March 11 – Coronavirus fears have prompted SIGA to postpone its VI SIGA Sport Integrity Forum and general assembly, scheduled for 24-25 March in New York. The integrity group will now rearrange for a date in the Autumn.
By Andrew Warshaw
March 10 – The eagerly awaited trial of three of Germany’s most high-profile former football chiefs plus ex-FIFA Secretary General Urs Linsi linked to suspicions that Germany bought votes to obtain the 2006 World Cup has been adjourned after three of the four were absent from the courtroom near the Swiss-Italian border because of the coronavirus.
March 10 – LaLiga has issued a statement saying that all matches will be played behind closed doors for at least the next two weeks.
March 10 – Italian top-flight football has finally bowed to pressure from the government with the whole of Serie A called off until April 3 because of Covid-19.
March 10 – The Dutch FA (KNVB) has staged a video assistant referee (VAR) technology test event en route to the 2022 World Cup with a focus on fine-tuning the technology and making it more affordable.
March 10 – UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has advised English football authorities to scrap the League Cup competition, which has been in existence since 1960, to avoid fixture congestion.
March 10 – A ranking of current big-5 league players according to the age at which they have reached 50, 100, 200 and 300 caps in their leagues sees AC Milan goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma leading the 50 and 100-match tables, while the Real Madrid forward Eden Hazard is at the top for the 200 and 300-match rankings.
March 10 – Manchester United have announced that they have frozen season ticket prices for the 2020-21 campaign for a ninth consecutive season.
March 9 – Milan’s San Siro may not be considered fit for purpose or provide a state-of the-art experience for the modern day fan, but it will soon have a cutting edge perimeter LED technology billboard system.
By Andrew Warshaw
March 9 – Unofficial dealings between under-fire Swiss attorney general Michael Lauber and Gianni Infantino just as the latter was considering seeking the FIFA presidency have fuelled suspicion about collusion between the pair following revelations at the weekend in French newspaper Le Monde.
March 9 – Italy’s sports minister has accused Serie A of being “irresponsible” for ignoring his calls for matches to be permanently called off because of coronavirus.
March 9 – American governing body US Soccer claims that it offered the US women’s national team equal pay for matches under its control, but Carlos Cordeiro’s letter, released on the eve of International Women’s Day, has vexed the players.
March 9 – Ronaldinho’s Paraguayan nightmare is not at an end yet. On Sunday, the local prosecutor said that the former player will remain in jail as the investigation widens to investigate potential other crimes.
March 9 – The AFC Champions League has been put on temporary hold in West Asia while officials work out ways to get the remaining group matches played as a result of the coronavirus.
March 9 – Less than a year after quitting FIFA, where he had served as personal adviser to Gianni Infantino in his role as deputy general secretary, to join AC Milan, Zvonimir Boban has been sacked as the club’s chief football officer following an unsavoury spat with CEO Ivan Gazidis.