By Andrew Warshaw
January 9 – The video assistant refereeing system, whilst gaining in overall popurity, has had its fair share of criticism since being gradually introduced across European and international football.
January 9 – Liverpool’s Egyptian forward Mohamed Salah has won the African footballer of the year award for the second consecutive time.
January 9 – Dutchman Pim Verbeek has forged a managerial career in Asia and, with his latest team, Oman, has had immediate success with their surprise win at the Gulf Cup last year. Expectations are high for the Asian Cup. He spoke to Samindra Kunti
January 9 – The timing is presumably co-incidence but having cast off the oppressive shadow of Jose Mourinho’s management regime for the more free-flowing joy of Ole Gunnar Solsjaer (albeit interim), Manchester United has announced it will open three “experience centres” in China by 2020.
January 9 – Japan’s captain Maya Yoshida has called on Japan to forget about disappointment four years ago and deal with the pressure at the 2019 Asian Cup. The Samurai Blue kick off their campaign against Turkmenistan in Group F.
January 8 – Iraq coach Srecko Katanec has backed his team to grow during the 2019 Asian Cup, but demanded improvement from his players, citing a ‘horrible’ first half and his own mistakes after a hard-fought 3-2 win over Vietnam.
By Samindra Kunti in Abu Dhabi
January 8 – In a game of nerves, overconfidence and plenty of naive defending Iraq broke Vietnamese hearts with a last-minute free kick from Ali Adnan to win a topsy-turvy Group E game 3-2.
January 8 – Egypt has replaced Cameroon as hosts of this summer’s Africa Cup of Nations, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) announced today.
January 8 – Former England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson, now in charge of the Philippines, expressed his pride at his side’s performance against hotly fancied South Korea in their first-ever appearance at the Asian Cup Finals on Monday.
January 8 – Turkish Super Lig clubs have been handed a financial lifeline via a deal brokered between the country’s banks and the football federation to allow clubs to restructure their debts.
January 8 – Former Barcelona, Inter Milan and Chelsea star Samuel Eto’o says black coaches are seen as “second-class citizens” around the world and don’t get the trust they deserve.
January 8 – Just two months after assuring Guinea that they were still clear to host the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, African football boss Ahmad Ahmad is at it again with yet another u-turn.
January 8 – The race for the next occupant of the Asian women’s seat on the FIFA Council has got under way with the Maldives’ candidate, Mariyam ‘Mayan’ Mohamed, meeting with FIFA president Gianni Infantino.
January 8 – The Somali Football Federation, which last October began a clean-up of its Mogadishu national stadium in a bid to return it to football usage, has now embarked on the redevelopment of its technical centre.
January 8 – Bayern Munich are to impose a “heavy fine” on former French international Franck Ribery over an obscenity-laced outburst on social media.