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.
October 8 – Football fan website and digital platform 90min has completed a round of fund raising that has brought in $15 million to cashflow the group’s expansion into new international markets and increase content.
By Paul Nicholson
October 8 – The International Centre for Sport Security (ICSS) has issued a statement from its executive director Chris Eaton reacting to media reports of the impending suspension of FIFA president Sepp Blatter saying this “represents a defining moment for world football and wider sport” and calling for a “independent and neutral global oversight body” to take on the monitoring of sport governing bodies.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 8 – The dispute over the contentious Palestine-Saudi Arabia World Cup qualifier that has made headlines throughout the region has taken a decisive twist.
German media and fans are united in agreement that after just eight weekends of the Bundesliga the championship is decided. Although the club bosses won’t entertain the same opinion, the frenetic 5: 1 victory over supposed challengers Borussia Dortmund has eliminated any lingering doubts concerning the dominance of Bayern.
By Samindra Kunti
October 8 – As Arsenal blitzed their way past longtime arch rivals Manchester United with a superb brace from the inimitable Alexis Sanchez and a strike from Mesut Ozil inside the first 19 minutes last Sunday at the Emirates stadium, Louis Van Gaal was left stunned on the touchline.
By Andrew Warshaw
September 8 – A ruling on the immediate futures of both Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini is expected to be made at around lunchtime Thursday following unconfirmed reports that a provisional 90-day suspension has been recommended for the respective presidents of both FIFA and UEFA.
By Samindra Kunti
September 8 – AC Milan’s director of academy performance Domenico Gualtieri has indicated that the holistic training approach at the club in the past may have been a mistake, but has stressed that such approaches are flexible of conception.
By Paul Nicholson
October 7 – Reports have surfaced that FIFA president Sepp Blatter and UEFA president Michel Platini have had requests for 90-day suspensions from all football activities. The requests have been made by FIFA Ethic’s investigatory body and will now be heard by FIFA’s adjudicatory body.
By Paul Nicholson
October 7 – FIFA presidential candidate Chung Mong-joon continued today where he left off yesterday with another assault on FIFA president Sepp Blatter and the corruption within the organisation, saying that he intends to sue Blatter in Zurich for as much as $100 million, money he would return to FIFA if he wins the case.
By Mark Baber
Ocotber 7 – Speaking to the Italian parliament, FIGC President Carlo Tavecchio argued it would be better for clubs to fix up their existing stadiums rather than build new ones, whilst declaring TV revenue was not a reliable source of income and football’s main problem was employees getting rich at the expense of entrepreneurs.
By Jaroslaw Adamowski
October 7 – Bundlesliga club SV Darmstadt 98 is planning a €33 million modernisation of its stadium with the renovation targeted to be completedby the end of 2018.
By Ben Nicholson
October 7 – An economic impact study analysing the impact of Sacramento Republic FC’s proposed MLS stadium has been released, cataloging an enticing list of fiscal benefits.
By Samindra Kunti
October 7 – Dutch football legend Johan Cruyff has warned against too much complacency among players in the modern game at the Aspire Academy Global Summit on Football Performance and Science in Berlin.
October 7 – It has been a busy week for Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho and the latest analysis by the CIES Football Observatory will not have helped his mood.
October 7 – With FIFA president Sepp Blatter currently not speaking to the press, what he is thinking is really anyone’s guess, and plenty are guessing. What we do know is that he is still running FIFA and that he is adamant that despite accusations and investigations he intends to carry on until the election of the new FIFA president in February next year.