FIFA metes out fines for religious, political and homophobic fan behaviour
November 4 – Iran have been fined by FIFA after fans were asked to sing religious chants and wear black at a World Cup qualifier played on a holy day.
November 4 – FIFA’s women’s player of the year nominees include just one American, Carli Lloyd, who will defend her “title” against three Olympic champions from Germany and Brazil’s five-time winner Marta.
November 4 – The poppy dispute between the English and Scottish federations and FIFA has rebounded on the Republic of Ireland who have had a disciplinary case opened against them over a logo worn in March to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the so-called Easter Rising against British rule.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 3 – England and Scotland look set to defy a FIFA ban on players wearing poppy symbols on their shirts when the teams meet for a World Cup qualifier on Armistice Day on November 11 after British Prime Minister Teresa May waded into the dispute.
November 3 – The revolving door at FIFA under Gianni Infantino’s presidency has claimed yet another member of the old guard with the news that the organisation’s highly respected chief medical officer Jiri Dvorak has stepped down from his post after 22 years in the job.
November 3 – FIFA prosecutors have recommended a life ban be imposed on a former aide to disgraced ex-Asian football chief Mohamed bin Hammam for seven alleged breaches of the ethics code.
November 2 – In what will be construed in some quarters as a move totally lacking in compassion, FIFA has rejected a request from England and Scotland for their players to wear Armistice Day armbands featuring poppy symbols during next week’s World Cup qualifier at Wembley.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 2 – The festering, simmering dispute in Middle East football has taken another twist with the head of the Palestinian FA warning he will attempt to have Israel punished by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) if FIFA fails to find a solution over the delicate issue of Israeli clubs based in the West Bank.
November 1 – Fans can vote for FIFA’s 2016 world player of the year after the world governing body’s association with France Football’s Ballon d’Or ended earlier this year.
October 28 – FIFA has confirmed reports in the Swiss media by admitting the CEO of its much-touted €128 million museum is leaving, a clear cost-cutting move amid reports of poor visitor numbers since it opened in February.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 27 – Gianni Infantino’s first task as FIFA president six months ago was to open FIFA’s new museum in Zurich and describe it as “the place where football will be lived and breathed.”
October 27 – Argentina and Uruguay have reaffirmed their interest in co-hosting the 2030 FIFA World Cup, which will mark the tournament’s 100-year anniversary.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 25 – Former FIFA presidential candidate Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein of Jordan says football’s world governing body has got its priorities wrong under Gianni Infantino, the man who beat him to the sport’s most powerful position.
October 24 – FIFA president Gianni Infantino says more needs to be done to develop women’s football in regions where female players are often prevented from taking up the sport.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 19 – Time and again he fought off his accusers and protested his innocence while other FIFA powerbrokers around him were plunged into shame. But the net has finally closed in on Thailand’s Worawi Makudi who has been banned by FIFA’s ethics committee for five years for election forgery.