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Wider football news with refereeing relevance.

General/The Guardian — Football

Boardroom struggle deepens gloom as West Ham prepare for life on the outside

The power battle over Vanessa Gold’s shares and the David Sullivan Panorama allegations are overshadowing the start of the season in the Championship There have been 10 summers of West Ham’s London Stadium tenancy and a number of winters of discontent. As the Hammers kick off their new season on Saturday, their Carabao Cup first-round fixture with Portsmouth serves as a stark reminder of reduced circumstances, further confirmation of last season’s relegation from the Premier League. The summer has been as bleak as any of those winters, a collision of factors deepening the gloom of relegation.

7 Aug

General/The Guardian — Football

Tottenham and Atlético in talks over Romero with Van de Ven set to sign new deal

Simeone keen on swoop for Spurs defender Van de Ven expected to pen five-year extension Tottenham are in talks with Atlético Madrid over the sale of Cristian Romero after categorically rejecting Arsenal’s approach for the Argentina defender and are expected to agree a new five-year deal with Micky van de Ven. Romero has made no secret of his desire to leave Spurs despite signing a new four-year contract at the start of last season and had looked set to join Internazionale for a fee of around £35m . But Atlético are long-term suitors of the 27-year-old and are thought to be his preferred destin

7 Aug

General/The Guardian — Football

Mexico and Argentina line up behind Infantino to deepen football’s civil war

Mexico breaks ranks with Concacaf to support Fifa chief Growing speculation country will switch to Conmebol The Mexican football federations have broken ranks with the rest of Concacaf by issuing their public backing for beleaguered Fifa president Gianni Infantino in a move that has deepened world football’s civil war. Concacaf has called for a thorough review of Fifa’s governance in the light of the World Cup sell-off debacle, and is backing Uefa’s demands for meaningful change, although has yet to follow their European counterparts by threatening to boycott tournaments if they do not achieve

7 Aug

General/The Guardian — Football

Football transfer rumours: Cristian Romero to leave Spurs for … Arsenal?

Today’s rumours wonder what it’s got to do with Aberdeen Twenty-five years after Sol Campbell’s move from White Hart Lane to Highbury , are we finally getting a sequel? Cristian Romero , Tottenham’s captain, has piqued Arsenal’s interest, the Athletic reports, though they also reckon it’s pretty unlikely that Spurs will allow such drama. D’oh. It would bring some tantalising chaos to this transfer window, but Diego Simeone may well swoop him away to Atlético Madrid. Inter have their sights on him, too. It could just be that a move for Rodri is what headlines the summer, the man who has complet

7 Aug

General/The Guardian — Football

Norway’s Klaveness tells Fifa president Infantino to resign: ‘There is no trust now’

‘There is no way back for him,’ says NFF president Infantino still battling for support around the world The Norwegian FA will ask Gianni Infantino to resign with immediate effect after his doomed attempt to sell stakes in the World Cup to private investors. Norway is the first federation to call directly for the Fifa president to step down after a series of controversies that came to a head with the current crisis surrounding his Fifa Forward Enterprise scheme. The decision was made in a meeting of the Norwegian Football Federation (NFF) on Thursday night. Norway has consistently taken a lead

7 Aug

General/The Guardian — Football

Behind Milburn’s magic: Wor Jackie was a pit village hero and ‘everybody’s friend’ in Newcastle

A new book details the footballer’s Ashington upbringing, his shyness and the work ethic that set him apart Of all the footballers who have worn the black and white, that possessive geordie pronoun “Wor” (our) was unique to Jackie Milburn; for he was a man of the people as much as he was a great sportsman. In that respect, his birthplace of Ashington in Northumberland only added to the mythology. “The biggest pit village in the world,” as it was known, was the north-east in microcosm – a one-horse coal town where miles of identical terraced houses spread out from the pitheads and the menfolk w

7 Aug

General/The Guardian — Football

Afcon’s biennial switch cost African governing body deal worth more than $1bn

Change to four-year cycle led to abandonment of 2025 bid Caf has not had long-term financial deal since 2019 A deal worth at least $1bn in secured income over eight years was abandoned by the Confederation of African Football (Caf) because the governing body decided to switch the Africa Cup of Nations from a biennial to a four-yearly event , the Guardian can reveal. On 5 July 2025, the eve of the delayed Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco, the Caf president, Patrice Motsepe, told the Guardian in Rabat, after a prolonged discussion of the bidding process at an executive committee meeting,

7 Aug

General/The Guardian — Football

Arsenal hopes dashed after Vinícius Júnior extends Real Madrid contract to 2032

Brazil international has agreed a new six-year deal ‘Eight years at the Bernabéu are too few,’ says Vinícius Vinícius Júnior has ended summer speculation over his future by agreeing a new six-year contract with Real Madrid. Arsenal had been heavily linked with a move for the Brazil international, who had entered the final 12 months of his deal at the Bernabéu. A tumultuous 2025-26 campaign in which Real failed to win a trophy and initial uncertainty after the arrival of José Mourinho in Madrid alerted the Premier League champions, but Vinícius has now committed his long-term future to the Span

6 Aug

General/The Guardian — Football

Kerolin failed to report for pre-season at Manchester City before Barcelona switch

City taken aback by forward’s absence from training WSL champions yet to publish any reference to move The Brazil forward Kerolin failed to report for pre-season training at Manchester City in July before her transfer to Barcelona had been agreed. Barcelona announced their signing of the 26-year-old on Tuesday but, as of Thursday afternoon, ­Manchester City were yet to publish any ­reference to the transfer or comment on the move. Continue reading...

6 Aug

General/The Guardian — Football

Football Daily | The Argentinian FA has a date for your diary, whether you want it or not

Sign up now! Sign up now! Sign up now? Sign up now! There are at least 6,001 days in the year. Days occur at a rate of approximately 16.5 days a day. This is confusing, sure, but it’s the world we live in. Get over it. This is based on the boast from daysoftheyear.com that they list “over 6,000” commemorative days, and that this number, whatever it is, has just swollen by one with the declaration that Argentina is henceforth to celebrate National Football Teams Day on 15 July every year, that being the date on which their men’s team beat England in the recent Geopolitics World Cup semi-finals.

6 Aug

General/The Guardian — Football

Uefa maintains that World Cup boycott still stands despite Infantino’s apology

European body says Fifa statement ‘changes nothing’ ‘Conditions not met’ to call off boycott of competitions Uefa has doubled down on its threat to boycott Fifa-run competitions and reiterated its loss of confidence in Gianni Infantino’s presidency. European football’s governing body said Fifa’s public backing of Infantino on Wednesday night “changes nothing” and explained it had not been provided with certainty that repeats of the past nine days’ crisis will not occur. Last week Uefa’s 55 member associations agreed to boycott Fifa tournaments if Infantino did not withdraw his privately-funded

6 Aug

General/The Guardian — Football

Top Ugandan footballer killed by robbers armed with paving stones

David Owori, who played for the national team, died in hospital after he tried to stop robbers taking his phone The Ugandan football community is in mourning after the death of a player who was fatally injured during a robbery in the capital, Kampala, on Tuesday night. David Owori, who captained Sports Club Villa, a Uganda Premier League club, and represented the national team, was attacked after resisting an attempt to steal his mobile phone and other belongings. Continue reading...

6 Aug

General/The Guardian — Football

Mohamed Salah to earn upwards of £14.5m per season in two-year Trabzonspor deal

Club reveal salary to Turkish stock exchange Striker will receive 20% from products sold in his name Mohamed Salah has signed a two-year deal with Trabzonsporand the Egypt forward will receive €17m (£14.5m) a season. The ⁠announcement to ‌the Turkish stock ‌exchange came ​as Trabzonspor fans prepared to head to the club’s stadium for a ceremony to mark the 34-year-old’s former Liverpool player’s signing on a free transfer the day after ⁠Salah arrived in Istanbul in the team’s kit. Continue reading...

6 Aug

General/The Guardian — Football

Two Iranian female footballers granted Australian citizenship after protest

Iran players stayed in country after Asian Cup in March Duo condemned as traitors in Iran for not singing anthem Two former Iranian footballers said on Thursday they were “proud” to have been granted Australian citizenship after being called traitors at home for refusing to sing the national anthem before a game. Fatemeh Pasandideh and Atefeh Ramezanisadeh were members of a group of seven from Iran’s delegation who asked for Australia’s protection after the high-profile protest during the women’s Asian Cup in March. Continue reading...

6 Aug

General/The Guardian — Football

Barcelona keen on Rodri as Real Madrid talks with Manchester City star stall

Real Madrid unable to reach deal with Spain captain Manchester City will allow midfielder to go for £60m Barcelona are considering whether to challenge Real Madrid’s attempt to sign Rodri from Manchester City, but have been frustrated in their efforts to persuade Atlético Madrid to sell Julián Alvarez. While City have not given up hope that Spain’s World Cup-winning captain will sign a new contract after he entered the final year of his deal, they are thought to be willing to allow him to leave for about £60m. Despite weeks of talks with Rodri and his representatives, Real have yet to reach an

6 Aug

General/The Guardian — Football

Argentina commemorate win against England at World Cup 2026 with special day

AFA to establish ‘National Football Teams Day’ for 15 July Post-match celebrations saw Falklands banner displayed Argentina’s World Cup semi-final win over England last month is being commemorated by the country’s football association, the AFA, which has established 15 July – the date of the 2-1 win in Atlanta – as National Football Teams Day. “The date was chosen to commemorate Argentina’s historic victory over England in the World Cup semi-final,” an article on the AFA’s official website stated following a meeting of its executive board on Wednesday. “Lionel Scaloni’s team was trailing the E

6 Aug

General/The Guardian — Football

One potential breakout star for each Premier League club this season

A crop of young players emerges every season in the Premier League. Who will make the grade this year? By Opta Analyst Dowman is old news by now, so we’re going to look at someone four months older than him. Much like the fish of the same name, Salmon has risen quickly. The defender became the fourth-youngest player to represent Arsenal last season when he came off the bench against Club Brugge in the Champions League in December at the age of just 16 years and 102 days. Continue reading...

6 Aug

General/The Guardian — Football

Uefa planning to check if Infantino tried to sell stakes in World Cup on cheap

European body to commission independent valuation Uefa unmoved by Infantino apology for ‘mistake’ Uefa is planning to commission an independent valuation of Fifa’s World Cup sale plans after concerns that Gianni Infantino agreed to sell the tournament’s future profits to a private equity firm at below the market rate. The European governing body is unmoved by the written apology issued by Infantino to Fifa’s 211 member associations on Tuesday after crisis talks in Morocco. They will continue to push for his removal, with their tactics including further scrutiny of a proposal the president bela

6 Aug