By Andrew Warshaw
February 8 – “Canover Watson’s fall from grace is now complete,” reported the local newspaper after yet another one-time high-profile FIFA figure brought shame upon football’s scandal-tarnished world governing body.
February 8 – Tokyo Sexwale may be clutching at straws but he refuses to give up hope ahead of the FIFA presidential election – for the moment at least.
February 8 – Manchester United, giants of the small screen when it comes to TV ratings, have hooked up with big screen Hollywood film distributors 20th Century Fox to promote the studio’s films at its home game.
By Andrew Warshaw
February 5 – Africa’s top brass have officially endorsed Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al-Khalifa’s bid to succeed Sepp Blatter as FIFA president, a massive boost for the Asian football leader but bad news for Africa’s only candidate for the post, Tokyo Sexwale.
By Mark Baber
February 5 – Racist chants by Lazio supporters, which led to the referee halting their Wednesday game against Napoli temporarily, have resulted in Lazio being fined €50,000 (£38,250) and being forced to close three sections of their Stadio Olimpico ground for their next two Serie A home games.
By Andrew Warshaw
February 5 – African football officials are due to announce later today whether they will formally endorse the only candidate from their Continent in the FIFA presidential race, Tokyo Sexwale, or to back one of the other contenders.
By Andrew Warshaw
February 5 – Banned FIFA president Sepp Blatter could make a defiant farewell appearance at the Congress that will elect his successor – even if he has been unable to clear his name in time.
By Andrew Warshaw
February 5 – For the first time in their history, Liverpool supporters are planning to stage a walkout tomorrow during the Premier League fixture with Sunderland in protest at planned season ticket hikes for next season.
February 5 – The Argentine FA has sanctioned 15 players after a pre-season friendly between Estudiantes and arch-rivals Gimnasia La Plata was abandoned following a mass brawl.
February 5 – Chinese football has smashed its transfer record for the third time in 10 days after yet another much sought-after Brazilian opted to go east instead of remaining in Europe.
By Paul Nicholson
February 5 – Glasgow Rangers, the fallen giants that had to start life again in the fourth tier of Scottish football, have taken a step closer to cleaning up their financial position with hostile shareholder and business partner Mike Ashley by confirming they have repaid a £5 million from Ashley while at the same time serving notice on the retail deal with Ashley’s Sports Direct.
By David Owen
February 5 – AC Milan have followed local rivals Internazionale in announcing a partnership with Le Sports, the Chinese internet company. The former LeTV is becoming the Italian club’s official new media partner in mainland China. The deal is said to “span three consecutive seasons” culminating with 2017-18.
By Paul Nicholson
February 5 – Premier League attendances dipped slightly for the mid-week 24th round of matches though five teams still recorded over 99% of their capacity filled. For the first time this season three teams in the round were below 90% with Sunderland dipping below 80%.
By Mark Baber
February 4 – France’s highest administrative court – the Conseil d’Etat – has ruled against the French Football League’s legal bid to reduce the number of teams relegated from the top flight from three to two.
By Andrew Warshaw
February 4 – FIFA presidential candidate Prince Ali bin al-Hussein is back on the offensive, this time over the controversial decision to block $20 million in funding to CONMEBOL and CONCACAF, the two confederations at the centre of football’s worst ever corruption crisis.