Clash of the giants: CL draw separates Spanish but will Pep have the last word
April 15 – Will Pep Guardiola’s final game in charge of Bayern Munich be against the team he is leaving them for at the end of the season?
Gold Cup 2025
Rampaging Canada tear Honduras apart
Canada 5 Honduras 0
June 17 – Canada over the past six years have forced their way into Concacaf’s elite but have so often flattered to deceive. They are the team everyone quite likes but have never delivered the championship title their talent screams for. Re-adjust everyone.
Newcastle United profit from reduced wage bill
By David Owen
April 14 – A sharp cut in payroll costs was at the heart of Newcastle United’s impressive financial performance in 2014-15, with the wages and salaries bill tumbling below £57 million from £69.3 million the previous year.
Report urges FIFA to add biting human rights clauses to its hosting contracts
By Andrew Warshaw
April 15 – FIFA must in future make human rights a priority when awarding countries the World Cup according to an independent report produced by a senior United Nations official commissioned four months ago by football’s world governing body as part of its reform programme.
Brazil learn opponents as they seek to end 64 years of Olympic hurt
By David Owen
April 14 – Neymar and his team-mates have been drawn against South Africa, Iraq and Denmark in this year’s Olympic men’s football tournament, while the Brazilian women have been bracketed with South Africa (again), Sweden and China, the global game’s new hot-bed at least in terms of business interest.
Infantino dodges the Panama cross fire saying it is a ‘non-story’
April 15 – FIFA president Gianni Infantino has yet again shrugged off any wrongdoing for signing a contract, when he was at UEFA, with two of those since indicted in the US-led football corruption probe, describing allegations in the infamous Panama Papers documents as a “non-story”.
Saints swap Adidas for Under Armour and issue pledge to grow club brand
By Mark Baber
April 15 – Southampton FC has agreed a 7-year partnership with US-based global sports brand Under Armour which will come into effect on July 1. No figure was announced for the deal.
Neymar’s summer plans in flux as CBF and Barca battle for control
By Samindra Kunti
April 15 – The tug of war between FC Barcelona and the Brazilian FA (CBF) over where Neymar plays this summer is continuing with the CBF insisting on Neymar playing both the centenary Copa America in the US and the Olympic Games in Rio.
Down but not out: Gutierrez wins cancer discrimination case against Newcastle
April 15 – Newcastle United, battling for their top-flight survival on the pitch, have suffered a serious blow to their image off it after an employment tribunal ruled that their former Argentina midfielder Jonas Gutierrez had been dropped from the team because he had been diagnosed with testicular cancer.
UEFA put damper on Man City fireworks
April 15 – Manchester City have been charged by UEFA after fireworks were set off during their 1-0 Champions League quarter-final, second-leg win over Paris St Germain on Tuesday night.
Derrick may appeal election ban as intrigue deepens over ethics process
By Paul Nicholson
April 14 – Caribbean Football Union president Gordon Derrick, barred yesterday from participating in the CONCACAF presidential election in May by FIFA’s ethics supremo Domenico Scala, could take his appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
French drop Benzema for being too hot to handle over sex tape scandal
By Andrew Warshaw
April 14 – Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema has finally learned that he will not be selected for France at this summer’s Euros after months of claim and counter-claim over his role in an alleged sex tape blackmail case that has overshadowed his international record on the field.
Time for justice: US judge promises trial dates for football’s bad boys
April 14 – The US federal judge overseeing the sweeping football corruption scandal says he will rule within days on a prospective trial time scale after state prosecutors set a target of February next year to begin the process of sentencing a raft of disgraced powerbrokers snared by the massive corruption investigation.
Messi tops list of best paid footballers with €74m
By Mark Baber
April 14 – Lionel Messi tops ‘France Football’ magazine’s annual ranking of the highest paid footballers, becoming the first footballer in history to earn more than €70 million in a year.
Germans rule to keep TV rights off a single platform, opening up bid competition
April 14 – For the first time, Germany’s cartel office has approved a plan to stop any one single pay-TV broadcaster from buying up live television rights for top-flight games, mirroring the UK where Sky and BT Sport share Premier League live coverage.
Koeman says players need to get the headphones off and get old-school social
April 14 – How many times have you seen elite players emerge from the team bus with headphones clasped to their ears, oblivious to the outside world, or twiddling with the latest software on their mobile phones?