By Samindra Kunit in Baku, Azerbaijan
May 29 – At last the long journey and wait have come to an end. Tonight a London derby in Baku will decide the winner of the 2019 Europa League in a final that will be remembered by all involved for all the right or wrong reasons.
May 29 – Madrid authorities are launching a massive security operation ahead of Saturday’s all-English Champions League final as thousands of Liverpool and Tottenham fans converge on the Spanish capital.
May 29 – Chelsea’s preparations for the first of this week’s two all-English European finals have been overshadowed by reports that manager Maurizio Sarri appeared to storm out of a pre-match training session in Baku.
May 29 – Spanish reports claim Real Madrid’s former international defender Raul Bravo is the suspected ringleader of a damaging match-fixing operation that hit the headlines this week and has rocked Spanish football.
May 29 – The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has taken the rare step of banning a World Cup referee for six months for poor officiating in the Continent’s showpiece Champions League final.
May 30 – Brazilian authorities and police are investigating Cruzeiro and its president Wagner Pires de Sa for financial mismanagement and other illegal activities.
May 29 – The former President of the South Sudan Football Association (SSFA), Chabur Goc Alei (pictured), has wasted no time in deciding to appeal being banned for 10 years by FIFA.
By Paul Nicholson
May 29 – A new ranking of the value of European clubs on first glance shows few immediate surprise but a deeper look at the numbers shows the stunning growth in value of these football businesses over the past three years in comparison to other industries and Europe’s economy in general.
May 29 – Spanish football has rocked by a damaging new match-fixing scandal with a number of arrests of current and former players and club executives.
May 29 – There is one Champions League trophy that won’t be going to England this weekend, in fact it might not even remain in Europe.
May 29 – An analysis of the percentage of points needed to win one of the Big 5 European leagues shows that over the past 20 years championship winning teams have progressively increased the percentage of points available to them.
By Andrew Warshaw
May 28 – With his club embroiled in a UEFA investigation into alleged serious breaches of financial fair play and reportedly facing a possible European ban, Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak has hit back by saying some of their rivals are simply jealous of the club’s success.
May 28 – Former Brazilian football strongman Marco Polo Del Nero (pictured) has lost his appeal against a life ban for bribery and corruption.
May 28 – New York Cosmos owner and billionaire businessman Rocco B. Commisso is poised to complete a takeover of Serie A club Fiorentina according to media reports.
By Andrew Warshaw
May 28 – After months of bitter in-fighting that brought the game in the country to its knees, Sierra Leone Football Association (SLFA) President Isha Johansen has been acquitted on all counts of corruption and is set to regain control of the federation.