Defender refuses to play on as more racism hits Russian football
September 24 – Yet another incident of racist abuse has hit Russian football which shows little sign of cutting out discrimination despite plenty of pledges to the contrary.
Europe
Bulgarian FA boss blames lack of local support on Euro 2020 bid flop
By Alexander Krassimirov
September 24 – The president of the Bulgarian Football Union Borislav Mihaylov (pictured) expressed disappointment after the failure of Sofia’s bid to host matches from Euro 2020. blaming UEFA’s rejection on the lack of support from Bulgarian institutions.
Ludogorets owner pushes on with club build using newly won Euro cash
By Alexander Krassimirov
September 24 – Kiril Domuschiev (pictured), the owner of Bulgarian champions Ludogorets who are have qualified for the Champions League for the first time in their history, said he expects club to achieve a small financial surplus at the end of the 2014.
Singaporean Lim joins United legends at Salford City
September 24 – In one of the game’s more unusual takeovers, a Singapore businessman who not so long ago tried to buy Liverpool has agreed to enter into partnership with five former Manchester United players and taken a 50% share in a club playing in the eighth tier of English football.
CSKA Moscow step up action against fans pushing them to the ‘edge’
September 23 – Leading Russian club CSKA Moscow are poised to introduce banning orders and take legal action to stop continued violence by their fans in European games “pushing us over the edge,” according to general director Roman Babayev.
UEFA splits €24m FFP fines between compliant clubs
September 22 – UEFA has confirmed that financial fair play fines imposed on clubs will be redistributed among teams who managed to balance their books.
2020 Euros go Wembley way as UEFA picks its host cities
By Andrew Warshaw in Geneva
September 19 – After two humiliating failures in trying to secure the World Cup, English football can at last celebrate victory after being handed the climax to the one-off pan-European Championship finals in 2020.
Gornik Zabrze fans launch association to buy into Polish top tier club
By Jaroslaw Adamowski
September 19 – Gornik Zabrze supporters have set up a new entity, modelled on the associations of Spanish football clubs, aimed at acquiring an ownership stake in the Polish side. The latest move comes as a response to the continuing financial woes of Gornik which is controlled by the city of Zabrze.
Chagossians crowd-fund their first international
By Mark Baber
September 19 – The Chagossians, a people forcibly displaced from the Chagos Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, have launched a campaign on Indiegogo to raise the funds to send a team to play their first game outside of the UK against ConIFA member, Szekelyföld LE, a Hungarian-speaking minority group in Transylvania.
Doctor’s orders: UEFA brings in 3-minute concussion rule
September 19 – UEFA are to introduce new rules to prevent players suffering possible concussion. With immediate effect, referees will be allowed stop matches for up to three minutes and the team doctor will decide if a player can continue under new procedures to be used in European competitions.
UEFA refs Ukraine vs Russia grudge match, extra time needed
By Andrew Warshaw in Geneva
September 19 – UEFA officials appear to have been caught unawares by a strongly worded demand by Ukraine’s football federation to suspend Russia from international football over the Crimea crisis.
Speculation mounts over Euro 2020 winners and losers as nations gather for vote
By Andrew Warshaw in Geneva
September 18 – Nineteen hopeful countries will learn on Friday which 13 of them have been selected by UEFA to stage the one-off pan-European finals in 2020.
Greek second division postponed indefinitely
By Mark Baber
September 18- The start of the second division of Greece’s Football League is being postponed indefinitely due to the financial difficulties faced by most of the clubs involved, it was on Wednesday.
National coaches give cold shoulder to political boycott of 2018 World Cup
By Andrew Warshaw
September 18 – National team coaches from Europe have played down the likelihood of a boycott of the 2018 World Cup as a penalty for Russia’s incursion into Ukraine. Meeting in St Petersburg for a technical study of the Brazil World Cup, the coaches of UEFA’s 54 member nations are reported to have been lukewarm over the idea of a boycott that has the support of a raft of European diplomats.
Dyke says UEFA has no ‘credible’ alternative to Blatter
September 18 – English FA chairman Greg Dyke says it is highly unlikely UEFA will put up a candidate to take on Sepp Blatter for the FIFA presidency next year now that their main man, Michel Platini, has decided not to run.