March 12 – La Liga in Spain has been suspended for “at least the next two rounds of matches” as a result of the Real Madrid squad going into quarantine because of the coronavirus.
March 12 – US Soccer has apologised after a backlash against statements in court documents this week that players on the men’s national team possess greater skill and have more demanding jobs than their female counterparts. The federation is also feeling the heat from sponsors.
By Andrew Warshaw
March 12 – A proposal to give smaller European nations more of a say in key decisions affecting the running of the game has failed to materialise following the intervention of Germany, UEFA’s biggest individual federation.
March 12 – South American governing body Conmebol has called on FIFA to postpone this month’s World Cup qualifiers on the continent due to the Coronavirus outbreak.
March 12 – Former DFB President Wolfgang Niersbach (pictured) has made a surprise court appearance at the 2006 World Cup tax fraud trial – despite the advice of his doctor not to attend.
March 12 – The effects of Covid-19 have gone all the way up to the administration of world football with FIFA taking the unprecedented step of calling off its 211-nation congress that had been due to take place Addis Ababa on June 5.
March 12 – After telling UEFA they wouldn’t travel, Getafe have now persuaded European football’s governing body to call off tonight’s Europa League tie against Inter Milan as the coronavirus begins to bite into UEFA’s club competitions – something it was hoped could be avoided by playing games behind closed doors.
March 12 – Juventus’ Italian international defender Daniele Rugani has tested positive for coronavirus, the first top-flight player to be infected as the outbreak continues to spread.
March 12 – Holders Liverpool crashed out of the Champions league on Wednesday with manager Jurgen Klopp accusing opponents Atletico Madrid of using negative tactics.
March 12 – KPMG Football Benchmark have updated player market value estimates. Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi and Neymar head the list of players with the likely highest transfer price tags, while Inter Milan and Argentina striker Lautaro Martínez has increased his value more than any other player since November.
March 12 – The first professional football casualty of the Coronavirus has been recorded in the US both MLS and USL clubs reacting swiftly to local authority advisories and seasons barely a game old.
March 11 – The English FA has with former FA director Heather Rabbatts’ Women’s Sports Group on the distribution of all UK media rights for the Barclays FA Women’s Super League.
March 11 – In a major escalation of the effects of Covid-19 on UEFA competitions, Getafe have refused to travel for their Europa League game against Inter Milan on Thursday, putting the club in direct conflict with European football’s governing body.
March 11 – Manchester City’s Premier League home match against Arsenal tonight has become the first English top-flight fixture to fall victim to the coronavirus.
In April 1967, in an era when sports rights-holders were apt to worry about the impact of television on attendance figures, Football League chairmen in England took less than half an hour to turn down a BBC live television proposal worth a then highly respectable £781,000.