Club Brugge place 24,000 QR codes in stadium to combat racism
April 21 – Belgian champions Club Brugge will introduce QR codes to combat racism at home matches. Fans will have the opportunity to report racist incidents via their smartphones.
Europe
UEFA opens ticket sales for Champions League and Europa League finals
April 20 – UEFA has today opened ticket sales for the Champions League final in Paris and the Europa League final in Sevilla.
Serie A cancels plan to play its 20 teams in Orlando during Qatar 2022 World Cup
April 20 – Serie A has shelved ambitious plans to organise a tournament in the United States during this year’s World Cup using players not called up by their national sides.
Pique furiously defends €24m ‘fixers’ fee for taking Spanish Super Cup to Saudi
April 20 – Famed Spanish international defender Gerard Pique claims he has done nothing illegal after his sports event company, Kosmos, was reportedly paid a massive €24 million as part of the deal to move the Spanish Super Cup to the Middle East.
Genius Sports breaks its Russian embargo supplying data to Russian betting site
By Matt Scott
April 14 – Genius Sports, the official data supplier to the Premier League, has continued to offer its services to Russian punters in the weeks after it announced it was withdrawing business from the territory.
Netherlands, Poland, Belgium and Wales bid to host UEFA’s 2023 Nations League final four
April 14 – The Netherlands, Poland, Belgium and Wales have all bid to stage the 2023 Nations League final four, European governing body UEFA has announced.
Atlético win appeal to keep Wanda Metropolitano full for Man City UCL second leg tonight
April 13 – Atlético Madrid will play their second leg Champions League quarter final against Manchester City tonight in front of a full Wanda Metropolitano stadium.
Villareal stun Bayern and Real Madrid cling on against Chelsea in night of UCL drama
April 13 – Seventh in the Spanish league, Villarreal pulled off a stunning Champions League upset on Tuesday night as they scored a late equaliser to knock out German giants Bayern Munich to reach the semi-finals along with Real Madrid who fortuitously eliminated defending champions Chelsea.
Sweden, France and Spain books first European slots at 2023 Women’s World Cup
April 12 – With a second-half goal from Kosovare Asllani in a 1-1 draw with Ireland, Sweden became the first European team to book a ticket for the 2023 Women’s World Cup. On an evening of UEFA Women’s World Cup qualifiers, France and Spain also ensured their presence in New Zealand and Australia next year.
Cost-cutting Anderlecht commit to keeping women’s team budget unchanged
April 12 – Belgian club Anderlecht have vowed to preserve the budget for their title winning women’s team despite cuts across the board.
UEFA sanctions cut capacity at Atletico; Bodo/Glimt appeal Knutsen ban
April 12 – UEFA have ordered Atletico Madrid to close a part of their stadium for Wednesday’s Champions League quarter-final second leg against Manchester City.
Shakhtar Donetsk open ‘Football for Peace’ Tour at Olympiakos
April 11 – Wearing the names of heavily bombarded cities on their shirts, Ukrainian top-flight club Shakhtar Donetsk began a symbolic government-backed ‘Football for Peace’ Tour on Saturday with a game played in front of 5,000 fans against Greek champions Olympiakos.
EFL considers salary cap as part of reform of club financial regulations
April 11 – Following UEFA’s introduction of new financial monitoring rules, the English Football League (EFL) is also considering new financial fair play rules, including a salary cap at 70% of club revenue.
ECA and European Leagues welcome reform of UEFA’s financial ‘fair play’
By Andrew Warshaw
April 8 – The two umbrella organisations representing Europe’s clubs and leagues have given their wholehearted support to UEFA’s important new financial monitoring rules designed to beef up the previously flawed system and which, tellingly, no longer include the words “fair play”.