Cultural confusion over Qatari sheikh’s no-handshake with CWC final’s female officials
February 15 – A sexist show of disrespect or a storm in a teacup over a cultural norm?
Former football powerbroker al-Sabah to face Swiss trial for plot to discredit Kuwait government
February 15 – Olympic powerbroker Sheikh Ahmad al-Fahad al-Sabah (pictured), once a major player at FIFA, will go on trial in Switzerland this month in a long-standing forgery case linked to Kuwait’s royal family.
Beitar sale to UAE investor looks shaky as financial probe raises issues
By Andrew Warshaw
February 12 – One of the most controversial takeovers in Middle East football has been dashed, at least temporarily, after the Israeli FA revealed that the sale of Beitar Jerusalem to Hamad bin Khalifa al-Nahyan, a distant member of Abu Dhabi’s ruling family, had been called off following a probe into his finances.
Scottish FA apologies to victims of child sexual abuse that covered three decades
February 12 – An independent review of historical child sexual abuse in Scottish football has urged clubs to make a public apology to those affected.
beIN Sports steps up as LFP’s Ligue2 broadcast lifeline to end of season
February 12 – French professional football has been thrown a lifeline by broadcaster beIN SPORTS France who have done a deal with Canal+ for the domestic rights to Ligue 2 in France until the end of the season.
Bayern make it six titles with Club World Cup win over Tigres
February 12 – Bayern Munich’s remarkable run of success under Hansi Flick reached another significant milestone on Thursday when they became Club World Cup champions to add to their domestic and European crowns.
Spurs’s Levy reshuffles his executive pack bringing in ex-NFL commercial guru
February 12 – Tottenham Hotspur have appointed a former NFL executive as the club’s first chief commercial officer with the specific task of securing a naming rights deal for their state-of-the-art but currently under-used stadium.
Serie A’s Spezia bought by Platek family from the US
February 12 – Robert Platek and his family have become the latest Americans to take ownership of an Italian club, having completed the takeover of Serie A’s Spezia.
UEFA opens case over racism row with officials at Basaksehir-PSG match
February 12 – UEFA has opened disciplinary proceedings against two Romanian officials at the centre of racism allegations in a Champions League match last December.
Guatemala to host Concacaf Futsal finals as nations seek World Cup 2021 slots
February 12 – Concacaf will hold its 2021 Futsal Championship will take place in Guatemala City, Guatemala, May 3-9, 2021.
Sport Forza goes exclusive with Sportradar’s ad:s service to boost revenue
February 12 – Sportradar has agreed a deal with Forza Football’s live scores app to exclusively manage its ad inventory via its ad:s ad server technology.
LaLigaTV breaks new ground in UK with Amazon Prime channel deal
February 12 – LaLiga has added its 24/7 English-language tv channel to the Amazon platform as one of the Prime Video Channels in the UK only.
Roma go from digital to physical with Nigerian link
February 12 – AS Roma is to open their first youth academy on the African continent in Abuja, Nigeria, the Italian club have announced.
Chelsea repays Abramovich £4.5m, confirms £35.7m profit for 2019-20 season
By David Owen
February 11 – Accounts have been filed for Chelsea, showing that the West London club appears to have repaid a modest amount of funding to Russian owner Roman Abramovich in 2019-20.
English football tells Twitter and Facebook to stop protecting racist abusers
February 11 – English football bodies have joined forces to send an open letter to Facebook and Twitter demanding action amid increased levels of abuse aimed at high-profile players and officials on social media.