December 21 – French authorities have opened a preliminary inquiry into tax fraud and money laundering in the wake of the ‘Football Leaks’ revelations which claimed a raft of players and coaches were using tax havens to stash away undeclared funds.
December 21 – In what FIFA will surely consider a blow to their efforts to stamp out under-age players moving overseas prematurely, Real Madrid have had their ban on transfer signings reduced to one window following a successful appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
By Andrew Warshaw
December 19 – Former German football supremo Wolfgang Niersbach has conceded defeat by agreeing to step down from his senior posts at FIFA and UEFA after failing to win his appeal against his one-year ban.
December 19 – Court papers filed by prosecutors in the US allege that an affiliate of a major broadcasting company in Latin America paid millions of dollars in bribes to obtain the rights for the next four World Cup tournaments in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay.
December 16 – Former Saudi Arabia international Mohammed Noor, one of his country’s most successful players, has been handed a four-year ban for doping by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
December 15 – Barcelona have disclosed that proceedings brought against the club regarding the signing of Neymar from Santos in 2013 have now been closed.
By Paul Nicholson
December 12 – Barcelona were sanctioned for the ‘irregular’ movement of players under the age of 18 and questions have been raised over the Real Madrid academy system as regards transfer of minors. But England is by far the most active in the international recruitment of minors.
December 14 – The US-led probe into widespread football corruption has been marked by another significant development with an Argentine sports media company caught up the scandal agreeing to pay about $112.8 million as part of a deal to resolve charges stemming from the investigation, according to court documents.
December 14 – The Scottish Football Association is to set up an “independent review” of child abuse allegations in football as part of the growing scandal that has rocked the game throughout Britain.
December 12 – The English Football Association, already buffeted by the sex abuse scandal that has rocked the sport, has come under further attack after five of its most senior former executives wrote a damning letter to Parliament saying the organisation was unfit for purpose, self-serving and consumed by vested interests.
By Andrew Warshaw
December 9 – Former South African Football Association (SAFA) president Kirsten Nematandani (pictured) has been banned for five years by FIFA’s ethics committee in connection with a match-fixing scandal involving the national team in the build-up to the 2010 World Cup which it hosted.
By Paul Nicholson
December 8 – The US Department of Justice’s attempts to get former CONCACAF president and FIFA vice president Jack Warner to the US to stand trial looks set to suffer further delay.
December 8 – Former Swansea City manager Michael Laudrup and the club itself have denied he was sacked – mysteriously at the time – because of concerns that he and, primarily, his agent stood to profit from player transfers.
December 7 – A Spanish judge is seeking to impose a gagging order on 12 European media outlets known as the European Investigative Collaborations (EIC) from reporting leaked documents alleging the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Jose Mourinho could have been involved in a multimillion-euro tax evasion system.
December 7 – Manuel Burga, former president of the Peruvian Soccer Federation (FPF), has pleaded not guilty to corruption charges in a New York court after being extradited from his homeland.