By Paul Nicholson
October 7 – OL Groupe, owner of French Ligue 1 club Olympique Lyonnais, has announced 2019/20 year end revenue of €271.6 million and an impressive pre-tax profit of €45.9 million considering the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
October 7 – When FIFA football isn’t being played in an international window, politics will be. FIFA president Gianni Infantino was in Paris earlier this week to meet French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace, also present was French FA president Noël Le Graët.
October 7 – Junior Flemmings, a Jamaican midfielder with second-tier US club Phoenix Rising, has been banned for six games for using a homophobic slur that led to opponents San Diego Loyal walking off in protest and the match being called off.
October 7 – French defender Leo Dubois has joined Swiss winger Xherdan Shaqiri as testing positive for the coronavirus on the eve of international friendlies and Nations League obligations.
October 7 – England manager Gareth Southgate has warned his players about their off-field behaviour in the wake of the latest breach of Covid-19 rules.
October 7 – Arsenal’s out-of-favour German international playmaker Mesut Ozil has offered to pay the salary of Jerry Quy, who has been playing the role of club mascot Gunnersaurus.
October 7 – Les Reed will leave his post as technical director of the English Football Association at the end of the year, the governing body has announced.
October 6 – With their manager under scrutiny, Manchester United were the most prolific Premier League spenders on the last day of the international summer transfer window, splashing out £28 million on four players though whether that keeps Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in his job remains to be seen.
By David Owen
October 6 – Spanish giants Barcelona have reported an after-tax loss of €97 million and a more than doubled net debt-load, as Covid-19 took a heavy toll on last season’s financial results.
October 6 – The French League (LFP) and the French Football Federation (FFF) have reportedly asked the government for €215 million of Covid-19 relief to make up for the shortfall in gate revenues following the decision to limit fan attendance.
October 6 – Italy’s sport minister says the season will not be halted in the wake of the Juventus-Napoli fixture, one of the biggest in the Italian calendar, being abandoned due to an apparent conflict over implementation of COVID-19 health rules.
October 6 – Arsenal’s mascot became the latest victim of the club’s controversial cost-cutting exercise amid the coronavirus pandemic. Gunnersaurus was let go by the Londoners after serving the club for 27 years.
October 6 – The transfer window may have slammed shut but the biggest deal of all could involve a possible new manager at Manchester United.
October 6 – As a second spike of Covid-19 threatens to sweep through Europe, Xherdan Shaqiri has become the third Liverpool player to test positive in the space of a week.
October 6 – Diego Maradona has tested negative for Covid-19 amid fears he had contracted the virus after hugging a colleague.