Barca back Messi in tax fraud case and complain they are the real victim
October 12 – Barcelona are standing behind their mercurial superstar Lionel Messi in his fight against being punished for alleged tax fraud.
Women's Euro 2025
Player down, Germany cling on to beat France in penalty shootout
France 1 Germany 1 (5-6 pens)
July 19 – Germany recovered from a 13th-minute red card to knockout France on penalties following a 1-1 draw and set up a blockbuster semi-final against Spain.
Fox plays Trump card to pump up US, but Mexico has a fiesta
By Ben Nicholson
October 10 – The one-off CONCACAF Cup game between Mexico and the US, which Mexico won to decide who will be the region’s representative at the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup in Russia, was well and Trumply politicised. A record 93,000 crowd packed the Rose Bowl and viewing figures are also expected to have broken records for a national team game.
Takkas left to appeal after Swiss agree his US extradition
October 9 – Another of the seven FIFA executives arrested at their hotels in Zurich on May 27 has had US extradition requests approved by the Swiss Federal Office of Justice.
Andrew Warshaw: FIFA’s calm exterior concealed a cauldron of confusion
As rumours swirled around Zurich on Wednesday that ethics investigators were about to throw the book at Sepp Blatter, FIFA’s headquarters was bathed in thin autumn sunshine and looked a paragon of normality. From the outside at least.
Albanian fans stone Serbian team coach, but match is played without incident
By Mark Baber
October 9 – Serbia’s team coach was attacked by stones, smashing one of the windows, ahead of Thursday’s Euro2016 qualifier in the central Albanian town of Elbasan. Violence was predictable following the abandonment of the earlier fixture in which a drone with a Greater Albania flag was flown over the stadium in the Serbian capital causing crowd trouble and the Albanian team to refuse to continue the match.
Strange but true: Bookie pins its money on Olympiacos shirt
By Matt Scott
October 9 – Olympiacos, the Greek champions whose owner is under criminal investigation for alleged match-fixing, have signed a title-sponsorship deal with an online-betting company.
Olympic chief Bach tells FIFA ‘enough is enough’
FIFABy David Owen
October 9 – The most powerful administrator in world sport has added his voice to the mounting clamour for far-reaching reform at FIFA.
David Owen: Welsh find harmony where ‘club’ has helped ‘country’ to excel
From my name, you might think me as Welsh as a laverbread breakfast. But I’m not, so I have been able to observe the recent Welsh sporting resurgence with cool, objective detachment.
Blatter appeals suspension as Exco members call for emergency meeting
By Andrew Warshaw
October 9 – Sepp Blatter has become the first of football’s suspended powerbrokers to officially appeal against his 90-day sanction imposed Thursday by FIFA’s ethics committee.
Chung to appeal ban, as he keeps up fight against Platini and Blatter
By Andrew Warshaw
October 9 – Banned former FIFA vice-president Chung Mong-joon is determined not to go quietly and to keep alive his hopes of becoming the organisation’s new president.
Platini complains of ‘farcical’ charges for suspension and vows to fight on
By Andrew Warshaw
October 9 – Michel Platini has re-iterated his innocence in the light of being suspended by FIFA’s ethics committee as his top brass at UEFA closed ranks and said they were firmly behind their beleaguered president.
Spanish judge rules Messi will stand trail for fraud, jail beckons
October 9 – The world’s best-known and most talented footballer faces a possible jail sentence after a Spanish court ruled that Argentine and Barcelona striker Lionel Messi and his father should stand trial on tax fraud charges, rejecting a request by prosecutors to drop the charges against the mercurial superstar.
Blatter and Platini issue defiant defences as doubts raised over Swiss ‘evidence’
By Andrew Warshaw
October 8 – Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini have wasted no time forcefully defending themselves after being suspended by FIFA’s ethics committee.
CIES report tracks football migrants with Brazil topping export list
By Mark Baber
October 8 – The CIES Football Observatory has produced a report titled “Exporting countries in world football” providing an overview of migration of footballer’s around the world and, based on the data used, suggesting Brazil is the most represented country amongst migrant footballers , followed by Argentina and France.
FIFA suspends Blatter, Platini and Valcke. Chung banned
By Andrew Warshaw
October 8 – FIFA’s crumbling, corruption-tainted foundations were smashed to pieces today when Sepp Blatter and his would-be successor as president, Michel Platini, were both given provisional 90-day suspensions along with Jerome Valcke, FIFA’s number two who was recently put on gardening leave.