By Andrew Warshaw
February 5 – Africa’s top brass have officially endorsed Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al-Khalifa’s bid to succeed Sepp Blatter as FIFA president, a massive boost for the Asian football leader but bad news for Africa’s only candidate for the post, Tokyo Sexwale.
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.
February 5 – The Argentine FA has sanctioned 15 players after a pre-season friendly between Estudiantes and arch-rivals Gimnasia La Plata was abandoned following a mass brawl.
February 5 – Chinese football has smashed its transfer record for the third time in 10 days after yet another much sought-after Brazilian opted to go east instead of remaining in Europe.
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.
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.
February 4 – Proposed reforms to clean up football’s scandal-plagued world governing body will not in any way benefit the players, according to their union FIFPro.
February 4 – Brazilian star Neymar, already embroiled in a legal case over his move to Barcelona, is now facing separate allegations of tax evasion.
By Mark Baber
February 3 – A German court has ruled former president of the German soccer federation Theo Zwanziger was exercising his right to free speech in referring to Qatar as a “cancerous growth of world football” just as Germany’s most successful club, Bayern Munich, signed a partnership with Qatar’s Hamad International Airport.
February 3 – Dynamo Kiev will no longer have to face Manchester City in the Champions League behind closed doors after UEFA’s appeals committee controversially reduced a sanction imposed for racist behaviour and crowd disturbances.
February 3 – The vice-president of CONMEBOL’s disciplinary committee has resigned in protest at the governing body’s top brass reducing Boca Juniors’ stadium ban for crowd violence from eight games to two.
By Paul Nicholson
February 3 – FIFA may have suspended their funding but CONCACAF are getting used to operating on reduced cashflow. The US Justice Department partially froze funds back in May 2015 when they arrested then president Jeffrey Webb and Costa Rican president Ricardo Li, and followed that up with a raid the confederation’s Miami headquarters.
By Samindra Kunti
February 2 – Brussels’s EURO2020 stadium may face delays in construction after an environmental report cast doubt over the viability of the venue. The projected public funding of €432 million is also raising eyebrows.
January 2 – Under-fire Inter Milan boss Roberto Mancini has been given a one-game ban for his antics during Sunday’s derby defeat.
February 2 – Qatar have failed to qualify for their first Olympic football tournament since 1992 after losing 2-1 to Iraq, a significant blow to their strategy of developing a credible squad ahead of the 2022 World Cup.