By David Owen
October 8 – As we used to say in the TV era, “Do not adjust your set”: Italy really will be wearing green when they take on Greece in a European championship qualifier in Rome on Saturday night.
October 8 – Manchester City has announced health and wellness brand Vejo as the club’s Official Smart Blending Device Partner in a deal that will see co-branded retail product.
October 7 – Brazilian coach Sylvinho has been dismissed by his club Olympique Lyon after Sunday’s derby defeat against local rivals AS Saint-Etienne and just one win in nine. At AC Milan, Marco Giampolo is also on the way out.
October 7 – Italy’s Serie A has followed the lead of its Big 5 European league rivals LaLiga and Bundesliga, and opened an office in the US.
October 7 – France captain Hugo Lloris is out of action until the New Year after dislocating his elbow playing for his club Tottenham Hotspur at the weekend.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 7 – Iranian women are reported to have snapped up thousands of tickets for Thursday’s World Cup qualifier against Cambodia following pressure from FIFA on the authorities to finally end the draconian ban on female fans attending men’s matches.
By Paul Nicholson
October 7 – The growth of the beoutQ broadcast piracy operation that has seen the emergence of beoutQ-enabled set-top boxes being retailed in countries around the world suffered a derailment in a London court on Friday with the conviction of a shop owner on two charges of copyright theft and two charges of fraud.
October 7 – The suspicion that FIFA rigged the vote for its Best Awards to ensure superstar Lionel Messi won for a sixth time refuses to go away, with Sudanese coach Zdravko Lugaroszic re-iterating that he didn’t vote for the Argentine despite FIFA listing him as having done so.
October 7 – Police chiefs reportedly pleaded with UEFA to switch England’s Friday night Euro 2020 kick-off in Prague this week amid fears of alcohol-fuelled crowd trouble.
By David Owen
October 7 – More than four decades after the dictator’s death, the members of Barcelona – slogan ‘More than a Club’ – have voted to revoke medals given to General Francisco Franco.
October 7 – FIFA and the World Health Organisation (WHO) have signed a four-year memorandum of understanding to promote a healthy lifestyle and ensure tobacco-free environments at football stadiums.
October 7 – Former Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has confirmed that he is considering a technical role at world federation Fifa though he has not ruled out returning to a management job after resigning at Arsenal in 2018.
October 7 – With the international break replacing domestic league fixtures for the next two weeks, English football’s rumour mill has swung into action amid growing speculation that Manchester United are considering replacing manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer with Tottenham Hotspur’s Mauricio Pochettino.
I have in the past been critical of the financial impact of the Champions League on European club football, and its role in reinforcing formation of a super-elite based partly on whether clubs happen to be located in one of the most lucrative European national TV markets or not.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 4 – New ground is being broken in the world of Middle East footballing geo-politics with Saudi Arabia agreeing to play Palestine in the occupied territories in a World Cup qualifier on October 15.