April 23 – Despite steering his Bayern side to a stirring 6-1 thrashing of Porto for a 7-4 aggregate Champions League quarterfinal win, Pep Guardiola has fallen foul of UEFA who took exception to a T-shirt he was wearing in the build-up to the game in support of a tragically killed journalist colleague.
By Alexander Krassimirov
April 23 – CSKA Sofia’s Portuguese winger Toni Silva (pictured) would appear to have been forced into what is a remarkable public statement saying that insulting remarks made to him by the club’s fans (including ‘monkey’ insults) are not racist.
April 23 – Qatar’s 2022 World Cup organisers have unveiled plans for a fifth stadium as they attempt to focus on infrastructure despite the continuing scrutiny about workers rights and the fact the tournament will be staged in winter.
How fast can one game change everything. Until Tuesday, FC Bayern had not shown in the second round that they really had a compelling game to win at the highest level.
April 23 – Palestinian football chief Jibril Rajoub (pictured) insists he will not back down from demanding Israel be suspended from world football until and unless the Israelis are seen to have totally lifted their restrictions on free movement of players and officials between the West Bank and Gaza.
By Andrew Warshaw
April 23 – The deepening impasse between Greece and football’s governing bodies has intensified after Greek authorities angrily rejected an ultimatum from FIFA and UEFA to stop interfering with football or risk being thrown out of international competition.
By Jaroslaw Adamowski
April 22 – In another sign of the worsening condition of Romanian football, FC Brasov has entered insolvency proceedings, and shortly after lost its chief executive.
By Andrew Warshaw
April 22 – The confusion and chaos ripping through Sierra Leone football shows little sign of abating after the national association’s long-awaited congress was brought to an abrupt end.
By Mark Baber
April 22 – The Ugandan Court of Appeal has rejected the Uganda Super League (USL) Limited application to stop the Federation of Uganda Football Association (FUFA) and Azam TV implementing their sponsorship and broadcast agreement for Uganda’s Premier League.
By Paul Nicholson
April 22 – Credit ratings agency Fitch Ratings has highlighted the current strength of the sports market in its Infra-Read market briefing newsletter issued from its US offices. The newsletter examines the health of a number of infrastructure sectors but leads its editorial with a focus on sports saying that the explosive growth in sports media rights is driving revenue, flexibility and stability.
April 22 – Liverpool may have under-achieved on the field this season after finishing runner-up in the Premier League last term but their brand shows little sign of being adversely affected. The club has signed a three-year extension to their main sponsorship deal with Standard Chartered.
April 22 – West Ham United have become the first English top-flight club to announce they will reduce season ticket prices as a result of the Premier League’s eye-watering new bumper television deal.
By Andrew Warshaw
April 22 – A coalition of non-governmental organisations has written to FIFA President Sepp Blatter and the three candidates bidding for his job urging them to make tackling human rights a priority as soon as the May 29 election is over – especially when it comes to the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.
By David Owen at the SportAccord Convention World Sport & Business Summit in Sochi
April 21 – Vitaly Mutko, Russia’s Sports Minister, has hinted at an impending clampdown on the number of foreign players permitted to be fielded by Russian clubs, while indicating that the country’s President harbours doubts over how the national team will perform at the 2018 World Cup.
When CONCACAF president Jeffrey Webb addressed his constituent federations for the first time at the confederation’s annual congress in the Bahamas last week, his speech was all about business, reflection on their progress to date, and setting goals for the next four year cycle. It was about setting the agenda and outlining the challenges. Three hours later, having been elected unopposed for a second term as president, he gave quite a different speech.