Aurier’s outburst draws a blank with PSG’s Blanc
February 16 – Paris St-Germain’s preparations for tonight’s Champions League clash with Chelsea have been rocked by an internal spat between coach Laurent Blanc and one of his own players.
Europe
Magnificent Seven? Have Palermo set a new managerial record?
February 16 – Owners and chairman are notoriously impatient with coaches when things go wrong. But Palermo surely take the biscuit having made no fewer than seven managerial changes this season.
Chelsea to beat PSG, and join Barca, both Madrids and Bayern, says stats firm
February 16 – The Champions League restarts tonight with Round of 16 matches. Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid and Bayern Munich are reckoned to be nailed on qualifiers for the last eight, while Chelsea, Manchester City and Barcelona will join them, according to analysis of data from the CIES Football Observatory.
Dutch confirm Willem II matches were fixed and call for help
By Samindra Kunti
February 15 – The Dutch FA, the KNVB, have confirmed that the 2009 Eredivisie match Utrecht vs Willlem II was subject to match-fixing after a year-long probe. A charity match between Willem II and the Sierra Leone national team may also have been manipulated.
More UEFA federations pledge support for Infantino’s FIFA push
February 15 – Thirteen more European federations have pledged unanimous support to Gianni Infantino in his bid to become FIFA president, according to the Serbian FA (FSS).
Germans bid to be testbed for video ref trials
February 12 – Germany will officially bid to be among the first countries to experiment with video replays if lawmakers approve live trials next month.
Kurdish club comes under fire from Turkish FA and police over ‘ideological propaganda’
By Mark Baber
February 11 – As Third Division club Amedspor, from Turkey’s largest Kurdish-populated city Diyarbakir, enjoys a run to the Turkish cup quarter-finals, it finds itself under attack from the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) – with player and fan bans imposed and police raids for alleged ‘ideological propaganda’.
Dutch plan roll out of video refs in Eredvisie within 3 years
By Samindra Kunti
February 10 – The Dutch FA KNVB has targeted the introduction of video referee assistance in the Dutch top-flight the Eredivisie within the next three years.
Dortmund fans serve tennis ball protest over ticket prices
February 10 – The Bundesliga is often held up as a paragon of fairness when it comes to ticket prices. But it’s all relative and fans of Borussia Dortmund fans boycotted the first 20 minutes of their 3-1 quarter-final win over Stuttgart on Tuesday, then threw tennis balls on to the pitch, causing an unusual first-half interruption.
Clubs discuss Champions League change with Super League spectre lurking
By Andrew Warshaw
February 10 – Europe’s top clubs are playing down renewed talk of a breakaway super league but are discussing how the Champions League might be tweaked in the future.
German FA launches legal action against Beckenbauer and FIFA over dubious payment
By Mark Baber
February 9 – The German Football Federation (DFB) has confirmed that it has launched legal proceedings against the 2006 World Cup Organizing Committee, which includes Franz Beckenbauer and former DFB presidents Theo Zwanziger and Wolfgang Niersbach, as well as Horst R. Schmidt and Fedor Radmann in order to protect itself from potential damages of up to €25 million.
Panic buyers: 5 PL clubs ‘overpay’ for players in January window
February 8 – The Jonjo Shelvey transfer showed €14.9 million of value to Newcastle, but they overpaid by €7 million for Andros Townsend, according to the latest report from the CIES Football Observatory.
Lazio escape with fine after racist chanting returns to Stadio Olimpico
By Mark Baber
February 5 – Racist chants by Lazio supporters, which led to the referee halting their Wednesday game against Napoli temporarily, have resulted in Lazio being fined €50,000 (£38,250) and being forced to close three sections of their Stadio Olimpico ground for their next two Serie A home games.
Rangers: King battles to rebuild the walls of his Scottish castle
By Paul Nicholson
February 5 – Glasgow Rangers, the fallen giants that had to start life again in the fourth tier of Scottish football, have taken a step closer to cleaning up their financial position with hostile shareholder and business partner Mike Ashley by confirming they have repaid a £5 million from Ashley while at the same time serving notice on the retail deal with Ashley’s Sports Direct.
French League loses court battle with FFF over relegation places
By Mark Baber
February 4 – France’s highest administrative court – the Conseil d’Etat – has ruled against the French Football League’s legal bid to reduce the number of teams relegated from the top flight from three to two.