By Paul Nicholson
May 24 – If there was any lingering doubt that the relationship between former UEFA general-secretary-turned-FIFA-president Gianni Infantino and the head of the European governing body Aleksander Ceferin was strained, those doubts were blown out the water by a speech by Ceferin to the Council of European Union Sports Ministers in Brussels yesterday (Wednesday).
May 24 – Wolfsburg and Lyon meet in the final of the UEFA Women’s Champions League tonight in Kiev, two days before Liverpool and Real Madrid play the men’s final. In future UEFA says it is “moving the finals become a centrepiece of the calendar in their own right.”
By Samindra Kunti in Kiev
May 24 – UEFA president Alexander Ceferin has remained tight-lipped about staging the Champions League final outside Europe, repeating that it is a ‘theoretical possibility.’ This week’s showpiece event in the Ukrainian capital has been a logistical nightmare, provoking renewed debate over which cities are suitable to host the showpiece game. The UEFA Executive Committee awarded the 2020 Champions League final to Istanbul.
By Samindra Kunti
May 22 – More than 2,000 Real Madrid fans have been forced to return their tickets for Saturday’s Champions League final in Kiev over logistics and sky-rocketing expenses. Ticket touts have ramped up ticket prices ahead of the showpiece game of the European club season, asking up to £14,000 for ticket.
May 21 – British-based German internationals Mesut Ozil and Ilkay Gundogan met German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier at the weekend in a series of clear the air talks after they were pictured with Turkey’s controversial president President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
May 18 – He was among the biggest kingpins in European football – a FIFA and UEFA vice-president – and even for a time stood as interim UEFA president.
By Samindra Kunti in Lyon
May 17 – Atletico Madrid outclassed Marseille 3-0 to win their third Europa League with an Antoine Griezmann’s brace and captain Gabi’s late goal. The final in Lyon passed off without major crowd incidents, though UEFA have still issued disciplinary charges against both clubs from racism to causing acts of damage in the stadium.
May 17 – Europe’s leading football stakeholders have joined forces to oppose Gianni Infantino’s plans to radically change the game’s global landscape by saying they have “serious reservations about the process” surrounding his proposal to enlarge the Club World Cup to 24 teams and create a biennial global Nations League.
May 16 – UEFA’s top brass were meeting today in an attempt to forge a united stance against Gianni Infantino’s plans to change the landscape of world football.
By Andrew Warshaw
May 15 – The similarities are striking. Always the bridesmaid, never the bride. Up against a heavyweight rival. Eager to reward a football-mad nation with the ultimate prize. Just as underdogs and four-time losers Morocco are desperate to upset the odds and land the 2026 World Cup, so Turkey are equally determined to make up for lost time and hold the 2024 European Championship finals after three demoralising failures.
May 15 – British-based German internationals Mesut Ozil and Ilkay Gundogan, both of Turkish origin, have been lambasted by their national federation and German politicians for posing for photos with Turkey’s controversial President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
By Andrew Warshaw and Paul Nicholson
May 14 – Despite the Greek authorities going to extraordinary lengths to maintain order by flying in a Spanish referee to take charge of last weekend’s domestic cup final, a season of unprecedented turmoil was capped by yet more trouble – on and off the pitch.
May 14 – UEFA’s decision to stage next week’s Champions League final in Kiev “needs explaining” according to Liverpool’s head of club and supporter liaison.
By Paul Nicholson
May 11 – At the end of a season of unprecedented turmoil and allegations of corruption that have pointed to matchfixing and match manipulation within the highest administrative levels of the Greek game, the Hellenic Football Federation (HFF) have finally decided to fly in a non-Greek referee for the final match of its season.
May 11 – Outgoing Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger says the introduction of a European super league, resisted for years by football’s authorities, is “inevitable” and says Premier League matches will ultimately be moved to midweek.