January 20 – Taking a leaf out of US president Donald Trump’s international diplomacy model, pro-Palestine supporters aim to bring pressure on UEFA to suspend the Israeli Football Association (IFA) by hitting the confederation where they believe it hurts most – at the bank.
By Samindra Kunti in Brussels
November 19 – The Union of European Clubs (UEC) has proposed a ‘domestic media rights protection’ to counter the growing disparity in rights revenues between domestic leagues and European club competitions.
On Tuesday, the body representing the interests of small and medium-sized clubs in Europe, rolled out the policy proposal, aimed at rebalancing the distribution of television revenues, at its forum in Brussels, Belgium.
November 18 – In a wide-ranging interview, David Kogan, the newly appointed chair of the Independent Football Regulator (IFR), said English football needs outside oversight because of the “extreme challenges” facing clubs and the sport’s inability to solve them on its own.
November 14 – UEFA’s disciplinary machine has handed down a sweeping series of rulings covering its club competitions including fines, sector closures and suspended sanctions.
November 14 – UEFA has beefed up its protection against content piracy joining the Coalition Against Piracy (CAP) and the Clearing House for Copyright Infringement on the Internet (CUII).
November 10 – The pressure on Israel’s participation in international competition is building with the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) passing a resolution at the weekend to submit a formal motion to UEFA urging it to ban Israel from European club and international competitions.
November 7 – Racism reared its ugly head again this week as Chelsea’s academy side was subjected to alleged abuse during a UEFA Youth League match against Qarabag in Baku.
November 7 – UEFA’s Foundation for Children is keeping up the pace of its support for vulnerable children worldwide with the board of trustees approving a new portfolio of 104 projects.
November 5 – UEFA has renewed its memorandum of understanding with law enforcement agency Europol which is focussed on battling Europe’s organised crime gangs behind match-fixing and other money laundering activity through football.
October 21 – The UK government has expressed disappointment over Maccabi Tel Aviv’s decision not to take up any tickets offered for their away game in the Europa League against Aston Villa saying “it is completely unacceptable that this game has been weaponized to stoke violence and fear”.
October 22 – The tumult surrounding the proposed La Liga match featuring Barcelona and Villarreal is growing louder by the day, with Real Madrid’s superstar goalkeeper, Thibaut Courtois, adding his voice in an incendiary attack on the proposed game in Miami, warning that the move “totally affects the integrity of the competition.”
October 13 – While UEFA said it “regrettably” sanctioned LaLiga’s moving of Villareal’s home game against Barcelona to Miami on December 20, other governing bodies still needed to agree the relocation aren’t moving as quickly.
With LaLiga advertising pre-sale access to tickets opening in eight days time on October 21, the organisers will likely be going to market with a match that is not fully greenlighted.
October 13 – The Football Federation of Kosovo (FFK) has strongly condemned the anti-Kosovo chants and provocative messages displayed in the stands of the Leskovac stadium during the Serbia-Albania World Cup qualifier. Among the banners was a Serbian flag superimposed on a map of Kosovo.
October 10 – FIFA president Gianni Infantino wants Europe’s clubs us to keep an “open mind”, suggesting that the World Cup could be moved from its traditional summer slot to March or October – so football can “be better for everyone”.
October 10 – English football’s newest regulator, David Kogan, is going in ‘studs-up’ as the game’s first independent regulator, saying he’s ready to blow the whistle on bad ownership and financial chaos.