Esteghlal keeper Hosseini sanctioned for hugging female fan
April 22 – Esteghlal goalkeeper Hossein Hosseini has been summoned by Iranian authorities to explain why he embraced a female fan at the end of a game against Alumimum Arak.
AFC U23 Asian Cup: Indonesia find their rhythm, Iraq and Thaliand in hunt for last 8 slot
April 21 – Two goals from Marselino Ferdinan in a 4-1 win over Jordan propelled AFC U23 Asian Cup debutants Indonesia into the quarter finals as second placed Group A qualifiers behind hosts Qatar.
UEFA leads on anti-doping with pre-Euros education workshop in Nyon
April 22 – Football took another step in underlining its commitment to promoting and protecting clean sport this week as global and European organisations gathered at an anti-doping education workshop in Nyon, Switzerland.
Man Utd controversially squeeze past Coventry to set up FA Cup final against Man City
April 22 – It was seconds away from being one of the most memorable FA Cup stories in the competition’s long history – if not the most. Then a combination of a highly contentious VAR call and a penalty shootout snatched it all away.
On a fiery night in Rotterdam, 10-man Feyenoord beat NEC to win Dutch Cup
April 22 – Ten-man Feyenoord defeated NEC 1-0 to win the Dutch Cup for the 14th time in a match that was halted twice because of flares at their stadium De Kuip.
Bad day with the match officials prompts Forest to accuse VAR of being a Luton fan
April 22 – Following their 2-0 defeat to Everton in the Premier League, Nottingham Forest made the extraordinary accusation that the Video Assistant Referee [VAR] was biased against them as they tried to push out of their relegation dogfight.
The New Saints join the roster of Europe’s ‘invincibles’ as they hunt Welsh treble
April 22 – The New Saints, the 16-time JD Cymru Premier champions, have joined an elite group of clubs in world football after completing an unbeaten league season for the first time.
Bulgarian FA puts the boot into cyberbullies in fight against hate speech
April 22 – The Bulgarian Football Union (BFU) has joined the UEFA campaign to combat social media bullying with the federations leading players 2023 – Kiril Despodov and Evdokia Popadinova, as well as junior national players Chung Nguyen Do and Steven Gerard Jean Yves Gaote – leading the campaign.
Concacaf releases dates and structure for 2024/25 Nations League
April 21 – Concacaf has set dates for its 2024/25 Concacaf Nations League, with group rounds beginning in the international windows of September, October and November, and the final four being played in March 2025.
Brazilian judge postpones Textor trial to examine Good Game! report
April 19 – Brazil’s sports tribunal has postponed the trial of Botafogo owner John Textor after the American presented ‘credible’ evidence to back up his allegations of match-fixing.
Israel hunt for allies but will be on the defensive at FIFA’s Bangkok Congress
April 19 – The campaign to have Israel thrown out of FIFA over the Gaza crisis will be stepped up at the world governing body’s annual congress next month.
Atalanta send misfiring Liverpool home; Leverkusen, Marseilles and Roma through
April 19 – Liverpool were dumped out of the Europa League on Thursday night after being unable to reverse the 3-0 deficit from the first leg in the quarter-final versus Atalanta.
Man City’s Etihad expansion hits first-year construction landmark
April 19 – Manchester City’s stadium development has completed installation of the first steels as the project reaches the one-year anniversary of the club’s submission of the planning application for its £300 million expansion.
Aston Villa beat Lille on penalties, but Martinez suspended for first leg of semi-final
April 19 – Aston Villa progressed as the only English team to make it into the semi-finals of any of UEFA’s club competitions this season, defeating Lille away from home.
With big clubs lurking, Germany sign up Nagelsmann through to 2026 World Cup
April 19 – Germany manager Julian Nagelsmann has extended his contract until the 2026 World Cup, the German Football Association (DFB) said on Friday.