By Paul Nicholson
September 19 – Doubts have been raised over the integrity of the Nigerian government investigation into Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) president Amaju Pinnick that has seen property reportedly seized, including his home in Park View Estate, in the Ikoyi suburb of Lagos.
Mr Justice Fancourt’s 138-page judgment in the recent High Court battle over Sheffield United offers a fascinating insight into the business affairs of a venerable but otherwise fairly ordinary English professional club over a six-year period in the early part of the 21st century. I would recommend any serious student of the football industry taking an hour or two to skim through it.
September 19 – FIFA president Gianni Infantino has finally been pressured into personally reacting to Iran’s ban on women attending men’s football following the grotesque tragedy of a female fan dying after setting fire to herself.
By Andrew Warshaw
September 18 – French authorities are scrapping the country’s League Cup after this season, leaving England as the only major European footballing nation with two domestic knockout competitions.
September 19 – New research conducted by Amnesty International suggests migrant workers in Qatar continue to be mistreated despite promises to improve their rights ahead of the 2022 World Cup.
September 19: Italian giants Juventus have announced 10bet as the club’s official gaming and betting partner in a three-year deal.
September 19 – The head of European football’s main anti-discriminatory body has slammed Italian officials for failing to deal with increasing instances of abuse saying the authorities are “not fit for purpose”.
September 19 – SIGA are keeping up the pace of their series of Sports Integrity events. Having just completed their first Middle Eastern Inter-Regional Summit in Qatar, they are back in Europe next week convening an Expert Roundtable in Brussels to coincide with the European Week of Sport.
September 19 – Former Rangers and Netherlands player Fernando Ricksen has passed away at the age of 43 following a brutal six-year battle with motor neurons disease ALS.
September 19 – The future of Nigeria’s under-23 side coach Salisu Yusuf (pictured), remains in limbo after the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) decided to retain Imama Amapakabo as coach for the youth team despite Yusuf’s return from a ban.
September 18 – In a fresh corruption probe, Nigerian authorities have seized a dozen properties from senior officials of its football federation, including the president Amaju Pinnick, until a few months ago the second most powerful figure in African football.
September 18 – Cagliari won’t be punished for the racist abused by its fans aimed at Inter Milan striker Romelu Lukaku during the club’s Serie A match in September, but it will have to pay a €5,000 fine for fans throwing plastic bottles on to the pitch at Parma on Sunday
September 18 – Former England captain Wayne Rooney, who has been playing with DC United in the United States, says American players in Major League Soccer (MLS) should get paid more.
September 18 – Cristiano Ronaldo says he deserves to finish up with more world player of the year awards than Lionel Messi and that although he respects his Argentine arch-rival, they cannot be considered friends.
September 18 – Major League Soccer has signed a multi-year partnership with BodyArmor making the brand the league’s official sports drink partner in the US, starting with the 2020 season.