Canada 2-0 El Salvador
June 24 – Fresh from emerging from a Concacaf-imposed timeout, Canadian head coach Jesse Marsch returned to the technical area at Shell Energy Stadium in Houston, knowing any more misbehaviour would send him back to the naughty room. He needn’t have worried as their opponents El Salvador simply imploded in a red mist.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 18 – The FIFA bribery scandal that sent shock waves through world football and led to the departures of two of the sport’s most influential powerbrokers reached another milestone today when six more Caribbean officials were banned.
By David Gold
November 18 – Manchester City have recorded a gargantuan loss of £197 million ($311 million/€230) for 2010-2011, placing in doubt the club’s ability to comply with UEFA’s new financial fair play rules.
By David Gold
November 18 – FC Sion’s battle with FIFA and UEFA suffered a major blow today when a state court in Switzerland ruled in favour of world football’s governing body over six players they had alleged the club had signed in contravention of a transfer ban.
By David Gold
November 18 – Clydesdale Bank has elected to end its sponsorship of the Scottish Premier League (SPL) when its current deal expires at the end of the 2012-2013 season.
By David Gold
November 18 – Copa Libertadores winners Santos may have to overcome Mexican outfit Monterrey in December’s FIFA World Club Cup semi-final if they are to set up a potentially mouth watering final with European champions Barcelona, following the draw in Nagoya.
By Duncan Mackay
November 18 – A second man has been arrested in connection with claims Tottenham Hotspur spied on officials from the Olympic Park Legacy Company (OPLC) during their campaign to be awarded the Olympic Stadium after London 2012.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 18 – FIFA President Sepp Blatter, as expected, apologised today for his widely-reported comments regarding racism in football following a wave of protest including demands for him to resign.
By David Gold
November 18 – A Nigerian journalist has been arrested and is now facing a libel case after alleging corruption within the country’s Football Federation.
By David Gold
November 18 – CONCACAF has signed agreements with Telemundo and Universal Sports Network to show both the continent’s women’s and men’s 2012 Olympic football qualifying tournaments.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 17 – Qatar must not exploit workers rights as it sets about a major construction programme for the 2022 World Cup, the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) charged today.
By David Gold
November 17 – Thomson Sport will be the Euro 2012 Licensed Tour Operator, giving them the rights to the tour operating programme across the 14 countries that successfully went through the qualification process for the tournament.
Britain and Europe have never been easy bedfellows and the turmoil of the eurozone may lead to a further, even permanent, alienation. Yet, ironically, in sport Britain is not on the periphery of Europe, but leading the way.
Nothing illustrates this better than the vote on Tuesday (November 15) in the European Parliament about match fixing. This, as UEFA President Michel Platini keeps repeating, is, “the biggest threat facing the future of sport in Europe”.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 17 – British Sport and Olympics Minister Hugh Robertson led a string of scathing responses today to Sepp Blatter’s widely publicised racism comments, while the head of England’s players union called on the FIFA President to resign.
By David Gold
November 17 – FIFPro has attacked the Russian Football Union (RFU) for their decision to ban FC Krasnodar striker Spartak Gogniyev (pictured) after he was sent-off during a game against Terek Grozny earlier this month, before being assaulted as he left the pitch.
By David Gold
November 17 – On his return from a trip to Brazil to see how preparations are going for the 2014 World Cup, the FIFA general secretary, Jerome Valcke, has said that he is “finally confident” that Brazil will pass a World Cup law that has been the subject of political wrangling.