FIFA opens case against Avram Grant over alleged sexual harassment
February 1 – Former Chelsea manager Avram Grant (pictured) is under investigation by FIFA over accusations of sexual harassment.
FIFA
CAF to the rescue: Africans say Infantino’s migrant saving comment was ‘misinterpreted’
January 31 – The Confederation of African Football (CAF) and several African FA presidents have came out in support of FIFA president Gianni Infantino’s controversial speech at the Council of Europe last week when he suggested the staging of biennial World Cups would provide a solution to the African migrant crisis.
Infantino calls on FFF boss Le Graët to oversee FIFA’s new Paris base
By Samindra Kunti
January 28 – On a visit to Paris, FIFA president Gianni Infantino has appointed French FA (FFF) president Noel Le Graët as his delegate to oversee the organisation’s newly opened office in Paris.
Zero tolerance? FIFA’s head of Legends programme survives sexual harassment case
January 28 – The sense that FIFA’s senior leadership is running out of control under president Gianni Infantino has been reinforced by news that a key advisor, Miguel Macedo has evaded sanction despite being found to have sexually harassed a member of his staff.
Infantino tells EU politicos that solution to African migrant crisis is a biennial World Cup
By Samindra Kunti
January 26 – FIFA president Gianni Infantino has taken his sales pitch for a biennial World Cup to new, unprecedented and questionable levels when he seemed to link a World Cup every two years to a better future for refugees crossing the Mediterranean.
Blatter lets loose on Infantino, his move to Qatar and the ‘imbecility’ of a biennial World Cup
August 25 – Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter has criticised his successor Gianni Infantino for relinquishing his responsibilities by moving his personal base to Qatar and away from FIFA’s Zurich headquarters and for dividing global football at a time when the world needed its leading sport to bring unity.
Infantino meets EC delegation to discuss future of football
January 24 – FIFA president Gianni Infantino was in Europe at the weekend and hosted a meeting with European Commission vice-president Margaritas Schinas with an agenda that included both the Qatar 2022 World Cup and the ‘future of football’.
FIFA to restrict player loans to prevent elite clubs ‘warehousing’ talent
January 21 – FIFA are poised to bring in radical new rules designed to stop the richest clubs hoarding players and help home-grown youth development.
Infantino and Wenger meet PFA but biennial World Cup was ‘not the main topic’
January 21 – With increasing demands placed on football’s elite players, FIFA president Gianni Infantino has vowed player welfare will be a top priority as the organisation reshapes the international fixture schedule.
Is Infantino losing Africa? CAF furiously questions FIFA ‘partnership’ over Gueye ban
By Paul Nicholson
January 19 – Cracks look to be appearing in FIFA’s suffocating dominance of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), divisions that could signal a weakening FIFA president Gianni Infantino’s powerbase within his core support.
Lewandowski and Putellas take Best player awards, Chelsea scoop up coaches’ gongs
January 18 – Less than two months after being snubbed for the Ballon d’Or, Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski beat Argentine superstar Lionel Messi and Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah to pick up the FIFA best men’s player award for 2021.
Has Infantino deserted FIFA HQ with his new residency in Qatar?
January 17 – With friends in European football few and far between, and the authorities in his own country of Switzerland ramping up their criminal investigation into him with the appointment of two special prosecutors, FIFA president Gianni Infantino appears to have decamped to Doha, Qatar.
FIFA technical director Martens wanted in connection with Belgian corruption case
By Samindra Kunti
January 17 – Belgian authorities want FIFA technical director Steven Martens in court. He was named as one of 57 football administrators, coaches and referees that the federal prosecutor wants to charge as part of operation ‘Clean Hands’, the largest investigation into match-fixing and corruption in the history of the Belgian game.
Marseilles hit with transfer ban as FIFA removes Cameroon’s Pape Gueye from play
January 17 – FIFA is reported to have slapped Marseille with a transfer ban in the ongoing dispute over the 2020 signing of midfielder Pape Gueye, according to local reports.
Valcke gives evidence to French prosecutors over award of 2022 World Cup to Qatar
January 14 – Former FIFA secretary-general Jerome Valcke has been questioned by French authorities over the award to Qatar of the 2022 World Cup.