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.
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.
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.
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”.
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.
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.
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.
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”.
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.
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.
By Andrew Warshaw in Astana
March 27 – UEFA president Michel Platini laid down the gauntlet to FIFA today to stop “hiding behind committees” and have the “political courage” to get far tougher on Third Party Ownership (TPO), declaring that European football would otherwise go it alone in their own competitions to stamp out the growing practise.
By Alexander Krassimirov
March 26 – UEFA has begun a match-fixing investigation into the European Championship Under 19 game between Bulgaria and Portugal. The match was played in June 2013 and ended with a comprehensive 7-0 win for Portugal.
By Andrew Warshaw in Astana
March 26 – A fresh and more stringent crackdown on match-fixing and the rubber-stamping of a brand new European competition, the Nations League, to replace international friendlies look set to be the main items agreed by UEFA’s 54 member nations tomorrow.
By Andrew Warshaw in Astana
March 26 – A handful of countries who initially expressed interest in staging matches at the pan-European 2020 finals have pulled out of the running, UEFA general secretary Gianni Infantino (pictured) revealed today.
By Mark Baber
March 26 – Chairman of the Czech Football Association, Miroslav Pelta has responded to violence at Saturday’s match between Baník Ostrava and league leaders Sparta Prague by calling for anti-hooligan measures to be adopted with the return of police to stadiums and fan registration cards mooted.