August 18 – The telescoping of the UEFA club competition final rounds to a mini-knockout competition and the impact of Covid-19 has seen some surprise results but in reality has also served to emphasise the polarisation of European around the Big 5 leagues, according to research by KPMG Football Benchmark.
August 18 – Texas-based Italian-American billionaire Dan Friedkin (pictured), the new owner of Roma, has promised to turn the club into “one of the greatest names in world football” after completing his €591 million purchase of an 86.6% majority stake.
August 18 – In the latest twist and turn in the long-running Newcastle takeover saga, a Singapore-backed company Bellagraph Nova Group (BNG) has claimed it has opened ownership talks with the Tyneside club.
August 18 – Just as Bayern Munich were plotting a return to European greatness after their 8-2 demolition of Barcelona in the Champions League quarter finals, the club has been hit by racism allegations towards a leading coach in its academy that has now triggered a police investigation.
August 18 – Ten years old when her family fled the civil war in Somalia, Jawahir Roble is English football’s first female Muslim referee and has her sights set on getting to the top.
August 18 – Inter Milan set up what should be an intriguing climax to the Europa League against five-time champions Sevilla after thrashing Shakhtar Donetsk 5-0 in Monday’s second semi-final.
By Andrew Warshaw
August 17 – First City, then United. Within 24 hours of each other, the European dreams, hopes and expectations of Manchester’s two rival football clubs were shattered for another season over the weekend.
August 17 – UEFA has decided that September is too early to allow limited fans back into international matches according to Scottish FA chief executive Ian Maxwell.
August 17 – Another weekend, another member of FIFA’s staff rolled out to stand fully behind FIFA president Gianni Infantino and his ‘innocense’ campaign, a public relations push that is threatening to become the football PR campaign to end all football PR campaigns by a sitting FIFA president.
By David Owen
August 17 – In six and a half decades, RB Leipzig, who take on one of the Middle East-backed super-clubs, Paris Saint-Germain, in Lisbon on Tuesday night, will be the first team from eastern Germany to appear in a Champions League/European Cup semi-final.
August 17 – Premier League chief executive Richard Masters has finally broken his silence over the doomed £300 million Saudi-led bid to buy English Premier League club Newcastle United.
August 17 – Armenian football, which has been so plagued by match-fixing that it abandoned its second tier league, has announced a new sponsorship deal with online bookmaker brand VBET, owned by BetConstruct.
August 17 – The political protests sweeping through Belarus have spilled over into football with CSKA Moscow’s Belarusian striker Ilya Shkurin (pictured) saying he won’t play for his country until President Alexander Lukashenko steps down.
August 17 – Goa will be the central venue for the 2020 Indian Super League, organisers have announced.
August 17 – Is Lionel Messi about to light up the English Premier League? Rumours are rife that Messi wants to leave Barcelona following last week’s 8-2 Champions league humiliation – and that Manchester City, themselves desperate hunting for exciting new players, could be his destination.