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.
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 24 – Former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has added his voice to criticism surrounding UEFA’s choice of Azerbaijan for next week’s all-English Europa League final – and says the absence of Henrikh Mkhitaryan for political reasons “should not happen” in this day and age.
May 24 – UEFA look set to elect a replacement next week, most likely on an interim basis, for Germany’s Reinhard Grindel who was forced to resign last month as a UEFA vice president and as a member of the FIFA Council after being forced out as president of his national federation.
May 24 – Montenegro’s appeal against playing their next home match behind closed doors after supporters racially abused England players has been rejected by UEFA.
May 23 – With anticipation mounting ahead of a potentially pivotal summit of Europe’s clubs early next month to discuss the future direction of the Champions League, those who represent their inner sanctum are giving nothing away as to what the outcome might be.
May 23 – Juventus has said it plans to build a new stadium specifically for its women’s and youth teams near to its Allianz Stadium.
May 22 – The decision by Arsenal’s Armenian midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan not to travel to Baku in Azerbaijan to play in the Europa League final against Chelsea on May 29 has been described by the Azerbaijan FA (AFFA) as an “unwarranted decision”.
May 22 – LaLiga president Javier Tebas, who first applied the phrase “financial doping” to football to describe how the likes of Manchester City and Paris St Germain allegedly attempt to flout UEFA’s financial fair play rules, is back on the attack, repeating his stance that both should be kicked out of European competitions if found guilty of violations.
May 22 – Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool have taken action over fans trying to sell on Champions League tickets at inflated prices amid fears that thousands of ticketless supporters will converge on Madrid for the final on June 1.
By Andrew Warshaw
May 21 – Amid widespread condemnation of their decision to stage the all-English Europa League final in distant Azerbaijan, UEFA have defended their selection of the capital Baku saying all its member nations deserve a chance to host even though only a small part of the country actually lies within Europe.
May 21 – As the German league season came to a close last weekend with Bayern Munich retaining their title for a seventh consecutive time – much to the misfortune of Borussia Dortmund – German fans not for the first time expressed their displeasure of what they perceive as an elitist attitude by European football’s hierarchy.
May 21 – Steve Clarke has been named as the new Scotland manager on a three-year contract.
By Andrew Warshaw
May 20 – UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has publicly declared for the first time that radical plans to overhaul the structure of the Champions League post-2024 will not include playing European fixtures at weekends.