Russian players call for stricter limit on foreign imports
April 1 – A group of influential Russian players has put forward a proposal to limit the number of non-Russians in club football to six per club by the start of the 2018 World Cup.
Europe
England’s shame: Hillsborough inquest opens in search for truth
April 1 – After a long fight by campaigners, fresh inquests into the deaths of 96 football fans killed in the 1989 Hillsborough stadium disaster finally got under way today and could take a year to resolve.
Germans frustrated by ‘No’ vote on goalline technology
By Andrew Warshaw
April 1 – Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, German head of the European Club Association, admits he is disappointed by the decision to reject goalline technology in his country’s top two divisions.
French headscarf ban defies FIFA laws and reopens political debate
By Andrew Warshaw
April 1 – French football authorities are upholding a ban on female players wearing headscarves for religious purposes in defiance of the game’s lawmakers.
Inter owner, Roeslani, faces battle to hold shares
By Matt Scott
April 1 – Internazionale risks becoming embroiled in a share wrangle over disputed allegations one of the club’s new owners misappropriated $170 million from a listed company.
Exclusive: Israelis reject FIFA expulsion talk, claiming progress is being made
By Andrew Warshaw, chief correspondent
March 31 – Israeli football authorities have broken their silence over the hugely sensitive dispute with Palestine, insisting efforts are being stepped up to improve conditions for Palestinian players and officials in and out of the West Bank and Gaza.
Greek minister drives AEK’s planned €65m new stadium
By Jaroslaw Adamowski
March 31 – AEK’s plan to build a new €65 million stadium has obtained the backing of Greece’s Minister of Environment, Energy and Climate Change Yiannis Maniatis who signed a project proposal intended for the Greek parliament. The document needs a total of four ministerial signatures to be submitted, and the country’s interior minister, culture minister and finance minister have already promised to ink the proposal.
Germans outflanked by Nations League, but Rummenigge sees a silver lining
By Andrew Warshaw
March 31 – Reaction continues to pour in to the establishment of the new Nations League tournament that looks set to become an integral part of European football from 2018.
Conference disasters Hyde are a social media knockout
By Tom Parsons
March 28 – Hyde FC playing in the Skrill Conference Premier haven’t exactly had a season to remember on the pitch but their presence on Social Media has been entertaining to follow. One tongue-in-cheek tweet read: “Hearing reports that Floyd Mayweather has made a $38 million bet on Hyde tonight. Come on The Tigers! #WinItForFloyd”.
FIFPro backs Platini’s demand for global ban on ‘modern day slavery’ of TPO
By Paul Nicholson
March 28 – FIFPro, the World Footballers’ Association has strongly backed UEFA’s president Michel Platini callingfor a worldwide ban on Third Party Ownership (TPO) of players.
Bialystok signs sponsorship deal with Jagiellonia to combat racism
By Jaroslaw Adamowski
March 28 – Municipal authorities of Bialystok have signed a deal with local football club Jagiellonia to promote the Polish city and support its efforts to combat racism and intolerance. Under the deal, Bialystok will provide PLN 3.5 million (€830,000) to Jagiellonia in an arrangement taking them through to December 15.
Nations League greeted with caution, but the money looks good
By Paul Nicholson
March 28 – The planned UEFA Nations League, scheduled to start in 2018, has been met with caution by the world footballers association FIFpro, and the Association of European Professional Football Leagues (EPFL). Both bodies have issued statements indicating they have reservations over the potential impact of the new format.
Platini ‘fed-up’ and boots politicians into touch over cold war grandstanding
By Paul Nicholson and Andrew Warshaw
March 27 – Response to US senators Mark Kirk
and Dan Coats demands to FIFA to ban Russia from World Cup 2014 and strip them of hosting rights of the World Cup 2018 has been dismissive, if not ridiculing. And UEFA president Michel Platini is “fed up”.
Platini says he is the only one who ‘could’ beat Blatter to FIFA presidency
By Andrew Warshaw in Astana
March 27 – UEFA President Michel Platini says he is the only possible candidate who could get more votes than Sepp Blatter among FIFA’s 209 member nations if the pair go head to head at next year’s presidential election.
UEFA agree Nations League for 2018 and turn up war on match-fixing
By Andrew Warshaw in Astana
March 27 – UEFA formally announced the creation of its new Nations League competition to replace meaningless friendlies today, with the organisation’s president Michel Platini pledging it will become an integral part of the game in years to come.