By Andrew Warshaw in Astana
March 27 – UEFA formally announced the creation of its new Nations League competition to replace meaningless friendlies today, with the organisation’s president Michel Platini pledging it will become an integral part of the game in years to come.
By Andrew Warshaw in Astana
March 27 – UEFA president Michel Platini laid down the gauntlet to FIFA today to stop “hiding behind committees” and have the “political courage” to get far tougher on Third Party Ownership (TPO), declaring that European football would otherwise go it alone in their own competitions to stamp out the growing practise.
By Alexander Krassimirov
March 26 – UEFA has begun a match-fixing investigation into the European Championship Under 19 game between Bulgaria and Portugal. The match was played in June 2013 and ended with a comprehensive 7-0 win for Portugal.
By Andrew Warshaw in Astana
March 26 – A fresh and more stringent crackdown on match-fixing and the rubber-stamping of a brand new European competition, the Nations League, to replace international friendlies look set to be the main items agreed by UEFA’s 54 member nations tomorrow.
By Andrew Warshaw in Astana
March 26 – A handful of countries who initially expressed interest in staging matches at the pan-European 2020 finals have pulled out of the running, UEFA general secretary Gianni Infantino (pictured) revealed today.
By Mark Baber
March 26 – Chairman of the Czech Football Association, Miroslav Pelta has responded to violence at Saturday’s match between Baník Ostrava and league leaders Sparta Prague by calling for anti-hooligan measures to be adopted with the return of police to stadiums and fan registration cards mooted.
By Jaroslaw Adamowski
March 25 – Following a March 2 match which was abandoned halfway after opposition fans starting fighting in the stadium, Legia Warsaw is reviewing its safety measures and has hired a UK-based security company to perform an audit at the Pepsi Arena.
March 24 – The future of Leeds United, once the envy of English football but who have hit hard times in recent years, has been plunged into uncertainty after authorities disqualified Italian businessman Massimo Cellino from buying a majority stake in the iconic club.
By Andrew Warshaw
March 24 – Russia’s Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko is reportedly planning for Crimea’s two top-flight clubs to quit the Ukrainian league and switch to Russia as the crisis in the region impacts on football.
By Alexander Krassimirov
March 24 – Supporters and officials of Turkey’s Fenerbahce yesterday marched to Anitkabir – the tomb of the Turkish Republic’s founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk – in another “justice rally”.
By Mark Baber
March 24 – Ukrainian football is a fair reflection of wider Ukrainian society – in deep crisis, dominated by oligarchs, plagued by neo-nazis, being drained of foreign talent, with significant elements seeing their future in Russia and others facing imminent bankruptcy.
March 21- Defending champions Bayern Munich were handed the perfect opportunity today to avenge their heartbreaking 1999 Champions League final defeat by Manchester United when the two were paired together in the quarterfinals in of this season’s competition.
By Richard van Poortvliet
March 21 – The infamous Zenit St Petersburg fan group, Landscrona have made an official statement, saying the flag that was burnt during Zenit’s Champions League clash at Borussia Dortmund, was not the German national flag, but a banner from one of Borussia’s supporters groups.
By Andrew Warshaw
March 21 – Two years after defying the odds by surviving despite his heart stopping for 78 minutes during a match, Fabrice Muamba, whose miraculous case made worldwide headlines, has revealed that he has since had a couple more murmurs though on a far more minor scale.
By Alexander Krassimirov
March 21 – CSKA Sofia supporters were sent into a scrambling frenzy after the official release of the club on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange. Fans bought more than 55,000 shares in less than an hour after they went on sale this morning.