Yet another battle has broken out between UEFA and FIFA and this time FIFA is backed by IOC, spearheaded by Jacques Rogge. IOC and FIFA are unhappy that EU wants to get involved in the affairs of elite sport. UEFA on the other hand calls for stronger co-operation with the EU.

Greek Deputy Sports Minister George Orfanos felt the heat this summer when FIFA excluded Greek football teams from international competitions. FIFA was unhappy with proposals for a new law which would open the Hellenic Football Federation to public scrutiny. In the end, football was exempted from the law leaving Orfanos to ask whether FIFA is above national lawmakers.

Sport will be high on the agenda of the European Commission for the next year. EU Commissioner Jan Figel has decided to produce a ”White Paper on the Role of Sport in Europe” in 2007 and a lengthy consultation process with sports actors in Europe began at a conference in Bruxelles last week.

In the months counting down to the World Cup in football, Iran’s sporting community has been facing much stress as international politicians try to prevent the Iranian team from entering the tournament and the Iranian president from attending the World Cup.

Television stations should turn off sounds or colour when a racist incident occurs on the stadium during a football match. This was one of the more colourful suggestions made by a member of the European Parliament, Claude Moraes, at a press conference in Strasbourg this week.

The independent review of European football being carried out by former Portuguese sports minister José Luis Arnaut on behalf of EU looks set to increase tensions between governing body UEFA and the continent's major clubs because it will look into how fans can take over more clubs.