Following the security problems during Italy’s abandoned international fixture against Serbia, Vanda Wilcox discusses how crowd safety and hooliganism is still a problem for the Italians

Before anyone in Italy knew his name or had even seen his face, Ivan Bogdanov had made himself instantly recognisable. Continuous TV footage and acres of newsprint were immediately dedicated to Bogdanov and his fellow hooligans, responsible for the violent disruption of Italy’s European Championship qualifier against Serbia in Genoa on October 12.

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With the country preparing to host Euro 2012, Maciej Slominski is concerned that Poland’s national team may not have much to offer at the tournament

After the Polish public stopped believing scare stories about the relocation of Euro 2012 to Germany, Italy or France because of a lack of progress in our infrastructure, a blow came from an unexpected angle. All of a sudden we realised we don’t have a team that will be able to compete in the Euros.

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Dermot Corrigan lifts the lid on the civil action launched against former Barcelona owner Joan Laporta over the money he lost while at the club

Forcing unduly spendthrift owners or executives to repay club money they’ve squandered sounds like a dream for fans of many teams. But that’s what might be about to happen at Barcelona. At a general assembly of club members on October 16, new Barça president Sandro Rosell outlined the immensity of the debt his predecessor Joan Laporta had left behind, and proposed Laporta be held responsible. Rosell abstained in the ensuing vote, but was unlikely to have been disappointed when the motion was passed. A civil action has been launched which could force Laporta to personally pay the club €48.7 million (£42.3m).

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Howard Pattison goes in search of football heritage and asks why more blue plaques aren’t awarded to players

In 1999 the writer Hunter Davies asked: “Why are there no blue plaques for footballers?” Over a decade on, they are still so rare that you begin to wonder if those who administer our heritage simply don’t see football as being part of it. Surely Bobby Moore is worthy of a blue plaque?

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Simon Hart looks back at the 1980s experiment that was the Screensport Super Cup

Football loves its anniversaries but not even the most nostalgic-minded supporters are likely to dwell for too long on the Screensport Super Cup, the ill-conceived substitute for European football that began its short life 25 years ago this autumn.

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