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Matthew Hall
Two years after receiving an 18-month jail sentence for sexually assaulting players under his care, a former Canada women’s national team coach is yet to appear on any public sanctions list published by Canada Soccer or BC Soccer, the regional governing body for soccer in British Columbia, where the crimes took place.
The revelation has prompted the executive director of the Canadian organization newly appointed to manage reports of abuse and misconduct to call for an international registry of offenders to track individuals who have been banned from sports for misconduct.
Bob Birarda, a former Vancouver Whitecaps women’s team and Canada under-20 women’s coach, pleaded guilty to three charges of sexual assault and one charge of forcible touching in 2022. He was sentenced to 18 months in jail in November that year.
Read more…
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On this day in 1998… Dion Dublin enjoys a fairytale debut for the Premier League leaders Aston Villa.
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Save the date: 13 June 2026
Jamie Jackson
Manchester United will trial a one-off day of tours of the club’s training complex next June which could raise £100k if the 20 time slots are sold out, and will be followed by further days and a more expensive VIP version of the experience.
United believe that the only other elite clubs which currently offer a similar tour of facilities are Liverpool and Barcelona. The executive view their initiative as being about creating new and memorable experiences for supporters while increasing revenues to improve financial robustness and maximise funds to invest in Ruben Amorim’s squad, it is understood.
On Saturday 13 June the usual Old Trafford tour will be expanded to include a coach to the Carrington facility, which is seven miles from the stadium.
While no photographs will be allowed, the whole day will take around four hours and is to take in the training ground dressing rooms, gym, recovery facility and press lounge plus the players lounge and views of the training pitches.
The tour of the Old Trafford usually has a 50-person limit so if each of the 20 time slots, which start at 10am and finish at 2.45pm, are sold out the club would earn £100k from the single day.
After the trial a number of follow-up days are planned, all of which will be when the players are not at the club, with a VIP option also set to be available that will “offer once-in-a-lifetime features”, according to United sources.
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Big interview: Leny Yoro
Will Unwin
A little under six months ago, Leny Yoro was sat on the San Mamés turf, head slumped, anguished by the Europa League final defeat to Tottenham. It extinguished Manchester United’s last flicker of hope of Champions League qualification in a desperate season, the Frenchman’s first in England.
United visit the same opponents on Saturday, with optimism finally creeping back at Old Trafford after a run of four games without defeat. Yoro, who turns 20 next week, was one of the few successes of a grinding campaign. Ruben Amorim’s attempt to turn the behemoth around is starting to see results and a win at Tottenham would be a further indication of progress as the head coach begins his second year in charge.
“I think everyone knows last season was a really emotional season,” Yoro says. “Not just for the coach, for everyone. It was tough, honestly, it was tough for us to sometimes face the games, face training. So everyone was emotional, to be honest.
“I think this year is different. We don’t have the Champions League, but if you can take the good way of this, we have more time to train, we have more freedom in our head. So, the coach is not different than last year, it’s just the result that is different. And every footballer knows when you win on the day, you have a really perfect week after. It’s more about the result in the head. It’s not as emotional as last year.”
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The omission of Myles Lewis-Skelly means England have three main options at left-back: Nico O’Reilly, Dan Burn and Djed Spence. And with Ollie Watkins not in the squad, Marcus Rashford is now the main cover for Harry Kane up front. Jarrod Bowen can also play there. Hell, they can all play there.
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The full England squad
Goalkeepers Dean Henderson (Crystal Palace), Jordan Pickford (Everton), Nick Pope (Newcastle United)
Defenders Dan Burn (Newcastle United), Marc Guéhi (Crystal Palace), Reece James (Chelsea), Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa), Nico O’Reilly (Manchester City), Jarell Quansah (Bayer Leverkusen), Djed Spence (Tottenham Hotspur), John Stones (Manchester City)
Midfielders Elliot Anderson (Nottingham Forest), Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), Jordan Henderson (Brentford), Declan Rice (Arsenal), Morgan Rogers (Aston Villa), Alex Scott (AFC Bournemouth), Adam Wharton (Crystal Palace)
Forwards Jarrod Bowen (West Ham United), Eberechi Eze (Arsenal), Phil Foden (Manchester City), Anthony Gordon (Newcastle United), Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), Marcus Rashford (Barcelona), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal)
ShareJacob Steinberg
Jude Bellingham is back in the England squad, as trailed yesterday. The other big name to return is Phil Foden, who has not played for his country since March, and there is also a first call-up for Bournemouth midfielder Alex Scott. Adam Wharton also makes the cut but Morgan Gibbs-White, Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ollie Watkins drop out
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Tuchel calls up Scott and Wharton
Two young central midfielders, Bournemouth’s Alex Scott and Crystal Palace’s Adam Wharton, are also in the England squad. Scott, who helped England Under-21s win the European Championship in the summer, is called up to the senior squad for the first time.
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Updated at 11.15 CET
Bellingham and Foden recalled to England squad
Thomas Tuchel is putting the band back together: Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden, who have both shown signs of their utter brilliance in recent weeks, are back in the England squad for the World Cup qualifiers against Serbia and Albania.
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On the ball – guess the footballer
The Guardian has kicked off a new chapter in cheesy metaphors puzzles with the launch of its first daily football game, On the ball. It is now live in the app for both iOS and Android … so what are you waiting for?
It’s Jordan Henderson! Photograph: The GuardianShare
‘A moral crisis in Turkish football’
Turkish prosecutors said on Friday they had ordered the detention of 21 people, including 17 referees and the chairman of an unnamed Super Lig club as part of an investigation into alleged betting on football matches.
So far 18 of the 21 suspects have been detained, state-owned Anadolu news agency reported.
The move comes a week after the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) suspended 149 referees and assistant referees after an investigation found the officials working in the country’s professional leagues were betting on football matches.
The Istanbul chief prosecutor’s office said the detention of the 17 referees was on the grounds of abuse of duty and manipulating match results. A Super Lig club president, a former club owner and a former association president were also ordered detained over alleged match-fixing, it said.
One more person faced arrest for spreading misleading information on social media as part of the operation across 12 cities in Turkey, the statement said.
In its own separate probe, the TFF’s disciplinary board has imposed bans ranging from eight to 12 months on 149 officials for involvement in betting activity.
TFF President Ibrahim Haciosmanoglu has described the situation as a “moral crisis in Turkish football”. Its probe revealed that 371 of 571 active referees in Turkey’s professional leagues had betting accounts, and 152 of them were actively gambling.
One referee had bet 18,227 times, and 42 referees had bet on more than 1,000 football matches each. Others were found to have bet only once.
From Reuters
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Rooney: ‘Maybe I was bit unfair to Van Dijk’
The football news cycle cannot function without some ultra-processed beef. This week it’s been between Wayne Rooney and Virgil van Dijk, who had a face-to-face discussion on Amazon Prime about Rooney’s suggestion Van Dijk had “downed tools” during Liverpool’s recent slump.
Here’s what Rooney had to say on the latest edition of his BBC podcast.
Maybe I was a bit unfair with that comment (about downing tools). Maybe I was a bit unfair because I don’t know him that well as a person.
From a performance point of view I think I was speaking what I felt and what I was seeing and I felt I was right.
Van Dijk will judge himself by them (high standards). When he reflects on his performances this season he’d be the first to say they haven’t been at the standard he’s set.
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Updated at 10.41 CET
Sunday’s game at the Etihad will be Pep Guardiola’s 1000th as manager. He’s come a long way since 2 September 2007, when his Barcelona B team drew 0-0 away to CE Premia.
Can anyone name the XI Guardiola picked that day? If so, we encourage you to seek urgent medical assistance.
Guardiola is the 39th manager in the modern era of English football to be inducted into the LMA Hall of Fame 1,000 Club.
“Being a member of the League Managers Association is very important to me so I am really, really honored to join the LMA Hall of Fame 1,000 Club,” he said. “I am humbled to be inducted into such an esteemed club that includes Sir Alex Ferguson and many managerial peers that I have enjoyed competing against over the years.”
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Manchester City v Liverpool (Sun, 4.30pm)
Arne Slot says Alexander Isak will return to training with Liverpool today, so you’d imagine he’ll be on the bench for Sunday’s game at the Etihad
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Eleven arrests at Aston Villa v Maccabi Tel Aviv
Last night’s Europa League match between Aston Villa and Maccabi Tel Aviv was, as Barney Ronay put it, “perhaps the most un-football football match ever staged in England, a groaning platter of geopolitics with a tiny little sprig of sport dusted across the top”. Oh, Villa won 2-0.
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Few things in football stir the soul like the emergence of young players. We profile six of the best from this Premier League season.
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Middlesbrough reject Wolves approach for Edwards
Ben Fisher
Wolves’s approach for Rob Edwards has been rejected by Middlesbrough, with the Championship club determined to keep hold of their head coach. Wolves want Edwards to succeed Vítor Pereira but after Gary O’Neil pulled out of advanced talks on Monday, Boro dismissed Wolves’s attempt to lure Edwards on Thursday afternoon.
Edwards joined Boro in the summer on a three-year contract until 2028 and the club are adamant they want to keep him after leading them to third in the division. Wolves were hoping to tempt Edwards to swap a promotion charge for a relegation battle, with the Molineux club bottom of the Premier League after claiming just two points from their opening 10 matches.
Wolves and particularly their executive chair, Jeff Shi, are longstanding admirers of Edwards, who previously played and coached at the club. Edwards also had a short spell in caretaker charge in 2016, shortly after Fosun, Wolves’ owners, bought the club. Wolves were willing to pay Boro compensation to extract Edwards from his contract.
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Manchester City v Liverpool (4.30pm)
Arne Slot, who looks a lot more relaxed after a superb week for Liverpool, is chatting to the media ahead of the trip to Manchester City on Sunday. We’ll post the most interesting quotes shortly.
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Tuchel decides to recall Bellingham in key England squad
David Hytner
Thomas Tuchel has decided to give Jude Bellingham an England recall on Friday for the World Cup qualifiers against Serbia and Albania, the Guardian understands. The head coach sparked a major sideshow in October when he did not select Bellingham for the friendly with Wales and the qualifier against Latvia.
Bellingham was not in prime physical condition having returned to the Real Madrid squad after shoulder surgery only a couple of weeks before Tuchel’s announcement. It was nonetheless a bombshell call given Bellingham’s ability and status, with Tuchel doubling down on it when he said he might have excluded him even if he had been 100% fit.
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Preamble
Morning one and all. Stop messing around on YouTube, watching old Top of the Pops episodes from 1991 again: we’ve got a busy (sic) day of football news ahead. At 10am, Thomas Tuchel will name his England squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Serbia and Albania, with Jude Bellingham set to be recalled.
We’ll also have all the build-up – okay, as much as we can humanly manage – ahead of this weekend’s domestic fixtures. Including this little lot in the Premier League.
Saturday
Sunday
Crystal Palace v Brighton (2pm)
Aston Villa v Bournemouth (2pm)
Brentford v Newcastle (2pm)
Nottm Forest v Leeds United (2pm)
Manchester City v Liverpool (4.30pm)
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Updated at 10.02 CET
