GM football fans. It’s Thursday, Apr. 03 - Barcelona investigated for creative accounting, some fans have been banned from the Club World Cup, and everything else you need to know. Forwarded this email? Sign up here.

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KEY FIXTURES

Premier League MW30: Chelsea FC vs. Tottenham Hotspur, 20:00 / 15:00. Tottenham have won just one of the previous 12 Premier League meetings with the Blues, and another loss would make Ange Postecoglou the first Spurs manager to lose his first four league games against Chelsea. See predicted line-ups here.

Results…

• Premier League: Liverpool 1-0 Everton (Report) | Bournemouth 1-2 Ipswich | Brighton 0-3 Villa | Man City 2-0 Leicester | Newcastle 2-1 Brentford | Southampton 1-1 Palace (League Table)

• Copa Del Rey, SF: Atletico Madrid 0-1 Barcelona, Agg 4-5 (Report)

• Coppa Italia, SF: AC Milan 1-1 Inter Milan

• DFB Pokal, SF: Stuttgart 3-1 RB Leipzig

• Coupe de France, SF: Cannes 1-2 Reims

TOP TALKING POINTS

Barcelona in Trouble

La Liga claims that Barcelona never had the salary space to register Dani Olmo or Pau Victor, accusing the club of financial misconduct.

Barcelona said they sold VIP seats at their new stadium for €100m to Middle Eastern investors. The sale was an attempt to increase their salary cap and register both players. But La Liga says the deal was not recorded in the accounts submitted to the league, and that the deal had been signed off by an unnamed auditor hired by the club. It’s thought this auditor was only hired for four days.

With the transaction missing from the final audit, La Liga ruled it invalid. Barcelona’s salary cap has been reduced accordingly, meaning the club no longer meets financial fair play requirements and both players are now technically unregistered. The Spanish government will confirm or overrule the decision in the coming days.

Barcelona president Joan Laporta accused La Liga of attempting to “destabilise” the club by releasing the news on the day of their Copa del Rey semi-final against Atletico Madrid.

Fans Banned From CWC

Around 150 supporters of Manchester City and Chelsea have been banned from travelling to the United States for the Club World Cup this summer. The move is part of the UK Home Office’s effort to curb football-related offences.

These fans, who have been subject to a Football Banning Order (FBO), will be forced to surrender their passports for the duration of the tournament, which takes place between June 14 and July 13. Non-compliance could lead to up to six months in prison or an unlimited fine.

In February, the UK Home Office announced that during the 2023-24 campaign, there were 2,584 football-related arrests—up 14% compared with the previous season.

German Football’s New Model

St. Pauli supporters have raised over €27m for a majority stake in the club’s Millerntor-Stadion stadium. It was done through Germany’s first-ever football fan cooperative—meaning that fans pool their money together to own part of the club collectively.

Around 21,000 fans spent €850 for each share they bought. Each purchase automatically entered fans into a prize draw, including a dinner with team captain Jackson Irvine, VIP packages, signed shirts and more.

The first-of-its-kind move in Germany reinforces the country’s commitment to the 50+1 rule, in which club members—usually fans—must hold at least 50% of voting rights. Part of St. Pauli’s stadium was owned by external investors, but the fan cooperative has granted the club greater financial control over its stadium. FC Schalke 04 are exploring a similar, if not identical, model due to financial difficulties.

Dive deeper into German football’s 50+1 model here.

POLL

ON THE BALL

Europe

> The Scottish Premiership could be changed to a 10, 14 or 16-team division in an attempt to reduce fixture congestion (More); learn why the Scottish Premiership ‘splits’ (More)

> Bayer Leverkusen’s CEO has urged the German FA to “impose a penalty” on Arminia Bielefeld for not watering their pitch after their 2-1 loss to the third division side (More)

> Manchester United Women head coach Marc Skinner has signed a new contract until the summer of 2027 (More)

> Spanish prosecutors will appeal Dani Alves’ recent acquittal on sexual assault charges (More)

Americas

> LAFC and Inter Miami face off at 22:30 ET (Apr. 02) in the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions Cup quarter-finals (More); LA Galaxy vs Tigres UANL and Club America vs Cruz Azul both ended in goalless draws (Bracket)

> FC Cincinnati and San Diego FC are interested in Bayern Munich’s Thomas Muller, but reports suggest that Bayern may offload the forward to Los Angeles FC, a partner club of the German giants (More)

> The United States women's national team and Canada will face each other in a friendly on July 2 at Audi Field in Washington, D.C. (More)

Rest of the World

> Former France international Wissam Ben Yedder is trying to revive his career in Iran after receiving a suspended prison sentence for sexually assaulting a woman (More)

> Ghana, Nigeria, Jamaica, and Trinidad & Tobago will compete in a men's football tournament in London later this year (More)

ROUTERS’ VOICE

Yesterday, we asked you: Do you think SAOT will improve offside calls in the Premier League?

🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 👏 Absolutely... (53%)

🟨 🟨 🟨 🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ 🙅‍♂️ Nope... (43%)

🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ✍️ Other... (4%)

Your punditry takes:

• 👏 J.P: “It should definitely save time with the tighter offside calls, as has been shown in UEFA Competitions. The computer can detect the difference in distance faster than the eye can see it.”

• 🙅‍♂️ J.S: “Linesmen have done a pretty good job for years without the need for ‘video game’ style programs. VAR has damaged the fluidity of the matches, especially when a toenail distance has resulted in minutes of review. The players are prone to occasional errors, and with video replays, official calls or lack thereof have been examined but never corrected, so why should offsides or lack of the call be reviewed for correction? The only video reviews that seem to be supported are ones to verify a goal being or not being scored.”

• ✍️ J: “Can it be worse? Why aren't these decisions in the hands of football people who can rationalise pros vs cons, factor in the necessity to modernise the beautiful game, but put the supporter/viewers experience at the top of 'must achieves'? I seriously doubt if any of the incumbent decision makers have watched a game outside of the hospitality seats with a serious amount of gin inside them.”

EXTRA TIME

Jose Mourinho grabs Galatasaray manager’s nose—and it wasn’t friendly. (via X)

Everything you need to know about the Copa Libertadores.

The inside story of Arne Slot’s bizarre kick-off idea.

Ederson’s eight-year superstition.

How did a player play 47 times in a 46-game league season?

The worst teams in Prem history that may prove better than Southampton.

Football-golf has a long drive champion.

Nine years since that Payet freekick. (via X)

GAME FACE ON

Question: The Argentine national team has now spent two full years at the top of the Fifa World Ranking, taking them fifth on the all-time list for longest reigns at No. 1. Can you name which national team holds the longest streak?

Bonus: Name the years.

Scroll below for the answer.

*Correction from yesterday: Stevan Jovetic was the first player to score in each of Europe’s top five leagues in the 21st century—but Florin Raducioiu was the first player to achieve this feat.

ON TODAY

Premier League

• Chelsea vs Tottenham Hotspur (20:00)

*All time in UK. ET -5. CST -6. PST -8. MST -7. CET +1.

Answer

Brazil. They were top of Fifa’s rankings for six years and eight months, from June 1994 to April 2001.

Their second-longest run lasted four years and eight months, between June 2002 and January 2007.