September 22 – The Dutch FA, the KNVB, have completed their first official ‘live’ test of the Video Assistant Referees (VAR) during the Dutch Cup game between Ajax Amsterdam and Willem II. The Tilburg midfielder Anouar Kali became the first player to get sent off via a ruling from the ‘video assistant referee’ (VAR).
By Andrew Warshaw
September 22 – A tiny provincial German club has won a landmark ruling that could have far-reaching consequences for the game as a whole following a nine-year-old legal dispute with FIFA.
September 22 – Manchester City have announced a regional partnership with newly launched mobile fan engagement technology company Ballr. The Ballr Live Fantasy Sport App will become an official partner of Manchester City in China, India, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and Singapore.
By Andrew Warshaw in London
September 21 – The English may have voted for his only rival but in his first overseas assignment since taking over from Michel Platini as UEFA president last week, protocol was duly observed when Alexsander Ceferin today attended the ceremonial unveiling of the official logo for the semifinals and finals of Euro 2020 being staged at Wembley.
By Paul Nicholson
September 21 – Scottish giants Celtic announced a £500,000 pre-tax profit for the year to end June, reversing a loss of almost £4 million for the previous 12 months and prompting one stockmarket analysis to predict the AIM-listed shares could rise by 400% over the next five years.
September 21 – There was a big increase in twitter activity this week with Premier League clubs making nearly 1,400 more tweets taking the weekly total up from 3,650 last week to 5,090 this week. This produced more new followers for the week, up 17,000 from 217,000 to 234,000.
By Andrew Warshaw
September 21 – The head of Iceland’s football association (KSI) has denounced the makers of FIFA 17 for showing them no respect by freezing the country out of the long-awaited video game.
September 21 – Online bookmaker Betway has added two more sponsorships to its football portfolio, expanding into the Belgian market with deals with top club RSC Anderlecht as well as the Belgian FA and Pro League for the Croky Cup.
September 21 – Behind-the-scenes tensions between clubs and agents are commonplace but the impasse between Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola and the representative of Ivory Coast midfielder Yaya Toure has burst into the public domain.
September 21 – The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has added a new sponsor with Abu Dhabi Airports Company agreeing a deal to support the AFC’s national teams and club competitions.
September 21 – A niece of Angel Maria Villar, one of world football’s most high-ranking officials who ran UEFA temporarily in the absence of Michel Platini, has tragically been found dead close to the Mexican city of Toluca after being held to ransom.
By Andrew Warshaw
September 20 – Gianni Infantino’s regime has come under renewed criticism over the already infamous ruling allowing members of FIFA’s new-look Council, supposedly a key element of FIFA’s reform process, to hire and fire independent governance officials.
September 20 – US federal prosecutors have set a provisional date of November 6 next year for the start of the FifaGate corruption scandal trial, with as many as seven defendants reportedly considering switching their pleas to guilty.
By Matt Scott
September 20 – West Ham are hunting for what they believe are missing millions in the £6.8 million (€8 million) transfer of Arthur Masuaku from Olympiacos.
September 20 – Clubs from the Big 5 clubs are not only the biggest buyers of players (by value) but they are also the biggest sellers. Only nine clubs outside the big-5 league countries are in the top 50 positions for transfer incomes, according to data from the CIES Football Observatory.