Ceferin lined up for second term as UEFA president
August 22 – UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has been formally nominated for re-election by his home federation in Slovenia ahead of next year’s ballot.
Europe
VAR could debut in Champions League at quarterfinal stage
August 22 – UEFA, whose president Aleksander Ceferin has resisted video assistant referees in his club competitions, are considering a partial about-turn and could introduce VARs in the Champions League from the quarterfinal onwards, according to The Times newspaper.
Global good chap David Beckham to receive UEFA recognition
August 22 – David Beckham is to become the latest recipient of the UEFA President’s award for his contribution to football and promoting the sport in “every corner of the planet”.
Modrić, Ronaldo and Salah shortlisted for men’s award, Harder, Hegerberg and Henry for women’s
August 21 – UEFA have unveiled the top three shortlists for the men’s and women’s player of the year awards. The winners will be announced August 30 at the Champions League group draw in Monaco.
Inter outrage at Tebas’ claim that offer for Modric hid some ‘trickery’
August 20 – Inter Milan have announced their intention to sue La Liga president Javier Tebas (pictured) over his claims the club used underhand methods to try and sign Luka Modric from Real Madrid.
Grindel regrets handling of Ozil affair and says DFB never blamed him for Russia 2018 exit
August 20 – German Football Association (DFB) chief Reinhard Grindel (pictured) has again admitted that he could have dealt better with the Mezut Ozil affair after the midfielder quit the national team and announced his retirement from international football on racism grounds.
Germany say Lahm will lead 2024 organising if they beat Turkey to win hosting
August 17 – Bidding nations don’t normally formally announce who will organise the tournament they want to stage until after the vote takes place.
Italy mourns: Genoa and Sampadoria suspend season starts after bridge disaster
August 17 – Genoa and Sampdoria’s Serie A fixtures on Sunday have been postponed following Tuesday’s motorway bridge tragedy in the city in which 39 people died.
Upwardly mobile: UEFA goes paperless with Super Cup tickets distributed to phones
August 17 – UEFA has reported a successful deployment of its new ticketing system via mobile app. This week’s UEFA Super Cup between Real Madrid and Atlético de Madrid in Tallinn saw UEFA distribute 100% of the match tickets via the app.
Zenit comeback makes history but no-one is there to see it
August 17 – Zenit St Petersburg produced one of the greatest comebacks in European history on Thursday – but there were no fans inside the stadium to see it.
Burnley owner warns Brexit will harm Premier League player movement and pay
August 16 – Brexit could be “hugely damaging” to English football, according to the chairman of Premier League club Burnley. Mike Garlick (pictured) warned that the end of freedom of movement and the fall in the value of the pound will harm British clubs.
Germans revamp flailing VAR systems for kick off of the Bundesliga
By Samindra Kunti
August 14 – Defending champions Bayern Munich and Hoffenheim kick off the new Bundesliga season this week and will be the first test of Germany’s reworked approach to the usage of the video assistant referee (VAR) system and technology.
‘Football in only five countries, I do not like it,’ says Savićević
August 14 – Montenegro FA president Dejan Savićević has spoken about the dangers of competitive balance in European football as the larger nations grow in concentration of wealth.
Forest fans and owner Marinakis show solidarity with Greeks in wildfire tragedy
August 14 – Nottingham Forest and their key supporter groups have united to raise funds for those affected by the tragic wildfires in Greece that killed 93 as they spread around the Athens area.
Swiss FA chief Miescher forced to quit over dual nationality comments
August 13 – Alex Miescher has been forced to quit as general secretary of the Swiss football federation as a result of controversial comments he made about Swiss players having dual nationality.