Fergie book gets football’s twitterati tweeting
By Tom Parsons
October 25 – The eagerly awaited launch of Sir Alex Ferguson’s autobiography generated the inevitable twitter backlash to accompany some of the more controversial talking points.
Broadcast regs mean Brits will miss “El Clasico” kick off
By Tom Parsons
October 25 – Many British television viewers will feel short-changed tomorrow on the day of arguably the biggest footballing match in the Spanish calendar. El Clasico (Barcelona v Real Madrid) takes place on Saturday with kick-off at 5:00pm GMT, however due to British broadcasting regulations the first 15 minutes of the game are not allowed to be shown live on British television.
Blatter calls for more World Cup places for Africa and Asia
October 25 – FIFA President Sepp Blatter has once again re-opened the prickly debate over World Cup slots by declaring that Africa and Asia deserve more representation and Europe and South America less.
IFAB tighten goalline tech laws to improve accuracy
October 25 – Football’s lawmakers have sought to tighten up the accuracy of goalline technology, coincidentally following the latest controversy when Bayer Leverkusen’s Stefen Kiessling was awarded a goal even though his effort had entered through the side netting.
Top French clubs to strike over new 75% supertax rate
By Andrew Warshaw
October 25 – Professional clubs in France have decided to go on strike for the first time in over 40 years in protest at the government’s proposal to tax business incomes of more than €1 million at a massive 75%. The clubs have unanimously voted in favour of boycotting fixtures scheduled for November 29 and December 2, the first walkout by French players since 1972 and affecting the two top leagues.
Lee Wellings: Khan-do attitude for American in London
There are now six American owners of English Premier League teams. A statistic that would once have been mind boggling.
The latest is Shahid Khan, and to spend time with him at Fulham FC is an education into the mindset of the new breed of owners.
I say new breed, but he is very much an individual. Smart, practical and innovative, the fact he has been ‘ranked’ as one of the world’s 500 richest people should not surprise.
UEFA open second Russian racism investigation, but CSKA still deny charges
By Andrew Warshaw and Paul Nicholson
October 24 – The Russian racism row following Wednesday night’s Champions League clash between CSKA Moscow and Manchester City was elevated a further level today when UEFA President Michel Platini requested an internal investigation into why the UEFA protocol for dealing with racial incidents was not applied. Already UEFA has opened a disciplinary investigation into the actual incident, while the Russian World Cup organisers have also issued a statement promising to eradicate racism.
Russian racism in the spotlight as Toure calls on UEFA for big bans
By Andrew Warshaw
October 24 – After a period of relative calm with so much media focus on the tournament in Qatar four years later, organisers of the 2018 World Cup in Russia have suddenly found themselves back in the spotlight over the festering issue of racism which still shows no sign of being eradicated.
Coach takes the blame as UAE hosts exit U17 World Cup
By Andrew Warshaw
October 24 – The outspoken coach of hosts United Arab Emirates refused to blame his players for their first-round exit from the under-17 World Cup following a 2-0 defeat by Slovakia.
English grassroots get £102m and a ‘new’ funding body
October 24 – English grassroots will receive a £102 million boost over the next three years via a new fund that will contribute to new facilities and coaching initiatives throughout the country.
Olympiakos swap betting firm for UNICEF as shirt sponsor
By Panos Bletsos
Ocotber 24 – Olympiakos have announced a two-year deal to promote the UNICEF logo on the front of their shirts and to help the Fund raise at least €2 million. The Greek champions and UEFA Champions League regulars have joined Barcelona in supporting the global children’s charity.
Piat returns to head FIFPro and promises loud and equal voice for player power
By Andrew Warshaw
October 24 – Frenchman Philippe Piat is back at the helm of the international players’ union FIFPro and has called on member associations to air their grievances to avoid the organisation becoming “an empty shell.” Piat, now 72, was named president for the second time at the FIFPro General Assembly in Slovenia in succession to Leonardo Grosso and will hold the post until 2017.
John Yan: An Open Interview With Sun Jihai 为什么不用孙继海？
On my own program The Football Talk, which is broadcast every Friday on www.163.com, I had a long interview with Sun Jihai, China’s most successful ever footballer. In this 90 minutes chat, Sun covered issues about his bewilderment of being omitted from the national team, even though at the age of 37, he is still being voted week in week out as the top centre half in the China Super League. Sun also compared the different football cultures in China and Europe,
Osasu Obayiuwana: Dyke’s FA scores an own goal
As a veteran of several boardroom battles and high-wire conflict with the British Labour party, as he led a British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) that was extremely critical of the former’s conduct in the run-up to the invasion of Iraq, while it was the party of government, one would have thought an English FA chaired by a supposedly media savvy Greg Dyke would be particularly conscious about not embarrassing itself in public.
Resigning in rather dramatic (some would say unfair) circumstances,
FIFA’s Football for Health spreads through the Americas
By Paul Nicholson
October 22 – FIFA chief medical officer Jiri Dvorak has announced an extension of the Football for Health programme in the CONCACAF region with three new pilot initiatives to be undertaken in countries from the three language groups in the region – English, Spanish and French. The markets have still to be chosen.