By Paul Nicholson in Rome
February 18 – Money confiscated from the prosecution of sport crime should be returned to sport, says Franco Frattini, Justice and Chamber President to the Italian Supreme Administrative Court and the leading judge tackling mafia and organised crime in Italy.
When two [or more] elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers” – African proverb.
When FIFA, CONCACAF, CONMEBOL and the OFC were brought to their knees, in 2015, as a result of the financial scandals that exposed shocking levels of graft and maladministration in the game, informed watchers of the African football landscape always wondered when the continent’s inevitable moment of reckoning would come, as it was virtually unscathed during this tumultuous period.
February 18 – In 2021, Japan will replace their existing women’s Nadeshiko League with a fully-professional league that will require one female executive at each club.
February 18 – Another Premier League fixture, another headline-making VAR controversy, this time in favour of Manchester United after not one, but two Chelsea ‘goals’ were ruled out in Monday’s high-profile clash in the race for the top four.
February 18 – FC Barcelona have lurched from one crisis to the next this season. The latest controversy is over local media reports that the Catalan giants contracted the services of I3 Ventures, a social media company, to damage the reputations of key players, including Lionel Messi and Gerard Pique.
February 18 – First it was hotly rumoured, then it picked up steam – and now it’s confirmed. Spain’s World Cup-winning goalkeeper Iker Casillas has announced his intention to run for the presidency of the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) against the present incumbent Luis Rubiales.
February 18 – The world players’ union FIFPro has come out in support for players or teams who walk off the pitch due to racism following the abuse suffered by Porto forward Moussa Marega (pictured) at the hands of opposing fans during a Portuguese league match on Sunday.
February 18 – Inter Miami, the new MLS franchise where David Beckham is an owner has reportedly secured a £180 million sponsorship deal with Qatar.
February 17 – Yet another top-flight footballer has walked off the pitch in protest at being racially abused with monkey chants.
By Osasu Obayiuwana
February 16 – As the Confederation of African Football (CAF) continues to deal with the unsavoury revelations emanating from the PwC forensic audit of its finances and governance practices, the organisation is set to lose two of its key directors.
By Andrew Warshaw
February 15 – In a seismic ruling that has sent shockwaves across the sport, English Premier League champions Manchester City have been banned by UEFA from all European club competition for the next two seasons and fined €30 million after being found to have committed “serious breaches” of financial fair play rules.
February 17 – Rio de Janeiro’s public prosecutor and the state’s public ministry have demanded greater compensation from Flamengo for the families of the ten youth players who perished in a fire at the club’s training complex last year. The fire will no longer be treated as a ‘collective accident’.
February 17 – In what must surely be a first of its kind, a top-flight game was postponed at the weekend not because of weather conditions, fixture congestion or fan disruption but for environmental reasons in the shape of air contamination.
February 17 – American investment company Pacific Media Group (PMG) has acquired a majority stake in struggling Belgian top-flight club KV Oostende.
February 17 – With sponsorship of football by gambling firms very much on the radar of UK regulators, Everton have become the first Premier League club to announce they are ending their deal with Kenyan online gaming giant SportPesa.