Real crackdown with stadium ban for anti-Barca chanters
December 9 – One of the world’s great footballing rivalries has turned ugly after Real Madrid banned 17 of their own supporters for abusive chants about Lionel Messi and Barcelona.
Europe
Le Coq Sportif lines up Fiorentina, Saint-Etienne kit deals
By Jaroslaw Adamowski
December 5 – In a bid to boost its position in the European football market, French sports apparel maker Le Coq Sportif is reportedly planning to become the kit supplier of French club AS Saint-Etienne and Italy’s ACF Fiorentina.
UEFA integrates new Nations League format into 2020 Euro qualification slots
By Andrew Warshaw
December 5 – UEFA has formally outlined how its new Nations League competition – being brought in to replace meaningless friendlies and featuring promotion and relegation – will work.
Bundesliga votes to bring in goal-line technology
December 5 – Having backed away from goal-line technology because of the costs involved, Germany’s Bundesliga has decided the time is right to implement its introduction to settle contentious decisions over whether the ball has crossed the line.
UEFA ban Crimean clubs from playing in Russian leagues
By Andrew Warshaw
December 5 – Clearly exasperated that months of talks failed to achieve the hoped-for breakthrough, UEFA have taken the ultimate step of banning clubs in the annexed Crimea region of Ukraine from playing in any Russian-organised football competitions.
CIES updates player valuation calculator for new transfer window
December 5 – With the European transfer window opening January 1, the CIES Football Observatory has updated its online calculator that gives a transfer value to players in the ‘Big-5’ European leagues; England’s Premier League, France’s Ligue 1, Germany’s Bundesliga, Italy’s Serie A and Spain’s Primera.
Belgian clubs fear academy exodus over drop in compensation fees
By Samindra Kunti
December 4 – Belgian top clubs are fearing an exodus of their homegrown talent after FIFA reduced the international training compensation from €75,000 to €10,000 a year for players aged 12 to 15 in the summer.
Celtic to appeal to CAS over Tonev ban for racial abuse
December 4 – Scottish champions Celtic are prepared to go all the way to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in their appeal against Bulgarian Aleksandar Tonev’s racism charge.
Red carded Moldovanov gets 10-match ban for bottle throw
December 4 – A Bulgarian player who tried to strike a referee with a bottle after being sent off has been banned for 10 games by his country’s football association.
Valencia hunt for ‘Messi-bottle’ thrower
December 4 – Valencia have promised to ban for life the fan who threw a plastic bottle that struck Lionel Messi on the head – if the club can ever discover who the culprit was.
Bayern is world’s biggest club, by membership
December 4 – FC Bayern Munich is the world’s biggest club if you take into account membership numbers only. Portugal’s Benfica comes second, followed by FC Barcelona, Schalke 04 and Borussia Dortmund.
UEFA meet to decide National League format
December 3 – The exact format of UEFA’s new Nations League competition tops the agenda at this week’s executive committee meeting at their Swiss headquarters.
Greek tragedy adds new twist with FIFA and UEFA warning to clubs
By Mark Baber
December 3 – FIFA and UEFA have reportedly sent a joint letter to the Hellenic Football Federation (EPO) warning that proposed government legislation, which is aimed at tackling the serious problem of corruption and match-fixing in Greek football, constitutes an unacceptable involvement of the state in football and would lead to the country being banned from international competitions.
Spanish promise crackdown to expel Ultra groups from stadiums
By Mark Baber
December 2 – The death of Deportivo de La Coruña fan Francisco José Romero Taboada before the match between and Atlético de Madrid on Sunday has dominated Spain’s news agenda, with the Spanish government saying the death marks a watershed and Ultra groups will be banned from stadiums.
Bayern Munich’s Andreas Jung on business, Dortmund and Hoeness
By Mathias Frohnapfel
December 2 – In an interview with our associated company, SPORT1, Bayern Munich’s commercial chief and board member Andreas Jung spoke about shirt sales, the Dortmund rivalry, the rise of Leipzig and Uli Hoeness. Jung was speaking before the meeting of Bayern club members last week.