GM football fans. It’s Friday, May. 02 - FA updates its gender policy again, the final day of the Championship, and everything else you need to know. Forwarded this email? Sign up here.

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KEY FIXTURES

Premier League: Manchester City vs. Wolverhampton Wanderers, Fri 02, 20:00 / 15:00. Friday’s kick-off sees City seeking a top-five finish. Pep Guardiola’s side have picked up form, having won three league games on the spin. Meanwhile, Wolves have claimed maximum points from their last six, continuing a superb end to the season. See all Premier League fixtures here.

La Liga: Real Valladolid vs. Barcelona, Sat 03, 20:00 / 15:00. Barcelona are top of the La Liga table, four points clear of second-placed Real Madrid, while a poor season has left Valladolid at the bottom of the division, picking up just 16 points from 33 matches. A win for Barcelona in this match could set up a title decider against Real Madrid on May 11. See all La Liga fixtures here.

Results…

• Europa League: Athletic Club 0-3 Man Utd (Report) | Spurs 3-1 Bodo/Glimt (Report)

• Conference League: Djurgarden 1-4 Chelsea (Report) | Betis 2-1 Fiorentina

• Premier League: Nottingham Forest 0-2 Brentford (Table)

TOP TALKING POINTS

FA Updates Gender Policy

Transgender women will no longer be allowed to play in women’s football in England from June 1, the FA has confirmed. The announcement follows the Scottish FA’s decision, two days earlier, to implement a similar ban.

The FA amended its gender policy on April 11, introducing stricter eligibility criteria. However, a UK Supreme Court ruling four days later—defining a woman as someone born biologically female—prompted the FA to adopt a full ban on transgender women.

Currently, 20 transgender women are registered among millions of amateur players. No transgender women are registered in the professional game across the UK.

Championship’s Final Day

Saturday marks the final day of the 2024-25 Championship season, with all 24 teams kicking off simultaneously at 12.30 UK (07:30 ET). See the full fixture list here and the current standings here.

Sheffield United and Sunderland have already secured play-off spots, and five teams are in contention to join them. Bristol City, who host relegation-threatened Preston, have a one-point lead over Coventry City and Millwall. Opta’s gives Bristol an 89.8% chance of reaching the play-offs, followed by Coventry (66.4%), Middlesbrough (19.5%), Blackburn (12.6%), and Millwall (11.8%).

Meanwhile, wins for already-promoted Leeds United (away at Plymouth) and Burnley (home vs Millwall) would put both clubs on 100 points. Burnley could become the first team to reach three figures for points in the EFL without winning the title.

League One and League Two projections can be found here.

Fan-Favourite Snack Banned

Spanish second-tier side Elche have banned sunflower seeds inside their stadium. The snack, commonly consumed by cracking shells with the teeth and spitting them out, is a staple at football matches in Spain.

Elche said discarded shells deteriorate the stadium seats, “significantly increase” cleaning and maintenance costs, and “attract infestations of rats and pigeons”.

In 2023, Valencia took a similar measure after they invested €25,000 a year to remove the shells. Rather than imposing a full ban, they asked fans to bring their own bags to collect the waste.

POLL

ON THE BALL

Europe

> Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich can secure a 34th German league crown on Saturday at RB Leipzig, having opened up an eight-point advantage with three games left (More)

> Napoli will travel to Lecce as they look to maintain their three-point lead in the Serie A over Inter Milan (More)

> Barcelona will likely be without Jules Kounde for the second leg of their Champions League semi-final against Inter (agg 3-3) next week due to injury (More)

> It is the final Old Firm clash of the season this weekend as Rangers host Celtic; see what’s to play in the Scottish Premiership (More)

Americas

> Inter Miami have exited the Concacaf Champions Cup after a 3-1 loss (agg 5-1) to Vancouver Whitecaps (More) | Cruz Azul and Tigres play each other in the other semi-final; result determined shortly after publication (More)

> The Chicago Stars have fired coach Lorne Donaldson after winning just one of six games to start the NWSL season (More) | Kansas City Current and Orlando Pride are level on points at the top of the NWSL table going into Matchday 7 (Fixtures)

> An unnamed player for Mexican women’s team Mazatlan has been banned for six years after a probe into match-fixing (More)

> Chilean club Colo-Colo have been handed a 10-game supporter ban after fan deaths before a Copa Libertadores tie (More)

> MLS fixtures (More) | Brazil Serie A fixtures (More) | Argentine Primera Division fixtures (More)

Rest of the World

> Qatar appoint former Real Madrid and Spain boss Julen Lopetegui as the national coach (More)

ROUTERS’ VOICE

Yesterday’s Poll: Do you think the winners of a league title should receive a guard of honour from opponents?

🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🫡 Yes... (48%)

🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🙅‍♂️ Nope... (48%)

🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ✍️ Other... (4%)

Your punditry takes:

• 🫡 J.L: “Showing the Champions respect is important and it's the classy thing to do. I always liked seeing that respect for the achievement of winning the title with matches still to play.”

• 🫡 W.T: “Beyond the fact that it's a long-standing tradition, it is founded in professionalism and sportsmanship. I think it's primarily a show of respect, and it honours the game even more than it honours the specific club who have won. Seeing players giving that respect to their opponents after a long, hard-fought season is classy. Keep it!”

• 🙅‍♂️ J.M: “I think it is a bit pathetic to be honest and really dampens down the atmosphere of the match if one team is ‘honouring' the other before it starts. At most, they should get one as they leave the pitch on the final matchday of the season.”

EXTRA TIME

Netflix to cover USWNT’s ’99 World Cup win.

What it’s really like to record video game commentary.

Premier League race for Europe—how things stand.

CBS interviews Lamine Yamal.

… and footage of Yamal playing five years ago.

Valencia’s new third has raised eyebrows.

When Todd Boehly didn’t know who Ruud Gullit was.

The numbers behind Chelsea’s WSL title win.

New Camp Nou turf getting laid is satisfying.

GAME FACE ON

Question: Mohamed Salah goal versus Spurs saw him go level with Wayne Rooney (183 for Man Utd) for most goals scored for a single club in the Premier League. Who are the only two players to have score more PL goals for one team?

Scroll below for the answer.

ON TODAY

Premier League

• Manchester City vs Wolverhampton Wanderers (20:00)

La Liga

• Rayo Vallecano vs Getafe (20:00)

Bundesliga

• Heidenheim vs Bochum (19:30)

Serie A

• Torino vs Venezia (19:45)

*All time in UK. ET -5. CDT -6. PDT -8. MDT -7. CET +1.

Answer

Harry Kane (213 for Spurs) and Sergio Aguero (184 for Manchester City).

Want more? Try our daily football Wordle – guess the name of a current or former player in six tries. Play it here.