Scots add third shirt space for sponsor logos
December 29 – Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs have been given the option of an extra ad space to sell on the their shirts for sponsors logos from the start of next season.
Terminator talk terminated? Someone has to give the presidential address
December 23 – The last words of Sepp Blatter at that extraordinary press conference he gave on Monday after being banned for eight years by FIFA’s ethics committee was “I’ll be back.”
Managers play musical chairs as Mourinho, Guardiola and Ancelotti eye new benches
December 23 – The merry-go-round among Europe’s most sought after coaches has taken another decisive step with Bayern Munich confirming that that Pep Guardiola will be succeeded at the end of the season by Carlo Ancelotti.
Busting the corruption bubble. Has TEAM found the Holy Grail?
By Paul Nicholson
December 23 – What came first, greed-driven sports marketing agencies or avaricious sports administrators who jumped at the opportunity to siphon off cash for rights? The answer is probably that the two were always intertwined, but what football needs to avoid at all costs is another ISL or Traffic Sports situation.
Platini cries conspiracy, and is unhappy to be in same ‘bag’ as Blatter
By Andrew Warshaw
December 23 – Banned UEFA president Michel Platini has accused FIFA’s ethics committee of being “asleep”, between 2011 and 2015 following its decision to ban him for eight years.
Chelsea cleared by Dutch FA over Vitesse relationship
By Mark Baber
December 23 – An independent commission set up after former Vitesse Arnhem owner Merab Jordania claimed Chelsea influenced policy at the club has cleared the two clubs of having an improper relationship, according to an announcement of the KNVB.
FIFA Ethics to investigate Dutch-Belgian 2018 vote buying allegations
December 23 – The failed Dutch-Belgian bid for the 2018 World Cup is to be submitted for a FIFA Ethics Committee inquiry following newspaper allegations of possible vote buying.
Video refs poised to get go-ahead with test leagues identified
By Andrew Warshaw
December 23 – After years of debate, the traditionally conservative lawmakers of world football are moving a step closer to approving rugby-style video replays for referees.
Sexwale returns to campaign trail after appearing before US Grand Jury
By Mark Baber
December 22 – FIFA presidential candidate Tokyo Sexwale appeared before the US Grand Jury last week in relation to the Jack Warner bribery allegations and the infamous $10 million from South Africa. He then jumped straight on a plane to Africa where he continued his lobbying in the FIFA election at the COSAFA (Council of Southern African Football Associations) annual general meeting.
Andrew Warshaw: Last gasp appeals sound like last gasps of the once almighty
When Sepp Blatter announced a new-look FIFA ethics committee back in March 2012, he did so to weed out corruption within his already tarnished organisation and make sure the cheats never prospered again. Little did he know at the time that he would end up being the committee’s biggest catch.
Platini says ethics verdict was ‘rigged’ and vows to fight on
By Andrew Warshaw
December 22 – As European football takes stock of Michel Platini’s shock suspension from the game, the UEFA president has vowed to take the same action as Sepp Blatter to try and clear his name, calling his eight-year ban over the infamous SFr2 million payment a “pure masquerade”.
Man Utd and Chelsea top weekly fan table as PL clubs get Xmas bonuses
By Paul Nicholson
December 22 – English High Street retailers wondering where their shoppers were on the last weekend before Christmas will find a good bulk of them were at Premier League football grounds. Out of more than 400,000 seats available for round 17 fixtures, just 8,976 were unfilled in what is proving to be a bumper season for attendances.
Man Utd launches social slots app with KamaGames
December 22 – Manchester United has launched its third branded casino game with its social gaming partner KamaGames. Manchester United Social Slots is available to download on both the Apple Appstore and Google Play.
The best XI of 2015: IN – Messi, Suarez, Cazorla, Ozil; OUT – Ronaldo, Bale, Neymar
By Paul Nicholson
December 22 – As FIFA gathers votes from players, coaches and the media for its annual Ballon D’Or awards ceremony to be held January 16 in Zurich, the CIES Football Observatory has come up with its own list of the best performing big five European league players in 2015 and created, on the basis of stats analysis, the best overall team and best U23 team.
Egypt’s Al Ahly dispute FC Barcelona’s claim to have equalled their international titles record.
By Mark Baber
December 21- Barcelona’s victory over River Plate in the Club World Cup final on Sunday meant they equalled Al Ahly’s record of 20 international titles – at least according to FC Barcelona. However Al Ahly have disputed this claim, arguing 3 of Barcelona’s wins were in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup and therefore don’t count.