Mourinho given 4-match ban for abusing ref at Europe League final
June 22 – José Mourinho has been banned by UEFA for four European games for his disgraceful antics following his Roma team’s defeat to Sevilla in the Europa League final.
Author: Paul Nicholson
FIFA’s Bareman puts focus on lifting New Zealand World cup ticket sales
June 22 – FIFA says Women’s World Cup co-hosts New Zealand need to up their game over ticket sales in the coming weeks.
Hosts Georgia upset Portugal as U21 Euros kicks off
June 22 – The European U21 Championship is underway as Europe’s best youngsters compete against each other for the title.
Sinclair pushes Canadian Soccer for pay deal before team leaves for World Cup
June 22 – Canada’s national team want a pay dispute settled before leaving for the Women’s World Cup, which Australia and New Zealand will co-host this summer.
PepsiCo kick starts UCL renewals for 2024-27 cycle
June 22 – PepsiCo has renewed its UEFA Champions League partnership for the 2024–27 cycle the first partner to do so the next three-year cycle.
AFC releases club match-ups for revamped Champions League that kicks off in August
June 22 – The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has released the club schedules for the Preliminary and Playoff Stages of the AFC Cup and AFC Champions League 2023/24, the first full season the competitions will be played following the European season, rather than the calendar year.
Besiktas signs new shirt deal with payments specialist Papara and launches club bank card
June 22 – Turkey’s Besiktas has signed a new sleeve and back of shirt sponsorship deal with electronic money and payment operator Papara.
IACA and SIGA agree joint project initiative and capacity building in fight against corruption
June 22 – The International Anti-Corruption Academy (IACA) and the Sport Integrity Global Alliance (SIGA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at fostering the prevention of and the fight against corruption in sport.
30% of Women’s World Cup players unpaid, 70% have no medical support, finds Fifpro report
June 21 – Players vying to make this summer’s Women’s World Cup risked their safety on poor pitches during qualifying, and many were not paid according to the latest report from players’ union Fifpro.
Ronaldo hits 200 caps, scores 123rd goal, and sends Portugal to top of Euro 2024 qualifying
June 21 – Cristiano Ronaldo became the first men’s player to make 200 international appearances and celebrated the milestone by scoring the winner in the 89th minute as Portugal beat Iceland 1-0 on Tuesday to make it four wins from four in European Championship qualifying.
Qatar racism row standoff as QFA supports Abdurisag and NZF refuses to back down
June 21 – Qatar has hit back at allegations of racism against one of its players in a match against New Zealand that led to the game being abandoned at half-time.
Conmebol and Concacaf set dates for Copa America in US, venues to follow
June 21 – With a year to go until the kick-off the Copa America, Conmebol confirmed the dates of the tournament to be played from June 20 to July 14 in the summer of 2024 in the United States.
St Kitts and Nevis pull off second upset to take Gold Cup group spot over French Guiana
By Paul Nicholson in Fort Lauderdale, Florida
June 21 – St Kitts and Nevis caused the upset of the Gold Cup preliminary round to qualify for the group stages and place on the big stage with matches against USA Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago in Group A of Concacaf’s.
Germany’s Euro 2024 prep in ‘confidence’ crisis after Colombia loss
June 21 – The sense of crisis surrounding Euro 2024 hosts Germany has intensified after they fell to a second straight friendly defeat in a 2-0 home loss to Colombia on Tuesday, the latest setback less than a year before the tournament.
Martinique brush off spirited Puerto Rico challenge to head into Gold Cup group stages
June 21 – Martinique muscled their way through to the group stages of the Gold Cup with a 2-0 win over Puerto Rico the surprise team of the knock-out rounds.