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GM football fans. It’s Wednesday, Feb. 4 - New heading protocols to prevent the brain disease CTE, Fifa’s president has been condemned for his suggestion to lift Russia’s football ban, and everything else you need to know. Forwarded this email? Sign up here.
KEY FIXTURE
English League Cup semi-final (Feb 4): Manchester City vs. Newcastle, Agg 2-0, 20:00 GMT / 15:00 ET. Manchester City have won 11 consecutive home games against Newcastle, with an aggregate score of 37-3. Plus, City have historically finished the job after winning the first leg of an EFL Cup semi-final, failing only once in 2009-10 against Manchester United. However, Newcastle have knocked City out of this cup twice before, in 2014 and 2023. Eddie Howe will be less encouraged by their away form, though, given they’ve won just three in 16 away from home this season. The winner will face Arsenal in the final on March 22.
Results…
EFL Cup semi-final: Arsenal 1-0 Chelsea (Agg 4-2)
Copa del Rey: Albacete 1-2 Barcelona
Championship: Blackburn 1-0 Sheff Wed | Hull 0-0 Watford | Sheff Utd 3-1 Oxford (Table)
FROM OUR PARTNERS
Dear readers. As you know, we never take sides. But we've received dozens of emails asking us for a good live scores app, and this is one of those rare occasions where we're breaking our rule. Our answer is always the same: FotMob.
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TOP TALKING POINTS
New Heading Protocols
The Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) is revising its protocols on heading as part of a program to prevent brain disease, including CTE, in football. The guidance recommends that professional footballers have no more than 10 headers per week (including training), and that children under 12 should not head the ball at all. In practice, it means training sessions will be altered to reduce heading load, but nothing will change in competitive games.
"It is the principles of less heading, less force, less often and later in life that matter," Dr Adam White, Director of Brain Health at the PFA, told The Associated Press. "These could apply to any sport and are the best hope we have of stopping current and future players from the same fate as former generations." The protocol also includes annual education, support for research, and care for ex-players who suspect they are living with CTE.
Research funded by the PFA and the FA found that Scottish professional footballers have a 3.5 times greater risk of dementia than the general population. Plus, post-mortem studies of former British players — including Jeff Astle, Gordon McQueen, and Chris Nicholl — found CTE in the majority of brains examined.
Ban Lift Condemned
Ukrainian politicians have condemned Fifa president Gianni Infantino for stating his desire to bring an end to Russia’s ban from FIFA-sanctioned competitions. The leader of world football’s governing body was described as a “moral degenerate” by Ukraine’s foreign minister Andrii Sybiha. Russia was banned from Fifa and Uefa football events following the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and Fifa announced a $1m humanitarian donation to “support the people in Ukraine.”
As reported earlier in the week, Infantino said in an interview that Fifa was exploring lifting Russia’s ban because it “has not achieved anything” and “it has just created more frustration and hatred.” Infantino added that Fifa “should actually never ban any country from playing football because of the acts of their political leaders”, while also claiming that allowing boys and girls from Russia to play football elsewhere in Europe “could help” the situation.
In a statement, the Ukrainian Football Association said they urged Fifa and its president “not to change the position of football authorities on excluding Russians from football competitions while the war against Ukraine continues.”
Radical Women’s FA Cup Proposals
The English FA has proposed radical changes to the Women’s FA Cup to make the tournament more profitable and to create better storylines for fans. The most notable change would be to seed the top four teams from the previous season’s Women’s Super League, meaning they’d be kept apart in the early stages to ensure they don’t knock each other out too soon. It’s the same idea behind Fifa seperating the top four-ranked nations in the seeding for the men’s 2026 World Cup.
The proposals also include replacing random draws with a fixed tournament bracket once the competition reaches the Round of 32. This "road-to-Wembley" system would pre-determine every team's potential path to the final, allowing fans and broadcasters to predict future matchups. The goal is to enhance commercial "storytelling" and revenue.
While the changes could be implemented as early as next season, final plans have not been agreed upon. According to sources, the plans have received significant opposition from clubs.
POLL
Should countries be banned from football-related events because of what their leaders do?
ON THE BALL
Europe
> The Coppa Italia quarter-finals begin on Wednesday (Feb 4), starting with Inter-Torino, then Atalanta-Juventus, Napoli-Como and Bologna-Lazio (More)
> The Copa del Rey quarter-final fixture continues through to Thursday with Valencia-Athletic, Alaves-Real Sociedad, and Real Betis-Atletico Madrid remaining (More) | Real Madrid defender Fran Garcia reportedly asked to train alone after his loan move to Bournemouth was blocked by his club (More)
> Fenerbahce have blamed Saudi Pro League side Al Ittihad for the N’Golo Kante and Youssef En-Nesyri swap deal collapse because they allegedly uploaded their documents incorrectly (More)
Americas
> Six MLS and NWSL stadiums — Columbus, Nashville, NYCFC, St. Louis, San Jose, and San Diego — will host football matches for the LA 2028 Olympics (More)
> World Cup parking passes in Los Angeles will sell for $250 or $300 per matchday and per spot, more than the price of some tickets (More)
> James Rodriguez is close to finalising his move to MLS club Minnesota United (More)
> West Ham have sold defender Anouk Denton for a club record fee of £200,000 to NWSL side Bay FC (More)
Rest of the World
> Cristiano Ronaldo is considering his future in Saudi Arabia due to concerns over the financial backing Al Nassr are receiving compared to other clubs (More)
> Morocco's football federation said it would appeal the CAF disciplinary rulings over last month's drama in the Africa Cup of Nations final against Senegal (More)
TOGETHER WITH FOTMOB
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ROUTERS’ VOICE
Yesterday’s Poll: Rodri claims referees are failing to be 'neutral' because Man City have 'won too much.' Do you think there is any truth in this?
🟨 🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ 👍 Yes (22%)
🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🙅♂️ Nope (74%)
🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ✍️ Other (4%)
Your punditry takes:
🙅♂️ J.L: “Players and managers try to use the media to gain advantages, even if it's just psychological. Refs are neutral. Players, managers, fans, pundits, and commentators are not. These attempts to use the media almost always backfire. Next, Rodri will be claiming he's been targeted by the refs for his comments. Play the game on the field, not in the media.”
🙅♂️ M.C: “I believe that Man City have had the benefit of refereeing and VAR decisions over the past 10+ years, so they should have nothing to complain about. To now start bleating and stating that referees are failing to be 'neutral' is frankly laughable.”
✍️ B.K.I: “That statement is a real face scratcher. I'm shedding 115 tears for City.”
EXTRA TIME
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ITV gains advantage over BBC in World Cup coverage.
The most satisfying goal you’ll see all week.
Are the Vancouver Whitecaps about to die?
Sheffield United’s Chinese New Year jersey.
Alexia Putellas’ first-ever Nike signature boots.
What happens during a football medical?
GAME FACE ON
Question: Who Am I…
I once played two competitive matches in a single day.
I was the first player ever to win the PFA Players' Player of the Year award twice, winning it in 1989 and again in 1991.
I am the only person to have scored in the FA Community Shield, the League Cup Final, and the FA Cup Final all in the same season (1993–94).
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.
I'm a bit sad that we are seventh on the net spend table over the last five years. I wanted to be first. I don't understand why the club doesn't spend more money. We were higher before because we spent a lot.
Answer
Mark Hughes.
