Messi suspended by PSG for taking Saudi trip
May 3 – Lionel Messi has been suspended by Paris St-Germain for two weeks and will be fined after an unauthorised trip to Saudi Arabia.
Europe
Bulgaria’s Ludogorets demand tougher action after fan unrest at CSKA derby match
May 3 – Bulgarian champion club Ludogorets Razgrad has sent an open letter to the Bulgarian Football Union (BFU), the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Bulgaria and the Ministry of Youth and Sports calling for action over the fan disturbances at their derby match against CSKA at the Bulgarian Army Stadium on Sunday.
UEFA tackles financial sustainability issues with new Working Group and an end-June timeline
May 2 – UEFA have taken a step further in their proposed rethink of their financial sustainability rules with the creation of a Working Group that will look at ‘squad cost control’ (essentially the issue of wage caps) as well as how transfer fees are accounted for by clubs.
CSKA unveil €45m stadium revamp saying it will be the most modern in Bulgaria
May 2 – Bulgaria’s CSKA Sofia has unveiled its plans for the reconstruction of the Bulgarian Army stadium.
Wolfsburg ruin Arsenal’s big night out at Emirates with semi-final decider in 119th minute
May 2 – Wolfsburg’s Pauline Bremer scored an extra-time winner to send her club to the final of the Women’s Champions League and break Arsenal’s hearts in front of an English record crowd for a women’s club game of 60,063. Wolfsburg now face Barcelona in the final.
‘Fraud’, fights and fury – Greek clubs, and their owners, play the same old games
By Matt Scott
April 28 – Greek Super League football is heading for what looks like a crunch title six-pointer on Sunday under a cloud of corruption slurs, following allegations of multiple assaults on match officials.
Barca dispatch Chelsea to make it a hat-trick of Women’s Champions League finals
April 28 – Barcelona reached its third straight Women’s Champions League final after a 1-1 draw with Chelsea on Thursday in front of more than 72,000 fans at Camp Nou Stadium.
PFA boss Molango warns players will be ‘angry’ and that wage caps are not the solution
April 27 – Players will “rightly be angry” about UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin proposing a salary cap in European football, according to the head of England’s Professional Footballers’ Association.
Ceferin suggests Europe-wide club salary cap to restore competitive balance
April 26 – UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin wants a salary cap to be introduced across European football to restore competitive balance and says clubs agree with the idea.
Spanish court forces RFEF to halt rigged VAR tender process
April 25 – A commercial court in Madrid has provisionally suspended the VAR tender for LaLiga that was being run by the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF).
UEC club body launched to give smaller ‘big’ clubs a voice in Europe
By Samindra Kunti in Brussels
April 25 – With the firm support of Spain’s La Liga, the Union of European Clubs (UEC) was launched on Monday, promising to represent Europe’s smaller and medium-sized clubs to counterbalance – but not fight – the European Club Association (ECA), an organisation seen to defend the interests of a small cabal of elite clubs.
UEFA Football Board gets hands-on with rules at first meeting in Nyon
April 25 – A host of football legends and stellar names in management and coaching came together for the newly created UEFA Football Board on Monday, set up to discuss the sport’s most pressing topics.
Germany to play 1,000th international against Ukraine as a charity match
April 25 – Germany are set to turn their 1,000th international match in June into a charity fixture against Ukraine.
Olimpiacos fans clash with police after loss to AEK ends their title hopes
April 25 – Olympiacos ran riot after the club’s 3-1 derby loss to AEK Athens that ended Olympiacos’ chances of winning the Greek Super League.
Netherlands’ AZ Alkmaar land first UEFA title with Youth League win over Hadjuk Split
April 25 – Dutch club AZ Alkmaar stunned Croatia’s Hadjuk Split with a 5-0 win in the UEFA Youth League final in Geneva, sending the travelling Croatian support of nearly 10,000 fans home disappointed.