Russia will decimate country’s match fixing scourge, says RFU boss
By David Gold
April 26 – The head of the Russian Football Union (RFU) match fixing committee has promised to eradicate match fixing from the country.
Championship clubs face UEFA-like financial fair play rules
By Andrew Warshaw
April 26 – The second tier of English football is adopting UEFA’s break-even model designed to stem haemorrhaging losses and stop clubs spending beyond their means.
Chinese football corruption scandal endures as ex-CFA boss faces bribe trial
By David Gold
April 26 – The former chief of the Chinese Football Association (CFA), Xie Yalong (pictured), has stood trial for allegedly accepting bribes.
Mihir Bose: Beyond the Premier League ‘top table’ clubs should adopt a “realistic” blueprint for survival
Change in football (let alone the wider society) is difficult to predict. It is often best left to historians with their long lenses to look back and tell us when one era ends and another begins.
However, despite the fact that we do not know for sure who will win this season’s English Premier League title, it is my firm belief that this campaign marks a momentous season of change in the Premiership – the third such change since the Premiership started 20 years ago.
I’m ready for Euro 2012 and the Olympics, insists Stuart Pearce
By Andrew Warshaw
April 25 – Team GB head coach Stuart Pearce insists he is perfectly capable of combining London 2012 with leading England at the 2012 European Championship finals if asked to do both jobs.
Genoa ordered to play behind closed doors after under-fire players remove shirts
By David Gold
April 25 – Serie A side Genoa has been ordered to play two matches behind closed doors following bizarre scenes at the Luigi Ferraris Stadium when players gave in to demands from fans to remove their shirts during the 4-1 loss to Siena on Sunday (April 22).
Senegal Football Federation’s bank accounts frozen by court order
By Andrew Warshaw
April 25 – Senegalese football has been thrown into chaos just as the country’s under-23 team bagged the final place at London 2012.
Bring on Brazil, declares buoyant British women’s coach Powell
By David Gold
April 25 – Britain’s women’s coach Hope Powell is relishing the prospect of pitting her wits against Brazil at the Olympic Games after the draw was made yesterday.
Rangers’ administrators slam “extraordinary” transfer embargo
By Andrew Warshaw
April 25 – Administrators running ailing Scottish powerhouse Glasgow Rangers have hit out at the club being handed a crippling transfer embargo, saying the move could affect the very survival of the 54-time Scottish champions.
Andrew Warshaw: Is the lack of fanfare at the London 2012 football draw a sign of things to come for the tournament?
There were no oooos and aaahhhs from either the dignitaries or the media seated respectfully in the bosom of the national stadium. Not much of the usual celebrity spotting. In fact, a minimum of razzmatazz.
Compared with the equivalent events preceding the World Cup and European Championships, it was all rather low key.
Yet there was no doubting the significance of today’s Olympic football draw at Wembley for organisers of London 2012.
Team GB footballers face tough London 2012 test following group draws
By David Gold at Wembley Stadium in London
April 24 – Britain’s women were paired with Brazil in the group stage of the London 2012 Olympic Games, while the men face an intriguing tussle with Copa America champions Uruguay after the draw here today.
London 2012 will raise profile of women’s football, believes GB coach Powell
By Andrew Warshaw
April 24 – England women’s football head coach Hope Powell believes London 2012 will at last provide a platform for showcasing the sport in a country where it long been male-dominated.
Ryanair plans may “dramatically” reduce Euro 2012 hotel costs for fans in Ukraine
By David Gold
April 24 – Fears over the escalating costs of hotel bookings in Ukraine ahead of this summer’s UEFA European Championships could be assuaged by an agreement with Ryanair that is reportedly close to being completed.
European politicians pour scorn over Sepp Blatter’s handling of ISL scandal
By Andrew Warshaw
April 24 – Sepp Blatter has been accused of sweeping the notorious ISL bribery scandal under the table in a damning new report that heaps fresh embarrassment on the FIFA President and world football’s governing body.
Under-fire Fenerbahçe gets court date over match fixing scandal compensation claim
By Andrew Warshaw
April 24 – Disgraced Turkish champions Fenerbahçe is taking UEFA to sport’s highest court seeking €45 million (£37 million/$59 million) in compensation after being thrown out of this season’s Champions League for its role in the country’s ongoing match fixing scandal.