By James Dostoyevsky
UEFA is in a quagmire of its own making and one that is much welcomed by Gianni Infantino, the ‘little child’, who ascended to the FIFA Emperor’s Throne, only to stumble from blunder to blunder, with no end in sight.
Are we really to believe that the indiscretions of FIFA’s finance director Markus Kattner have only been discovered in the past few days? Do they really think that their member federations, the watching press and the rest of the football world are that stupid and will lap it up unquestioningly?
May 24 – With one Champions League closing this weekend in Europe with the final between Real and Atletico Madrid in Milan, another one opens on Monday in the Americas with the draw for the 2016/17 Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League in Miami.
By Andrew Warshaw
May 24 – And another one bites the dust. Markus Kattner, FIFA’s interim secretary-general and long-time director of finance, has become the latest high-profile figure linked with the organisation’s corruption-tainted past to be thrown out.
May 24 – Security failures at the French cup final last weekend will be sorted out before the start of Euro 2016, the government insists.
May 24 – The Toulon U23 tournament became a goal fiesta last night as England’s Under 21s hammered seven past Guinea to top their group above Paraguay on goal difference.
May 24 – Efforts to crack down on match-fixing in Italy have been stepped up with the arrest in Naples of 10 people who, according to the authorities, conspired to alter the results of two matches in Serie B in 2014.
By Andrew Warshaw
May 24 – Manchester United have finally confirmed what the world has been reporting for 48 hours by announcing that Louis van Gaal has been sacked as manager, a sorry end to a saga that has left a sour taste in the mouth despite a massively under-achieving league season.
May 23 – As the half way stage of the group matches at the Toulon Tournament nears, the European nations are dominating, the Czech Republic and France looking almost certain to qualify for the final four.
May 23 – Big money transfer spending does not necessarily bring success, as Louis van Gaal found out to his personal cost at Manchester United this season. The CIES Football Observatory has ranked clubs in the Big 5 Leagues according to the average transfer cost per player fielded.
By Andrew Warshaw
May 23 – He had apparently said goodbye to his staff without even having been told officially by his employers that he is surplus to requirements and is being replaced by the self-styled Special One. But according to the BBC, it is now official. Louis Van Gaal is leaving Manchester United after two years of a three-year contract and is currently discussing severance terms.
By Samindra Kunti in Paris
May 23 – Paris Saint-Germain and a departing Zlatan Ibrahimovic won a 10th French Cup against Marseille at the Stade de France in a final that descended into ugly scenes after the final whistle as Marseilles fans stormed the pitch and set fires in the stands.
May 23 – Scottish football authorities have launched an urgent inquiry into Saturday’s mass pitch invasion that marred Hibernian’s first Scottish cup triumph for 114 years.
May 23 – UEFA has opened disciplinary proceedings against Liverpool and Sevilla for “crowd disturbances” at last week’s Europa League final.
May 23 – The International Centre for Sport Security Europe (ICSS Europe) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the US Department of Health and Human Services Partners to promote healthy sport across the globe. The US.