With Real Madrid facing Juventus and Manchester City taking on Liverpool, there is hardly a weak link in the last eight in a way the old competition rarely achievedFew are likely to complain about Uefa abandoning the principle of players moving between Champions League clubs in January being cup‑tied for the rest of the season – the transfer window itself already does quite a good job of keeping the leading contenders honest – though it was interesting to read in the small print the justification for the change.In reality, it probably had something to do with Philippe Coutinho having to sit out the rest of Barcelona’s Champions League programme because some months ago he had appeared in earlier rounds for...
A feline invader merits a Uefa inquiry, while Danny Welbeck showcased with impunity the English talent for deception also displayed by Sterling, Vardy and of course Dele AlliPresumably, everyone is up to speed by now about the reassuring news from Uefa, permanently trying to find different ways of curing football’s ills, that it has launched disciplinary action against Besiktas because of the pitch invader that briefly interrupted the club’s Champions League tie against Bayern Munich.Even by Uefa’s standards, it’s a belter of a story given that it was actually a ginger cat who had wandered in off the streets to investigate what all these silly humans were up to. Unfortunately for Besiktas, nobody at Uefa appears to be aware that...
Uefa’s president wants to improve competitive balance but the top clubs’ financial dominance equates to power too, and it is unlikely his mooted measures will make a significant differenceFor football people raised on the foundational European Cup feats of Manchester United’s home-schooled Busby Babes and Celtic’s 1967 triumph with a team of local lads, the modern Champions League is a mixed blessing. Over the last 23 years the tournament has constructed a glittering stage for Lionel Messi and the world’s greatest players but European football’s concentration of wealth is delivering the final rounds and trophy itself to the same few richest clubs. Related: Chelsea given painful reminder of declining European status by Barcelona | Dominic Fifield The measures Ceferin has...
As Liverpool and Manchester United wrangle with Champions League opponents over ticket prices, a campaign by Bayern Munich fans may be about to bear fruitShortly after 6pm CET on Tuesday Anderlecht were charged with infringing Article 19 (3) of Uefa’s safety and security regulations. Not the sexiest intro, admittedly, but the charge against the Belgian champions offers hope for fans being fleeced at European away games year after year. Anger, however, remains the prevailing mood over a ticketing system open to abuse.Uefa opened proceedings against Anderlecht after the club charged Bayern Munich supporters €100 to attend a Champions League group game in November. Many Bayern fans boycotted despite tickets eventually being reduced to €70 thanks to subsidies from their own club. As...
By taking a stand over racial abuse he has received, Liverpool’s 17-year-old striker shames those who run the game but offers hope for the next generationIt isn’t easy knowing whether the people occupying football’s ivory towers have actually noted what Rhian Brewster has had to say in the past few days. Unless I have missed it, the executives at Uefa and Fifa have not uttered a word in response and, frankly, that is no surprise whatsoever. Anyone calling Uefa since 22 December would get a cheery answerphone message saying its offices are closed and the lights are out until 4 January. Fifa, meanwhile, is on its own extended Christmas break. “Hope you are not in a hurry,” one of its...