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GM football fans. It’s Tuesday, Feb. 24 - The Champions League play-offs, Fifa looks to introduce one-minute sidelines for injured players, and everything else you need to know. Forwarded this email? Sign up here.
KEY FIXTURES
UEFA Champions League Play-Offs, Leg 2: Atletico Madrid vs. Club Brugge (Agg 3-3), 17:45 GMT / 12:45 ET. This is the only fixture of the eight to enter the second leg all square. Form has been a concern for Atletico with just two wins from their last five across all competitions, and Club Brugge have only lost one of their last eight Champions League games under Ivan Leko. Inter Milan vs. Bodo/Glimt (Agg 1-3), 20:00 GMT / 15:00 ET. With a two-goal lead, Bodo could become the first Eliteserien side to progress from a knockout tie since Lillestrom made it through the first round way back in 1987. Newcastle vs. Qarabag (Agg 6-1), 20:00 GMT / 15:00 ET. No side in major European competition history has ever overturned a first-leg deficit of five or more goals to advance, and this will mark the 301st instance of a team heading into a second leg trailing by 5+ goals. See all Champions League fixtures this week here.
Results…
Premier League: Everton 0-1 Manchester United (Table)
Women’s FA Cup, 5th Round: London City Lionesses 2-2 Tottenham Hotspur (Spurs win 9-8 on pens)
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TOP TALKING POINTS
Champions League Knock-Outs
The Champions League knock-out round play-offs concludes this week, with eight teams set to advance to the Round of 16. They will secure their place in the draw, which takes place this Friday (Feb 27) to determine the final bracket for the rest of the tournament — see the current bracket here.
The biggest storyline of the second leg is on Wednesday when Real Madrid host Benfica (Agg 1-0), just a week after Vinicius Junior accused Gianluca Prestianni of racially insulting him. Prestianni has been provisionally suspended by Uefa and won’t play in the match. Benfica manager Jose Mourinho, who was sent off late in the first leg for complaining to the referee, will also miss the match, and he is exercising his right not to talk to the media before or after the fixture.
The Italian clubs in the play-offs face an uphill challenge to reach the round of 16. Inter, last year’s runner-up, lost 3-1 to Norway’s Bodo/Glimt in the first leg, and Juventus must overcome a three-goal deficit after losing 5-2 against Turkey’s Galatasaray. Meanwhile, Atalana trail by two goals after their 2-0 loss to Borussia Dortmund.
Elsewhere, Newcastle have the largest cushion going into the second leg after their 6-1 win over Qarabag away from home. Bayer Leverkusen will also feel confident playing at home against Olympiakos with a 2-0 first-leg win. Reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain have just a one-goal lead on aggregate over Monaco after coming back from two goals down in their 3-2 win last week.
Host City Safety Concerns
Four football matches in Mexico have been postponed after violence flared near Guadalajara, one of the country’s host cities for the 2026 World Cup, which left a cartel leader of one of the most powerful criminal organisations dead. Guadalajara is set to stage four group-stage matches in the World Cup this summer, including Uruguay and Spain on June 26 at the Estadio Akron. Before then, New Caledonia, Jamaica, and DR Congo are set to participate in a World Cup playoff tournament at the same venue.
Jalisco, the Mexican state that includes Guadalajara, is led by governor Pablo Lemus, who had previously outlined a tournament security plan centred on an expanded city-wide video surveillance system and the deployment of National Guard and Mexican army patrols. Following the unrest, his office said it has received no communication from Fifa indicating concern about Guadalajara’s host status.
While experts say there is “moderate risk” for tourists, they also say the cartel leader’s death could create a power vacuum and a period of instability as rivals fight for control. However, cartels have economic incentives for a peaceful World Cup because they profit from tourism, hotels, and restaurants.
One-Minute Injury Rule
Injured players who receive treatment could be forced to stay off the field for one minute under new proposals from Fifa. The aim is to standardise the law across competitions, reduce time-wasting, and improve game flow. Currently, leagues control how long injured players must remain on the sidelines, with the Premier League adopting a 30-second rule since the 2023-24 season.
There is broad agreement that a fixed period should be added to the laws, but there has been strong pushback against two-minute sidelines, which were trialled by Fifa in December’s Arab Cup. Insiders reportedly argue that even a one-minute absence would make teams more likely to concede a goal when down to 10 players. Exceptions are likely to be included in the new law, as there may be no one-minute wait if the opponent receives a card, the injured player is a goalkeeper, or the injured player is the penalty taker.
This is just one of a number of measures set to be approved at the International Football Association Board (Ifab) annual general meeting on Saturday.
POLL
Do you support a one-minute sideline for injured players to reduce time-wasting?
ON THE BALL
Europe
> Gambling firms not licensed in the UK could be banned from sponsoring sports teams, including Premier League clubs (More)
> The FA has delayed its proposed reforms to the Women’s FA Cup this year to allow more time for “further feedback” (More)
> Spain international Dean Huijsen has apologised on Real Madrid's Weibo account for sharing content on social media that is offensive to Asians (More)
> Struggling Ligue 1 club Paris FC hired Antoine Kombouare as its new coach after firing Stephane Gilli on Sunday (More)
Americas
> The MLS has cleared Lionel Messi of wrongdoing after the Argentinian appeared to pursue match officials after Inter Miami’s season-opening loss to LAFC (More)
> Santos coach Juan Pablo Vojvoda backed that Neymar will rediscover his best form following criticism of his latest performance in Brazil (More)
Rest of the World
> Dick Advocaat has stepped down as head coach of Curacao, the smallest nation to qualify for the World Cup, with immediate effect due to family reasons (More)
ROUTERS’ VOICE
Yesterday’s Poll: Should players be banned from covering their mouths during matches?
🟨 🟨 🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ 👍 Yes (37%)
🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🙅♂️ Nope (60%)
🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ✍️ Other (3%)
Your punditry takes:
👍 G.P: “There can only be one reason for trying to hide what you are saying. If you are not saying something that can get you into trouble, then there is no need to hide your lip movement.”
👍 M.M: “It's sad that we have to have such rules, but until we have players who see past colour, religion or creed with their opponents and teammates, we must take steps to put in the accountability that they lack within themselves.”
🙅♂️ C.R: “Covering your mouth isn't evidence of a slur or an insult. Banning it assumes the worst of every player in every interaction.”
🙅♂️ S.G: Where would it stop? Players and managers cover their mouths many times during any game: to give instructions, to pass instructions, and to discuss details while setting up set plays. Are all these going to be reasons to suspect ugly behaviour?”
✍️ R.B: “While I agree that the game needs some measure to hold people accountable for racism and discrimination, this kind of rule would be way too subjective to enforce consistently. There are too many aspects of the game where it is fair to cover your mouth to hide tactical discussions, especially during a set piece or lineup change. I would be more inclined to have the field more mic’d up or something along those lines.”
EXTRA TIME
Why relegation is a real risk for Spurs...
… and the Premier League teams most likely to be relegated.
The record for the longest English away day was equalled this weekend.
Meet the 102-year-old kitman who left his mark on the World Cup.
Club accused of using sprinklers to postpone a game.
Three of the Bundesliga’s falling giants.
GAME FACE ON
Question: Which country has appeared in the most men’s World Cup tournaments without ever winning the competition?
Scroll below for the answer.
Daily Wordle: Guess the football-related word, from player names to classic phrases, in six tries or fewer. Play it here.
Arsenal might have the strongest squad I’ve ever seen in English football.
Answer
Mexico (17 World Cups).
