October 17 – Bulgarian football legend Hristo Stoichkov was reduced to tears in response to the racist abuse dished out by Bulgaria’s fans towards England’s players during their Euro 2020 qualifier earlier this week.
October 17 – In a key move that provides a significant political and psychological boost for Qatar’s World Cup organisers, the Gulf state has pledged to fully eliminate the antiquated and controversial kafala sponsorship system that ties foreign workers to their employer.
October 16 – Former Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore has been parachuted into Australia’s A-League as a ‘special advisor’ in a bid to the clubs to turnaround the commercial fortunes of the country top professional competition.
October 17 – Two English players top an ‘experience’ ranking of young players. Borussia Dortmund’s Jadon Sancho (pictured) and Tottenham’s Ryan Sessegnon lead the way in a top 20 that has ten young players coming from Europe’s Big 5 leagues and four of them from England’s Premier League.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 16 – UEFA have opened disciplinary proceedings against Bulgaria following the racist abuse towards England’s black players that made Europe-wide headlines while UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin insisted football alone cannot eradicate the problem.
October 16 – US women’s football star Megan Rapinoe, who captured the hearts of her nation and millions more fans worldwide during the recent World Cup, says she’s “optimistic” that she and her fellow players can reach an agreement in their legal battle against the US Soccer Federation.
October 15 – Germany’s St Pauli have parted company with their Turkish midfielder Cenk Sahin, after he posted support of Turkey’s military offensive against the Kurds on social media. Sahin will return his old club Istanbul Basaksehir.
October 16 – FIFA president Gianni Infantino, one of the few people to attend the so-called “ghost derby” between North and South Korea on Tuesday, says he’s disappointed no fans were allowed to watch the World Cup qualifier that ended 0-0.
October 16 – Bulgarian FA chief Borislav Mihaylov (pictured) resigned on Tuesday in the wake of the racism that marred his country’s Euro 2020 qualifier against England the previous day.
October 16 – Spain qualified for Euro 2020 with a last-gasp 1-1 draw away to Sweden. They join Belgium, Italy, Poland, Russia and Ukraine in next year’s finals.
October 16 – Health and wellness brand Vejo have announced a partnership with a second of Europe’s biggest clubs. It will become the Official Sports Nutrition Smart Blending Device in North America, Germany, Austria and Switzerland of FC Bayern Munich.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 15 – Forget the 6-0 scoreline, impressive though it was. The resurgence of racism sweeping through European football reached a new low at international level on Monday when England’s Euro 2020 qualifier in Bulgaria was halted twice after home fans were warned about racist behaviour including Nazi salutes and monkey chanting.
October 15 – Rio de Janeiro’s Maracana stadium are favourites to stage the 2020 Copa Libertadores final ahead of Thursday’s decision by Conmebol on host venue.
By David Owen
October 15 – French sports minister Roxana Maracineanu has called on UEFA to sanction Turkey after the Turkish team’s players executed another military-style salute in the Stade de France on Monday night.
October 15 – The owner of Leeds United, one of the sleeping giants of English football, has revealed that Qatar Sports Investments, who own Paris Saint-Germain, are one of three parties interested in taking a major stake in the Championship club.