By Andrew Warshaw
November 15 – The debate over whether Europe’s minnows should have their own pre-qualifying competition for major tournaments is nothing new but Germany’s Thomas Muller has stoked an unsavoury spat with officials of San Marino following his team’s 8-0 demolition of the 201st-ranked FIFA nation.
November 15 – As if Greek football didn’t have enough serious problems, the national federation has now been forced to apologise to Bosnia-Herzegovina after offensive banners were displayed at a World Cup qualifier last Sunday referring to the infamous 1995 Srebrenica massacre.
November 15 – The use of video replays will be given another trial when Italy take on world champions Germany in tonight’s prestige friendly in Milan.
November 15 – German and English clubs are among the most stable workplaces for players in Europe, coming in the top three of a ranking of 31 top division European national leagues.
On May 27, 2015, in Brooklyn, New York, Loretta Lynch, Attorney-General of the United States, made a media-savvy appearance. Accompanied by her subordinate (“I am honored to be joined today by Director James Comey of the FBI […])” she highlighted a series of charges that put a number of mainly non-US football officials into serious trouble: “[The individuals indicted today] were expected to uphold the rules that keep soccer honest, and to protect the integrity of the game.
November 15 – FIFA ethics judges have opened formal proceedings against Najeeb Chirakal, a former aide to disgraced ex-Asian football chief Mohamed bin Hammam, based on the final report submitted by ethics investigators who recommended a life ban.
November 11 – FIFA secretary-general Fatma Samoura is personally intervening to help bring an end to the ongoing dispute between Sierra Leone’s football association (SLFA) and local authorities.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 14 – The role of women in senior football administration has taken a significant leap with Nathalie Boy de la Tour (pictured) becoming the first female president of the French Professional Football League (LFP), one of the biggest in the European game.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 14 – Any suggestion by the regime of Gianni Infantino that the exit of FIFA’s long-time medical director Jiri Dvorak (pictured) was by mutual consent has been well and truly countered by the Czech-born neurologist’s reaction to leaving the organisation after 22 years.
November 14 – The past week has not been the most productive week for Twitter follower gains in the Premier League with attention focussed on World Cup qualifiers.
By Paul Nicholson
November 14 – FOX Sport in the US have renewed their Gold Cup TV deal with North, Central American and Caribbean confederation CONCACAF. The new deal secures them the rights to the 2017 and 2019 tournaments.
November 14 – Premier League Stoke City, who appointed digital agency Rippleffect to lead their online digital development, have unveiled a new online store focused on wireless mobile devices that now account for more than 50% of the clubs online traffic.
November 14 – A bizarre case of deliberate deception has reached its conclusion with Brazil-born forward Santos Monteiro Wanderley receiving a backdated three-month ban and his United Arab Emirates club Al Nasr thrown out of the Asian Champions League for two years after both were found guilty of faking documents so he could play in the tournament.
November 11 – Donald Trump’s victory in the United States presidential election has provided an “added layer” to today’s eagerly awaited World Cup qualifier between the US against Mexico, according to US captain Michael Bradley.
November 11 – FIFA’s lavish new museum, which opened earlier this year in Zurich, has already recorded a loss of CHF30 million, according to Swiss reports.