February 9 – FIFA is investigating two Russian footballers, Ruslan Kambolov and Ivan Knyazev, on suspicion of violating anti-doping regulations, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Mutko has admitted.
February 8 – Not for the first time, Premier League champions Chelsea have been condemned over the use of anti-Semitic language by a section of their fans.
February 5 – Once one of the most influential figures in European football, playing a prominent role in the European Club Association and representing that body on various UEFA and FIFA committees, former Barcelona president Sandro Rosell continues to have his assets frozen in Spain.
February 1 – English Premier league club West Ham United have become embroiled in a race row that has that has seen their director of recruitment suspended after reportedly claiming that the club do not want to sign African players because “they can have a bad attitude” and “cause mayhem”.
February 1 – The managing director of Spanish second-tier side Cadiz has been arrested in relation to a money-laundering investigation, sources close to the operation told AFP.
January 31 – A German-Turkish player known for his pro-Kurdish views, who was targeted in a recent drive-by shooting, has been banned for life by the Turkish Football Federation.
By Paul Nicholson
January 30 – Greek football is in chaos and the crisis in the top professional tiers is not showing any signs of improvement. This is despite a FIFA normalisation committee led by Portuguese Vitor Melo Pereira and the parachuting in last week of UEFA director of national associations Zoran Laković. Rather than finding solutions, his trip in fact just rubber stamped the ‘new’ status quo.
By Tim Rohn and Andrew Warshaw
January 26 – The growing sense of unease pervading FIFA under the regime of Gianni Infantino has been exposed by a blatant attempt to undermine a scathing report into the organisation’s record on governance by the Council of Europe. FIFA’s lobbying fell on deaf ears as the council overwhelming voted in favour of adopting the report with 131 votes in favour and just five against.
January 26 – Bayern Munich, chasing their sixth consecutive Bundesliga title, has defended sponsorship and training links with Qatar after criticism from Wenzel Michalski, the director of Human Rights Watch Germany.
January 26 – Manchester City have made a significant step towards raising the profile of the women’s game and recognising greater gender parity with the launch of a media campaign titled Same City, Same Passion.
January 25 – Former South American powerbrokers Jose Maria Marin and Juan Angel Napout, both awaiting sentence in the United States having been found guilty in the FIFAGate corruption trials, are still fighting their corner demanding to be acquitted or face a retrial.
January 25 – It was supposed to be a new dawn free of controversy. But the appointment of former England international Phil Neville as the new coach of the national women’s team has hardly got off to the best start.
By Andrew Warshaw
January 24 – Former UEFA president Michel Platini, a largely peripheral figure in the game since his ban for financial wrongdoing, has decided to take one last stand to try and clear his name by going to the European Court of Human Rights, according to reports in France.
January 24 – A former England international who was banned by the Football Association in April last year for breaching betting rules claims 50% of professional players bet on matches and that gambling is “culturally engrained” in the sport.
By Paul Nicholson
January 22 – Allegations of match-fixing are still blighting Greek football with clubs complaining that the promised clean-up has not happened and that referees appointments are being influenced and that in turn is manipulating results.