Leonardo quits PSG after French boost barging ban to 14 months
July 11 – Paris St. Germain’s Brazilian sporting director Leonardo has caved in to the pressure of his 14-month ban and is to resign from the Qatari-owned club.
Italian clubs face match fixing sanctions as court date looms
By Andrew Warshaw
July 11 – Lazio and Genoa face starting next season in Serie A with a points deduction as a result of the latest revelations in Italy’s match-fixing scandals. The two top-flight clubs, plus Lecce, face sanctions as do eight players accused of “sporting fraud” by the Italian football federation, allegedly involving sums of up to €500,000 in bribes.
Messi in but Iniesta out as German clubs lead the ‘best player’ nominees
July 11 – Five nominees from the Bundesliga are included in UEFA’s initial shortlist of ten players for the 2012-13 Best Player in Europe Award, reflecting the success of Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund in reaching last season’s Champions League final.
Bubayaro owner disbands Nigerian club over ‘goal-fest’ shame
July 11 – The owner of one of the teams caught up in Nigeria’s match-fixing goal-fest scandal has disowned and disbanded the club. Nigerian authorities have imposed an indefinite ban on all four teams involved in two recent playoff games that ended with Plateau United Feeders annihilating Akurba FC 79-0 and Police Machine FC demolishing Bubayaro 67-0.
Canadian Twitter threat leads to police investigation
By Andrew Warshaw
July 11 – Canadian police are investigating death threats sent on Twitter to the captain of one of the country’s leading clubs, Montreal Impact, which plays in the MLS. Midfielder Davy Arnaud is reported to have received threatening tweets after making a mistake that led to his team losing 4-3 at home to the Colorado Rapids in stoppage time.
Osasu Obayiuwana: Egypt takes another uncertain turn
As the ‘cradle of civilisation’ remains trapped in the maelstrom of another political crisis, following the removal of Mohamed Morsi, Egypt’s first democratically elected president, from office last Wednesday, football – yet to recover from the consequences of the 2011 uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak – has been sucker-punched yet again.
With just one round of the regular national championship left to play, before the start of the decisive four-team title play-off involving Ahly,
CONCACAF calls for return to rotation and for the World Cup in 2026
By Andrew Warshaw
July 10 – CONCACAF president Jeffrey Webb is targeting the 2026 World Cup after the United States missed out on hosting the event in 2022 when beaten to the punch by Qatar. Webb is hopeful he can harness enough support for the World Cup to be staged in his region for the first time since the USA hosted in 1994.
Magogo promises a new era of change for Ugandan football
By Mark Baber
July 10 – Moses Magogo who will be taking over as Ugandan FA (FUFA) president on August 31, and has launched his manifesto entitled ‘The Next Four Years’, outlining his vision for the future of Ugandan football.
Nigerian ‘goal-fest’ teams suspended indefinitely by FA
By Andrew Warshaw
July 10 – Nigerian football authorities have suspended four teams involved in “mind-boggling” playoff results, describing the 79-0 and 67-0 scorelines as “scandalous”.
AFF to bring in Australia, and announces Super League criteria
By Mark Baber
July 10 – ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) secretary-general Datuk Azzuddin Ahmad has welcomed Australia’s upcoming accession to full membership whilst firming up the details of the planned ASEAN Super League.
Italian FA hands out two more match-fixing sanctions as focus on cheats intensifies
July 10 – Two Serie A players have been banned for three months and 10 days and fined €10,000 each in the latest development in Italian football’s long-running match-fixing scandal.
Blatter calls for task force to tackle Israeli travel restrictions on Palestinians
By Andrew Warshaw, chief correspondent
July 10 – FIFA president Sepp Blatter aims to set up a special task force to try and break the increasingly bitter deadlock between Israel and Palestine over restrictions placed on Palestinian footballers in the occupied territories.
David Owen: Why Turkish Airlines boss finds delight in Dortmund
A summer Thursday on the shores of Lake Geneva. I am in a salon in Lausanne’s plush Palace hotel talking to Temel Kotil, President and chief executive of Turkish Airlines.
We are just days away from the curtain being drawn on the airline’s sponsorship of Manchester United, arguably the world’s favourite football club (Aeroflot have become the club’s sponsor). Yet I don’t think I have ever met a business leader so bursting with enthusiasm about the effect sporting partnerships can have on multinational companies.
Mihir Bose: Why English football cannot follow the Murray example
Andy Murray’s success has led to much talk of how British sport is finally getting rid of the sporting monkeys that have so long perched on its back. This is an understandable reaction.
When you win a coveted sporting crown after 77 years you are entitled to celebrate. And the triumphant feeling is all the more understandable given that it has crowned two years of success which has done much to make the British feel that the nation is no longer a sporting pariah.