Cantona cautioned after bar altercation
March 14 – Former France and Manchester United icon Eric Cantona has been arrested and cautioned on suspicion of common assault following an incident in north London on Wednesday, according to reports.
World Football
Hoeness drops appeal and quits Bayern over ‘biggest mistake of my life’
By Andrew Warshaw
March 14 – Twenty-four hours after being sensationally jailed for tax evasion, Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeness relinquished his post today and announced he would not be appealing against the three-year, six month term that rocked German football.
Dinamo Bucharest owner in talks with foreign investors over sale
By Jaroslaw Adamowski
March 13 – Romania’s Dinamo Bucharest has been put up for sale. Ionut Negoita, the football club’s owner, is currently negotiating the sale of a majority share in Dinamo, which plays in Liga 1, the top tier of the country’s professional football league.
Hoeness hit with 3.5-year jail sentence for €27.2m tax fraud
By Andrew Warshaw
March 13 – Two days after his all-conquering club reached the last eight of the Champions League, humiliation was heaped on Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeness when he was sensationally jailed for three years and six months for tax evasion.
Bayern fall foul of UEFA discrimination rules
By Andrew Warshaw
March 13- Despite their supremacy on the field, European champions Bayern Munich are in trouble off it – and not only regarding the tax evasion trial of club president Uli Hoeness.
CONCACAF appoints its first Diversity Officers
March 13 – CONCACAF has appointed a team of Diversity Officers who will have special responsibility for ensuring that the recently introduced ‘Protocol for Racist Incidents During Matches’ is implemented.
Egypt’s Ultras call for police to be removed from security at stadia
By Paul Nicholson
March 13 – Egypt’s turbulent political situation has become inextricably linked to club football in the country and the political activities of the fans who have been leaders and activists in the revolution and the overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak and the President Mohammed Morsi. Now a joint Ultras statement is calling for removal of the police from all football stadia.
Swedish fascist knife attack on Malmö fan prompts outpouring of solidarity
By Mark Baber
March 12 – Swedish police have confirmed that three men, charged with attempted murder after an apparently pre-meditated attack on a group returning from a Reclaim the Night International Women’s Day event in the early hours of Sunday morning, are known Nazis belonging to the Senskarnas Parti (Swedes Party).
Ghana police investigate death of assistant referee attacked by fans
March 12 – Police in Ghana have launched an investigation into the death of an assistant referee who was apparently attacked by spectators after a second division game.
Botev Plovdiv to become first Bulgarian club to own its stadium
By Alexander Krassimirov
March 12 – Botev Plovdiv owner Tsvetan Vassilev (pictured) has said he wants to buy the land on which the club’s Hristo Botev Stadium stands, according to the mayor of Plovdiv Ivan Totev. If the deal goes through, Botev will become the first Bulgarian club to own its stadium.
Player bonuses threatened as Nigerian FA appeals asks for more World Cup cash
By Paul Nicholson
March 12 – Nigeria’s seemingly endless struggle and debate over how much and when to pay win bonuses to its national team players and officials has begun for the World Cup already. But while there is a will to pay, there may not be a way with the current budget for the 2014 tournament to be granted by the government expected to come in at only half the requested amount by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).
Zawisza Bydgoszcz’s conflict with Ultras triggers cyber attacks
By Jaroslaw Adamowski
March 11 – The conflict between the management of Zawisza Bydgoszcz and the club’s Ultras has escalated into cyberwarfare.
UEFA think-tank demands end to TPO and regulation of agents
By Paul Nicholson
March 11 – The UEFA Professional Football Strategy Council (PFSC), meeting at UEFA HQ in Nyon yesterday, have slammed the percentage of agent commissions being paid and demanded regulation in the agency marketplace. The PFSC also threatened that if FIFA does not ban third party ownership of players then UEFA will take matters into its own hands.
Russian State Duma deputies call for ending of US FIFA membership
By Richard van Poortvliet
March 11 – In what is now becoming a football version of an old-style East-West Cold War, deputies from the Russian State Duma, from the United Russia and Fair Russia parties, have asked for FIFA to revoke the membership of the USA.
Hoeness admits guilt and expresses remorse, but prosecutor wants jail term
March 11 – Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeness said he “deeply regretted” his conduct on the opening day of his high-profile trial for tax evasion.