GM football fans. It’s Tuesday, Apr. 22 - a ticket resale controversy, promotion to the Premier League, and everything else you need to know. Forwarded this email? Sign up here.

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KEY FIXTURES

Premier League: Manchester City vs. Aston Villa, 20:00 / 15:00. Man have won their last 14 Premier League home games against Villa, scoring at least twice in each of the last 13. Meanwhile, Villa have won their last three away league matches, keeping a clean sheet in each—plus they won 2-1 in the reverse fixture in December. See the Premier League table here.

La Liga: Barcelona vs. Mallorca, 20:30 / 15:30. Barcelona enter the match off the back of a 4-3 victory over Celta Vigo, which moved them seven points clear at the top of the La Liga table, while Mallorca occupy seventh, which is now a Europe League position in Spain's top flight. See the La Liga table here.

Results…

• Premier League: Tottenham Hotspur 1-2 Nottingham Forest (Report)

• La Liga: Girona 1-3 Real Betis (Table)

TOP TALKING POINTS

Ticket Resale Controversy

A new investigation has found that resale tickets for a Premier League match were visible to UK users on Vivid Seats—despite the country’s ban on buying or selling touted tickets. Chelsea chairman Todd Boehly holds a controversial ownership stake in the platform.

A Sky News team in London accessed and viewed tickets for a Chelsea vs. Liverpool match on Vivid’s website. While a pop-up message eventually blocked the transaction, the fact that the listings were visible raises questions about whether UK residents could have previously purchased tickets through the site.

The investigation also found that Chelsea tickets were being resold for up to 30 times face value. Tickets, priced by Chelsea at a maximum of £80, were being listed between £537 and £2,666. Premier League clubs have stepped up anti-touting efforts, including Chelsea, which employs an investigative team and has banned over 1,000 individuals. Arsenal and Liverpool have also introduced stricter controls.

EFL Promotion Battles

Leeds United and Burnley have been promoted to the Premier League with two games to spare. Joe Piroe scored four goals in Leeds’ 6-0 win over Stoke City (highlights), while Burnley extended their unbeaten run to 31 matches with a 2-1 win over third-place Sheffield United.

In League One, Wrexham moved up to second after a 2–1 win over Blackpool, edging two points ahead of Wycombe Wanderers with four games remaining. The club—co-owned by Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney—could secure a historic third consecutive promotion, joining Birmingham City, who returned to the Championship two weeks ago.

League Two is arguably the most hotly contested—see table. With four matches to go, just four points separate the top four: Doncaster, Port Vale, Bradford City, and Walsall. The top three earn automatic promotion to League One, with the next four entering a play-off.

World Cup Posters

Fifa has revealed the official posters for the men’s 2026 World Cup, hosted across the United States, Canada, and Mexico. See all the posters here.

The governing body has released posters for each of the 16 host cities, created by local artists through contests or collaborations with local institutions. ESPN ranked Boston’s poster as the best (see here), with the San Francisco Bay Area’s coming a close second (see here).

The tradition of city-specific World Cup artwork began in 1998, during the men’s finals in France. Tournament-wide posters, however, have been issued since the first World Cup in 1930–see some of the best ones here.

POLL

Editor’s note: If you’d like to dive deeper into the stats on this topic, see this link.

ON THE BALL

Europe

> All Serie A fixtures were postponed yesterday following Pope Francis’ death (More)

> A man has been arrested after a lineman was hit with a projectile during Saint-Etienne's 2-1 win over Olympique Lyonnais in Ligue 1 (More)

> Manchester United are reportedly leading the race to sign Matheus Cunha from Wolves; he has a £62.5m release clause (More) | Manchester City have reportedly told Bernardo Silva that he is not part of their plans beyond this season, with the 30-year-old expected to return to Portugal this summer (More/translated)

> Bayer Leverkusen expect a decision over manager Xabi Alonso’s future to be made in the next three to four weeks; he is favoured by Real Madrid to take over from Carlo Ancelotti (More)

Americas

> Former Bayern Munich defender Martin Demichelis remains manager of Monterrey despite rumours he will be replaced by Julen Lopetegui (More)

> Hugo Gatti, former Argentinian goalkeeper, has died aged 80 (More)

Rest of the World

> Morocco’s RS Berkane are set for another appearance in the African Confederation Cup final after a 4-0 win over CS Constantine from Algeria in the first leg of their semi-final tie (More)

> A report found that Manchester United, Manchester City and Barcelona are the most popular football teams in Asia (More)

ROUTERS’ VOICE

Yesterday’s Poll: Do you think it's a bad look for players to swap shirts in front of fans and cameras?

🟨 🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ 😬 Bad look... (6%)

🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 👕 Nope... (91%)

🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ✍️ Other… (3%)

Your punditry takes:

• 😬 D.H: “Should give them to the supporters who pay a lot of money to watch.”

• 👕 J.M: “It’s a sign of respect. During the game, it’s a battle. Afterwards, we are friends.”

• 👕 T.H: “This is a tradition that has been around for years. Fans who frequent games know this and should expect it.”

• ✍️ S.B: “It's based on context for me. There are situations where shirt swaps should not be done in front of fans or cameras. Such as against rivals, after bad losses or during half-time. That being said, at major events or when a minnow competes against a giant, go for it even after a heavy loss. But it is context that matters.”

EXTRA TIME

The unexpected history of the word ‘soccer’.

Exploring Pope Francis’ love for football.

Troy Deeney receives red in Baller League debut.

Fenerbahce's matchday squad announced by kids’ drawings.

What do managers write down on napkins?

Best view of Valverde’s wonder volley.

Legia Warsaw’s half-naked fans.

The best football advert ever? (via X)

Why 100 Spanish fans turned up to an English non-league match.

GAME FACE ON

Question: Can you name the six players who were quickest to reach 50 Premier League goals?

Scroll below for the answer.

ON TODAY

Premier League

• Manchester City vs Aston Villa (20:00)

La Liga

• Valencia vs Espanyol (18:00)

• Barcelona vs Mallorca (20:30)

Ligue 1

• Nantes vs PSG (19:45)

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

Answer

Erling Haaland - 48. Andy Cole - 65. Alan Shearer - 66. Ruud van Nistelrooy - 68. Fernando Torres - 72. Mohamed Salah - 72. More detail here.