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For the teams at the bottom of the food chain, England’s top flight has come to resemble an abusive relationship

And you may ask yourself: how do I work this?

And you may ask yourself: what happened to that three-man midfield?

Legislation will bring seismic change to the industry and aims to stamp out money laundering

Not for the first time in the history of the European parliament, it all started in Belgium. An investigation into alleged bribery, money-laundering, forged transfer contracts and the involvement of organised crime at the highest levels of professional football that began in 2018 eventually implicated almost 60 agents, administrators, referees and coaches.

Known as Operation Clean Hands, the level of alleged corruption it uncovered not only led to the establishment of new strict financial regulations for clubs in Belgium but also opened eyes in the corridors of power in Brussels. In 2019, football was added to the European Union’s watchlist of money-laundering risks, with a United Nations report estimating that around $140bn is laundered through the game every year. Yet while many leagues already have strict financial regulations aimed at preventing fraud, the French MEP, Damien Carême, believes the concern has been more focused on complying with financial fair play regulations than stopping corruption.

Having reached their first playoff semi-final, the eastern Indian club are looking to make the most of their untapped potential

It was an unforgettable weekend for Raj Athwal. On Friday night, the only British chief executive of an Indian Super League (ISL) club, Odisha FC, watched them beat Kerala Blasters 2-1 to reach the last four of the Championship playoffs in the most dramatic fashion. On Sunday, he then saw his beloved Coventry City, where he worked for over a decade, lose to Manchester United in the FA Cup semi-finals in the narrowest fashion.

Wembley outdid Kalinga Stadium in the drama and excitement stakes, but not by much. With three minutes remaining, Odisha were a goal down and a fine season was coming to an end.

• Lamine Yamal’s strike in 3-2 loss on Sunday ruled out by VAR
• Barça believe ball crossed the line and could demand replay

Barcelona president Joan Laporta has threatened legal action and could demand a replay after his side were denied a goal against Real Madrid at the weekend.

Lamine Yamal thought he had scored in the 28th minute of Sunday’s 3-2 Clásico loss at the Bernabéu but, after a lengthy VAR check, it was ruled the ball had not cross the line. Spanish competition does not use goalline technology.

Inter clinched their 20th Serie A title by beating Milan in a feisty derby at San Siro, giving Simone Inzaghi’s side an unassailable lead in the standings. A goal from Francesco Acerbi and Marcus Thuram in each half proved sufficient to secure Inter’s victory, with Fikayo Tomori scoring late in the game to reduce the deficit.

The match also featured three red cards in stoppage time, with Milan being reduced to nine men as tensions flared. Theo Hernández and Davide Calabria got their marching orders along with Inter’s Denzel Dumfries.

• Club believe three Ashley Young incidents merited penalties
• Premier League said ‘it is never appropriate’ to question officials

Nottingham Forest have called on the Professional Game Match Officials Ltd (PGMOL) to release the audio of conversations between the match officials during their defeat by Everton on Sunday, while the Premier League has said it is “extremely disappointed” by the club’s complaint that the video assistant referee (VAR) was a supporter of relegation rivals Luton.

Forest believe they should have been awarded three penalties during the match. Ashley Young was at the centre of three incidents which Forest felt merited a penalty. There were two alleged fouls and a handball that the on-field referee, Anthony Taylor, did not deem worthy of an offence and which the VAR, Stuart Attwell, did not intervene to overturn as Everton won 2-0 to leave Forest in 17th, one point and one place above Luton with four games remaining in the season.

• Leading scorer is a doubt for trip to Arsenal due to illness
• ‘It is a good challenge in case Palmer is not available’

Mauricio Pochettino has challenged Chelsea to prove that they are not “Cole Palmer Football Club” should they have to take on Arsenal on Tuesday without their player of the season.

Palmer, who has been Chelsea’s main source of goals and creativity since joining from Manchester City last September, is a doubt for the trip to the Emirates Stadium because of illness. But instead of worrying about whether his young side are capable of beating Arsenal without their best forward, Pochettino wants the rest of his players to show that they are not dependent on the 21-year-old.

• Manager says win at Wolves gave players ‘a big boost of energy’
• League leaders have chance to go four points clear of rivals City

Mikel Arteta has dismissed concerns about fatigue in his Arsenal squad and insisted that victory over Wolves has reinvigorated his players as they prepare to host Chelsea on Tuesday night.

Arsenal, the league leaders, have the chance to move four points clear of Manchester City, with Pep Guardiola’s side not in action until Thursday evening against Brighton. Last week, Arteta said the scrapping of FA Cup replays was necessary to “protect our players” amid a gruelling season in which Arsenal reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League – where they went out against Bayern Munich – for the first time in 14 years.

• Heavy loss to Crystal Palace increases chance of Scot’s departure
• Talks held over move for Amorim despite Liverpool job links

West Ham are set to part company with David Moyes at the end of the season and have held talks over an ambitious move for the Sporting Lisbon manager, Rúben Amorim.

A final decision has not been made on Moyes, whose hopes of a new deal are fading, but the 5-2 defeat by Crystal Palace on Sunday has made his departure all but inevitable. There is an acceptance within West Ham that a change is needed, although the unpredictable nature of the club means that nothing can be completely ruled out. West Ham have four games left and could perform a U-turn on Moyes if he somehow secures European football for the fourth consecutive season.

It is no longer in their hands but Leeds retain real hope of securing automatic promotion after reclaiming second place in the Championship following a timely return to form on Teesside.

Given that Michael Carrick’s much improved Middlesbrough are nobody’s pushover these days, Daniel Farke’s side needed to rediscover the ruthlessness that had deserted them in recent weeks. To the relief of the travelling fans, Crysencio Summerville, Patrick Bamford and Wilfried Gnonto obliged with potentially vital goals in a thrillingly compelling game that showcased the second tier’s often underrated appeal.

Phil Foden and John Stones among those reportedly absent as ex-Uefa partner Panini retains some rights

England football players including Phil Foden and John Stones are among those reportedly missing from the official Euro 2024 sticker album.

Topps, the American trading card company, won the rights in 2022 to take over from Panini as Uefa’s exclusive sticker partner for the tournament in Germany.

Head coach has been hampered by injuries but has not established a discernible playing style – while Thomas Tuchel will be available

With Erik ten Hag’s job at Manchester United safe until the summer, the focus turns to whether or not the club will, and indeed should, keep the Dutchman in the long term. While Sir Jim Ratcliffe controls United’s football policy, the final decision on Ten Hag’s future may well be influenced by the judgment of Jason Wilcox and Omar Berrada, the incoming technical director and chief executive respectively. (Presuming compensation is not agreed with Newcastle that would allow Dan Ashworth to begin his role as head of football at Old Trafford before the summer.) We assess the case for and against those in power sticking with the current manager beyond the current campaign.

English midfielder ended ‘goal drought’ with impeccable timing, in a season that could hardly have gone better

Jude Victor William Bellingham, this is your league. The title opened with him and effectively closed with him too, told the way it had to be, an inevitability to it all. In the beginning he had stood arms wide in front of 48,927 people at San Mamés, the ground so revered they call it the Cathedral, having scored his first Real Madrid goal on his debut. In the end, he stood arms wide in front of 77,981 at his new home, having just scored his 21st, 17 of them in La Liga. From August to April, Bilbao to the Bernabéu, via Almería and Vigo, Cádiz and Seville, Braga and Naples, more than 800,000 people have seen a celebration that may not be new but which became his and is now the mark of the champions; symbol of this season.

It had been seen after every goal except one but, it turned out, even that was right somehow, as if Bellingham knew. In his first clásico, the game he had watched growing up, he scored the equaliser at Montjuïc. He didn’t go all Christ the Redeemer then but did when he got the winner Madrid-style: after the stadium clocks had stopped, 92 minutes in, an early taste of the epic. Now, six months on, he only went and did it again, a 91st-minute goal carrying Madrid to another clásico victory, 3-2, and towards the league title, nodding as he welcomed the Bernabéu into his arms. With six games left, they lead Barcelona by 11 points. “He arrived at the right time,” Carlo Ancelotti said. “It had been a while since he scored.”

Chelsea earn chance to make history, City keep the pressure on at the top and the Holmgaards produce some magic for Everton

“Our team did a lot to limit chances as a whole. You can only do that together and not individually. The team as a whole did that job well today. Everything has to be perfect for you to get close to winning a game of football [against Barcelona],” said Emma Hayes after Chelsea’s 1-0 win over in the first leg of their Women’s Champions League semi-final and that, really, was the crux of their success. They defended as a team, attacked as a team, held their shape collectively and achieved perfection when executing the gameplan. Can they do it again in the second leg at Stamford Bridge? It will be difficult to make lightening strike twice, but the belief will be there. Hayes wants to see a sellout crowd at Stamford Bridge because her players “deserve to play in front of a full house to give ourselves the best possible chance.” There is certainly no greater opportunity for a sellout crowd than history beckoning. Suzanne Wrack

Match report: Barcelona 0-1 Chelsea

WSL roundup: Shaw double helps City move top

Minute-by-minute report: Manchester Utd 2-2 Tottenham

Minute-by-minute report: Arsenal 3-0 Leicester

• Dutchman safe until summer despite scare against Coventry
• Bruno Fernandes calls on team to focus on rest of season

Erik ten Hag remains safe as Manchester United manager until the end of the season, with Sir Jim ­Ratcliffe having no intent to remove the Dutchman despite the increased pressure on him following Sunday’s alarming FA Cup win over Coventry.

United were in control at 3-0 until Mark Robins’s team staged a remarkable comeback, scoring three times in 29 minutes to force extra time. In the extra half an hour, Ellis Simms hit the crossbar and Victor Torp scored what appeared to be the winner, but his effort was ruled out for offside after the intervention of the VAR. United won 4-2 on penalties.

Return of Mikautadze, last year’s Ligue 2 player of the season, from Ajax has been mutually beneficial for player and club

By Eric Devin for Get French Football News

In Ligue 1’s maiden season with 18 teams, one had the feeling that some had little chance of staying up. Fewer teams theoretically projects to a higher average standard, but it also means sides lacking in quality are likely to be found out.

That axiom has generally held true – through the course of the season, most sides, even in the bottom half, have been able to call on a player who is superlative in their position, or at least capable of conjuring something out of nothing. Le Havre may be an exception owing to the hard-driving ethos put in place by Luka Elsner but Nantes (Moses Simon), Montpellier (Téji Savanier) and Toulouse (Thijs Dallinga) all have players with a bit of magic.

Memories of an underwhelming start to his managerial career are fading as the Australian targets a continental final with Yokohama

Harry Kewell’s coaching journey has been unconventional, to say the least. His previous job ended at the bottom of England’s fifth tier, but he is now just three games away from a continental title and a place in the Club World Cup. Fifa’s expanded 2025 tournament in the United States would be worth an estimated $80m to Yokohama F Marinos but for the Australian’s coaching credentials it would be priceless.

On Wednesday, the five-time Japanese champions, coached by Kewell since the turn of this year, host Ulsan HD in the second leg of their Asian Champions League semi-final. The South Korean side have a 1-0 advantage from last week, but there is all to play for at Yokohama International Stadium.

• Liverpool climb up to second after victory at Fulham
• Alexander-Arnold: ‘The rest of them are big now, five finals’

Trent Alexander-Arnold said Liverpool had kept themselves in the title race after a 3-1 win at Fulham that brought the right-back’s first goal since December.

Liverpool pulled level on points with table toppers Arsenal, although Manchester City lie a point behind and have a game in hand on both. Alexander-Arnold admitted that anything less than victory would have effectively given them too much to do.

What a week for Aston Villa: following up a memorable victory away to Premier League leaders Arsenal with a last-gasp shootout triumph in Europe, they stretched their lead over Tottenham to six points in the chase for fourth place as Ollie Watkins inspired them to this ultimately comfortable win.

The forward was man of the match even though he did not score, tireless in his running and the creator of two more goals as Villa overcame Dominic Solanke’s early penalty to make it five home games unbeaten. Qualification for the Champions League is in their control, even if Spurs have two games in hand.

It is difficult to get away from the analogy of two bald men fighting over a comb when it comes to Celtic, Rangers and this curious Scottish season. A day after Celtic lumbered past Aberdeen, Rangers were only marginally more impressive when seeing off Heart of Midlothian.

A team with more punch and vigour than that managed by Steven Naismith would have increased the sense of panic around Ibrox. Instead, Rangers know that regardless of what happens over the closing weeks of the Premiership season they will have the chance to have the last word of 2023-24 when the Old Firm meet at Hampden Park in the Scottish Cup final on 25 May.

A big European win and a disappointing domestic draw this week sums up Dortmund, who remain in an identity crisis

On a night like Tuesday, Borussia Dortmund’s Signal Iduna Park really is every bit as special as they say, maybe even more so. It is a formidable tidal wave of unfettered emotion, impossible to fairly explain if you aren’t in it and futile to resist if you are.

After the drunken revelry of that Champions League win over Atlético Madrid a reality check might have been needed, and my goodness this was it. True, they came close to being the first team to beat Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga this season, but Josip Stanisic’s header in the seventh minute of stoppage time salvaged a draw for the newly crowned champions, with Xabi Alonso releasing his inner Mourinho to charge down the touchline and join the bundle in front of the celebrating away fans.

I’ve seen plenty of setbacks down the years – enough to become desensitised, I thought. But then came an entirely new kind of trauma

“Respect Coventry, please,” said Pep Guardiola on Saturday evening when a presumptuous TV reporter asked Manchester City’s manager about the prospect of another all-Manchester FA Cup final. Guardiola knew Coventry City would be no pushovers for Manchester United in Sunday’s semi-final, yet even he couldn’t have envisaged how close they would drag Erik ten Hag’s side towards ruin in the most scintillating and sickening football experience of my life.

I’ve watched plenty of Coventry defeats down the years – enough to become desensitised to it, I thought. I cried at Villa Park when we were relegated from the Premier League in 2001; I watched from the press box with weary resignation as Doncaster consigned us to League One in 2012; and I experienced mixed emotions when Luton denied us a Premier League berth last May. But watching us lose to United at Wembley after a preposterous three-goal comeback was an entirely new kind of trauma.

As the Premier League continues to hike ticket prices and shut out local fans, Bayer’s Bundesliga title shows the value of a club rooted in its home town

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A corner from the left, seven minutes into injury-time. The Croatian defender Josip Stanišić rises at the near post. His header is too firm to be described as glancing, but it is well directed and flashes across goal and in for an equaliser. The black and red corner of the Signal Iduna Park erupts. Several minutes after the game they were still celebrating with their players. The Bundesliga title is already won but there should be no doubt that Bayer Leverkusen care about their unbeaten record.

Until that moment, there had been a sense of anticlimax about Borussia Dortmund against Leverkusen. What had, a month or so ago, looked like potentially being the game at which Xabi Alonso’s side would wrap up the title instead became, thanks to Bayern Munich squandering a two-goal lead against Heidenheim two weeks ago, the first game on their five-game victory lap. Dortmund, similarly, were on a comedown after Wednesday’s Champions League quarter-final win over Atlético. Fifth place is all but secure and, with Germany looking very likely to have five Champions League slots next season, it doesn’t much matter whether they catch RB Leipzig, who are two points clear in fourth.

Manchester United snatch chaos from jaws of serenity, Nicolas Jackson misfires and Liverpool stay in hunt

Jammy, jammy Man United. To be fair, they did find a new way to be hopeless. Instead of the usual mayhem, they were in total control for 70 minutes, barely letting Coventry have a shot. But then, somehow, they snatched chaos from the jaws of serenity. ITV, and all their teatime viewers, couldn’t believe their luck as a cakewalk turned into a classic. United threw away a 3-0 lead, and for a minute, right at the end of extra time, they were 4-3 down – only for the VAR to come to their rescue, after he had failed to when they conceded a penalty. We were witnessing history, comedy, tragedy, the lot. Casemiro took the first penalty and missed. Destiny was surely calling to Coventry, but André Onana rose to the occasion, flying to his right to paw away one penalty, craftily engineering a miss from another, and saving Erik ten Hag’s job. For now, anyway. Tim de Lisle

Match report: Coventry 3-3 Manchester United (2-4 pens)

Match report: Manchester City 1-0 Chelsea

Match report: Fulham 1-3 Liverpool

Match report: Wolves 0-2 Arsenal

Match report: Everton 2-0 Nottingham Forest

Match report: Sheffield United 1-4 Burnley

Match report: Aston Villa 3-1 Bournemouth

Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Troy Townsend and John Brewin as Coventry go so close to one of the greatest FA Cup comebacks ever

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; total agony for Coventry, inches away from a winner in injury time that would have seen them complete the most unlikely of turnarounds to beat Manchester United 4-3 and reach the FA Cup final.

The 82-year-old’s impact on football goes far beyond his own success with the advice he gives to up-and-coming managers

At around this time in 2006, soon after Chelsea beat Manchester United at Stamford Bridge to secure a second successive league title, Sir Alex Ferguson’s phone rang. It was some bloke called Aidy Boothroyd, at the time just some gobby, upstart young coach who had somehow landed his Watford team in the Championship playoffs. “I phoned him up, asked for some advice and he gave me some pearls,” Boothroyd said later. “He lent me a couple of books and he’s always been at the end of the phone if I ever need any help. I think he does that for everybody.”

I remember being surprised by this at the time. Ferguson was 64, had already retired once, had won eight English league titles, was at the time the subject of savage and, it soon transpired, wildly misplaced criticism due to his side’s poor performance (they still finished second), and was just gearing up to win the league again in each of the next three years and five of the next seven. He had, in short, plenty on his plate already without being pestered for tips by fanboys. And yet there he was, lending books to Aidy Boothroyd. “He will always pick up the phone or phone you back if he can’t get to you the first time,” Boothroyd said the following year. “I’ve never known him not to call back.”

Mark Robins, the Coventry City manager, was full of praise for his side after they fought back from three goals down to almost knock Manchester Untied out of the FA Cup. Coventry narrowly missed out on a place in the FA Cup final after losing on penalties following a dramatic game. Robins' side thought they had won right at the end of extra time when Victor Torp had put them 4-3 up but his goal was disallowed for a marginal offside against Haji Wright, sending the game to penalties. Despite walking away as victors, Ten Hag insisted that United 'got away with it' and have a lot to learn.

• Manchester Utd survive epic Coventry comeback to reach FA Cup final

• Erik ten Hag bemoans Manchester United’s ‘very low levels’ in FA Cup scare

• Victor Torp’s torment: the greatest ever FA Cup moment that wasn’t

Manchester City came from behind in their quarter-final second leg at the ­Etihad Stadium, after Kevin De Bruyne’s 76th-minute strike cancelled out Rodrygo’s opener early in the first half. Despite the holders dominating ­possession, Real held on until the end of extra-time and eventually prevailed following a penalty shootout. 'We did everything, I don't have any regrets with what we have done,' said Guardiola.

Mikel Arteta said Arsenal 'lacked that magic moment' after losing to Bayern Munich and missing out on a first Champions League semi-final since 2009. Joshua Kimmich’s second-half goal was enough to secure a 3-2 aggregate win. 'I thought we had the capacity and the quality to win the semi-finals because the margins have been very small,' Arteta said. 'But those margins are coming from something else that maybe we don't have yet and we have to learn it.'

• ‘Small margins’: Arteta says Arsenal have plenty to learn after Bayern defeat

• Arsenal knocked out by Bayern after Kimmich header secures last-four spot

• Hardened Bayern show true colours and hand Arteta biggest challenge

Stunning drone footage captured the moment Portsmouth fans stormed the pitch as they were crowned League One champions. Portsmouth return to the Championship after a 12-year absence. John Mousinho’s side twice hit back from behind to beat playoff hopefuls Barnsley 3-2. Fans can be seen celebrating in the centre of the pitch with the players and setting off smoke bombs.

• Portsmouth win promotion to Championship and League One title

A furious Mauricio Pochettino said it was 'a shame' that Nicolas Jackson and Noni Madueke took the gloss off Chelsea’s 6-0 win over Everton by trying to snatch a second-half penalty off Cole Palmer. Pochettino, who confirmed Palmer is the side’s designated spot-kick taker, admitted the incident sent out the wrong image about his team’s mentality. Chelsea’s head coach wants his players to focus more on the collective. Pochettino then clashed with a journalist once the press conference had ended, showing his emotions at having been asked repeated questions about the penalty taker confusion and very little about the rest of the game.

• ‘It’s a shame’: Pochettino angry with Jackson and Madueke over penalty spat

Al-Ittihad’s forward Abderrazak Hamdallah was struck by a spectator at the end of the match in which Al-Ittihad lost 4-1 to Al-Hilal in Abu Dhabi.

Hamdallah appeared to throw his water on the audience member before they quickly retaliated.

• Saudi FA and players union condemn whipping of player by spectator

San Jose have goalkeeping problems, the Whitecaps are defending in a unique way and Miami are given a helping hand

Welcome back to the Guardian’s MLS Power Rankings, where I have a beef with your specific team and your specific team alone.

MLS roster rules might be changing in the middle of the season, but as for this column? It’s following the same format as it has all season. We’re still ranking teams from worst to first. But along with the rankings, we’re diving deep into a handful of teams from around the league who are doing particularly interesting things.

• Australia held to goalless draw by Qatar in final qualifying game
• Men’s team will not join Matildas at Paris Games this year

Australia’s Olympic football hopes will rest solely with the Matildas after the men’s team failed to qualify. The Olyroos were held to a goalless draw by hosts Qatar in their final group match in the Asian Under-23 Cup, which serves as the Olympic qualifying tournament, leaving them with two points and no goals from their three matches.

Australia pressed for much of the match and created a series of chances, but as in their previous matches, were unable to make those chances count. As it happened, it would not have mattered if they had. For Australia to qualify they not only needed to win but for Indonesia to lose. Instead Indonesia, who had beaten Australia 1-0, won 4-1 against Jordan.

• Dutch club relegated in wake of Guardian and TBIJ investigation
• Documents appeared to show financial ties to Abramovich

The Dutch football association has deducted 18 points from Vitesse Arnhem, officially confirming the club’s relegation, in the wake of an investigation by the Guardian and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ) that uncovered apparent financial ties between the club and the Russian oligarch and former Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich.

The KNVB, the governing body of Dutch football, said it had imposed the record sanction because the club, formally known as SBV Vitesse, failed to meet the requirements of its licensing regulations.

Captain of national men’s team among those posting apparently coordinated social media messages

Leading players in Georgia’s national men’s football team have backed mass protests sparked by a “foreign influence” bill criticised for mirroring a repressive Russian law.

Riot police have clashed in recent nights with large rallies of people protesting outside the parliament building in Tbilisi against the bill, which is viewed in Brussels as a threat to future EU membership.

Leverkusen won first Bundesliga because of their brilliance – under their coach now only victory feels inevitable

In other contexts, it might have been seen as tempting fate, daring to anger the football gods. Leverkusen was set for a day of celebration like never before. Approximately 10,000 people lined the streets to greet the team bus leading up to the Bay-Arena with Bismarckstrasse renamed Xabi-Alonso-Allee for the day with its new moniker plastered on street signs.

Yet Bayer Leverkusen weren’t just expectant. They were ready. Unlike Borussia Dortmund, who had stumbled agonisingly on the final day last season when their chance to dethrone Bayern Munich arose, they never felt like dropping the ball. On Sunday, they only needed to beat Werder Bremen to make mathematically sure of the title.

Europe’s balance of power has shifted and Malmö are among the clubs with a vision to return Nordic football to the top

The rain has let up in time for training and Malmö FF Women are going through their paces. Their session takes place at the club’s old ground but, on Saturday, their Elitettan campaign will begin yards away on the main Eleda Stadion pitch. It will be a special occasion: their first match in Sweden’s second tier after promotion, with about 2,000 fans looking on. They will face opponents who were once no strangers to a spot of glamour. Earlier this century few in Europe could rival Umeå IK, who won the Uefa Women’s Cup twice and were runners-up three times. Football has changed since their last final in 2008 and it would be a tremendous feat for any Swedish side, let alone Umeå, to hit those heights again.

While the players train, Håkan Wifvesson is wrapping up an intense day of discussion. “We, the Nordic countries, have been the strongest in the world,” says Wifvesson, chairman of Malmö’s city rivals and multiple top-flight title winners Rosengård, to a packed room inside the modern stadium. “I think we have to make a new plan for how we’re going to get back to that position.”

• Cameroon FA president’s lawyers lodge complaint with Fifa
• They claim Caf general secretary has breached Fifa ethics code

Samuel Eto’o has accused the Confederation of African Football’s general secretary of several breaches of Fifa’s code of ethics during the investigation into allegations that he was involved in match-fixing.

The Guardian understands that Eto’o’s lawyers have lodged a complaint with world football’s governing body alleging that Véron Mosengo-Omba opened the investigation to create “negative publicity” about the former Barcelona striker, who has been president of the Cameroon Football Federation (Fecafoot) since December 2021.

Clubs in the west hope partnerships with the Indian Super League can let them trade knowhow for fan engagement

A south Indian Idli Sambar mixed with Norfolk mustard was on the menu when Norwich City and Chennaiyin FC announced a strategic partnership last week. The Canaries are the latest European club to head to the subcontinent in search of fans, revenue and, eventually perhaps, talent. If India has overtaken China as the world’s most populous country, it is also increasingly seen as the place to be in football.

The big clubs are still active in China but operating there was far from simple even before the pandemic helped to produce a more inward-looking and insular business environment. It can be hard for European officials to get to grips with a lack of transparency, the language and a completely different social media model as well as concerns over corruption. Chinese companies and business people got heavily involved in European football for a while but there have been few attempts to go the other way – Sheffield United’s ownership of Chengdu Blades, starting in 2006, had its moments but did not last long.

Even a VAR-inflicted 1-1 draw against Villarreal did not spoil the Basque club’s celebrations after a first major trophy in 40 years

They had been down to Seville 907km away, 100,000 of them, and come back with their first major honour in 40 years, finally won well after midnight. They had made a victory parade of the traffic jam home, the Roman road known as the Silver Route turned red and white. And they had taken the trophy to the tree of Gernika, symbol of their people. There was the impromptu street party, a police fine imposed for the mobile disco heading through the old town, the whole band playing, and the gabarra, which is only a barge but is everything: a river cruise they had longed for. Then there were the six-hour queues to see the Copa del Rey, if only to check this was real.

For seven days they had celebrated. And on the eighth day there was just one thing left for Athletic Club to do, the perfect close to the week of their lives: bring everyone back to San Mamés, bring the Copa del Rey too, and beat Villarreal. After 40 years waiting, six final defeats – 1985, 2009, 2012, 2015, 2020, 2021 – it was just right. Even the man supposed to mess it up for them said so. Marcelino García Toral, the visiting coach on Sunday night and Athletic’s manager when they lost the last two of those finals, thanked “destiny” for the chance to be there. “I know what this means,” he said.

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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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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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.

Aitana Bonmatí the clear winner of the Guardian’s best 100 female footballers in the world with 15 Spaniards on the list

• The 100 best female footballers in the world 2023

After Alexia Putellas reigned in 2021 and 2022, her Barcelona and Spain teammate Aitana Bonmatí has been crowned the top female footballer of 2023 by the Guardian’s panel of 112 experts. The World Cup winner triumphed by a clear margin, finishing more than 500 points ahead of second-placed Sam Kerr.

Injuries and a World Cup meant there was a definite changing of the guard feel to this year’s list, sadly emphasised by the fact last year’s top two – Putellas and Beth Mead – missed a large chunk of our 12-month voting period with ACL injuries.

Times writer probably closest thing football journalism had to a celebrity but the game, and how we consume it, has changed

For more than three decades, English football media was a Winter wonderland. An eternal Winter. Winter extending an icy grip over the landscape. But even Winter, it seems, can end up being frozen out. Given the cold shoulder. It’s time to wrap up for Winter, now this particular Winter’s tale has reached its final chapter.

That, with apologies, was the opening paragraph to a column about Henry Winter’s dismissal by the Times, written in the style of Henry Winter for the Times. On the other hand, it’s entirely possible you haven’t the faintest idea what, or who, I’m talking about. Which to an oblique and probably self-defeating extent is actually the point.

Slovakia has just elected a president who, like the country’s prime minister, opposes military aid to Ukraine and is seen as pro-Moscow

It is easy to forget that in June 2021 the Ukrainian Football Association was ordered to remove the words “Glory to the Heroes” from its European Championship shirt after Russia – yes, that Russia – had complained it found the slogan to be upsettingly aggressive and militaristic in tone.

Eight months later the same Russia, no doubt still averting its nose from all things militaristic, would invade Ukraine’s eastern border and start a war that has killed at least 11,000 Ukrainian civilians and tens of thousands of its own soldiers. They did at least get the slogan changed, so there’s that.

Although fans thought the shared success would never end, the DFB can use the new Nike deal money to benefit the grassroots

The partnership between Adidas and German football has been a commercial and sporting success for both sides for decades. It is a shared history of advancement. In 1954, the country recognised itself in the national team, and in Adidas too. Back then, Adolf “Adi” Dassler was the equipment manager; his screw-in studs were innovative and gave Fritz Walter, Max Morlock and Helmut Rahn a foothold in the rain of Berne.

Later, Dassler built up a world-class company. Today, clubs such as Arsenal and Ajax regularly take up residence in a small town that doesn’t even have a railway station. The national team will also be preparing for the European Championship in Herzogenaurach. Dassler is the German version of rags to riches.

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It would be far too easy to criticise Nottingham Forest in the wake of their latest self-pitying tirade at the Professional Game Match Officials Limited, which is convenient because that is exactly what Football Daily intends to do. Following their defeat against Everton, a game in which Forest were denied three penalties – one stone-waller and two 50-50 shouts on the tried and trusted Seen-‘Em-Given-O-Meter – the serial whingers from the City Ground published a tweet in which they criticised all three decisions, suggested the PGMOL and the game’s Luton-supporting video assistant referee Stuart Attwell were corrupted and harked back to assorted other decisions they feel have gone against them before pompously signing off by announcing that “NFFC will now consider its options”. And on Monday the club asked the PGMOL to release audio recordings between officials to ensure “the integrity of our sport is upheld”.

I got curious about the footnote which got left in when you pasted some text about Swiss-style tournaments from Wikipedia (Friday’s Football Daily). It points to the URL of a chess website, but when clicked redirects to a site about handicrafts. Having done what Football Daily has taught me and looked at an article on Wikipedia, it seems that through a series of mergers and acquisitions, what remains of that venerable, old chess website lives on as a series of pages deep within the bowels of that handicrafts site. I’ll leave it to my betters to determine if that functions as a metaphor for what has happened to venerable, old cup competitions within the body of modern football” –Kári Tulinius.

Now that Pierre Igot has cracked the winning formula for prizeless letter o’ the day please expect a cascade of 1,057 funny and even more not so funny football clips. This one showcasing Cambridge United’s famously versatile use of body parts is definitely one of the former” – John Kyle.

Congratulations on the ability to post a story (Friday’s Quote of the Day) with Australian content without the prefix of flamin’” – Mike Clarke (and no other flamin’ readers).

Plus: winning a title from way behind, even further-apart country clashes in the Euro and long-throw fatigue

• Mail us your questions or tweet @TheKnowledge_GU

“Chris Wood is having a pretty good season,” begins Iain Cargill. “Being from New Zealand, whose Fifa ranking is 104, which Premier League players come from countries with lower Fifa rankings?”

“If we discount players at clubs who have yet to make their first league appearance then Wood is the player from the second lowest-ranked country currently represented in the Premier League,” writes Tom Reed. “Marvelous Nakamba at Luton comes from 122nd-ranked Zimbabwe (all rankings measured from the current list).

Gunnar Nielsen Manchester City 2009-10, ranked 125th with Faroe Islands

Gaël Bigirimana Newcastle 2012-13, ranked 135th with Burundi

Stéphane Sessègnon Sunderland 2011-12, ranked 136th with Benin

Florent Hadergjonaj Huddersfield 2018-19, ranked 141st with Kosovo

Helder Costa Wolves 2018-19, ranked 142nd with Angola in January 2019

Nathaniel Mendez-Laing Cardiff 2018-19, ranked 149th with Guatemala

El Hadji Ba - Sunderland 2013-14, ranked 159th with Mauritania

Alex Nimely Manchester City 2009-10, ranked 161st with Liberia

Dexter Blackstock Southampton 2004-05, ranked 163rd with Antigua and Barbuda

Al Bangura and Albert Jarrett Watford 2006-07, ranked 165th with Sierra Leone

Bobby Bowry Crystal Palace 1994-95, ranked 176th with St Kitts and Nevis

Jason Roberts Blackburn 2007-08, ranked 176th with Grenada

Zesh Rehman Fulham 2004-05, ranked 178th with Pakistan

Emerson Boyce Wigan 2012-13, ranked 178th with Barbados

Modou Barrow Swansea 2016-16, ranked 179th with Gambia

Onel Hernández Norwich 2019-20, ranked 179th with Cuba

Vurnon Anita Newcastle 2013-14, ranked 183rd with Curaçao

Kyle Lightbourne Coventry 1997-98, ranked 184th with Bermuda

Mesca Fulham 2013-14, ranked 184th with Guinea-Bissau

Neil Danns Blackburn 2003-04, ranked 185th with Guyana

Jordi Amat Swansea 2016-17, ranked 191st with Indonesia

Frédéric Nimani Burnley 2009-10, ranked 202nd with Central African Republic

Ruel Fox Spurs 1998-99, ranked 202nd with Montserrat

Our cartoonist looks back on a dramatic weekend in which Pep Guardiola’s machine powered back up to the summit

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Organisers around the UK work with venues to ensure parties are free to attend, LGBTQ+ inclusive and accessible

On a Wednesday night in late March, the inside of Stamford Bridge’s Tea Bar is decked out by Baller FC, a collective which hosts women’s football watch parties. The group’s DIY decor taps right into women’s football fandom. There is a cardboard cutout of Chelsea’s Emma Hayes. “In Sarina we trust,” reads a flag with an illustration of the Lionesses’ manager. Posters commemorate the seven grassroots teams invited here to celebrate their achievements. This evening’s party culminates in Chelsea’s Champions League fixture against Ajax at Stamford Bridge, with tonight’s guests given free tickets.

It’s the second time Baller FC has teamed up with Chelsea – Fran Kirby popped by at the last event – and is indicative of the collective’s success since being set up by a group of friends in 2022. As women’s football fans, they were tired of scouring the capital trying to find a pub that would put on games. For the Women’s Euros in 2022 they took over a pub in east London, hosting watch parties for every one of the tournament’s 31 games. Crucially, they wanted the women’s football to be the main focus and not shunted to the sidelines for, say, a clashing men’s sports fixture.

Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Nicky Bandini, Lars Sivertsen and Sid Lowe as Real Madrid and Bayern account for Manchester City and Arsenal in the Champions League quarter-finals

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On the podcast today: you can never write off Real Madrid. Manchester City dominated them for almost the entire 120 minutes, but they stayed in it and ultimately went through on penalties to exorcise the demons from their collapse at the Etihad last year.

Faye Carruthers is joined by Suzanne Wrack, Robyn Cowen and Chris Paouros to discuss the FA Cup semi-finals and preview the upcoming last-four ties in the Champions League

On today’s pod: the panel discuss the FA Cup semi-finals, as Manchester United make the final for the second successive season and Tottenham create history by reaching their first.

The panel also discuss what this means for Chelsea, as their hopes of a quadruple have now been slashed in half. They now have two competitions to fight for as Emma Hayes’ tenure heads for its conclusion.

The underdogs created the chaos to unsettle Guardiola’s side at Wembley but their finishing was wayward or timid

Manchester City were dragged into a strange, unfamiliar, uncomfortable place at the start of this FA Cup semi-final. It felt chaotic, uncontrolled, almost as if it had been designed for Conor Gallagher, who was stationed on Chelsea’s left as a hard-running, counter-pressing irritant-machine whose main job was to fry Kyle Walker’s mind.

Credit goes to Mauricio Pochettino for a positional flex that flummoxed City for long spells. Pep Guardiola, all flapping gestures and nervous energy on the touchline, would soon be engaged in frantic conversation with John Stones about some minor tactical detail.

The Norwegian reflects on joining her childhood club in 2019, being ignored for individual awards and focusing on what happens on the pitch, not off it

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Arguably one of the most underrated players in women’s football yet one of the most important at Barcelona, Caroline Graham Hansen has won every trophy available with the club of her dreams. The 29-year-old is regarded as one of the best in the world by her teammates, but judges on award panels seem to overlook her when compiling lists of the best footballers.

The Norwegian winger has numbers that most players on those lists never hit. She is leading the Spanish league in goals and assists with 17 and 16 in 19 matches and has five goals and five assists in six Women’s Champions League appearances.

City have not been at their overwhelming best this season, but they remain immune to the typical anxieties of a title run-in

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There are still only two points in it: Manchester City 73, Arsenal 71, Liverpool 71. It’s not over yet. If the three keep pace for the next five games, it will still be the first season since 1971-72 in which three different sides go into their final game of the season with a chance of winning the title. The hope for anybody seeking a dramatic run-in is that this weekend was just the beginning of a final month of twists and turns. But the sense is that the race has taken a decisive shift towards City and a fourth successive title for Pep Guardiola’s team.

It’s not just that City swept Luton aside 5-1. You’d expect that; they beat them 6-2 in the FA Cup in February. Nor was it just the fact that Liverpool lost at home to Crystal Palace, the opponent Jürgen Klopp had beaten more than any other, or that Arsenal lost at home to Aston Villa, managed by their former manager Unai Emery, each detail twisting the knife in a little further. It was the way they lost, coming after the way Arsenal had played in drawing against Bayern Munich in the Champions League and the way Liverpool had played in losing to Atalanta in the Europa League.

Manager discusses bravery, his future at Kenilworth Road, and the moment that convinced him his team can survive

When Arsenal went top of the Premier League against Luton last week, it wasn’t their fans who were celebrating. Comfortable in their two-goal lead, the home crowd were slipping out before the end and the stadium was empty soon after the whistle. But not entirely. Clustered in the south-east corner, nearly 3,000 Luton fans stayed to serenade their beloved manager. Oh for someone who looks at you the way a Lutonian looks at Rob Edwards.

It was Luton’s eighth Premier League defeat in 10 games and their 19th of the season. The Bedfordshire side sat 18th in the table, three points adrift of Nottingham Forest. And yet nothing can sour the love. “In this situation, if they turned, it would be really, really tough,” Edwards said after the game. “It gives me a lot of belief, that they’re with us.”

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

• Next Generation 2023: 20 of the best Premier League talents

We pick the best youngsters at each club born between 1 September 2006 and 31 August 2007, an age band known as first-year scholars. Check the progress of our classes of 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 … and look at the editions from further back

• Next Generation 2023: 60 of the best talents around the world

Five years ago we picked 80 of the most talented players in the world to follow their progress in a cut-throat business

It is the time of year when we check in on the Next Generation players we picked in 2018 to follow for five years, to assess their progress amid success, setbacks, injuries, trophies won and transfers made.

Next Generation started in 2014 with the aim of showing the difficulties that even the best prospects in the Premier League (we pick one from each club at first-year scholar age) and the rest of the world (we choose 60 born in a specific calendar year) face on their way towards the top.

A defensively minded midfielder who is incredibly strong (he used to be a wrestler) but with an excellent touch to go with his physicality. Made his debut in the Swedish top flight as a 16-year-old last year and captained Sweden as they reached the quarter-finals of the Euro Under-17 tournament in England this summer. Has taken an unusual path to the top. He left the top-flight side IFK Göteborg for sixth division Angered MBIK as a 14-year-old as he felt that he was not getting the right support for his football education. Another Gothenburg club, Häcken, snapped him up in 2017 and he made his senior debut that season. Has signed a new contract with the club from Hisingen until 2021 despite interest from Real Madrid and Benfica and trials at both Manchester clubs.