Israel says lockdown will not derail Scotland Euro 2020 play-off
September 15 – Israel are happy to travel to fulfil their European Championship play-off against Scotland despite a national lockdown.
World Football
FA boots minnows out of Cup for refusing to play Covid-depleted rivals
By Andrew Warshaw
September 14 – Spare a thought today for a tiny English non-league team who put the health of its players first yet have been thrown out of the FA Cup, the world’s oldest domestic knockout tournament, for refusing to play.
Belgium reopens stadia for fans with full round of fixtures
By Samindra Kunti
September 14 – Belgian football fans returned to stadiums this weekend for the first since the Covid-19 pandemic began and following specific protocols that were approved by local authorities.
Chaos in Paris as PSG lose to OM, 5 sent off and accusations of racist comments
September 14 – France’s most hostile domestic football rivalry resulted in no fewer than five dismissals on Sunday and a claim from Neymar that he heard a racist slur as visitors Marseille upset reigning champions Paris St Germain 1-0.
US investors Bolt, take leap into Belgian football with Waasland-Beveren buy
September 14 – Waasland-Beveren have become the latest foreign-owned club in the Belgian top flight following investment by Bolt Football Holdings, the American majority owners of Crystal Palace.
Barca budget for €315m revenue loss and set date March date of presidential election
September 14 – With the crisis over whether Lionel Messsi is staying or leaving resolved, the club have moved on to the next personnel issue and whether president Josep Maria Bartomeu will stay on, setting 20 and 21 March 2021 as the election date for the club presidency.
UEFA report highlights Premier League clubs top academy spends with €6.1m a year
September 11 – European top-flight clubs have invested €870 million for youth development in 2020, according to a study by UEFA. With an average of €6.1 million per club, the Premier League clubs top the list.
Coronavirus: CAF pushes Champions League final rounds back into November
September 11 – The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has pushed back the final of the African Champions League, the Continent’s showpiece fixture, by three weeks to November 6.
Red for danger. Report finds a nation’s homicide rates statistically correlate to card-happy refs
September 11 – Referees in South America are more card-happy than anywhere else in the world, handing out on average 5.83 cards per match. In Asia the refs average 4 cards a match, according to a survey of 87 divisions worldwide.
Flamengo cover-up: emails show club knew of dangers that killed 10 youth players
By Samindra Kunti
September 10 – Flamengo must bear responsibility for the fire that killed ten youth players at their training complex last year, according to Rio de Janeiro’s public prosecutor following the emergence of a series of damning e-mails that showed the club were aware of the safety issues.
Covid concerns force UEFA to move Champions League draw from Athens to Nyon
September 10 – UEFA have shifted the draw for the Champions League and the Europe League away from Athens to Nyon over Covid-19 concerns.
Covid concerns force Concacaf to move start of 2022 World Cup qualifiers to March 2021
September 9 – Concacaf have shifted their World Cup Qatar 2022 qualifiers back from the October and November international match windows into 2021, following regional uncertainty around whether the spread of the coronavirus will make it possible to get games played.
Premier League swims against the tide as ECA lobby UEFA for 5 subs rule to continue
By Andrew Warshaw
September 9 – Europe’s leading clubs are to lobby UEFA to let them use five substitutes per game in the group stages of this season’s Champions League and Europa League as part of the effort to ease fixture congestion and the physical burden on players after such a short pre-season.
LaLiga gets go-ahead to continue with 5 subs rule
September 9 – Spain’s FA (RFEF) has approved an extension of the five-substitutions rule until the end of the 2020/21 season after a request from the league, allowing Spanish clubs to apply the rule and mitigate the consequences of what is projected to be physically daunting season for their players.
‘Huge amount at stake’ as Scots pilot return of 300 fans for Aberdeen and Celtic games
September 9 – In a potentially significant breakthrough after a six-month shutdown that has crippled club finances, two Scottish top-flight grounds are being allowed to welcome a limited number of fans to games this weekend.