Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) has ordered Betway to drop a video promotion that it deems to be advertising and in breach of advertising regulations.