English football mourns sudden loss of Graham Taylor, aged 72
January 13 – There are footballing nice guys – and then there was Graham Taylor.
Europe
Panathinaikos president Alafouzos scores hat-trick of jail convictions
By Lefteris Charalampopoulos
January 9 – On 28 December 2016 Giannis Alafouzos, president of Panathinaikos and owner of SKAI TV Station was found guilty by a Greek court, of instigating the journalist Kyriakos Thomaidis to violate Greek legislation regarding the protection of sensitive personal data.
Villar still riding his Spanish corruption storm with elections now likely in April
By Paul Nicholson
January 3 – The postponed elections for the presidency of the Spanish football federation (RFEF) now look set to take place in April after reports that controversial current president Angel Maria Villar has found common ground in disputes with the Spanish sports ministry and its new Secretary of State for Sports, Jose Ramon Lete.
AEK and Panathinaikos owners refuse to meet their player and coach debts
By Lefteris Charalampopoulos
December 29 – They claim to be extremely wealthy. They are owners of football clubs and controversial businessmen. Dimitris Melissanidis, owner of AEK Athens, and Giannis Alafouzos (pictured) of Panathinaikos, have money but they have failed to meet their payment obligations to their players and coaches.
Panathanaikos owner Alafouzos handed year jail sentence by Piraeus court
December 22 – Panathanaikos chairman Giannis Alafouzos, a bitter and vocal opponent of Olympiakos owner Vaggellis Marinakis, has this week been sentenced to a year in jail for violating Greece’s Privacy Act.
French revolution: Ligue 1 boss Quillot says the LFP is growing its competitiveness
By Samindra Kunti
December 19 – Didier Quillot is the executive director of the LFP, the body presiding over professional French football. In an exclusive interview with Insideworldfootball Quillot addressed the challenges Ligue 1 faces.
UEFA set Euro 2024 bid criteria and rule out 3-nation Nordic proposal
By Andrew Warshaw
December 16 – When Aleksander Čeferin was campaigning to replace Michel Platini as UEFA president, he dismissed as “insulting” persistent reports that in exchange for their votes he had made a series of promises to the Nordic federations, not least that he would support a joint Nordic bid for the 2024 Euro finals.
UEFA re-thinks CL club ranking and adds £50m to Europa League prize pool
By Andrew Warshaw
December 15 – Potentially vital concessions have been made by UEFA aimed at pacifying Europe’s leagues over their fierce opposition to proposed changes to the Champions League.
Albania’s Skenderbeu set for further CL ban as match-fixing probe continues
December 14 – UEFA is preparing to impose another Champions League ban on Albanian club Skenderbeu because of an ongoing match-fixing investigation.
Ballon d’Or warms into another Ronaldo vs Messi shoot-out
December 13 – Their rivalry off the field remains just as intense as on it as Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo beat rival Lionel Messi to win the prestigious Ballon d’Or for a fourth time.
Ceferin snuffs out ‘hosting-for-favours’, Mutko aims for FIFA Council
By Andrew Warshaw
December 12 – For the first time, UEFA are to employ a formal bidding process for the venues of the Champions League and Europa League finals following accusations of a purely ad hoc procedure in the past.
English civil war: former FA gurus say it is just the Premier League’s puppet
December 12 – The English Football Association, already buffeted by the sex abuse scandal that has rocked the sport, has come under further attack after five of its most senior former executives wrote a damning letter to Parliament saying the organisation was unfit for purpose, self-serving and consumed by vested interests.
Turkish bomb attacks leaves nation stunned as mourning begins
December 12 – The twin bombs that were exploded two hours after the end of the Besiktas vs Bursapor Turkish Super Liga match in Istanbul on Saturday were not targeted at football fans but were aimed at police on match-day security duty.
Laudrup denies creaming off cash from transfer deals at Swansea City
December 8 – Former Swansea City manager Michael Laudrup and the club itself have denied he was sacked – mysteriously at the time – because of concerns that he and, primarily, his agent stood to profit from player transfers.
Celtic back in UEFA’s sights after fans flare up in Manchester
December 8 – UEFA have opened disciplinary proceedings against Celtic following crowd disturbances and fireworks set off by fans in this week’s Champions league meeting with Manchester City.