Last updated at 11:53 PM on 31st December 2011
As the year draws to a close, Sportsmail takes a look back at 2011 to remind you what happened over the last action-packed 12 months.
Liverpool's Luis Suarez was banned for eight games for racially abusing Patrice Evra while John Terry will face court after his altercation with Anton Ferdinand.
Catch up on what you missed with our superb guide.
DECEMBER
1st The Crown Prosecution Service confirmed Scotland Yard had passed a file on John Terry's alleged racial slur towards Anton Ferdinand to prosecutors.
Liverpool midfielder Lucas Leiva was ruled out for the remainder of the season by a knee ligament injury.
Stoke qualified for the last 32 of the Europa League after a 1-1 draw against Dynamo Kiev in their Group E match at the Britannia Stadium, while Fulham were beaten 1-0 by a late FC Twente goal in Holland.
2nd England were drawn against France, Sweden and co-hosts Ukraine in Group D of next summer's European Championships. The Republic of Ireland were placed in Group C alongside reigning champions Spain, Italy and Croatia.
Euro: Fabio Capello's England were drawn to face France, Ukraine and Sweden
Newcastle postponed their planned tribute to their former midfielder Gary Speed until December 17 at the request of his widow Louise.
England Martin Murray drew with WBA super middleweight champion Felix Sturm as the German retained his title in Mannheim.
3rd England hooker Steve Thompson announced his retirement with immediate effect after falling foul of another neck injury.
Martin O`Neill signed a three-year deal to become Sunderland`s new manager.
Record tryscorer Shane Williams scored a try with the final touch of the game - his final international match - as Wales were beaten by 24-18 Australia in Cardiff.
4th
Newcastle manager Alan Pardew revealed defender Steven Taylor would be out for the season with an Achilles injury which required surgery.
Manchester City and rivals United were drawn to meet in the third round of the FA Cup.
Brazil legend Socrates died aged 57 after suffering severe septicaemia.
5th Fulham beat 10-man Liverpool 1-0 in the Barclays Premier League, with Clint Dempsey scoring the late goal after Jay Spearing had been sent off.
Northampton's England wing Chris Ashton was cited by the Rugby Football Union for an act contrary to good sportsmanship after dragging Leicester's Alesana Tuilagi out of play by his hair during December 3's Aviva Premiership clash, sparking a brawl which saw Tuilagi and Northampton's Tom Wood sent off.
Barcelona duo Lionel Messi and Xavi and Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo were shortlisted for the FIFA Ballon d'Or award.
6th Didier Drogba scored twice as Chelsea beat Valencia 3-0 at Stamford Bridge in their final Champions League Group E match to qualify for the last 16.
Northampton wing Chris Ashton received a four-week ban from the Rugby Football Union after being found guilty of dragging Leicester's Alesana Tuilagi off the pitch by his hair.
Mark Allen was referred to the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association's disciplinary committee for comments he made about World Snooker chairman Barry Hearn.
7th Manchester United and Manchester City both crashed out of the Champions League in the final round of group matches. United were shocked 2-1 by unfancied Basle, while City's 2-0 win over Bayern Munich was not enough for them after Napoli's win over Villarreal.
Liverpool striker Luis Suarez was charged with improper conduct following the Barclays Premier League match against Fulham, the Football Association confirmed.
Mark Allen attended a World Snooker press conference with tape over his mouth, having been reprimanded for swearing in a rant against chairman Barry Hearn.
8th UEFA reduced Wayne Rooney's three-match ban to two matches at Euro 2012 following an appeal attended by the Manchester United striker.
Result: England striker Wayne Rooney's ban was reduced to two matches
India batsman Virender Sehwag broke Sachin Tendulkar's record one-day international innings with a score of 219 against the West Indies in Indore.
Stuart Lancaster was named as England's interim rugby union coach until the end of the RBS 6 Nations, with Graham Rowntree and Andy Farrell as his assistants.
9th Manchester United defender Nemanja Vidic was ruled out for the remainder of the season with a knee injury.
Racing great Denman was retired after suffering a setback in his preparation for the Lexus Chase at Cheltenham.
England recalled spinner Monty Panesar to their squad for their tour of the United Arab Emirates to face Pakistan.
10th Barcelona took the spoils in the first Clasico of the season, beating Real Madrid 3-1, recovering from conceding the opening goal after 23 seconds.
Manchester United returned to winning ways, beating Wolves 4-1 in the Premier League, while Robin van Persie scored a stunning volley as Arsenal beat Everton 1-0 to celebrate the club's 125th anniversary.
Amir Khan lost his IBF and WBA light-welterweight titles to Lamont Peterson by split decision in Washington.
11th Luke Donald became the first player to top the money list on both sides of the Atlantic in the same season after winning the European Tour's 'Race to Dubai' when Rory McIlroy failed to achieve the win he needed in the Dubai World Championship.
Sebastian Larsson ensured Martin O'Neill's reign as Sunderland boss started with a victory as the Black Cats came from behind to see off Blackburn, while Stoke ended Tottenham's six-game winning run in the Barclays Premier League with a 2-1 triumph at the Britannia Stadium.
Judd Trump beat Mark Allen 10-8 in the final of the williamhill.com UK Championship in York.
12th England's World Cup-winning fly-half Jonny Wilkinson announced his retirement from international rugby.
Bowing out: Jonny Wilkinson retired from international rugby
Manchester City lost their first Premier League match of the season, going down 2-1 at Chelsea after Gael Clichy was sent off.
Bernard Lapasset was been re-elected as International Rugby Board chairman, defeating England's Bill Beaumont by 14 votes to 12 at an IRB meeting in Los Angeles. Beaumont subsequently lost a vote to remain as vice-chairman.
13th Manchester United announced midfielder Darren Fletcher was to take 'an extended break from football' owing to a chronic inflammatory bowel condition.
Celtic confirmed they would appeal against the 12,700 fine imposed by UEFA for 'illicit chanting' by their fans during the Europa League match against Rennes in November.
The British Olympic Association confirmed they had filed a formal appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport challenging the decision to declare their lifetime ban for drug cheats non-compliant with WADA's world anti-doping code.
14th Fulham were eliminated from the Europa League after conceding an injury time equaliser to draw 2-2 in their Group K match against Odense at Craven Cottage. Stoke, who had already qualified, lost 3-1 at Besiktas.
The Rugby Football Union confirmed the appointment of Ian Ritchie as their new chief executive.
Jockeys Greg Fairley and Paul Doe were handed bans of 12 years following a British Horseracing Authority hearing into alleged corruption.
Kirsty Milczarek was banned for two years and Jimmy Quinn was given a six-month ban.
15th The Ministry of Defence announced up to 13,500 military personnel would be detailed to help provide security during the Olympics.
Tottenham were knocked out of the Europa League despite beating Shamrock Rovers 4-0 in their Group A match in Dublin. Birmingham also crashed out despite a 1-0 win over Maribor, while Celtic made it a trio of British exits following a 1-1 draw at Udinese.
United States international Landon Donovan agreed to join Everton on a two-month loan from MLS side Los Angeles Galaxy, the Barclays Premier League club confirmed.
16th Arsenal were drawn with AC Milan and Chelsea with Napoli in the last 16 of the Champions League. Manchester United drew Ajax, Manchester City were paired with Porto and Stoke with Valencia in the last 32 of the Europa League.
The FA announced players who appear at Euro 2012 will not be in contention for Team GB at the Olympics.
UEFA confirmed they would not be charging Harry Redknapp after his gesture towards the Shamrock Rovers fans during Tottenham's Europa League victory.
17th Jordi Gomez scored a late equaliser as Wigan earned a shock 1-1 draw with Chelsea in the Barclays Premier League.
Blackburn and Bolton's woes were deepened as they suffered defeats to West Brom and Fulham respectively.
Peter Crouch earned Stoke a fourth win in succession, 2-1 at Wolves, Leon Osman earned Everton a point against Norwich and Newcastle and Swansea drew 0-0.
18th Manchester City maintained their lead at the Barclays Premier League summit with a 1-0 victory over Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium, David Silva scoring the winning goal. The win kept Roberto Mancini's men two points clear of city rivals Manchester United, who were 2-0 winners over QPR.
In the dock: Luis Suarez (left) was banned for eight games
Celtic closed the gap behind Rangers at the top of the Clydesdale Bank Premier League to four points thanks to a 2-0 win over St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park.
Raymond van Barneveld was beaten in straight sets by James Richardson in the first round of the PDC World Championship.
19th Blackburn defender Scott Dann was ruled out for six weeks with a groin injury.
UEFA charged Celtic with 'the displaying of an offensive banner and setting off of fireworks by fans' at their Europa League game with Udinese in Italy the previous week.
The Scottish Premier League announced they would consider applications to pilot safe-standing areas.
20th Liverpool`s Luis Suarez was banned for eight matches and fined 40,000 by the Football Association for racially abusing Patrice Evra.
Steve Kean came under even more pressure from the Blackburn fans after his side lost to Bolton in the battle at the bottom of the table.
Asmir Begovic signed a new four-and-a-half-year deal with Stoke.
21st The Crown Prosecution Service confirmed England and Chelsea captain John Terry would be charged with racially abusing Queens Park Rangers player Anton Ferdinand.
Chris Paterson announced his retirement from international rugby following a distinguished 12-year career with Scotland.
Liverpool's players offered their support to Luis Suarez, issuing a joint statement ahead of, and then wearing T-shirts with the image of a celebrating Suarez on the front and the player's name and number seven on the back before, the game against Wigan.
22nd Cyclist Mark Cavendish was named as the BBC Sports Personality of the Year. Golfer Darren Clarke came second, with athlete Mo Farah in third place.
Tottenham and Chelsea drew 1-1 at White Hart Lane in the final Barclays Premier League clash before Christmas. Emmanuel Adebayor's opener was cancelled out by Daniel Sturridge.
Gong: Mark Cavendish won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award
Arsenal confirmed their game against Wolves, scheduled for Boxing Day, had been put back to December 27 due to proposed industrial action on London Underground.
23rd Arsenal defender Kieran Gibbs was ruled out for a month after undergoing surgery on his left groin.
Atletico Madrid appointed Diego Simeone as coach on an 18-month contract.
Bolton confirmed they had begun talks with Chelsea about the possible sale of Gary Cahill.
24th West Brom's Steven Reid was ruled out for a month following a knee operation.
Rangers had two players sent off as they lost 2-1 at St Mirren in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League.
A Georgios Samaras double earned Celtic a 2-1 win over Kilmarnock which took them to within a point of league leaders Rangers.
25th Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini ruled out a January move for Italy midfielder Daniele de Rossi.
Steve Southern was appointed as the Wakefield Wildcats' new captain.
The delayed NBA season finally got under way got under way after the summer-long labour dispute.
26th Dimitar Berbatov netted a hat-trick as Manchester United joined cross-town rivals City at the top of the Premier League table by thrashing Wigan 5-0. City drew 0-0 at West Brom.
Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas admitted his team's title challenge was almost over before the new year after they were held to a 1-1 home draw by Fulham.
New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees broke the NFL record for yards passing in a season, beating Dan Marino's 27-year record of 5,084 yards.
27th Gareth Bale scored twice as third-placed Tottenham moved seven points behind leaders Manchester City with a 2-0 win at Norwich.
Harlequins set a new world record for a regular-season club fixture after attracting an official attendance of 82,000 to Twickenham for their 19-11 Aviva Premiership defeat to Saracens.
Thirteen-time winner Phil Taylor suffered a shock 4-1 defeat to Dave Chisnall to crash out of the World Championship in just the second round.
Shock: Dave Chisnall caused a massive upset and knocked out Phil Taylor
28th Former Shamrock Rovers boss Michael O'Neill was appointed as the new manager of Northern Ireland on a two-year contract starting in February, the Irish Football Association confirmed.
Liverpool striker Luis Suarez, already facing an eight-game ban for racially abusing Patrice Evra was suspended for one match and fined 20,000 after making inappropriate gestures to Fulham fans.
Synchronised, trained by Jonjo O'Neill and ridden by Tony McCoy, won the Lexus Chase at Leopardstown.
29th Former Hull player Martin Gleeson, former Hull chief executive James Rule and former Hull conditioning coach Ben Cooper were banned for doping offences, UK Anti-Doping confirmed.
Wigan striker Conor Sammon's red card against Manchester United was rescinded by the Football Association.
Wolves Nenad Milijas` red card against Arsenal would stand, the FA also confirmed.
30th Arsene Wenger confirmed Thierry Henry would return to Arsenal on a two-month loan from the New York Red Bulls, providing insurance agreements could be arranged.
Bolton announced the club had agreed a fee with Chelsea for defender Gary Cahill.
Swansea announced they had signed Cliftonville striker Rory Donnelly for an undisclosed fee.
31st Blackburn claimed a shock 3-2 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford meaning Manchester City went into 2012 on top of the league. Tottenham drew 1-1 at Swansea, Chelsea lost 3-1 at home to Aston Villa.
Arsenal beat QPR 1-0 thanks to a Robin van Persie goal as he fell one short of matching Alan Shearer's record for the most number of goals scored in a calendar year, finishing with 35.
The FA released the full written reasons of the independent regulatory commission investigating the Luis Suarez racism charge which said the Liverpool player's evidence was 'unreliable' and 'inconsistent'. It also revealed he had racially abused Patrice Evra seven times in a two-minute period during the game with Manchester United in October.
World No 4 Andy Murray appointed former world number one Ivan Lendl as his full-time coach.
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