South Korea qualify for London 2012
By David Gold
February 23 – South Korea will be at London 2012 after a comfortable 3-0 win over Oman in their penultimate Olympic men’s football qualifier, whilst Japan are as good as qualified.
FIFPro backs FIFA vice-president’s pro-hijab campaign
By Andrew Warshaw
February 23 – The international players’ union FIFPro is backing the campaign by FIFA vice-president Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein of Jordan to change the law and allow Muslim women to wear the hijab during matches.
Rangers’ Whyte sells club’s historic Arsenal shares to Usmanov
By David Gold
February 23 – Glasgow Rangers owner Craig Whyte (pictured) has severed the club’s historic link with Arsenal by selling shares the Scottish champions owned in the Premier League side to their minority shareholder Alisher Usmanov.
Olympic Stadium would have to feel like home for West Ham, Sullivan claims
By Duncan Mackay
February 22 – West Ham United are not prepared to share the Olympic Stadium with another football or rugby club and will only move there if they are confident that the atmosphere will be good, their co-chairman David Sullivan has warned.
Scotland to invest £25 million in National Performance Centre for sport
By David Gold
February 22 – Up to £25 million ($39 million/€30 million) will be invested into the first ever national performance centre for sport in Scotland, it has been announced.
Fans should have to remain seated and not be allowed to stand claims new report
By David Gold
February 22 – In response to growing calls for “safe standing” areas, the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) has said that sports fans should remain seated at major stadia.
Prime Minister backs FA homophia and transphobia campaign
By David Gold
February 22 – The English Football Association has launched a campaign at Wembley Stadium, “Opening Doors and Joining In”, backed by Prime Minister David Cameron, which aims to tackle homophobia and transphobia.
Beckenbauer calls for increase in handshaking
By Andrew Warshaw
February 22 – German football legend Franz Beckenbauer says players should do more handshaking in order to improve sportsmanship.
Fenerbahçe chair Yıldırım protests innocence in court over match fixing allegations
By David Gold
February 22 – Fenerbahçe chairman Aziz Yıldırım (pictured) has been in court defending himself against allegations of involvement in the match fixing scandal which has thrown football in Turkey into disarray.
Porto face UEFA hearing over Manchester City chanting
By Andrew Warshaw
February 22 – UEFA have opened disciplinary proceedings against Porto for “improper conduct” of their fans during the recent Europa League match against Manchester City.
South Korea promises crack down on match fixing criminals
By Andrew Warshaw
February 22 – South Korea is pledging to crack down even more forcefully on match fixing, including harsh prison terms, as a reaction to a number of incidents that have plunged the country’s football league into crisis.
Polish national stadium given approval after safety doubts
By Andrew Warshaw
February 22 – Poland’s new National Stadium, due to stage the opening match of the 2012 European Championships, has finally been cleared as safe to play its showpiece inaugural fixture against Portugal on February 29.
Rosneft and Gazprom investment gives Tom Tomsk spending money
By David Gold
February 21 – Ailing Russian Premier League side Tom Tomsk have been given 50 million rubles (£1.06 million/$1.7 million/€1.2 million) to invest in new players after being saved by state energy giants Rosneft and Gazprom last week.
Peru holds crisis talks with FIFA over players’ strike
By David Gold
February 21 – Peruvian Football Federation (FPF) President Manuel Burga (pictured) is in Zurich to discuss with FIFA a players’ strike which has left the country’s first division in chaos.
Date set for Bin Hammam CAS hearing
By Andrew Warshaw in Doha
February 20 – Former Asian football chief Mohamed Bin Hammam’s eagerly-awaited appeal against his lifetime ban for alleged bribery will be heard on April 18 and 19 at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne.