The World Cup qualifiers have produced the usual bag of results that make you sit up and take notice. Spain rediscovering their touch with their victory in Paris, Israel suggesting they might become more than a country that makes up the numbers but, inevitably, it was been England that has made all the headlines and the wrong ones at that.
So the common refrain has been why cannot the English play like champions to be?
By Andrew Warshaw
March 28 – UEFA has joined forces with clubs and players in a unified attack on racism and has re-iterated its position that referees have the authority to stop and abandon matches. European football’s governing body reminded officials they were authorised four years ago to halt games in case of serious racism incidents, a policy that has been largely ignored but rekindled in the wake of Kevin-Prince Boeteng’s walk-off.
March 28 – The FBI investigation into corruption in football has taken a Caribbean turn according to a report from news agency Reuters.
By Mark Baber
March 28 – Joao Havelange stadium, which has been the main football venue in Rio de Janeiro as the Maracana is undergoing renovation, has had to close down due to serious structural problems with the roof and is unlikely to reopen any time soon.
When you are as special as world champions Spain, it’s no surprise two games without a win is viewed as a mini-crisis.
But the emphatic response of Vicente del Bosque’s side to World Cup qualification concerns reminds us they are close to football immortality. A fourth consecutive major tournament win in Brazil 2014 would be a simply incredible achievement.
In the spirit of consistency I should reiterate my prediction for how the 2014 tournament will unfold.
By Andrew Warshaw
March 28 – FIFA’s reform process, designed to bring about proper transparency and accountability, continues to receive negative publicity, with one of its leading advisers now accusing the organisation of “neutering” the originally suggested measures for much-needed change.
By Mark Baber
March 28 – In the football equivalent of the ‘church and state’ governance debates, the Nigerian Senate has demanded an overhaul of football in the country – despite the Super Eagles winning the Africa Cup of Nations earlier this year – but is wary of becoming too involved in running the game.
March 28 – Rob Faulkner, former head of media relations and corporate PR at UEFA, has landed a job round the corner from his previous employers.
By Andrew Warshaw
March 28 – Japanese football chiefs have lodged a formal complaint with FIFA over alleged dirty tricks during their shock World Cup qualifying loss to Jordan earlier this week.
By Paul Nicholson
March 28 – Newcastle United have recorded only their second year of profit since billionaire Mike Ashley bought the club in 2007 for £135m. The £1.4m profit is a drop on the previous year’s £32.6m profit, but substantially better than the finances at Coventry (English Championship) and Dunfermline (Scottish Division 1) who both fell into the hands of administrators yesterday.
By Andrew Warshaw
March 28 – The lawyer who helped changed the face of European football has warned that UEFA’s Financial Fair Play system may not stand up in court if challenged. Jean-Louis Dupont (pictured), part of the legal team who brought about the Bosman ruling back in the 1990s, says FFP risks violating competition law and freedom of movement.
March 27 – Iraq defeated Syria 2-1 on Tuesday at the Shaab stadium in Baghdad in only the second time the stadium had been able to host an international fixture since the invasion in 2003.
Exclusive: by Andrew Warshaw, chief correspondent
March 27 – A vast majority of countries in Europe suffer from match-fixing with up to 300 games per season rigged, according to the company widely regarded as the world’s leading experts in betting fraud detection.
By Andrew Warshaw
March 27 – FIFA’s decision to play the 2015 Women’s World Cup in Canada on artificial turf has prompted an unexpected backlash.
March 27 – As the Ralf Willi cartoon pictured here says, the referees take this seriously (personally) as well. FIFA is running a series of seminars for prospective referees and assistant referees in April in preparation for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.