Baxter pays the penalty at ISL’s Odisha after ‘rape’ comment
February 3 – Indian Super League club Odisha FC dismissed their coach Stuart Baxter on Wednesday after the former South Africa used a rape analogy in his post-match comments.
UK politicians line up against oligarchs to exclude Chelsea and Everton from trade missions
February 3 – The British government is coming under even more pressure to ban two English top-flight clubs from official projects promoting Britain overseas because of their links to Russian billionaire oligarchs.
Marseille suspend Villas Boas after claim he never wanted Celtic’s Ntcham
February 3 – It isn’t every day that the manager of a top-flight club openly and publicly criticises the way it operates and offers his resignation.
Bayern are Europe’s top finishers; Atlético, Leicester, Inter and Monaco top Big 5
February 3 – Bayern Munich are the most clinical goal finishers in Europe’s Big 5 leagues, scoring on average every 5.3 shots.
UEFA brings in single-leg knockout rule as Liverpool’s trip to Leipzig in doubt
February 3 – European knock-out ties hit by travel restrictions caused by the impact of Covid-19 could be played as one-off matches at neutral venues under new rules issued by UEFA.
AFC to form Covid expert group as region awaits vaccination roll-out
February 3 – The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) is to set up a Covid-19 Advisory Expert Group to advise on the development of the pandemic and make recommendations for the management and prevention of the infection.
Vermantia ups the pace with Virtual Football League in i-gaming space
February 3 – Greece-based Vermantia, which offers content to lotteries, gaming and betting operators, has added a new Virtual Football League igaming product to its portfolio.
World Cup legacy: Qatar 2022 organisers sign MoU with NHRC
February 3 – Qatar World Cup organisers have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the country’s National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) to enhance the human rights legacy of the 2022 global finals.
Tebas calls out Infantino, agent WO1, as party to European Super League plot
By Andrew Warshaw
February 2 – La Liga chief Javier Tebas has accused Gianni Infantino of privately supporting the launch of a breakaway European Super League despite FIFA steadfastly opposing the project.
French club crisis deepens as TV rights tender falls flat
By Samindra Kunti
February 2 – The TV rights crisis in French football is deepening after a new tender for Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 looks to have flopped with bids below what the league and clubs had expected.
Dell looks poised to close on acquisition of Serie A’s Spezia
February 2 – Spezia are on the verge of becoming the fifth American-owned Serie A Club, with MSD Capital in talks to invest in the Serie A side.
DaGrosa changes tack. With Saints deal dead KFG focuses on player development
February 2 – US private equity investor Joe DaGrosa has dipped his toe in the international football development waters with his Kapital Football Group (KFG) investment company via an agreement, effective July 2020, with Bolivia’s Tahuichi Academy.
Covid: Players are not the vaccination priority, says Infantino
February 2 – Footballers should not jump the queue and be vaccinated before key health workers according to FIFA president Gianni Infantino.
January transfer window sees Big 5 club spending plummet by £620m
By Paul Nicholson
February 2 – Spending in the January 2021 transfer window plunged across Europe’s big five leagues from £890 million in 2020 to £270 million in the buying window that closed yesterday, according to figures from Deloitte.
Burnley face Everton fate with potential loss of high rolling betting shirt sponsor
February 2 – Burnley are the latest Premier League club to face problems with a betting partner. Shirt sponsor LoveBet have reportedly hit financial difficulty mirroring issues SportPesa ran into, forcing it to pull out of Everton’s sponsorship before the start of the season.