By Andrew Warshaw in Monaco
August 25 – Barcelona will open the defence of their Champions League title on Sept 13 against AC Milan in a mouth-watering clash between teams who have won the tournament 11 times between them.
The cult of the manager may have been developing since the 1960s, but football now faces a situation that not many could have imagined. This is the age of the manager as a celebrity, with his every action judged to be as important and worthy of highlight, at times even more so, than the players he manages.
This marks a fundamental change in the how the game is perceived. When Pelé described football as the beautiful game,
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By David Gold
August 25 – Mohamed Bin Hammam, banned for life from football activity by FIFA in July after being found guilty of bribing Caribbean officials ahead of June’s Presidential election against Sepp Blatter, has confirmed that he will take his appeal against the ban to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
By Andrew Warshaw
August 24 – Turkish champions Fenerbahçe were sensationally thrown out of the Champions League today over the country’s match fixing scandal that has even implicated the club’s chairman.
By David Gold
August 24 – An e-petition calling the British government to release files relating to the 1989 Hillsborough tragedy has passed the 100,000 mark, meaning the House of Commons business committee must consider putting it forward for discussion in Parliament’s lower chamber.
By David Gold
August 18 – Tony Fernandes has brought the summer long ownership saga at Queens Park Rangers to an end by purchasing a 66 per cent stake in the Premier League outfit.
By Andrew Warshaw
August 24 – Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger has won a brief stay of execution from UEFA by being allowed on the touchline for the club’s potentially season-defining Champions League play-off second leg against Udinese later today.
By David Gold
August 24 – Tottenham Hotspur’s legal fight over the future of the 2012 Olympic Stadium has begun at the High Court, contrary to reports suggesting they were set to drop their case.
By David Gold
August 24 – Arsenal has agreed to renew its relationship with automotive partner Citroën for a further three years in a bid to strengthen the team’s international presence.
By David Gold
August 24 – Polish Parliamentarians have discussed the issue of racism following evidence presented to them by the anti-racial prejudice organisation Never Again ahead of next year’s European Championships, which are being held jointly with Ukraine.
By David Gold
August 24 – Russian football’s growing strength and financial muscle has been flexed this week as Cameroon forward Samuel Eto’o became the world’s best paid player as he signed for big spending Anzhi Makhachkala.
By David Gold
August 23 – Egypt has been selected to host the men’s qualifying football tournament for the London 2012 Olympic Games, despite the precarious security situation in the North African nation.
By Duncan Mackay
August 22 – Philip Beard, who played a leading role in London’s successful bid to host the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics, has been appointed as the new chief executive of Premier League club Queens Park Rangers, it was announced today.
By Andrew Warshaw
August 22 – The crisis surrounding Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger went from bad to worse today when the Frenchman was handed a two-match ban from UEFA for breaching the terms of a previous Champions League suspension.
By Andrew Warshaw
August 22 – FIFA are being urged to consider a radical programme of financial rewards and amnesties designed to crack down on match-fixing and illegal betting, regarded as the biggest scourge affecting the global game.