February 26 – In picking up his first trophy as manager of Manchester City, Pep Guardiola was conspicuous for defiantly continuing to wear a yellow ribbon in support of imprisoned Catalan politicians despite being previously charged by English football authorities for what is regarded as a rule-breaking political statement.
February 26 – Former French international midfielder Samir Nasri is set to be banned by UEFA for six months because of an intravenous drip treatment he took at a Los Angeles clinic in 2016 whilst on holiday according to his lawyers.
February 23 – Here we go again. You can count on one hand the countries where instances of racism in European football are still prevelant and Italy is one of them.
By Paul Nicholson
February 22 – The next round of sentencing has begun in the US Department of Justice case against football’s corrupt officials and marketing partners with Panama-based Mimo International Exports and Imports ordered to pay a fine and restitution totalling $1.4 million for bribing Costa Rica’s former FA president Eduardo Li (pictured).
February 21 – English Premier League club West Ham United are facing a Football Association charge alleging they broke rules on anti-doping procedures.
February 20 – The whistleblower whose revelations prompted the Russian doping scandal claims he was personally instructed by the country’s former sports supremo Vitaly Mutko, until recently a senior member of FIFA’s inner circle, to make sure footballers were protected.
February 20 – Former coach Barry Bennell, the serial paedophile whose sickening treatment of aspiring youngsters mainly in the 1980s rocked British football, was sentenced to 31 years in jail on Monday for 50 counts of child sexual abuse.
February 20 – Jack Warner, the most wanted man of all among powerbrokers snared by US authorities in the $200 million FIFAGate corruption scandal, has again managed to thwart extradition by having committal proceedings against him put on hold – for another nine months.
February 16 – Former English league coach Barry Bennell, the figure at the heart of English football’s child abuse scandal, has been found guilty of three more charges of sexual abuse against young players mainly in the 1980s and is due to be sentenced on Monday.
February 15 – The regime of Chechnyan strongman Ramzan Kadyrov has hit back at suggestions that the region’s capital Grozny should be stripped by FIFA as a World Cup base for Egypt next summer.
February 15 – Valentines Day may be over but the Climate Coalition is still encouraging people to #ShowTheLove.
February 14 – A former English league coach has been found guilty of multiple sex offences in the 1980s in the latest development in the abuse scandal that has shocked the country.
February 2 – As controversial refereeing decisions go, few are as worthy of condemnation as the booking meted out over the weekend to Nice’s former Italian international striker Mario Balotelli after he reportedly claimed he was the victim of racist chanting during a top-flight French game.
February 9 – New Manchester United recruit Alexis Sanchez has “accepted” a prison sentence for tax fraud in Spain, according to his agent, though he won’t have to serve jail time. The Sanchez camp described the settlement as “entirely unjust”, forcing Sanchez and other players into a deal with the tax authorities in Spain.
February 9 – Mastercard have become the fifth sponsor to sign up for the 2018-21 cycle of UEFA Champions League rights, following on from the announcement earlier this week that PepsiCo were renewing their deal with the top level of club competition in Europe.