Court finds Bennell guilty of multiple child sex offences
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.
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Liberté, égalité, fraternité: Balotelli booked for pointing out racist chanting
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.
Sanchez agrees £1.42m deal with Spanish courts but still handed prison sentence
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.
Mastercard becomes 4th UEFA Champions League renewal for 2018-21 cycle
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.
Alleged Russian doping cases now shrunk to just two under FIFA investigation
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.
Chelsea fans warned for anti-Semitic chanting
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.
No cold comfort for Rosell as Spanish keep his assets frozen
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.
West Ham suspend recruitment boss over ‘mayhem’ causing Africans comment
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”.
Spanish police nab Pina, chief of high flying La Liga 2 club Cadiz
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.
Turkish FA bans assassination target Deniz Naki for life
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.
Greek football tragedy: game-changing referees, match-fixing rampant, FIFA and UEFA smile on
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.
FIFA lobbies new friends at PACE to kill Brasseur report but are slaughtered by the vote
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.
Bayern defend Qatar links after HRW criticism
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.
Man City push for parity with ‘Same City, Same Passion’ campaign
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.
Marin and Napout legal teams call for retrial over Burzaco ‘lies’
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.