December 12 – With Barcelona considering their options on whether to revamp the Nou Camp or move to a new site and build on land owned by the University of Barcelona, the club has landed US IT company Intel as a new sponsor.
December 12 – Scottish champions Celtic will find out on Friday what sanction they will face over outlawed banners displayed by fans during last month’s Champions League clash with AC Milan.
December 12 – The culmination of the Champions League group phase was marked by an ugly outbreak of fan violence in Milan where three Ajax supporters were stabbed prior to their decisive fixture with AC Milan. The fans were apparently attacked in three separate incidents close to the San Siro stadium with one of them in a “serious” condition after being stabbed in the stomach.
By Andrew Warshaw
December 12 – The acrimonius dispute over the name of English Premier League club Hull City has been further fuelled by a formal application to the Football Association to call the club Hull Tigers from next season.
By Andrew Warshaw
December 12 – Just over a year after declaring that the level of officiating in Russia needed a radical overhaul, Roberto Rosetti has resigned as head of refereeing at the Russian federation.
“First half. Last 10 minutes. Hundred per cent.” Former footballer Sam Sodje appears to promise a yellow card to order.
Betting has a tradition of accompanying football in England in the same way custard goes with English puddings. It just adds a bit of flavour to the proceedings. It is a guilty pleasure, nothing more. No harm done. Gambling is so much a part of the football culture in England that when last week the national-team manager,
December 12 – Rupert Murdoch’s German satellite broadcaster Sky Deutschland has retained its right to screen Champions League games until 2018.
Next time you go and watch your local team and you see a totally unnecessary foul or an unexplained provocation leading to a red or yellow card, it might not be because of a rush of blood to the head by the player involved.
Likewise next time you see a crazy penalty or some other ridiculous refereeing decision, it might not be because of genuine if irritating human error.
By Andrew Warshaw
December 11 – Zahir Belounis, the footballer whose story of being “trapped” in Qatar against his will made him an international cause celebre, was in London today for preliminary talks with unidentified clubs over possibly extending his career in the English league.
December 11- The opening game of the FIFA World Club Cup today in Morocco will see the first time the official Handshake for Peace has been integrated formally into the match protocol. The Handshake for Peace campaign is a joint initiative between FIFA and the Nobel Peace Center in Norway and will feature at all the matches in the Club World Cup.
By Jaroslaw Adamowski
December 11 – Poland’s Ekstraklasa is planning to launch its own television channel. Under the plan, the channel will hold Polish league football broadcast rights and resell them to digital platforms and cable operators.
December 11 – Barcelona will make a decision in January whether to move from the iconic Nou Camp stadium, their home for more than half a century.
By Andrew Warshaw
December 11 – Almost unnoticed in the aftermath of the World Cup draw in Brazil, FIFA’s Club World Cup competition was getting under way in Morocco today – finally presenting the north African country with their own international tournament.
By Andrew Warshaw
December 11 – Three years after winning the bid to stage the 2022 World Cup by a landslide vote, Qatar’s organising chief is back on the offensive, rebuffing any suggestion that the Gulf state was guilty of any impropriety. Hassan Al-Thawadi, Secretary General, Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee, insists Qatar complied with FIFA regulations and that allegations to the contrary have “absolutely no basis”.
By Paul Nicholson
December 11 – Chinese brewer Tsingtao has become the first Chinese brand to sign a deal with the Asian Football Confederation. In a three-year tie-up, starting 2014, the Tsingtao brewery will sponsor the AFC’s club competitions.