By Tom Parsons
March 27 -West Ham held the Premier League’s first Social Media Match around their fixture against Hull City last night. The multi-activity initiative was aimed at engaging with as many of their 900,000 fans on Social Media platforms as possible with “interactive interviews, features and competitions”.
March 18 – The ownership of English Premier League Hull City has been plunged into doubt after the Football Association announced it had been advised to reject plans to change the club’s name to Hull Tigers.
March 17 – Former French international striker Nicolas Anelka faces an uncertain future following the latest development concerning his infamous ‘quenelle’ gesture that landed him with a five-match ban and a hefty fine from the English Football Association.
By David Owen
March 14 – The world’s biggest football confederation by population covered and the football league with arguably the biggest international following have signed a mutual cooperation agreement.
By David Owen
March 12 – A man who had a hand in Canada’s recent Olympic men’s ice hockey gold medal is replacing Nicola Cortese as chairman of Southampton.
March 12 – Newcastle United’s Alan Pardew has been handed a seven-game ban, a Premier League record for a manager, for the headbutt inflicted on Hull City midfielder David Meyler that was flashed around the world on television.
March 10 – In what was viewed as a vital test case in terms of freedom of expression, charges have been dropped against three Tottenham Hotspur fans who were facing prosecution for chanting the word ‘Yid’ at matches despite almost certainly using the term in a non-derogatory way.
March 7 – The English Football Association is reported to be considering whether to appeal against the five-match ban imposed by an independent commission on former French international striker for his infamous ‘quenelle’ gesture on the basis that it was too leniant.
By David Owen
March 6 – The financial consequences of a disastrous 2012-13 season for Queens Park Rangers, the west London club majority-owned by Tony Fernandes and partners, have been spelt out in grisly detail.
By David Owen
March 4 – Liverpool’s exciting brand of attacking football, which has carried them to second place in the Premier League, is inspiring dreams of a return to the club’s glory days between the 1960s and 1980s. But the on-field revival has yet to be reflected in the bottom-line – at least judging by the latest published accounts.
March 4 – The painful financial turnround of Aston Villa is still on-going though the club maintain that they are on the right track and have “closed a chapter” on a period of heavy losses and are now self sufficient and within UEFA’s financial fair play regulations.
By Andrew Warshaw
February 28 – In a move that could serve as an important test case for English football’s disciplinary procedures, former French international striker Nicolas Anelka has been banned for five matches and fined £80,000 for his infamous “quenelle” gesture that made worldwide headlines.
By Andrew Warshaw
February 26 – The hearing into former French international striker Nicolas Anelka’s infamous ‘quenelle’ gesture is reported to have begun at an undisclosed location. Anelka has been charged by the English Football Association for use the reverse Nazi salute, brought to prominence by controversial French comedian Dieudonne M’bala M’bala, as a goal celebration. The much-travelled striker, who faces a minimum five-match ban if found guilty, has denied the charge of making a gesture that was “abusive and/or indecent and/or insulting and/or improper”.
By David Owen
February 25 – Newcastle United has announced an after-tax profit of £9.9 million for the year to June 2013, after booking a £10.6 million profit on player trading. If the business continues to progress in the same way this year Newcastle look set for a serious profit in 2013-14. Maybe as much as £30 million.
February 17 – Manchester City’s status as one of the new elite of European football has been further enhanced by plans to increase the capacity of their Etihad stadium from 48,000 to over 62,000.