March 21 – While Barcelona teammate Neymar is contemplating his €45.9 million fine for tax evasion in Brazil, Lionel Messi – no stranger to multiple tax fraud allegations himself – was signing on another sponsorship deal, this time with Chinese telecoms firm Huawei.
March 21 – The most dangerous league in Europe to be a manager – in terms of job security in the Big 5 leagues – is Italy’s Serie A. Managers last on average just 9 months, compared to 14.5 months in England’s Premier League.
March 21 – One of European football’s most bitterly contested derbies was called off Sunday when Turkish authorities cancelled the Galatasaray-Fenerbahçe clash in Istanbul about two hours before kickoff citing an unspecified threat.
By Andrew Warshaw
March 18 – With symbolic timing in order to send out a clear message of intent, FIFA announced its first major sponsor in the post-Sepp Blatter era today as the Wanda Group became the first Chinese company to sign up as a top-tier World Cup partner.
By Andrew Warshaw
March 18 – A month after being handed a 12-year ban from football, former FIFA general secretary Jerome Valcke has now joined his former boss Sepp Blatter under criminal investigation in Switzerland.
By David Owen
March 18 – The full scale of the financial damage wreaked by FIFA’s year of turmoil is now becoming apparent. Revenue from marketing rights to the World Cup – sponsorship to you and me – is down over $100 million, or 29%, in 2015 from the equivalent figure in 2011, the corresponding point in the previous four-year commercial cycle.
By David Owen
March 18 – And the answer, ladies and gentlemen, was $3,634,857. With the annual deficit widely expected, much the liveliest interest in FIFA’s just published 2015 financial report was always likely to concern disclosure of former President Joseph Blatter’s famously undisclosed remuneration. And there it is in unsparing detail on page 65, revealing not just his gross salary – $2,964,379 – but also how a variety of additional components,
March 18 – He may not be able to get his old job back but Sepp Blatter remains determined to clear his name in retirement.
By Andrew Warshaw
March 18 – The South African authorities have accused FIFA’s ethics committee of reneging on a promise to consult with them before making public any decisions regarding the notorious pre-2010 World Cup match-fixing case.
March 18 – The Brussels Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal by Doyen Sports Investments, the Belgian second-division club Seraing United and the Spanish Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional (LFP) against FIFA, UEFA, the Belgian FA and FIFPro that sought a temporary injunction to suspend the worldwide ban on third-party ownership.
March 18 – Liverpool and Manchester United, fierce rivals on and off the pitch, as anticipated have been charged by UEFA following crowd trouble during their Europa League last-16 second leg on Thursday.
By Mark Baber
March 18 – Nike’s kit launches for the England and US national teams were met with scorn from fans and media on Thursday, whilst panic-stricken executives cancelled the launch of the Brazil shirt in Rio due to unwarranted concerns about demonstrations.
By Samindra Kunti
March 18 – The construction of Brussels’s EURO2020 stadium has hit a new snag: a public road on the lot bookmarked for the venue may cause a delay of six months. UEFA wants construction to start this year.
By Andrew Warshaw
March 17 – Furious at FIFA’s explosive revelation that bribes were paid to secure the 2010 World Cup, South African authorities hit back today by accusing football’s world governing body of seriously distorting the facts in order to protect its victim status.
By Paul Nicholson
March 17 – Mark Rodrigues, the US-based Guyanan football entrepreneur, has pulled out of the race for the CONCACAF presidency leaving just three candidates – Canadian FA president Victor Montagliani, Caribbean Football Union president Gordon Derrick and Bermuda FA president Larry Mussenden.