By Paul Nicholson
June 21 – With the provisional rosters for the 2021 Concacaf Gold Cup having been announced the biggest surprise comes from the US who have dropped their three biggest stars for the tournament – Christian Pulisic (Chelsea), Weston McKennie (Juventus) and Gio Reyna (Borussia Dortmund).
By Andrew Warshaw
June 21 – Budapest may have arguably the best Euro 2020 atmosphere as the only stadium full to capacity but the choice of the city as one of the hosts has been blighted by a UEFA investigation into “potential discriminatory incidents” that are understood to refer to racist chanting and homophobic propaganda.
June 21 – Qatar will only allow those fully vaccinated against Covid-19 to attend next year’s World Cup.
June 21 – The AFC Champions League (East) swings into action tomorrow, hard on the heels of the just completed first stages of the Asian Qualifiers for Qatar 2022 and China 2023.
June 21 – Barcelona’s socios have given their approval for a €525 million loan as the club battles with the financial fallout from the pandemic, the failed European Super League attempt, a sky-high player wage bill and infrastructure projects it can’t afford.
June 21 – Norway will not boycott the 2022 World Cup in Qatar following a vote at an extraordinary meeting of Norway’s Football Federation (NFF) that dismissed the move with a strong majority, despite strong pressure from the grassroots levels over alleged human rights abuses of migrant workers in the Gulf state.
June 21 – They arrived as genuine dark horses to go deep into the tournament yet depart after three humbling defeats, one goal scored and without a single point.
June 21 – With four Thai clubs entering Asian Champions League action for the first time this week, the AFC has moved fast to secure True as their new media partner in Thailand for all AFC club competitions in the 2021 season.
June 20 – World federation FIFA have sanctioned the Mexico football federation (FMF) for the ‘puta’ homophobic chants from supporters during Olympic qualifying matches for the men’s team. As a punishment, Mexicans fans will be banned from El Tri’s first two World Cup qualifiers.
June 20 – On a steamy afternoon near the Gulf of Finland, Aleksander Isak emerged as the new heir to Zlatan Ibrahimovic as Sweden and Russia lived up to their reputations of playing stifling football in a match of diabolical quality.
June 20 – Belgian A-listers Kevin De Bruyne, Eden Hazard and Axel Witsel will all start against Finland, Belgian coach Roberto Martinez confirmed in a match that his Finnish counterpart Markku Kanerva dubbed “the game of our lives”.
By Paul Nicholson
June 18 – Rumours that UEFA could switch the Euro 2020 final from London to another venue outside the UK have gathered pace with discussion ongoing about provision of a special covid protocol that would allow fans of teams in for the final without having to undergo normal quarantine procedures.
By Andrew Warshaw
June 18 – Teams at Euro 2020 have been warned about their contractual obligation to sponsors after both Cristiano Ronaldo and Paul Pogba removed official drinks bottles at press conferences.
By Samindra Kunti in St Petersburg
June 18 – Russia’s Euro 2020 host city has tightened restrictions to curb a third wave of Covid-19 as the Slovakia team reported two positive tests on the eve of their Group E game with Sweden.
June 18 – After 18 years at the head of Congolese football, Constant Omari, for years one of African football’s most influential as well as controversial figures, is calling it a day after a career marked by claims of shady dealing and corruption.