March 11 – English football authorities are considering a blanket ban for all players and officials – including club, league and federation officials in the football business – on betting on matches after yet another Premier League player admitted breaking current rules.
“Friendship is constant in all other things Save in the office and affairs of love… Let every eye negotiate for itself And trust no agent,” Claudio, Act II, Scene 1, Much Ado About Nothing
William Shakespeare seldom got much wrong about life and how we live it. His comedies, his tragedies and his histories contained some fairly implausible scenarios and embellishments at times but the enduring value of his work lies in his ability to skewer all facets of the human character.
March 11 – As the quarter finals of the CONCACAF Champions League started last night with Costa Rica’s Alajuelense drawing 0-0 with Arabe Unido in the first leg of their tie, the confederation also announced MoneyGram as a new commercial partner.
March 10 – FIFA has called for expressions of interest in hosting eights of its competitions including the Women’s World Club and four editions of the FIFA Club World Cup.
By Andrew Warshaw
March 10 – The head of the Asian Football Confederation says western criticism of Qatar as World Cup hosts is being overplayed and, in some cases, has “crossed the line.”
March 10 – In what was viewed as a vital test case in terms of freedom of expression, charges have been dropped against three Tottenham Hotspur fans who were facing prosecution for chanting the word ‘Yid’ at matches despite almost certainly using the term in a non-derogatory way.
By Andrew Warshaw
March 10 – FIFA executive committee member Worawi Makudi’s controversial re-election as head of Thailand’s FA (FAT) is being taken to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). Last October after months of in-fighting about election rules, Makudi defeated former national team manager Virach Chanpanich 42-28 in a secret ballot.
By Andrew Warshaw
March 10 – The tax evasion trial of Bayern Munich President Uli Hoeness gets under way today, the culmination of a scandal that has rocked German football though it has done little to affect the blistering form of the club itself on the field.
By Alexander Krassimirov
March 10 – Bulgaria’s Lokomotiv Plovdiv have released their administrative director, Atanas Uzunov, accusing him of “political games”. The board of Lokomotiv claims that he used his official position to “influence the supporters of the club and they participate in political actions against the government of country.”
What do the following international football matches have in common: Brazil 0 Portugal 2 on 6 February 2007; Nigeria 1 Ghana 4 the same night; and Australia 3 Canada 0 on 15 October 2013?
Right, they were all played in London.
So was an extraordinary encounter last week pitting the Socceroos, once more, against Ecuador, France’s future World Cup opponents. While Roy Hodgson’s England were labouring to beat Denmark at Wembley,
Charity, they say, is supposed to begin at home. Or, at least, in your continent.
But I am wondering whether it is an adage that officials of Libya’s government and the football federation have ever taken to heart.
At the recent laying of the foundation stone, at a stadium to be built in Tripoli, the country’s capital, ahead of the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations they are to host – assuming the war-torn country is peaceful enough –
By Paul Nicholson
March 7 – The on-off-on international friendly between Ukraine and the US, switched to a Cypriot venue, ended in a morale boosting 2-0 win for the Ukranians. Now the Ukraine FA has announced that its domestic league will restart on March 15.
By Alexander Krassimirov
March 7 – Portuguese giants Benfica have agreed to reduce their fee to €200,000 to participate in an exhibition game against Levski Sofia to mark the Bulgarian club’s 100th anniversary.
By Andrew Warshaw
March 7 – There have been more indications – this time from the clubs – that no decision on moving the 2022 Qatar World Cup from the heat of the Gulf summer will be taken until next year.
March 7 – The English Football Association is reported to be considering whether to appeal against the five-match ban imposed by an independent commission on former French international striker for his infamous ‘quenelle’ gesture on the basis that it was too leniant.