By Andrew Warshaw
March 8 – A key Council of Europe watchdog has questioned FIFA President Sepp Blatter’s (pictured) election victory last year and says more assurances need to be given that it was clean.
The easiest way to understand Roman Abramovich, the owner of Chelsea, is to appreciate that he is like a child with a new toy train set. The child knows his shiny new train set is better than anything possessed by the other kids, and while he wants to show off, he does not want to share his toys with anyone else. All he wants is to show how clever and superior he is in possessing this set.
By David Gold
March 8 – A European Parliament report today called on UEFA to ensure that football clubs cannot be sponsored by organisations closely related to their owners, thus circumventing the new Financial Fair Play rules (FFP).
By David Gold
March 8 – Georgia is planning to bid to host the European Championships in 2020 with neighbours Azerbaijan, their President, Mikheil Saakashvili, said on Wednesday.
By Andrew Warshaw
March 7 – Gambia is the latest country to risk being kicked out of world football after FIFA warned that the tiny West African country faces “severe sanctions” as a punishment for the Government dissolving the Gambia Football Association (GFA) following a 2013 African Nations Cup qualifying defeat to Algeria.
By Andrew Warshaw
March 7 – FIFA President Sepp Blatter (pictured right) has heaped even more embarrassment on his number two, Jérôme Valcke (left), by formally writing to Brazil’s Sports Minister, Aldo Rebelo, apologising for Valcke’s disparaging remarks over the country’s slow progress in organising the 2014 World Cup.
By David Gold
March 7 – A village which Irish football fans hoped to set up during the European Championships this summer in Poznań will not be going ahead as planned.
By David Gold
March 7 – Qatar Sports Investments (QSI), who bought 70 per cent of Ligue 1 leaders Paris St Germain last summer, has purchased the remaining shares in the company from Colony Capital.
By David Gold
March 6 – The International Centre for Sport Security (ICSS) has confirmed that Egyptian Professional Footballers’ Association President Magdy Abdel Ghany (pictured left) will be speaking at their annual conference in Doha on March 14 and 15.
By David Gold
March 6 – MATCH Hospitality has appointed Suseia as Belgium’s exclusive sales agent of FIFA hospitality packages for the 2014 World Cup, taking place in Brazil.
By David Gold
March 6 – The Football Association of Ireland (FAI) has agreed a bonus deal with the national team squad for this summer’s European Championships in Poland and Ukraine – the first major international tournament the Republic of Ireland will have competed at since the 2002 World Cup.
By David Gold
March 6 – A British Select Committee which was due to be held today to look into whether enough is being done to combat racism in football has been postponed, with no future date as yet known.
By David Gold
March 6 – French Presidential candidate François Hollande (pictured) has hit back at suggestions that his proposed 75 per cent tax on high earners could be the “death of French football”.
By Andrew Warshaw
March 6 – UEFA President Michel Platini (pictured) is backing Germany to clinch this summer’s European Championship title – and insists Brazil will be ready for 2014 World Cup.
By Andrew Warshaw
March 6 – FIFA looks set to bow to pressure from Europe’s top clubs by reducing the number of international fixtures from 2015 and scrapping meaningless friendlies, especially the one in August that coincides with the start of most leagues.