October 7 – French defender Leo Dubois has joined Swiss winger Xherdan Shaqiri as testing positive for the coronavirus on the eve of international friendlies and Nations League obligations.
October 7 – England manager Gareth Southgate has warned his players about their off-field behaviour in the wake of the latest breach of Covid-19 rules.
October 7 – Arsenal’s out-of-favour German international playmaker Mesut Ozil has offered to pay the salary of Jerry Quy, who has been playing the role of club mascot Gunnersaurus.
October 6 – With their manager under scrutiny, Manchester United were the most prolific Premier League spenders on the last day of the international summer transfer window, splashing out £28 million on four players though whether that keeps Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in his job remains to be seen.
October 6 – Italy’s sport minister says the season will not be halted in the wake of the Juventus-Napoli fixture, one of the biggest in the Italian calendar, being abandoned due to an apparent conflict over implementation of COVID-19 health rules.
October 6 – Arsenal’s mascot became the latest victim of the club’s controversial cost-cutting exercise amid the coronavirus pandemic. Gunnersaurus was let go by the Londoners after serving the club for 27 years.
October 6 – Diego Maradona has tested negative for Covid-19 amid fears he had contracted the virus after hugging a colleague.
By Paul Nicholson
October 5 – FIFA’s involvement in Africa’s football politics and the election of its officials has again caused resentment on the continent with the world governing body this time stepping into the Côte d’Ivoire presidential election furore surrounding Didier Drogba.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 5 – It was, as one national newspaper put it, the day football went crazy. What a shame there were no fans to see it live.
October 5 – The Copa Sudamericana will feature a group-stage format for the 2021 season, Conmebol has announced.
October 5 – One of the biggest games in European domestic league football was plunged into chaos on Sunday when visitors Napoli failed to turn up for their Serie A showdown with Juventus after their squad was placed in isolation following positive coronavirus tests.
October 5 – English football’s National League – immediately below the four main divisions – returned at the weekend thanks to a £10 million rescue package from the government which allowed the delayed season to finally kick off behind closed doors.
October 5 – LaLiga’s Valencia have taken a deeper step into the digital world with a two-year partnership agreement with Canadian augmented reality specialists ImagineAR.
October 2 – Building on the success of the recent Super Cup, UEFA have made the landmark decision to allow limited numbers of spectators back into all its international and club fixtures.
By Paul Nicholson
October 2 – Clubs looking for financial relief for their coronavirus hit income streams should look harder at the revenue that can be generated from selling the naming rights to their stadia, according to a new report from the KPMG Football Benchmark team.