October 20 – One of England’s most iconic clubs is back in the news for all the wrong reasons with Leeds United’s Italian owner Massimo Cellino banned for the rest of this season from being an owner or director of the club, following his conviction for tax evasion back home.
October 20 – Barcelona say they will use all legal means at their disposal to fight a second fine imposed by UEFA after fans displayed pro-Catalan flags during September’s Champions League game at home to Bayer Leverkusen.
October 20 – With the current US attorney general having unleashed a storm in the world of football worldwide but particularly in the Americas, it is appropriate that a former US attorney general, Eric H. Holder Jr., will give a keynote address at the Securing Sport 2015 conference in New York, November 3-4, with the aim of giving perspective on the challenges facing sport from a legal and policy standpoint.
October 20 – Marco Polo del Nero, the Brazilian FA president who famously made a quick getaway just as seven other football officials, including his predecessor, were detained as part of the US corruption probe on that dramatic May morning in Zurich, has denied he has been forced out of the FIFA executive committee.
By Ben Nicholson
October 20 – CONMEBOL has cut its links with Argentine sports marketing company Datisa, ending agreements that gave sponsorship and broadcast rights to Datisa for the Copa America tournaments, and in particular the Copa America Centenario scheduled to take place in the US next year, the first time the world’s oldest football tournament had been played outside the South American continent.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 20 – UEFA are considering lining up Dutch FA boss Michael van Praag (pictured) for another crack at the FIFA presidency if, as anticipated, Michel Platini’s candidacy goes up in smoke.
October 19 – FIFA has removed the entire executive committee of Thailand’s football association (FAT) after its controversial president Worawi Makudi was suspended pending a full ethics investigation.
By Samindra Kunti
October 19 – São Paulo may have found English money to abate their current debt crisis with a €33.7 million cash injection into the club looking likely, though the identity of the English group has not been named.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 19 – As FIFA’s executive committee prepares to meet in emergency session to consider the fallout from Sepp Blatter’s 90-day suspension, its Australian member Moya Dodd says cleaning up the organisation after the worst corruption crisis in sporting history is far more important than whoever takes over as president.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 19 – For the first time since being sensationally suspended by FIFA’s ethics committee, beleaguered UEFA president Michel Platini has gone public by admitting he had no written contract over the infamous SFr2 million payment he received from FIFA in 2011 but has issued a staunch defence of his reputation and conduct.
October 19 – Kuwait, home to Asia’s most influential sports power broker Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah, has been banned from international football because of government interference in the running of the sport domestically.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 19 – Franz Beckenbauer and Wolfgang Niersbach, the two men at the centre of the explosive cash for votes allegations over the 2006 World Cup, have both vehemently denied any wrongdoing as FIFA admitted it was examining the claims made by Der Spiegel.
By Samindra Kunti
October 19 – Flamengo’s chairman Eduardo de Mello wants the club to take management control of Rio de Janeiro’s Maracana stadium to maximise its revenue potential, but is facing opposition from within the sporting club.
By Ben Nicholson
October 19 – The MLS has joined up with other heavyweight sporting organisations in the US across multiple sporting disciplines to advance race relations. The MLS, NFL, NBA, NHL, to name a few, have joined the Ross Initiative in Sports for Equality (RISE) to launch a nationwide campaign that uses the power of sport as vehicle to promote understanding, respect and equality.
By Ben Nicholson
October 19 – FIFA, alongside The International Football Association Board (IFAB), are looking to develop standardised wearable-technology. FIFA and IFAB have invited producers of electronic performance and tracking systems (EPTS) to present their systems.