GM football fans. It’s Friday, Sept. 12 - Chelsea are hit with 74 charges by the FA, the Championship is considering changes to its promotion play-offs, and everything else you need to know. Forwarded this email? Sign up here.
KEY FIXTURES
Premier League MD4: Arsenal vs. Nottingham Forest, Saturday 13, 12:30 BST / 7:30 ET. New Nottingham Forest boss Ange Postecoglou has failed to beat Arsenal in four previous Premier League meetings. Plus, Forest have won just two of their 16 Premier League matches against Arsenal. West Ham vs. Tottenham Hotspur, Saturday 13, 17:30 BST / 12:30 ET. Each of the last three league meetings between West Ham and Spurs at the London Stadium have ended as 1-1 draws. Spurs have lost 10 of their last 16 London derbies in the league. Manchester City vs. Manchester United, Sunday 14, 16:30 BST / 11:30 ET. City have won five of their last eight league matches against United (D1 L2), despite failing to win either game (D1 L1) last season. This fixture could see a new goalkeeper debuting for each club, with the arrival of Gianluigi Donnarumma at City and Senne Lammens at United, which has only happened twice before in the Premier League. See every Premier League Matchday 4 fixture here.
Results…
UEFA Women’s UCL, 3rd Qualifying Round: Brann 1-0 Man Utd | Eintracht 1-2 Real Madrid | Roma 1-2 Sporting (See all results)
USL Cup semi-finals: Rhode Island 0-0 Sacramento Republic (Pens 0-3) | Hartford Athletic 3-1 Greenville Triumph
TOP TALKING POINTS
FA Charges Chelsea
Premier League club Chelsea have been hit with 74 charges related to alleged breaches of agent regulations by the Football Association. The club could face serious penalties, including a points deduction, if they are found guilty of any wrongdoing. The club has until September 19 to respond to the charges.
The charges concern payments worth tens of millions made to agents between 2009 and 2022, when the club was owned by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich. Chelsea’s current owners self-reported potential irregularities to the FA during their takeover process.
Last year, leaked files allegedly revealed a series of payments over a decade that benefitted Chelsea, raising questions about whether they were declared in accounts submitted to football’s governing bodies. Beneficiaries reportedly included Eden Hazard’s agent, as well as agents involved in the signings of Willian and Samuel Eto’o. It has not been confirmed whether the FA’s charges relate to these specific payments, and there is no suggestion of any wrongdoing on the part of those players.
UEFA Delay Overseas Decision
UEFA has delayed a decision on approving domestic league matches being played outside Europe. The Executive Committee met yesterday to discuss proposals to host matches abroad, but said they wished to “ensure that it has the views of all stakeholders before coming to a final decision.” Uefa confirmed that fans will be considered a key stakeholder in the process.
Spain’s La Liga is planning to stage December’s fixture between Villarreal and Barcelona in Miami, Florida, while Italy’s Serie A is seeking approval to play February’s meeting between Milan and Como in Perth, Australia. Last week, Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin spoke against these proposals, arguing that European fans shouldn’t have to travel to watch their teams play.
Ceferin admitted that Uefa’s ability to block such games is limited if the national federations involved raise no objections. Still, under Fifa’s regulations, staging a competitive domestic match abroad requires approval from multiple bodies—including both national associations, the host confederation, and Uefa, as the competition’s governing confederation. Fifa has the final say, but only once those approvals are in place.
Play-off Change Proposal
The English Football League is in talks over adding an eliminator round to the Championship play-offs, expanding the number of participants from four to six. Currently, the third-placed team faces sixth, and the fourth-placed team plays fifth in the semi-finals.
Under the new proposal, third- and fourth-placed teams would continue to qualify automatically for the play-offs. However, the fifth-placed side would play the eighth-placed side, and sixth would face seventh, in one-off ties at the higher seed’s ground. The winners would then advance to two-legged semi-finals against the third- and fourth-placed teams.
The proposal has received widespread support from Championship clubs, though the Premier League has objected in the past, arguing that it will dilute the quality of its competition. Any change would require approval from the FA Board, and no formal EFL vote has yet taken place.
POLL
Do you think play-offs are a good way to decide promotion?
ON THE BALL
Europe
> Madrid will host the 2027 men's Champions League final and Warsaw will stage the women's final (More)
> The Sheffield United women’s head coach, Ash Thompson, has been suspended from his duties for an unknown reason (More) | Matchday 2 of the WSL begins on Friday (Sept 12) with Man City vs. Brighton & West Ham vs. Arsenal (See Fixtures)
> Dynamo Kyiv fans have expressed anger over the signing of Moldovan-Romanian striker Vladislav Blanuta, who shared content by a ‘Russian propagandist’ on social media; Blanuta says he didn’t know what he was reposting (More)
> The former Premier League referee David Coote has pleaded not guilty to making an indecent image of a minor (More)
Americas
> Brazil want to host the 2029 Club World Cup tournament and have met with Fifa to discuss (More)
> Colombian striker Luis Suarez became the first player in 14 years to score a poker (four goals in one match) in a Conmebol World Cup qualifier; the last player to pull it off was Luis Suarez of Uruguay in 2011 (More)
> Heading into Matchday 33 of the MLS regular season, four teams can clinch an MLS Cup play-offs spot, while five teams can be eliminated from contention (More); see all MLS fixtures (More)
> Five NWSL teams remain in contention for the NWSL Shield as the league heads into Week 20 (More); see all NWSL fixtures (More)
> Liga MX leaders Monterrey could extend their winning streak to seven as they travel to 17th-place Queretaro on Sunday; see all Liga MX fixtures (More)
Rest of the World
ROUTERS’ VOICE
Yesterday’s Poll: Do you agree with Opta's projection that Liverpool are favourites to win this season's Champions League?
🟨 🟨 🟨 🟨 🟨 ⬜️ 🔴 Yes (48%)
🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🙅♂️ Nope (50%)
🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ✍️ Other (2%)
Your punditry takes:
🔴 S.H: “Last year, Liverpool had one of the best squads in the world and had a tough draw. This year, they have improved and, more importantly, gained depth in the attack. Assuming there is some rotation, the best eleven should be well rested and ready to do much better in the knock-outs this time.”
🙅♂️ W.P: “Their reinforcements in the transfer window have been in attack, but knock-out football favours those with a rock-solid defence. Despite their perfect start to the season, it’s clear that teams can have a go at their defence, and the elite teams will expose this later in the season. If they bought Guehi in at the end of the window, my vote would’ve been different.”
🙅♂️ G.R: “Because they’ve won it a couple of times doesn’t automatically mean they’ll win it again, other teams have had a fantastic transfer window, so it will take it to the wire. It’s going to be an interesting season for the top teams.”
EXTRA TIME
Newcastle cancel school’s tickets for Barcelona game.
… and West Ham bans half-and-half scarves against Spurs.
The biggest Premier League storylines after international break.
Ronaldo wins ‘Best of All Time’ award by Portuguese Football League.
… and Carragher wins Athletic Club’s One-Club man award.
Opta releases Europa League projections.
How will Liverpool fit Isak into their attacking set-up?
England players react to their EA FC rating. (video)
Football Manager 26 gets a release date after initial cancellation.
GAME FACE ON
Question: What links Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Romelu Lukaku, Robert Lewandowski, Neymar, Ferenc Puskas, and Harry Kane?
Scroll below for the answer.
ON TODAY
Championship
Ipswich vs. Sheffield United (20:00)
Women’s Super League
Man City vs. Brighton (19:30)
West Ham vs. Arsenal (19:30)
La Liga
Sevilla vs. Elche (20:00)
Bundesliga
Leverkusen vs. Frankfurt (19:30)
*All times in UK. ET -5. CDT -6. PDT -8. MDT -7. CET +1.
Answer
They are the all-time leading goal scorers for their respective countries.
Daily Wordle: Guess the football-related word, from player names to classic phrases, in six tries or fewer. Play it here.
A move to Bayern would have made no sense for Wirtz. Is Bundesliga still a challenge for him at the highest level? No.
