Rooney apologises as judge orders community service and driving ban
September 18 – Former England captain Wayne Rooney received a two-year driving ban today after pleading guilty in a British court to drink-driving.
Chelsea top weekend attendance chart while Spurs miss more opportunities at Wembley
September 18 – Chelsea returned to the top of the attendance capacity chart after their Sunday lunchtime London derby with Arsenal. Just 185 seats were unfilled at Stamford Bridge.
Taiwan to build six stadia to kick-start pro league
By Mark Baber
September 15 – Taiwanese sports officials outlined plans to build six soccer stadiums to help kickstart a professional league during a visit by a delegation from Japanese club Vegalta Sendai to the Legislative Yuan in Taipei on Thursday.
Ceferin puts FFP and competitive balance at top of UEFA agenda
September 15 – A year into his UEFA presidency, Aleksander Ceferin says strengthening competitive balance will be his biggest priority going forward and singled out deciding to stage last season’s Europa League final in the wake of the Manchester terrorist attack as the toughest decision he had to make.
FIFA changes World Cup draw criteria to seed by world ranking rather than confederation
By Andrew Warshaw
September 15 – FIFA have announced a new format for the 2018 World Cup draw with teams to be grouped by their places in the world rankings rather than by Continent.
Villas-Boas outburst forces AFC to open disciplinary proceedings
September 15 – The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has opened disciplinary proceedings against Shanghai SIPG head coach Andre Villas-Boas following his outburst after this week’s epic Asian Champions League quarterfinal tie against Evergrande.
Cologne fan invasion delays Euro game as Arsenal outgunned in the stands
September 15 – As anticipated, UEFA have opened disciplinary proceedings following chaotic scenes that marred Arsenal’s Europa League fixture against Cologne last night.
Barca launch build of new €19m stadium named after Cryuff at training ground
September 15 – Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu (pictured) led a ground breaking ceremony yesterday for the club’s new Johan Cruyff stadium that will house its second team, women’s team and European matches for its U19 team.
Atlético Madrid to open new Wanda Metropolitano stadium with 12 hour party and a match
September 15 – Atlético Madrid open their new 67,703-capacity Estadio Wanda Metropolitano stadium tomorrow with a 12 hour celebration that will include their first home match of the season against Malaga.
Comment: Maduro opens Pandora’s Box. What next for FIFA?
By Andrew Warshaw
The FIFA-appointed lawyer was the first to arrive, briefcase and notes in hand, an hour before the hearing.
Infantino punched again as ethics guru Weiler blows whistle on political manipulation
By Paul Nicholson
September 14 – At FIFA they come like buses, you wait for one and another follows right behind. No sooner had sacked former chairman of FIFA governance committee Miguel Maduro lifted the lid on new FIFA president Gianni Infantino’s manipulations of the ethics system, than another former governance committee member revealed that he had filed a complaint to FIFA Ethics.
Rooney is not alone. Footballers more likely to commit crime than any other athlete
September 14 – It seems footballers are following the example of their administrators by being leaders when it comes to a comparison of athletes from different sports who commit crime off the pitch.
Syria fix dates and Malaysian ‘home’ venue for next stage of World Cup journey
September 14 – Syria will host the first leg of their historic Asian World Cup playoff against Australia on October 5 in the Malaysian city of Melacca.
Violence in Slovenia as Spartak Moscow fans fire flare at ref
September 14 – As concerns grow about hooliganism at the World Cup, Russian fans are in trouble again after a dangerous flare was fired from the away end in the direction of the referee during Moscow Spartak’s Champions League draw away to Maribor.
Beitar boss quits after saying he would never sign a Muslim at the club
September 14 – The new adviser to Israel’s Beitar Jerusalem, the most nationalistic club in the country, has quit a mere 10 days after assuming the post for refusing to apologise for declaring he would never sign a Muslim player.