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Acres Inn »
Armadale Road, Dukinfield, Cheshire
Adult Male
Afc Scholes »
Adult Male
Afc Stockport »
Heaton Norris, Stockport, Cheshire
Adult Male
Afc Wigan »
Park Road, Hindley, Wigan
Adult Male
Angel Inn »
Victoria Street, Dukinfield, Manchester
Adult Male
Ashbridge Utd (Tameside) »
Adult Male
Ashton United »
Hurst Cross, Ashton-Under-Lyne, Greater Manchester
Adult Male
Ashton Villa (Wigan) »
Warrington Road, Ashton In Makerfield, Wigan
Adult Male
Bacup Borough »
Cowtoot Lane, Blackthorn, Bacup
Adult Male
Barclays »
Adult Male
Bedians »
Adult Male
Boundary Park »
Broadway, Chadderon, Oldham
Adult Male
Brushes Rangers Club »
Armadale Road, Dukinfield, Greater Manchester
Adult Male
Bulls Head Athletic »
Birch Lane, Dukinfield, Greater Manchester
Adult Male
Buxton College (Mens) »
Trenchard Drive, Harpur Hill, Buxton
Adult Male
Buxton Town »
Victoria Park Road, Fairfield, Buxton
Adult Male
Cardinal Villa »
Agecroft Road, Bury, Lancasahire
Adult Male
Castleton »
Adult Male
Chapel Town »
Willow Drive, Chapel-En-Le-Frith, Derbyshire
Adult Male
Cheadle Hulme Villa Fc »
Bradshaw Hall Lane, Cheadle Hulme, Stockport
Adult Male
Christ Church Pennington »
Wigan Road, Leigh, Lancashire
Adult Male
Duke Of Wellington (Rochdale) »
West Starkey Street, Heywood, Greater Manchester
Adult Male
Edgeley Villa (Folded) »
Adult Male
Fallowfield »
Adult Male
Fc Red Thunder »
Holly Road, Wilmslow, Cheshire
Adult Male
Fc Wrights »
London Road, Hazel Grove, Stockport
Adult Male
Fingerpost Flyers »
Webb Lane (Off Hall Street), Offerton, Stockport
Adult Male
Fir Tree Fc »
Harrogate Road, North Reddish, Stockport
Adult Male
Foundry »
Adult Male
Furness Vale »
Long Lane, Chapel-En-Le-Frith, High Peak
Adult Male
Gatley Afc »
Beech Avenue, Gatley, Stockport
Adult Male
Gidlow Athletic »
Scott Lane, Newtown, Wigan
Adult Male
Gmp P Division »
Adult Male
Gmp Tameside »
Richmond St Playing Fields, Richmond Street, Ashton-Under-Lyne
Adult Male
Great Moor Travellers Fc »
London Road, Hazel Grove, Stockport
Adult Male
Harpur Hill (Sat) »
Buxton, Debryshire
Adult Male
Harvester Afc »
Offerton, Stockport, Cheshire
Adult Male
Hazel Grove Baptist »
London Road, Hazel Grove, Stockport
Adult Male
Heaton Plough »
Adult Male
High Crompton Con Club »
Annersley Ave, Shaw, Oldham
Adult Male
Highfield United »
Blackshaw Lane, Oldham
Adult Male
Hillgate Spartans »
Webb Lane (Off Hall Street), Offerton, Stockport
Adult Male
Hollywood (Tameside) »
Mount Road, Gorton, Manchester
Adult Male
Hunters Tavern »
Birch Lane, Dukinfield, Greater Manchester
Adult Male
Hursts »
Willenhall Road, Northern Moor, Wythenshawe
Adult Male
Ince Central »
Adult Male
Jacks House »
Walsden, Todmorden, Lancashire
Adult Male
Khartoum Northern »
Broadway, Chadderon, Oldham
Adult Male
Kinder Lodge »
Adult Male
Kippax Boys »
Armadale Road, Dukinfield, Greater Manchester
Adult Male
Lark »
Adult Male
Leigh Genesis »
Sale Way, Leigh, Lancashire
Adult Male
Leigh Legion »
Adult Male
Limeside Athletic »
Hollins Rd, Oldham, Greater Manchester
Adult Male
Lower House »
Mabek Road, Failsworth, Manchester
Adult Male
Lowton Rams »
Adult Male
Macclesfield Team Parish »
Windmill Street, Macclesfield, Cheshire
Adult Male
March Hare »
Richmond Street, Ashton-Under-Lyne, Greater Manchester
Adult Male
Marus Bridge (South Lancs) »
Scott Lane, Newtown, Wigan
Adult Male
Millbrow »
Hill Top Drive, Marple, Stockport
Adult Male
Moston Labour Club »
Broadway, Chadderon, Oldham
Adult Male
Navigation »
Melland Road, Gorton, Manchester
Adult Male
New Inn Town »
Off Hogshaw Villas Road, Buxton, Derbyshire
Adult Male
Newbridge Inn Mossley »
Egmont Street, Mossley, Greater Manchester
Adult Male
North Reddish Wmc »
Longford Road West, North Reddish, Stockport
Adult Male
North West Fire »
Barlow Road, Wilmslow, Cheshire
Adult Male
Oddies Athletic »
Broadway, Chadderton, Oldham
Adult Male
Offerton Nomads »
Woodlands Drive, Offerton, Stockport
Adult Male
Old Ashtonians »
Darnton Road, Aston-Under-Lyne, Lancashire
Adult Male
Oldham Athletic Community Trust »
Adult Male
Oldham Boro »
Whitebank Road, Limeside, Oldham
Adult Male
Oldham College »
Adult Male
Oldham United »
Egerton Street, Oldham, Greater Manchester
Adult Male
Olympic Athletic »
Adult Male
Ox-Fford »
Adult Male
Peover »
Adult Male
Polo »
Adult Male
Pricewaterhousecoopers »
Adult Male
Reddish (Tameside) »
Greg Street, South Reddish, Stockport
Adult Male
Reddish Wmc Pirates »
Whitehill Street West, Stockport
Adult Male
Royal Exchange »
Townhouse Road, Littleborough, Greater Manchester
Adult Male
Royal Oak (Failsworth) »
Broadway, Chadderton, Oldham
Adult Male
Saints »
Adult Male
Shaw Rovers »
Kings Road, Glodwich, Oldham
Adult Male
Skem Men-Aces »
Adult Male
South Park United »
Webb Lane (Off Hempshaw Lane), Offerton, Stockport
Adult Male
Sporting Kerridge »
Clark Lane, Bollington, Macclesfield
Adult Male
Staly Lions »
Birch Lane, Dukinfield, Greater Manchester
Adult Male
Stamford Park »
Darnton Road, Stalybridge, Manchester
Adult Male
Stockport District Fa »
Adult Male
Stockport Gentlemen's Club »
Willenhall Road, Northern Moor, Wythenshawe
Adult Male
Sudden »
Matthew Moss Lane, Marland, Rochdale
Adult Male
Tameside Villa »
Adult Male
Tontine »
Pottinger Street, Ashton-Under-Lyne, Greater Manchester
Adult Male
Upholland Lions »
Chequer Lane, Up Holland, Lancashire
Adult Male
Uppermill Ladies »
Delph New Road, Dobcross, Oldham
Adult Male
Vibes »
Hollins Rd, Oldham, Greater Manchester
Adult Male
Wellington (Littlemoor) »
Kings Road, Oldham, Greater Manchester
Adult Male
Werneth Blues »
Adult Male
Westwood »
Broadway, Chadderon, Oldham
Adult Male
White Horse Rangers »
Birch Lane, Dukinfield, Greater Manchester
Adult Male
Wigan & Leigh College »
Sale Way, Leigh, Lancashire
Adult Male
Woodhouse Athletic »
Wigan, , Greater Manchester
Adult Male
Woodman (Aul) »
Adult Male
Worsley Mesnes »
Scot Lane, Wigan, Greater Manchester
Adult Male

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Football News

» Gary Neville makes honest Liverpool and Arne Slot admission – 'It stopped me in my tracks'
Gary Neville has been left unconvinced over a recent percentage poll regarding Liverpool's chances of winning the Premier League title over Manchester City and Arsenal
» Jamie Carragher urges Liverpool to complete January transfer to win Premier League title
Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher believes his former club need to capitalise on their strong start to the season under new boss Arne Slot by signing Martin Zubimendi in January
» Gary Lineker's Match of the Day replacement 'decided' with one clear favourite
With Gary Lineker set to leave Match Of The Day after 25 years, the debate has begun over who should step into his shoes - and the results have revealed one clear winner
» Arsenal sporting director target responds to offer and drops hint on decision
Arsenal are stepping up their search for a new sporting director after Edu's surprise departure, with the Gunners already drawing up a list of possible replacements for the Brazilian
» Ruben Amorim brutally told to forget even thinking about signing Man Utd target
Manchester United's new manager Ruben Amorim has plenty of work to do in order to put his stamp on a struggling squad - but has been warned a move for Alphonso Davies isn't worth his time
» England expected XI for Greece clash as Lee Carsley makes bold Harry Kane call
England take on Greece in the Nations League as Lee Carsley enters his final matches in charge of the Three Lions while having to deal with a number of withdrawls from his squad
» 'I'm constantly being linked to Arsenal - this is how I really feel about transfer rumour'
Mikel Arteta's Arsenal may need to dip into the January transfer market to revive their Premier League title ambitions - and one frequent target has had his say on the speculation
» Andres Iniesta buys football club in first move after retiring - but it's a left-field choice
Andres Iniesta retired last month after a trophy-laden 22-year career in which he won nine La Liga titles, four Champions Leagues and the World Cup, with the Spaniard now moving into ownership
» Paul Merson defends Arsenal duo after criticism from England captain Harry Kane
Harry Kane has criticised the amount of withdrawals from England duty but Paul Merson has defended the players that have pulled out, including Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice
» David Coote's salary, allegations against referee and punishment he's set to face
With David Coote being investigated by the PGMOL, FA and UEFA following two compromising videos, he's at risk of losing a significant pay packet depending on their verdicts
» Wayne Rooney is latest Man Utd legend to be snubbed in Sir Jim Ratcliffe's cost-cutting
Sir Alex Ferguson was recently told by Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe that he wouldn't be having his £2million-a-year ambassadorial contract extended beyond the current season
» Real Madrid's private Trent Alexander-Arnold thoughts say it all about Liverpool swoop
Trent Alexander-Arnold's future is yet to be resolved despite his Liverpool contract nearing its final six months and interest from Real Madrid in securing the Anfield star's signature
» 'I'm an Arsenal icon and refuse to go on Gary Neville's podcast - it's too Man Utd heavy'
One former Arsenal defender was notorious for clashing with Gary Neville’s Manchester United on the pitch, and that rivalry seems to have followed him into retirement
» Liverpool enter 48-day transfer countdown amid worrying silence surrounding Reds trio
Liverpool currently risk losing Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold on free transfers at the end of the season with the trio yet to come to agreements over a new deal
» David Coote's punishment sees Roy Keane and Ian Wright disagree amid 'stitch up' claim
On the latest episode of The Overlap, Roy Keane and Ian Wright came to blows while discussing the ongoing David Coote saga and what sort of punishment the official ought to face
» Birmingham City facing same issue as rivals Aston Villa as off-field problems continue
Birmingham City - under their new owners - have quickly backed up their ambitions both on and off the pitch, but local infrastructure has yet to catch up with their rapid improvement
» New investigation into David Coote as UEFA make move over 'Euro 2024 video'
UEFA have launched an investigation into David Coote after a new video of the English referee emerged on Wednesday night, having suspended him earlier in the week
» Man Utd star left his team-mates stunned when he blew them all away in speed test
Former Manchester United defensive midfielder Owen Hargreaves put all his team-mates to shame when it came to sprint tests – one star even wagering his car on the ex-England ace's speed
» The Overlap issue disclaimer as Neville, Keane, Carragher and Wright disagree on David Coote
Premier League referee David Coote has been suspended by the PGMOL and UEFA after a foul-mouth rant about former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp leaked onto social media on Monday
» 'Get a job somewhere else' – Roy Keane fumes at Alejandro Garnacho in heated rant
Former Man Utd captain Roy Keane slammed Red Devils winger Alejandro Garnacho for his lack of goal celebration following the youngster's recent frustrations towards fans criticising him
» 'I worked with David Coote and worry he's tried to be something he's not'
Premier League referee David Coote is currently suspended after videos emerged of him allegedly snorting a white powder and insulting Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool
» Ruben Amorim's five-word demand in first meeting with Man Utd players speaks volumes
Ruben Amorim has yet to undertake a training session at Manchester United but has met with players and senior staff since arriving at Old Trafford ahead of his first fixture against Ipswich
» David Beckham's Inter Miami FIFA scandal takes new twist following Lionel Messi quit claims
MLS side Inter Miami are set to participate in the FIFA Club World Cup next summer despite not winning their respective league and it has led to claims that Lionel Messi could quit
» Alexander Isak: Newcastle contract stance, Arsenal interest and star's transfer hint
Alexander Isak's contract still has more than three years to run at Newcastle, but talks over a new deal have stalled with Arsenal now circling for the Swedish striker
From

Other sport news:

» New video allegedly shows referee David Coote snorting white powder
  • Referees’ body says it is taking allegations ‘very seriously’
  • Coote was suspended over remarks about Jürgen Klopp

The Premier League’s refereeing body has said it is aware of footage allegedly showing David Coote sniffing white powder.

The video emerged after Professional Game Match Officials Ltd (PGMOL) and the Football Association launched investigations into Coote after remarks he made about Jürgen Klopp in a video that surfaced online this week.

Continue reading...
» Claudio Ranieri comes out of retirement to become Roma head coach aged 73
  • Ranieri to take role as adviser to owners at end of season
  • He becomes Roma’s fourth head coach of the year

Claudio Ranieri has come out of retirement at the age of 73 to take charge of Roma until the end of the season, the Serie A club have announced, days after sacking the Croatian Ivan Juric.

Ranieri is Roma’s third coach of the season and this is his third time coaching his home-town club, having guided the Giallorossi from 2009-11 and in 2019. He began his playing career with Roma.

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» ‘A hate machine’: St Pauli become first major football club to leave X
  • Bundesliga club move to Bluesky and urge fans to follow
  • St Pauli concerned X may influence German election

St Pauli have become the first major football club to leave X, describing the social media site as a “hate machine” and expressing concern that it may influence the outcome of the forthcoming German election.

Scrutiny of the role played by X in platforming hate speech, far-right conspiracy theories and racism has intensified since Donald Trump’s victory in last week’s US election. Trump was vociferously supported by the entrepreneur Elon Musk, who bought X – then known as Twitter – in October 2022. Musk was given part-control of a new “department of government efficiency” this week.

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» Tens of thousands back petition for girls’ bathroom facilities at youth football venues
  • Coach believes issue is central to improving inclusion
  • ‘When it comes to the girls there are often no facilities’

A football coach has sparked a grassroots movement to improve inclusivity in football: by demanding that toilets are opened for girls.

A petition calling on the Football Association to “Mandate Toilet Facilities at All Youth Football Venues” has more than 28,000 signatures on Change.org, after Natalie Booth became frustrated by the absence of facilities for her local team.

Continue reading...
» Andrés Iniesta becomes co-owner of Danish third-tier club Helsingør
  • Spain great starts first major venture since retirement
  • Club are currently seventh in 12-team division

Andrés Iniesta has become co-owner of the Danish third-tier club Helsingør in the Spain legend’s first major off-field venture since retirement.

Helsingør announced that NSN, the sports management and consulting company jointly founded by Iniesta, would take control alongside the Swiss investment group Stoneweg. They are seventh in their 12-team division, to which they were relegated last season. NSN had been working with the club on a consultancy basis to, according to the firm’s website, “consolidate its position and give the opportunity to worldwide talents to come and play in Europe”.

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» Harry Kane set to be left out by Carsley for England’s crunch match with Greece
  • Ollie Watkins to be No 9 with England captain on bench
  • Kane had hit out at absent teammates after withdrawals

Harry Kane is set to be a shock omission from Lee Carsley’s England team for Thursday’s must-win Nations League match against Greece in Athens.

The captain has travelled to the Greek capital and is not believed to have an injury, with the selection news understood to have caused surprise within a dressing room that has been undermined by a flurry of withdrawals.

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» National League Cup: a ‘sweetener’ for scrapping Cup replays or cash lifeline?

Competition pitting Premier League U21s against fifth-tier reserves fails to inspire a paltry Wealdstone crowd against Southampton

Fifth-tier Wealdstone defeated Premier League Southampton 3-1 on Tuesday night: a remarkable result at first glance but one that came with caveats.

Southampton Under-21s went to north-west London to play Matt Taylor’s heavily rotated Wealdstone in the National League Cup at Grosvenor Vale. The competition was revived last month with a 32-team, four-group format featuring 16 sides from Premier League 2, and 16 from the league’s fifth rung.

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» Australia squander chances before late reprieve in 0-0 draw with Saudi Arabia
  • Stalemate tightens World Cup qualifying group
  • Disallowed goal denies visitors barely deserved win

It was a funny game, Australia’s 0-0 World Cup qualifying draw with Saudi Arabia on Thursday evening; a contest in which neither side could be said to have played at their best but, at the same time, both will have left kicking themselves that they didn’t take the three points. For the Socceroos, it was a tale, yet again, of telling moments going begging. And for the Green Falcons, inches, if that, that denied them a dramatic 95th-minute winner.

With just seconds remaining, having not created all that much going forward across the second half, the ball sat up for Sultan Al-Ghannam on the second phase of a free kick. The 27,491 fans in the stadium held their breath and the Al-Nassr wingback seized the moment, driving a low effort beyond Joe Gacui and into the bottom corner of the net. It was a dagger, a late strike that had won the game. Pandemonium broke out on the Saudi bench and the strong contingent of their fans in the stands.

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» John Dempsey obituary

Footballer who played for the Chelsea team that won the FA Cup and the European Cup Winners’ Cup in the early 1970s

The footballer John Dempsey, who has died aged 78, was an uncompromising central defender with Chelsea when they won the FA Cup in 1970 and the European Cup Winners’ Cup in 1971. Although most accustomed to clearing out attackers and winning balls with his aerial power, Dempsey made significant attacking interventions in both those triumphs, in particular during the European Cup Winners’ Cup final replay in Athens against Real Madrid, when on a rare excursion into the opposition penalty box he came up with a crisply struck volley from 12 yards to set Chelsea on the way to a 2-1 victory. He also contributed a headed goal in a fifth round defeat of Crystal Palace during the victorious FA Cup campaign of the previous year.

Those goals – two of only seven he scored in his 207 matches for Chelsea between 1969 and 1978 – gave a clue to Dempsey’s schoolboy exploits as a striker. But his primary concern was to shore up the defence, in combination with the rugged trio of David Webb, Ron “Chopper” Harris and Eddie McCreadie, described by their teammate Peter Osgood as the “four assassins at the back”.

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» How football’s amorality and transactionalism became the game within the game | Aaron Timms

The quest for revenue is the defining struggle of modern football, and many fans have correctly come to see higher revenue as the surest route to on-field glory

In the grand churn of the money machine that is modern football, it ranks as a fairly small deal. But when Liverpool recently announced they will earn more than £60m ($76.3m) a year from a new kit deal with Adidas starting next season, the reaction from the club’s supporters across social media said a lot about the nature of modern fandom. Apart from the habitual grumbles about what this might mean for the design of the team’s kit, fans mostly seemed to respond to the announcement in one of two ways: why doesn’t the new deal bring the club into line with the £90m ($114.3m) that Manchester United receives from Adidas for a comparable arrangement? And more pressingly: what kind of squad investment can an extra few million pounds a year secure? “Enough to pay Virgil,” declared one user on Reddit. “Does that mean we will buy a RB and a 10?” asked another.

These are, of course, completely normal reactions; any other club announcing any kind of commercial “win” would face similar responses from its supporters. But they highlight the extent to which we, as fans, have all become psychologically colonized by the grubby extractionism that defines the modern Premier League, applauding from the sidelines as a new content deal or shirt sponsorship or asset sale or fresh suite of unaffordable subscription packages lurches into view on the club balance sheet. That seat upgrade “layer” and points-based VIP fan tier might be part of the commercial drift that’s making football less affordable, carrying it ever further from the communities it claims to represent, but if they nab us a quality back-up keeper to put pressure on that number one chronically fumbling under the high ball? Well, maybe they’re not so bad after all.

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» Nostalgic Serie A five-a-side teams: picking a lineup for … Lecce

Salento club may not have a storied history but players did not have to stay long to make their mark

By Michele Tossani for The Gentleman Ultra

Picking five players for a rational Lecce side should be easy, on paper. Salentini are a club that first stood in Serie A in 1985-86, which is relatively recent. The first Lecce game I remember was the 2-2 that the newly promoted side imposed on the then Campioni d’Italia of Verona in September 1985.

But Lecce are a club that featured great players. So, in the end, building Lecce’s five-a-side lineup was not as easy as expected to be.

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» Anthony Gordon heeds England’s call as no-shows undermine Lee Carsley | David Hytner

Newcastle winger says turning up for national team was never in doubt for him despite an injury before the camp

According to Anthony Gordon, there was “no chance” he would miss out on the England squad because of injury, which has seemingly cast him as part of the minority. In the countdown to Thursday night’s potentially decisive Nations League tie against Greece in Athens – and the Wembley meeting with Republic of Ireland three days later – the interim manager, Lee Carsley, has been undermined by withdrawals, among other issues.

There were an unprecedented eight on Monday, prompting a call for reinforcements and one of them – Jarrad Branthwaite, who was moved up from the under-21s – was unable to train fully and has not travelled, his place taken by the uncapped Jarell Quansah. So call it nine. And counting, because there is the fear that there will be more before the Ireland game.

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» Lawrence caps rapid turnaround as Chelsea rise to Celtic’s WCL challenge

Chelsea’s aspiration of claiming this season’s Women’s Champions League was hardly in danger as Murphy Agnew handed Celtic a shock 22nd-minute lead. It was simply that the potential for an embarrassing evening for one of the luminaries of the Super League became a live one. Briefly, as it transpired.

Chelsea departed Glasgow’s east end with reputation intact. There was only a stoppage-time red card for Aggie Beever-Jones to irritate Sonia Bompastor. Beever-Jones had received two bookings, the first for re-entering the field without permission. Bompastor felt that situation “could have been avoided” by the match officials.

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» Bentancur set for lengthy ban over alleged racist remark about teammate
  • Tottenham midfielder faces minimum six-game ban
  • FA had charged Bentancur for Son Heung-min comment

Tottenham are resigned to Rodrigo Bentancur being given a lengthy ban of at least six matches by the Football Association for making an allegedly racist remark about his teammate Son Heung-min.

The 27-year-old midfielder was charged with an “aggravated breach” of FA rules in September for offensive comments made during a television interview broadcast in Uruguay in June, when he said that Son and his South Korea teammates “all look the same”.

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» ‘We’re all people’: Ayoze Pérez slams La Liga decision to play after Spain floods
  • Villarreal forward: ‘We had to be at Valencia’s side’
  • Valencia and Levante yet to play again after devastation

On the morning after the worst flood in Spain’s history killed 223 people and devastated the Valencia region, Villarreal flew back into the city from a Copa del Rey tie in Mallorca, the scale of the devastation laid out below them so great that Ayoze Pérez insists all football should have been postponed immediately. Instead, it took until the following afternoon for confirmation that their match against Rayo Vallecano and Real Madrid’s visit to Mestalla would not be played while the rest of the week’s first division’s fixtures went ahead, a decision that was universally criticised and that the former Leicester striker considers inconceivable.

Pérez believes that while players might have lacked the collective voice or power to refuse to play, they should not even have needed one. “We shouldn’t have reached the point that coaches and players had to come out and give their opinion, because ultimately it’s so clear,” the Villarreal forward said. “When the circumstances are so, so hard, we should not have to reach a conclusion that’s obvious. We’re talking about a catastrophe. The decision should have been taken in minutes; what we all thought [that we should not play] was the most normal thing in the world. We had to be at Valencia’s side. Football comes second, or third. What mattered was all those people affected.”

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» Gianni Infantino to dodge spotlight with 2026 World Cup draw held virtually
  • Controversy remains over Saudi Arabia’s 2034 bid
  • The 54-year-old was re-elected Fifa president last year

Gianni Infantino will avoid any ­scrutiny of the controversial decision to give the 2034 World Cup to Saudi Arabia next month after Fifa opted to stage the qualifying draw for the 2026 tournament as a virtual event.

Saudi Arabia’s successful 2034 bid will be confirmed by acclamation at an extraordinary Fifa congress, to be held online on 11 December, while the Guardian has learned that the draw for European qualifying for the 2026 World Cup two days later will also take place remotely.

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» EFL chief accuses Premier League of not appreciating value of football pyramid
  • Rick Parry says EFL ‘embraces’ tougher financial rules
  • Parliament to discuss football regulator bill this week

Rick Parry has accused the Premier League of undervaluing the football pyramid, arguing that without the “variety and competition” that come from relegation and promotion the game would become “sterile”.

The EFL chair was speaking to the Guardian before legislation for an independent football regulator returns to parliament on Wednesday, potentially ending a four-year process of change. The EFL “embraces” stronger financial regulation, according to Parry, but he continues to argue it must come alongside greater financial redistribution from the Premier League, a goal not achieved despite years of negotiation and government pressure.

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» ‘It took on a life of its own’ – how a bet started the inflatable craze in the 80s

English football grounds in the late 1980s could be grey and downbeat but that changed thanks to Manchester City fan Frank Newton

Amidst the depressing backdrop of hooliganism and the imminent threat of ID cards, grounds during the 1988–89 campaign could be downbeat, grey and sometimes largely deserted. On the face of it, life could have been especially grim for Manchester City fans, given that this was now the second consecutive campaign they’d competed in the Second Division.

But City still had the sixth-highest average attendance across the four divisions and, in their shiny sky-blue kit, had harvested a rich crop of English talent from their youth team, including lightning-quick winger David White, midfielder Paul Lake – tipped for an England call-up – and forward Paul Moulden, who’d plundered an absurdly high number of goals at youth-team level and was now scoring for the first team too. A year before, they put an eye-catching 10 goals past Malcolm Macdonald’s Huddersfield Town, with Paul Stewart (who was sold to Tottenham at season’s end), Tony Adcock and White each grabbing a hat-trick. But what also caught the eye was the fact that on the terraces, City fans really had gone bananas.

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» ‘We have so much heart’ – Sudan aim to reach first World Cup despite civil war

Abdelrahman Kuku is part of a side that cannot play at home but wants to bring joy there

“I am excited, everyone is excited, you have to be excited,” the Sudan international Abdelrahman Kuku says and that’s understandable. Sudan need a point against Niger on Thursday to qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations – for the fourth time in 24 tournaments – and eliminate Ghana. That would be impressive enough given the circumstances but the Jediane Falcons are also soaring at the top of their World Cup qualification group after four games as they seek to qualify for the first time.

The circumstances, though, are as dire as can be. The country of almost 50 million is being torn apart by a fierce civil war that broke out in April 2023 between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces militia. The UN secretary-general, António Guterres, said in October that millions are not able to escape from a “nightmare of violence, hunger, disease and displacement”.

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» What is the heaviest defeat to end a long unbeaten run in football? | The Knowledge

Plus: title winners with multiple clubs, a very southern English top flight, more palindromes and mascots on shirts

“Aberdeen were thrashed 6-0 by Celtic in the Scottish League Cup, ending a 16-match unbeaten run under Jimmy Thelin. What’s the heaviest defeat to end an unbeaten run?” asked Matthew Shore last week.

We added the caveat of an unbeaten run of at least 15 games, and Chris Roe got busy crunching the numbers, for English football at least. “There have been 487 instances of unbeaten runs in league fixtures of at least 15 matches in length,” he tells us. “Of those, 290 were ended by a single-goal defeat, and 133 by a two-goal margin.”

Can you do any better? Mail us your questions or tweet @TheKnowledge_GU

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» Moving the Goalposts | Caroline Seger signs off as Swedish football icon after two decades at top

Midfielder enjoyed glittering career around the world and had impact off the field as advocate for LGBTQ+ community

As the final whistle blew in Stockholm on Saturday afternoon, fans of Rosengård and hosts Djurgården rose to their feet. Signs and flags were raised aloft at the Olympic Stadium and a standing ovation ensued as Caroline Seger, a name synonymous with Swedish women’s football for the best part of two decades, walked off a competitive football pitch for the final time.

Every footballer dreams of ending their career on a high but relatively few manage to achieve it, particularly when they have already bid farewell to the international stage. Seger, however, has managed to go out at the very top, a deserved finale for an individual who has transformed the game in Sweden on and off the pitch.

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» Wretched, haunted but human: David Coote was made by modern football | Barney Ronay

Refereeing is basically a nightmare now. Is it really a huge surprise a Premier League official should end up brutalised and spitting toxins on a sofa?

Farewell then, David Coote. You were the one who looks a bit like a hungover version of Ross from Friends. Let’s take a look at your best bits. Not sending off Jordan Pickford for an attempted amputation at Goodison Park. Not sending off Fabinho for performing on-spec achilles keyhole surgery on Evan Ferguson at the Amex.

Plus of course, the decision to let yourself be filmed propped up on a sofa, saying all the bad stuff out loud, and in the process completing the amazing character arc of the English football referee, from taciturn northern master butcher, to the current crop of beleaguered full-time reality TV stars.

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» Fabian Hürzeler’s emphasis on rapid transitions has high-octane Brighton on the up

Albion took a risk when appointing the Premier League’s youngest manager but it is paying off so far this season

By Ben McAleer for WhoScored

Three points separate the teams third and 11th in the Premier League during this final international break of the year. Although Liverpool are five points clear at the top, the battle to finish in the top four could be tighter than ever.

Much has been made of Nottingham Forest’s fine start and deservedly so after they flirted with relegation last season but with them on 19 points are Chelsea, Arsenal and Brighton. Four goals separate the quartet.

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» Lee Carsley focused on players present as nine drop out of England squad – video

Lee Carsley played down the idea of tension between club and country after nine players pulled out of the England squad. The England interim manager said: 'We’ve got a really good relationship with all the clubs, especially the medical departments.'

Anthony Gordon, who has seven international appearances, added: 'We can only focus on the players who are here.'

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» Gary Lineker's most memorable moments as Match of the Day host – video highlights

Gary Lineker is to step down as the presenter of Match of the Day at the end of the season, it has been confirmed. The former England striker, 63, took over in the chair from Des Lynam in 1999 and has been a presence on football fans’ screens on Saturday nights for 25 years. Over that time he has brought plenty of memorable moments to viewers while also speaking out on issues he felt needed addressing.

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» 'I'll focus on Leicester and we'll see after that': Ruud van Nistelrooy on his future – video

Ruud van Nistelrooy led Manchester United to a 2-0 victory over Greek champions PAOK in the Europa League. Van Nistelrooy, who is standing in as interim manager before the arrival of Rúben Amorim, will manage his last game for Manchester United on Sunday against Leicester. He said: 'For me, it's important now to carry on and build on results of Leicester, of Chelsea and of PAOK.'

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» Goalkeeper pulls off amazing save despite getting foot trapped in net – video

Frankie Leonard from Bearsted FC made an incredible save in their game against Fisher FC despite his foot getting stuck in the net, after he ran back to his goal to chase down a lob that hit the bar. Despite Leonard's heroics, Fisher claimed a 1-0 win in their Southern Counties East Football League Premier Division encounter

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» Rúben Amorim warns 'Manchester United cannot play the way Sporting do' – video

Rúben Amorim said Sporting’s 4-1 rout of Manchester City was a dream way to sign off in his last home game as head coach but warned that when taking over Manchester United ­he cannot be as 'defensive' as the ­Portuguese champions. 'We cannot transport one reality to another,' he said. 'United cannot play the way we play, they cannot be so defensive. Of course it’s good to beat City. But I’ll be living in a different world, we’ll have to start from a different point'.

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» 'Nobody watches': José Mourinho embarks on VAR-inspired rant about Turkish football – video

José Mourinho has slammed the quality of refereeing and the VAR in Turkish football after he watched Fenerbahce defeat Trabzonspor 3-2 in their Super Lig match. Mourinho stated he'd never watched the league before and suggested few people outside of Turkey do, but added that he had been warned about what may happen on the pitch before he arrived to take charge

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» Auxerre take a leaf out of Allardyce’s playbook to turn up heat on De Zerbi

Giantkillers Auxerre are flying high after a shock 3-1 victory over touted title challengers Marseille at the Vélodrome

By Luke Entwistle for Get French Football News

A football club has the ability to put a town on the map. From a personal standpoint, revealing my Boltonian origins abroad will invariably elicit a reference to Bolton Wanderers; the town and the club are inseparable, indiscernible, especially internationally. Auxerre, a small village south of Paris, comprised of just over 37,000 inhabitants is the French equivalent.

It was Guy Roux, the inexhaustible former manager of L’AJA who put them there, winning a league title, reaching the quarter-finals of the Champions League and winning the Coupe de France on four occasions across his 44-year tenure.

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» Las Palmas are soaring again after Diego Martínez’s remarkable revival | Sid Lowe

A month ago they were winless and certain for relegation but then in came a charismatic coach for whom every detail matters

Diego Martínez and his players made a pact not to look at the table but this time, as they headed along the cramped passageway, down the stairs, out the little red door and on to the big yellow bus, carrying Telepizzas and turning on phones, they could be forgiven for taking a sneaky peek. They had just beaten Rayo Vallecano 3-1 and, for the first time since August, were not in the relegation zone. It was three minutes after midnight on Friday when they pulled out of Fofo the Clown Street and turned left towards the hotel, another long flight home awaiting the following morning. They were probably still wondering how it had happened, how any of it had, but UD Las Palmas travelled in hope again.

When the bus departed, one player wasn’t on board. Manu Fuster’s mother has been feeding flood victims at her restaurant in Quart de Poblet; now his brother was waiting for him in the car outside, ready to take him home. With a lovely flick of his right foot, he had scored the third, having only been on the pitch two minutes. “It was very special for everything that’s happened, because it’s my first in primera, because it helped us win,” he said before setting off straight for Valencia. “If you’d said we’d be in this position this a month back, we’d have put our heads in our hands. No one bet a duro, five pesetas, on us but things have changed completely.”

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» Calhanoglu’s penalty miss shows nothing is certain in Serie A title race | Nicky Bandini

Inter midfielder never fails from 12 yards. This weekend he did – and now the top of the table is tighter than ever

Would it be too dramatic to portray a November missed penalty as a sign to let go of everything we thought we knew about the Serie A title race? Well, yes, OK, probably it would. But seeing Hakan Calhanoglu’s spot-kick carom back off a post in the second-half of Inter’s 1-1 draw with Napoli was at the least a shock to the system.

He had converted all his previous 19 attempts since joining the Nerazzurri from Milan in 2021. “It had to happen sooner or later,” said the player. Were the rest of us ready, though, to live in a world shorn of such certainties? As the commentator Patrick Kendrick put it: “With Calhanoglu missing, we’re just left with the misery of death and taxes”.

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» Former Turkish club president given prison term for attacking referee on field
  • Faruk Koca punched the referee Halil Umut Meler
  • Court in Ankara sentences him to three-and-a-half years

A Turkish court has sentenced a former top-flight football club executive to more than three-and-a-half years in prison for attacking a referee on the field at the end of a league game last season.

The MKE Ankaragucu president Faruk Koca punched the referee Halil Umut Meler in the face after a 1-1 draw in a Super Lig game against Caykur Rizespor last year.

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» ‘Who let the dogs out?’: A-League captain’s very good boy invades pitch and halts match
  • Wellington Phoenix skipper Annalie Longo’s dog makes surprise cameo
  • Game disrupted as ‘Tiger’ runs rings around players from both sides

Wellington Phoenix captain Annalie Longo’s own dog has gone to great lengths to try to lift the A-League Women side to a stirring comeback victory over Canberra United with a canine cameo on Sunday.

Longo’s best friend “Tiger” scampered onto the pitch with the Phoenix trailing by a goal after Michelle Heyman’s 11th-minute strike had put United in front at Porirua Park in New Zealand.

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» European football: Barcelona suffer shock defeat against Real Sociedad
  • Roma sack coach Ivan Juric after just 12 games in charge
  • Scott McTominay scores as Napoli hold Inter 1-1

Barcelona suffered a shock 1-0 La Liga defeat at Real Sociedad on Sunday that ended their seven-match winning streak in all competitions as Sheraldo Becker scored for the Basque side in the first half. It was also notable as it was the first time since September 2014 that Barça had failed to get a shot on target in a league game.

The league leaders got their first taste of defeat in over a month and only their second in their domestic season after they were dominated throughout the match by the home side, who wasted several chances. Becker’s strike in the 33rd minute was enough to secure Real Sociedad the win as he beat the offside trap to race on to a Luka Sucic header before slotting a tidy finish just inside the post.

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» Jackson Irvine: ‘This Bundesliga experience is what I’ve always craved’ | Joey Lynch

The St Pauli captain and Australia midfielder believes he is only getting better at the age of 31 while leading a club closely aligned with his values

The streets surrounding the Millerntor-Stadion, deep in the heart of the St Pauli district of Hamburg, are blanketed with stickers. There are posters and other decorations too, but it is the sheer volume of brown, white, red and black decals dotting the walk from the Reeperbahn that catches the eye. They’re celebrating FC St Pauli, as well as the numerous fan and ultra groups that pledge their allegiance to the Bundesliga club and the values that have helped it gain a level of global standing that far outweighs its accomplishments on the pitch. Rainbow flags and anti-fascist messaging also stand out on the walk to the ground, as do warnings that Nazis have no place here.

On a roller door next to a coffee shop is a sticker featuring captain Jackson Irvine alongside four teammates, their heads drawn on a mountainside to create a version of Mount Rushmore. The caption is a rallying cry “geht nicht zu bruch!” which roughly translates to “this won’t be broken!”. It’s one of several decorations to be found bearing the Socceroo’s likeness in the vicinity, but given that he’s a regular at this cafe – some of the staff even wearing his wife’s Ur So Cool brand of clothing – it seems an apt place for the homage to be found.

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» With Spain still mourning Valencia’s flood victims, why did La Liga play on? | Sid Lowe

Games in the region were called off but elsewhere, players and coaches with ties to the area had to push grief aside

Thousands of people were at Mestalla this weekend, huge queues all along Avenida de Aragón where Valencia’s players arrived, but there was no game on, not here. They came instead with water, food and clothes for victims of the greatest natural catastrophe the country has seen: floods that have killed more than 210 people and destroyed towns and lives in the Horta Sud, just inland and south of the city, where a year’s worth of rain fell in eight hours. Hundreds of cars and vans turned up and unloaded, and many more made their way by foot. More than a million tonnes of aid filled the space under the stand, silent above them.

Three-and-a-half kilometres away at the Ciutat de València, home of second-division Levante, the scene was much the same. Across the bridges that connect the city to the areas hit hardest, more came, carrying shovels and buckets. On the morning that Valencia had been due to play Real Madrid, 10,000 volunteers gathered at the Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències, taken by bus to the areas affected, when they could get there at all. In the mud with them were some of the footballers they should have been watching at Mestalla.

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» Next Generation 2024: 60 of the best young talents in world football

From Franco Mastantuono to Estêvão, we select some of the most talented players born in 2007. Check the progress of our classes of 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 and look at the editions from further back

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» Next Generation 2024: 20 of the best talents at Premier League clubs

We pick the best youngsters at each club born between 1 September 2007 and 31 August 2008, an age band known as first-year scholars. Check the progress of our classes of 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019and look at the editions from further back

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» Next Generation 2023: 60 of the best young talents in world football

From Warren Zaïre-Emery to Endrick, we select some of the best players born in 2006. Check the progress of our classes of 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018

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» Gianluca Busio, Gio Reyna and the rest of Next Generation 2019: how have they got on?

The two Americans were on our list five years ago but their paths show the professional game is rarely straightforward

Career paths are rarely straightforward, whether in football or any other area of life. Circumstances often change. Injuries and illnesses happen, there are often changes in leadership which have an impact on the individual while personal lives also play a part.

Career paths are therefore very difficult to predict. Looking down the list of our 2019 Next Generation, which we have now followed for five years, there were no guarantees any of the players would become household names. OK, Alex Holiga, who covers the Balkans for us, was confident that Josko Gvardiol would make it big – which he has – but apart from him, and perhaps Ansu Fati, Eduardo Camavinga and Jérémy Doku, there were no certainties.

A remarkable year for the youngster. Made his Bundesliga debut on 18 January and has not looked back since. He now has 23 first-team appearances and has established himself as a starter and one of the most talented young players in Europe. “I’m still learning a lot tactically,” he said in August. “There is a very big difference between youth and professional football. Making the right movements and creating space for myself and others is what I still need to learn the most.

A tumultuous year for the young American who was caught in the crossfire of a feud between his own family and the USMNT coach, Gregg Berhalter, after the World Cup, during which he played a mere 52 minutes of the US’s four games. Injuries have once again hampered him but he is back to full fitness now and a US return seems likely too after talks with Berhalter.

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» ‘We didn’t give Mauricio the credit he deserved’: Hugo Lloris on Pochettino, Levy, Spurs and the USA

Former Tottenham and France captain discusses ups and downs at Spurs, Ange Postecoglou and his new life in LA

Hugo Lloris lived in the intense pressure cooker of international football and the Premier League for so long that there is lightness and even relief as he describes how his day began for him in Los Angeles. “I woke up this morning and had breakfast with my kids,” he says with a grin as he chats away happily at home. “I then took them to school and obviously the weather is amazing. Just before our interview I went for a walk and I was still in shorts and a T-shirt … in November.”

Lloris laughs in mild disbelief. We speak on Monday, the day before America goes to the polls, and the 37-year-old goalkeeper says: “What’s really surprising when I am walking around the neighbourhood is seeing that people are not afraid to show who they’re voting for. You see the signs outside their houses. We are more private in Europe.”

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» Lionel Messi’s shock playoff defeat was great for drama but a problem for MLS

The league has made the Argentinian star the crux of its push for growth. But now that his season is over will neutral fans bother to watch?

Everyone loves an underdog story, although an iPad may have been angrily thrown across the room in the Garber household as Atlanta United shocked Inter Miami on Saturday evening. Tim Cook might have reacted in a similar way after posting how “excited” he was to watch Lionel Messi and Co in the MLS playoffs. He won’t be watching any more of him this year.

These were the Messi playoffs. The league’s entire postseason marketing focused on the GOAT, pre-empting a predicted march to MLS Cup glory after Miami had set a regular-season points record. Messi was everywhere: on billboards, in social media promos and TV ads. They even aired Inter Miami’s first playoff game in Times Square. MLS had been building to this moment ever since Messi arrived in Florida.

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» A$AP Rocky’s Tranmere link raises eyebrows but football and rap fit perfectly | Barney Ronay

Musician’s reported interest in League Two club has made headlines but rap is full of smart, soulful references to the game

There has been a worrying silence this week around A$AP Rocky’s plans to buy Tranmere Rovers. A co-investor has dropped out. Further finance is being urgently sought. Given the Tranmere consortium also currently features Matthew Bevilaqua from The Sopranos – a bit random, but, hey, it’s just good to see the Bevilaqua kid doing OK – it seems fair to say the field is pretty open here. What’s Badger from Breaking Bad up to these days?

For those who don’t know, A$AP Rocky is a musical superstar, retailer of four million albums, famous for his association with Rihanna. For those who don’t know from the other side, Tranmere are the 1990 Football League Trophy winners, famous for their association with Elton Welsby.

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» Football Daily | Lee Carsley bids farewell to a toxic job with a sparsely-attended leaving do

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The turnout for Lee Carsley’s leaving drinks isn’t looking all that great. With a viral case of knack spreading through the England squad, eight players have shown this season’s third international break the door marked Do One. It’s allowed the departing interim manager to dish out some resignation honours, with Aston Villa’s Morgan Rogers among a handful of uncapped players plucked out of the under-21s and told by HR, repeatedly, to chuck in a tenner for Carsley’s farewell gift. Don’t forget to sign the card.

I will enjoy it. It’s going to be in my club with so many people, good weather. Having the opportunity to be, I don’t know if I’m the first, a professional football player and professional tennis player, just for one game, it’s a privilege” – Diego Forlán is not the first to change his boots for a professional tennis racket, but his appearance this week at the Uruguay Open, an ATP Challenger tournament, will still be notable. The former Manchester United striker chats to our tennis correspondent, Tumaini Carayol.

Hang on! Re Martin Ødegaard saying he’s ‘listened to my body’ like a 90s pop sensation? No idea what you may be on about regarding the 90s, but isn’t that reference more appropriate for the Prince Classic 1999? Or did you just get slightly confused by the song title? That’s not like you … oh wait” – Lochlan MacDonald.

Sport in [the USA USA USA], isolationist as it is (World Series, really?), does deliver one huge advantage over the increasingly persecuted fans of European and British football. No international breaks” – Lindsay Williams.

I have the perfect solution for three soon-to-be-vacant jobs: send David Coote to the Match of the Day sofa/chair. Send Gary Lineker to Fenerbahce. Appoint José Mourinho as a referee to replace Coote” – Krishna Moorthy.

This is an extract from our daily football email … Football Daily. To get the full version, just visit this page and follow the instructions.

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» The tale of David Coote and a Nations League preview – Football Weekly Extra podcast

Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Paul MacInnes, and Lars Sivertson to discuss David Coote and Gary Lineker and the Nations League

Rate, review, share on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Audioboom, Mixcloud, Acast and Stitcher, and join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and email.

On the podcast today, the panel discusses the tale of Premier League referee David Coote and asks what, if anything, this says about referees, the PGMOL, managers' behaviour towards officials, and the internet’s thirst to ruin an individual.

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» David Squires on … tough times for Manchester City and David Coote

Our cartoonist on champions’ new habit of losing and that video of a Premier League referee slagging off Liverpool

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» Premier League: 10 talking points from the weekend’s action

Ipswich’s young English duo catch the eye, Liverpool march on and the brilliance of Brighton’s Carlos Baleba

It took them an hour of huffing and puffing, but Arsenal did something at Stamford Bridge they hadn’t managed since September – they scored an away goal in the Premier League. After toothless performances at Newcastle and Inter in the past week – and last month at Bournemouth – Gabriel Martinelli’s cute finish was itself a moment of relief, but Mikel Arteta was frustrated that his team didn’t find a winner. Their expected goals figure was lower than Chelsea’s (1.27 to 1.69) but that does not account for Leandro Trossard’s costly miskick at the death nor Kai Havertz’s would-be opener, which was just offside. The Gunners will almost always control games, especially now Martin Ødegaard is fit and firing again, but that age-old itch has not been scratched. They are not ruthless enough and they still lack a penalty box killer. Dominic Booth

Match report: Chelsea 1-1 Arsenal

Match report: Liverpool 2-0 Aston Villa

Match report: Brighton 2-1 Manchester City

Match report: Manchester United 3-0 Leicester

Match report: Nottingham Forest 1-3 Newcastle

Match report: Tottenham 1-2 Ipswich

Match report: Brentford 3-2 Bournemouth

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» Women’s Super League: talking points from the weekend’s action

Arsenal deliver at last, Lauren Hemp’s treble sees her top the WSL assist chart and Chelsea have ‘two No 1s’

Five goals, five different goalscorers and a clean sheet – Arsenal’s performance against Brighton felt like it was a long time coming. So often this season they have created chances but not been clinical. On Friday night, however, they were in the mood, producing a high-intensity first half that left Brighton shell-shocked. Beth Mead and Emily Fox combined brilliantly down the right, Katie McCabe and Caitlin Foord equally so down the left to exploit the weakness of the visitors’ full-backs and fallible defensive structure. A trademark Mead goal reminded fans of more fruitful times, a spectacular finish from Frida Maanum the same. The special moment of the night, however, belonged to Lina Hurtig. Her 76th-minute header was her first goal in 362 days, a perfect return after the Sweden winger had spent the best part of the last year on the sidelines. SD

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» Champions League review: Slot and Amorim shine as a Swedish star rises

There were boosts for Liverpool and Manchester United (by proxy). We hand out honours and dishonours from the latest round of action

Liverpool

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» ‘Out of control’: Spain players open up on Rubiales in poignant documentary | Moving the Goalposts

The new Netflix programme shows how a controlling environment created factions in the team and how the problems predated Jorge Vilda

They still bear the scars. All of them. Scars from being infantilised, torn down, belittled, mocked, abused and divided.

Despite having confronted a status quo and a system built to protect and extend the stranglehold of those in power, with the odds against them, and having come out the other side, the scars are visible in the tears, the emotive retellings, and the stoic faces of the members of Spanish women’s national team.

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» Which football match appears on Have I Got News For You every week? | The Knowledge

Plus: who first used the phrase ‘game’s gone’; palindromes: an apology; are the Big Six the top six; and even more

“As an inveterate text reader, I cannot help absorbing the fragments of black-on-red text in the [background on the] Missing Words round on Have I Got News For You,” writes Tom Whiteley. “Can anyone name the West Brom match that is mentioned?”

We think we know the answer, so please allow us to indulge our inner Poirot and take it clue by clue.

West Brom went ahead just after half-time when keeper Mark Beeney felled Micky Mellon and Bob Taylor scored the perfect penalty.

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» What kind of host will Donald Trump be for the World Cup and Olympics?

The president-elect could spark tension between the culturally open cities staging events and a national government promoting insularity

Very soon after the outcome of the US presidential election was clear, Fifa’s president issued an old photograph of himself shaking hands with a beaming, football-clasping, Donald Trump.

“Congratulations Mr President! We will have a great Fifa World Cup and a great Fifa Club World Cup in the United States of America!” Gianni Infantino wrote on social media. It was the latest example of Infantino’s oleaginous flattery of Trump, whom in 2018 Infantino called “part of the Fifa team”. And vice versa, it seems.

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» Viktor Gyökeres’ drive and character show he can stay at the elite level

Sporting forward is scoring freely for club and country, and will surely be a target for Rúben Amorim at United

After a particularly tempestuous week or two in the life of Sporting Clube de Portugal, the forthcoming international window should have heralded calmer waters for a moment or two at least as the post-Rúben Amorim era moves into view. The emotional outpouring of the Manchester United-bound coach’s final game at the Estádio José Alvalade, the debagging of Manchester City, will seem like a few months ago by the middle of next week.

Recent internationals suggest, however, the opposite may be true. If clubs fret over the possibility of star players speaking a little too frankly in their native tongues surrounded by a few home comforts, it is the forthcoming on-pitch deeds of Viktor Gyökeres that threaten to prop up European football’s next salvo of gossip.

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» Mark Robins gave Coventry hope against all odds: his hasty exit stinks of ingratitude | Jonny Weeks

Decay had set in this season but the manager helped a fanbase fall back in love with the club – he deserved more loyalty

Really? After almost eight years, two promotions, an agonising Championship playoff final defeat on penalties and a toenail offside which cost them a place in last year’s FA Cup final, Mark Robins has been sacked as Coventry City’s manager.

In English football’s top two divisions, only Pep Guardiola has been in his job longer – and let’s be honest, he’s had it easy in comparison.

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» Steph Houghton: ‘That human touch wasn’t there with England. I felt let down’

The former England captain on the quest for parity, struggling under Sarina Wiegman, and her husband’s battle with MND

“There were times when I thought: ‘I don’t want to do this any more,’” Steph Houghton says as she remembers the hard years when she led the struggle to gain some parity for women in the unequal world of English football. Houghton won 121 caps for England, and captained her country from 2014 to 2021, but her most significant achievements happened far from the pitch. She worked closely with a small group of fellow players and went into battle with male executives, managers, administrators and sponsors who showed an often demeaning attitude towards women’s football.

The 36-year-old Houghton looks up, her gaze full of the fire and frustration she felt when it was difficult to make a lasting breakthrough. “I’d come in from training, having sacrificed time with my husband for a meeting, and take a call and feel deflated. You’d be like: ‘What is the point in this?’ But that’s why you need a group around you because, when you do get pissed off, that’s when someone else steps up and fights. So I’m very grateful it wasn’t just me. There were a number of people who had such a big influence on the changes we eventually made.”

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» The 100 best male footballers in the world 2023

Erling Haaland has been voted the best player in the world for 2023 by our 218-strong panel, with Jude Bellingham finishing second

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» The 100 best female footballers in the world 2023

Aitana Bonmatí, Sam Kerr and Salma Paralluelo top the list of female footballers in the world in 2023 according to our judges

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» Erling Haaland voted the world’s best player – and he’s just getting started | Niall McVeigh

The Norwegian is only 23 but his devastating goal record has seen him voted as the No 1 player in the world by the Guardian’s expert panel

When Pep Guardiola tearfully claimed Manchester City could not replace the departing Sergio Agüero in May 2021, he didn’t just create a meme. Guardiola was soft-launching a global audition for his team’s new attacking talisman. An unsuccessful pursuit of Harry Kane in the summer of 2021 came between two title-winning seasons where Ilkay Gündogan (13) and Kevin De Bruyne (15) were the club’s top league goalscorers. Guardiola’s slick creative machine needed a new front man, and they found him in Erling Haaland.

Like Agüero before him – and in contrast to many of City’s most successful Pep-era signings – Haaland arrived as a bona fide superstar, a plug-and-play addition to an already stellar lineup. Whether he was a bargain is another question. The release clause paid was €60m (£51.2m), but some reports suggest Haaland’s five-year deal could cost the club in the region of £300m. And while there was an ominous logic to the move for City’s rivals, questions remained.

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