Labour’s Luke Charters says allowing alcohol in the top five tiers of the men’s game would be the ‘modern approach’
A Labour MP has called for trials to assess the impact of lifting a decades-long ban on drinking alcohol in football stands.
York Outer MP Luke Charters said football needs to take a “modern approach” to the issue in a debate on the football governance bill earlier this week.
Continue reading...CBF reportedly considering red jersey ahead of World Cup but rightwingers consider the colour anti-patriotic
“Our flag will never be red!” rightwing Brazilians took to chanting during the heyday of the left-bashing former president Jair Bolsonaro.
But their football shirts soon might be, amid incendiary reports that the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) is considering introducing a crimson jersey for the national team ahead of the 2026 World Cup.
Continue reading...Fans are subscribers to YouTube channel focused on English football whose founder wants to strengthen links with club
Football tourism is usually seen at Premier League stadiums such as Old Trafford, Anfield and the Emirates, so fans of Harborough Town, who compete in the seventh tier of the football pyramid, were stunned when 100 Spaniards arrived at Bowden Park to watch them take on St Ives Town.
The Spanish fans, who turned up last Saturday, were subscribers to a Spanish YouTube channel, La Media Inglesa (LMI), focused on English football, which has now started arranging overseas trips for its followers.
Continue reading...Toby Carvery owner apologises over tree’s felling as football club faces questions about whether it knew of decision
An ancient London oak controversially felled earlier this month was assessed to be a “fine specimen” last year by tree experts working for Tottenham Hotspur as part of the football club’s plans to redevelop parkland next to the site.
Mitchells & Butlers Retail (MBR), which owns the Toby Carvery in Whitewebbs Park, Enfield, apologised on Thursday for the “upset” caused by the felling of the tree.
Continue reading...Six neighbourhood associations in the Basque city of San Sebastián have asked Fifa to withdraw it as a venue for the 2030 men’s World Cup. The letter – which was criticised by the city’s mayor on Tuesday – comes three months after the city was named as one of 11 Spanish venues for the tournament taking place in Spain, Morocco and Portugal.
Signed by associations representing several areas around the San Sebastián’s historic centre as well as a platform of residents pushing for “tourism degrowth,” the letter said: “Hosting the Fifa World Cup will only worsen living conditions in our city,” adding that it would “further exacerbate the touristification” of the city.
Continue reading...The Real Madrid coach, Carlo Ancelotti, who is on trial for allegedly defrauding Spain’s tax office of more than €1m in undeclared earnings from image rights, has told a court he believed his financial affairs were in order and “never thought a fraud could have been committed”.
Prosecutors allege the 65-year-old former Chelsea and Everton manager used shell companies outside Spain to conceal “the real beneficiary of the income from the exploitation of his image rights” in 2014 and 2015. They are seeking a jail term of four years and nine months and a fine of €3.2m.
Continue reading...Australia’s first out gay male professional footballer, Josh Cavallo, has said he receives death threats every day and would find it difficult to encourage other footballers to come out due to the sport’s “toxic” environment. The Adelaide United midfielder came out in 2021 and said that despite his club’s and coaches’ support his openness about his sexuality had brought him a lot of pressure and negativity.
“There’s multiple, multiple, multiple death threats that come my way daily still,” Cavallo’s said on Fifpro’s Footballers Unfiltered podcast. “In the world of football, being an openly gay player is a very toxic place. It’s something not everyone would be able to handle and go through.
Continue reading...Outside St James’ Park and the Angel of the North, Magpies fans explain significance of Wembley victory
“After years and years of hurt, it was just glorious,” said 67-year-old Paul Wearmouth outside St James’ Park on the morning after the night before. “It was tremendous. I’ll be honest, I was crying. They were tears of jubilation.”
Wearmouth, a retired school caretaker, has been a fan of Newcastle United all his life and can tell you at length about how difficult a commitment that can be.
Continue reading...Complaints upheld against some former South Yorkshire and West Midlands officers but none will face proceedings
Dozens of allegations of misconduct against police officers relating to the 1989 Hillsborough disaster have been upheld by the police standards watchdog, bereaved families have been told.
However, none will face disciplinary proceedings because they have all left the police service.
Continue reading...Fifa has banned the former Gabon youth-team coach Patrick Assoumou Eyi, known as “Capello”, for life after its adjudicatory chamber found him guilty of committing repeated acts of sexual abuse against multiple players.
Eyi – who left his post as head coach of Gabon’s under-17 team in 2017 – admitted charges of raping, grooming and exploiting young players after allegations first reported by the Guardian in 2021. One former player who was coached by Eyi claimed he would lure alleged victims to his home, which he called the “Garden of Eden”.
Continue reading...Parent company Southern Cross Austereo says programming should meet ‘expectations of its audience’ and ‘it’s clear this is a moment for reflection and review’
Triple M host Marty Sheargold is departing the network after being condemned for comments he made about the Matildas.
Sheargold, a broadcaster and comedian, said on his Drive show on Monday that he “would rather hammer a nail through the head of [his] penis” than watch Australia’s national women’s football team in next year’s Asian Cup. He also asked: “Got any men’s sport?”
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Continue reading...The president of Uefa, Aleksander Ceferin, has made an outspoken intervention in European politics, claiming “freedom of speech no longer exists” and “we are all fed up of political correctness”.
In a wide-ranging series of remarks Ceferin attacked European politicians over their handling of the Ukraine war and for “preaching to the world”. He even joked that the only “great thing” the EU has done is to mandate that bottle tops should not be detachable.
Continue reading...The United States is unprepared for the burdens placed on its air travel system when the country hosts the 2026 World Cup and 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, according to a report released on Wednesday.
The US Travel Association, a non-profit that represents the travel industry, commissioned a report written by former government officials and industry experts. The report raises concerns about visas, creaking infrastructure and poor security technology.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Foreign minister says she sought meeting with the north London Premier League club to discuss sponsorship by country accused of aiding armed rebels
Arsenal Football Club has been accused of delivering an “outrageous” snub to the Congolese government by not meeting the foreign minister to discuss its sponsorship deal with Rwanda.
Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner, foreign minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), who was in London this week to raise concerns over Rwanda’s support for the M23 militia, said she attempted to meet Arsenal officials to discuss the club’s Visit Rwanda sponsorship deal.
Continue reading...Former Spanish football federation boss is accused of sexual assault after kissing player at Women’s World Cup
The former Spanish football federation boss Luis Rubiales has told a court that he asked the player Jenni Hermoso if he could kiss her before doing so after the Women’s World Cup victory in 2023.
“I am absolutely sure that she gave me her permission,” Rubiales, 47, told the court in Madrid. “In that moment it was something completely spontaneous.”
Continue reading...Jury sent out to consider verdict after barrister claims officers made ‘no meaningful attempt’ to investigate the footballer’s taxi claim
The conduct of police was “completely unacceptable” in dealing with Matildas and Chelsea star Sam Kerr when she arrived at a police station, her defence barrister told a court.
Kerr, 31, the captain of the Australian women’s football team and Chelsea’s star striker, is on trial at Kingston crown court accused of racially aggravated harassment after calling PC Stephen Lovell “fucking stupid and white” when he doubted her claim of being “held hostage” by a taxi driver. She denies the charges.
Continue reading...Misconduct hearing found Tyler Coppin had breached standards of professional behaviour over offence
An Essex police officer has been sacked after admitting “tragedy chanting” at Liverpool fans during a Premier League match last year.
Essex police instigated misconduct proceedings against Sgt Tyler Coppin after he pleaded guilty to the public order offence during the Liverpool game against Chelsea at Anfield last October.
Continue reading...Prosecutor argues Matildas star’s claims about what happened in taxi do not make ‘one blind bit of difference to what this case is about’
Prosecutors in the trial of Australian star Sam Kerr, who called a police officer “stupid and white”, have asked the jury to consider if it would be different had she said “stupid and black”.
The 31-year-old Matildas striker is on trial charged with causing racially aggravated harassment to PC Stephen Lovell during an incident in south-west London in the early hours of 30 January 2023. Kerr denies the charges.
Continue reading...Spanish football federation’s former president is accused of sexual assault and coercion over incident in 2023
Spain’s former football chief Luis Rubiales will go on trial in Madrid on Monday over the unsolicited kiss he planted on the World Cup winner Jenni Hermoso, a gesture that stunned millions of TV viewers and unleashed a backlash against sexism in sport.
Rubiales, 47, is accused of sexual assault as well as coercion after allegations that he tried to force Hermoso, 34, into publicly declaring that the kiss, which occurred as she celebrated her team’s victory in the 2023 World Cup in Australia, was consensual.
Continue reading...Online gambling firm’s service ‘issues’ left bettors apparently unable to ‘cash out’ on busy night in European football
The online gambling company Bet365 has been flooded with complaints after it suffered an outage during one of the busiest nights of European football this season.
Customers claimed to have lost out on thousands of pounds owing to what the company called “issues with our service” during the second half of Wednesday night’s 18 Champions League games.
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