By Alexander Krassimirov
August 8 – Bulgaria’s top league clubs have joined together to protest to the government about a sponsorship agreement about to be signed between rival club Levski Sofia and Russian energy giant Gazprom. It is a remarkable move by the clubs who all sell their own sponsorships, but who feel that they have been excluded from sponsorship money they should be sharing.
By Richard van Poortvliet
August 7 – The Anzhi project, to transform a side with little prior success from one of Russia’s poorest regions, into a European powerhouse happened almost overnight. However, this dream looks as though it could be unravelling just as quickly as it was formed with owner Suleiman Kerimov (pictured) taking an axe to the club’s budgets.
By Andrew Warshaw
August 7 – UEFA’s crackdown on match-fixing could seriously affect this season’s Champions League after Europe’s governing body opened urgent disciplinary proceedings against Metalist Kharkiv.
August 7 – Gareth Bale may be the subject of a world record transfer bid from Real Madrid but the Tottenham Hotspur star has failed to make a significant enough impression to place him in the running for UEFA’s Best Player in Europe award.
By Mark Baber
August 6 – More details were published of a suppressed report into the history of doping in West Germany, which includes evidence that three of West Germany’s 1966 World Cup stars may have been involved.
By Andrew Warshaw
August 6 – Fallen Scottish giants Rangers are once again embroiled in turmoil after chairman Walter Smith quit less than a week before the start of the new league season describing the boardroom as “highly dysfunctional” and lacking integrity.
August 6 – FIFA have been quick to allay fears of a drugs problem in Turkish football following the announcement by the Turkish Athletics Association that 31 athletes have been banned for two years for doping violations.
By Andrew Warshaw
August 4 – Israeli and Palestinian leaders have hailed Barcelona’s “peace tour” to the region as a vitally symbolic breakthrough but the visit also highlighted the deep-rooted distrust as Palestinian FA boss Jibril Rajoub, not for the first time, denounced Israel’s conduct towards his country’s athletes.
By Alexander Krassimirov
August 4 – The new governing and executive body of Bulgarian clubs CSKA Sofia has kept its promise and revealed the monthly salaries of the team’s players and coaching staff. CSKA is the first club in Bulgaria to disclose the salaries of its employees to the public.
August 2 – The Italian football federation has banned Lazio captain Stefano Mauri (pictured) for six months for his part in the 2011 Italian match-fixing scandal.
August 2 – The International Centre for Sport Security (ICSS) has been accepted as a member of the Enlarged Partial Agreement on Sport (EPAS) Consultative Committee.
By Mark Baber
August 2 – Italy’s first black government minister Cécile Kyenge has likened the racism she has received – she recently had bananas thrown at her – to the racism that Mario Balotelli has received, saying that “a multi-ethnic nation is both inevitable and natural.”
By David Owen
July 31 – The company that promotes the Tour de France bicycle race has been appointed an authorised sales agent for official 2014 FIFA World Cup hospitality packages in Belgium and Luxemburg.
By Mark Baber
July 31 – Dinamo Zagreb have been fined €25,000 and ordered to close the east section of their stadium for their European home game against FC Sheriff for their fans’ racist chanting during a recent qualifier against Luxembourg’s CS Fola Esch.
By Mark Baber
July 31 – Gordon Taylor, of the Professional Footballers’ Association, speaking at an event to celebrate the first goal in the Football League scored by Kenny Davenport 125 years ago, argued football is in danger of “losing its soul” due to an overemphasis on money.