By Tom Parsons
April 4 – Real Madrid will have to wait longer for the EU decision on whether they received illegal state aid surrounding property deals, a decision that could have wider consequences for other clubs in Europe.
By Mark Baber
April 4 – Congressman Romario has been stepping up his attacks on Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) president Jose Maria Marin (pictured) over his alleged links to the country’s former military dictatorship.
By Andrew Warshaw
April 4 – Controversial England midfielder Joey Barton, currently playing for Marseille, is in trouble again after arch-rivals Paris St Germain threatened action against him for likening PSG’s Brazilian defender Thiago Silva to a transsexual on his Twitter account.
By Mark Baber
April 4 – As the UEFA Congress vote in May on Gibraltar’s football status nears, the Spanish Government has declared that it will back the Spanish Football Federation in trying to block Gibraltar’s full membership. In answer to questions from Ezquerra Republicana de Cataluña (ERC) representative Alfred Bosch in the Madrid Cortes, a Spanish government spokesman said: “At this point in time, the Government does not consider the possible staging of official football matches between Spain and Gibraltar.
By Andrew Warshaw
April 4 – Lebanese football, already reeling from an ongoing match-fixing scandal, has suffered even more embarrassment after three of its officials were suddenly pulled out of taking charge of an AFC Cup game in Singapore.
April 4 – Singapore and Vietnam will be co-hosts for the AFF Suzuki Cup group stages in 2014, the region’s premier competition held every two years.
By Mark Baber
April 3 – The French government remains determined to fulfil its manifesto commitment to bring in a new 75% supertax, despite judicial setbacks. The supertax will apply to companies who pay salaries over €1 million, including football clubs.
By Andrew Warshaw
April 3 – England’s fate over the alleged racist abuse directed towards defender Rio Ferdinand and his brother Anton could be heard by FIFA as early as April 10.
By Andrew Warshaw, chief correspondent
April 3 – Yousuf Al Serkal, one of the four contenders bidding to become the next Asian Football Confederation president, is leaving no stone unturned in his bid to snatch victory in next month’s election in Kuala Lumpur.
By Andrew Warshaw
April 3 – The last will be first and the first will be last may have biblical origins but FIFA have applied the exact same philosophy to its decision to hand the landmark contract for goalline technology at this summer’s forthcoming Confederations Cup to the German company GoalControl.
By Mark Baber
April 3 – US Soccer yesterday kicked off its Centennial Week by ringing the New York Stock Exchange Closing Bell, with commemoration events planned for the rest of the week including the 2013 National Soccer Hall of Fame Induction Class, soccer in New York’s Times Square and a Women’s National Team Watch Party on Friday.
By Mark Baber
April 3 – The All India Football Federation (AIFF) is looking for investors interested in setting up new franchise clubs on the sub-continent to promote football as a sport in India and establish an international recognition for its I-league.
By Mark Baber
April 2 – High profile UK politician David Miliband resigned on Sunday from his position as vice-Chairman and non-executive director at Sunderland football club in protest at the appointment of Paolo di Canio, citing the new manager’s past political statements.
By Andrew Warshaw
April 2 – The chief organiser of the 2022 Qatar World Cup insists he doesn’t need to win the upcoming vote for a place on the top table at FIFA simply so that he can “protect” the Gulf state’s right to stage the tournament.
By Andrew Warshaw
April 2 – Former FIFA powerbroker Jack Warner has spoken out for the first time following reports of an FBI probe into alleged corruption linked to his family.