England ‘ready to win’ Euros, Leicester launch legal action: football news – as it happened

Huge thanks for joining us today. Tune in later for MBM coverage of the Netherlands v Scotland (7.45pm GMT kick-off).

Here’s some reading to catch you up with some of today’s news lines. Have a splendid weekend!

Championship promotion hopefuls Ipswich have confirmed a “significant investment” of up to £105m from US-based private equity firm Bright Path Sports Partners. The deal will see BPSP secure a 40% stake in the club.

As a result, ORG, which manages funds for PSPRS (the Arizona Public Safety Personnel Retirement System) remains the majority and controlling shareholder, retaining a 50% holding. Current Ipswich chief executive Mark Ashton will continue to manage the day-to-day running of the club, with new investors Bright Path Sports “providing capital and strategic thinking which will be of significant benefit”.

ORG co-founder and principal Ed Schwartz said on the club’s website: “When we purchased Ipswich Town in 2021, we did so with the initial aim of restoring the club to the Championship and becoming competitive at this level, with the plan always including bringing a partner on board when the time was right. The club’s progress means we feel that time is now and we are excited to welcome Bright Path Sports.” PA Media

22 Mar 202413.23 EDT

Ben Fisher

Here’s our news story on the latest at Leicester.

Leicester City have issued legal proceedings against the Premier League and English Football League after being dismayed by the action taken by the two organisations. Leicester are facing the potential double whammy of being docked points by both leagues owing to alleged financial breaches.

The Foxes, who were relegated from the top flight last season, have been placed under a transfer embargo by the EFL for allegedly exceeding the upper loss threshold in their profitability and sustainability calculations relating to the 2023-24 season.

Leicester say they dispute “the EFL’s entitlement to impose this constraint, which is both restrictive and premature”. The accounting period for 2023-24 ends on 30 June. Unless the club generate millions through sales before then, they are at risk of a points deduction from the EFL.

Read more here …

Bosnia and Herzegovina v Israel – off. Israel’s scheduled friendly in Sarajevo next Tuesday has been cancelled, with Uefa citing the “current security situation” as a reason.

The two men’s teams had been due to meet after both were eliminated from the Euros qualifying playoffs.

Israel lost to Iceland 4-1 in yesterday’s “home” game in Budapest, Hungary – it had to play in a neutral country because of security concerns during the current crisis in the Middle East. Associated Press

Oh, but corner. With political leaders weighing in on the multicoloured St George’s Cross, several have pointed out the following examples of artistic license with flags that didn’t cause such a hoo-haa.

View image in fullscreen

View image in fullscreen

Nike have said their piece on Collargate. Echoing the FA’s earlier words on the subject, they have issued their own statement on the apparently contentious England shirt.

We have been a proud partner of the FA since 2012 and understand the significance and importance of the St George’s Cross and it was never our intention to offend, given what it means to England fans.

Together with the FA, the intention was to celebrate the heroes of 1966 and their achievements. The trim on the cuffs takes its cues from the training gear worn by England’s 1966 heroes, with a gradient of blues and reds topped with purple. The same colours also feature an interpretation of the flag on the back of the collar.”

More from Sven.

My father was a Liverpool fan – he’s still a Liverpool fan. In 1979 I wrote to the club and asked if I could come to watch a training session. They replied, and invited me – I was honoured to go to the boot room. That was great, fantastic.

It’s like a dream. I could never have dreamt about that. When I was a manager, I always dreamt about Liverpool – but it never happened. It was close once, there was some discussion once. But now? It happens! When they asked I thought it was a joke … but I said: ‘Of course!’”

The squad he’ll oversee tomorrow is scheduled to feature an Anfield return for Fernando Torres, as well as Steven Gerrard, Jerzy Dudek, Sami Hyypia and Daniel Agger.

Recent Guardian interviewee Jari Litmanen will join Ryan Babel in running out for both Liverpool and Ajax, having been on the books of both during their playing days.

Today’s Football Daily is in. Featuring England v Brazil lead-up, Shirtgate and more.

Heartwarming corner. Sven Gøran-Eriksson revealed in early January that he has pancreatic cancer, and was expected to only have a year to live. In the media rounds surrounding his announcement, he was asked about any regrets from his career, and dropped in that he’d have loved to have managed Liverpool.

Calls were duly made, and last month it emerged that he would be coaching a legends side against Ajax. That game is tomorrow, in aid of the LFC Foundation (3pm GMT KO), and he’s currently talking to the media about it.

A quick excerpt: “I’m very, very happy and I’m very, very lucky that I get to see people celebrate the things I have done while I’m still alive. I’m happy they’re telling me while I’m still alive … It makes my heart warm.”

Go ‘ed, Sven.

View image in fullscreen

Leicester added that they are now under a transfer embargo. The club statement continues …

The Club further notes that at 4pm today the EFL issued a public notification that LCFC has been placed under a registration embargo pursuant to its P&S rules. The EFL is aware that LCFC has disputed the EFL’s entitlement to impose this constraint, which is both restrictive and premature, with more than a quarter of the Club’s 2023/24 reporting period remaining.

News just in, following Leicester’s charge over an alleged breach of profit and sustainability rules.

The Foxes have now issued their own response, in which they state they are taking legal action against both the Premier League and the EFL. A club statement reads …

LCFC has been compelled today to issue two urgent legal proceedings against the Premier League and the EFL. LCFC will be seeking that each of these proceedings is determined by an appropriate and fully independent legal panel.

The Club is committed to ensure that any charges against it are properly and proportionately determined, in accordance with the applicable rules, by the right bodies, and at the right time.

While LCFC would prefer the proceedings to be in public, so its supporters and the wider world can be informed about the important issues of football governance that will be considered, the relevant rules require that these proceedings are conducted confidentially, and LCFC will therefore not be able to comment further about them at this stage.

We reaffirm the Club’s position that we will continue to fight for the right of Leicester City and all clubs to pursue their ambitions, particularly where these have been reasonably and fairly established through sustained sporting achievement.

Mailbox corner. Someone named after my post-shift role today, Stuart Fryer (I’m plotting egg and chips later), is weighing in sagely on Shirtgate.

“Rishi somewhat surprised me with his rather unconventional (and itchy) preference for the ‘original England shirt’ [see 11.45am] …”

Check out The True 1870s Original here.

Taylor’s United counterpart, Marc Skinner, has no plans to roll over.

Though 12 points off the top, he backs his side to upset the form table. “We’ve got to chase and that’s what we’re here to do,” Skinner said. “We’ve got to go to the Etihad, a very difficult place, against a very difficult team, and we’ve got to go and try to win a game of football. Not many teams (beat City), and that’s what we’ve got to break. We’ve done it before and that’s what we’ll aim to do again.”

More lead-up to tomorrow’s Manchester derby in the WSL. City’s manager, Gareth Taylor, reckons it could be the biggest yet in the women’s game. His side are level on points with Chelsea at the top, while United are fourth, but with Liverpool breathing down their necks.

Asked if the stakes were at their highest for the cross-city clash, Taylor said: “It would be hard to deny that. For us certainly the games are really important now but, whether it’s United this week, Liverpool next week, West Ham after that, Bristol City away – those games are super-important as well. The margin for error is really tight and any dropped point here or there can be quite damaging.

“Hopefully we can get a really good crowd in, and I’m sure we will do. We’re looking at trying to capture the imaginations of as many young people as we possibly can. I’m sure the support’s going to be there tomorrow and they’re going to be right behind us.”

Wimbledon and MK Dons have been fined a total of £10,500 and Harry Pell £1,000 with a one-match ban after an ill-tempered League Two clash between the clubs. The two clubs admitted failing to control the behaviour of their players after a mass brawl following the final whistle in the home side’s 1-0 win at the Cherry Red Records Stadium on 2 March, and have received with £8,000 and £2,500 sanctions respectively.

Pell, an unused Wimbledon substitute in the game, admitted misconduct after appearing to kick balls towards MK Dons fans during the warm-up.

A statement on the Football Association’s website said: “AFC Wimbledon and Milton Keynes Dons have been fined £8,000 and £2,500 respectively for their mass confrontation.

While admitting the charge levelled at them, Wimbledon have appealed against the penalty. A statement on the club’s official website said: “AFC Wimbledon have been fined £8,000 for a breach of FA Rule E20: mass confrontation during our match on 2 March 2024. Whilst we have accepted the charge, we have submitted an appeal regarding the level of the sanction.”

Trouble flared at the end of the game after Ronan Curtis’ last-gasp strike had secured victory for AFC Wimbledon, the club set up as Wimbledon FC prepared to move to Milton Keynes and become MK Dons. PA Media

Let’s be clear, however … Adidas didn’t always get it right.

Here’s Bernd Schneider in a 2002 World Cup qualifying playoff against Ukraine, looking like they’ve used tracky pant legs as sleeves …

View image in fullscreen

Many thanks Yara, good day, all. I’m still trying to process it’ll be like to live in a world where the German kit doesn’t have three stripes on it – it’s been a while …

View image in fullscreen

That is all from me for today. Stuart Goodwin is here to take you through to the end of the day. Thank you for all your emails and enjoy your weekend!

The DFB announced that Germany’s association with Adidas will end and the national teams’ new kit will be supplied by Nike from 2027 until at least 2034.

The German national team have worn the distinctive three-striped logo of Adidas since 1950. The brand was founded in a town near Nuremberg the year before.

The German economy minister Robert Habeck told local news agency Dpa that he “could hardly imagine the German kit without the three stripes”, calling it “a piece of German identity”.

The Bavarian premier Markus Soeder said: “The success story began in 1954 with the unforgettable World Cup victory, which gave our country self-confidence again. That’s why it’s wrong, a shame and also incomprehensible that this story should end now.”

He added German football should not be “a pawn in international corporate battles”.

The DFB said that Nike had made “the best financial offer” and also committed to supporting “amateur and grassroots sport”.

View image in fullscreen

Some Friday afternoon listening for you.

On yesterday’s Football Weekly Extra, Max Rushden was joined by Barry Glendenning, Jonathan Liew and Ben Fisher to discuss Manchester United’s Kobbie Mainoo call up to the national team and whether he might be the answer to give Gareth Southgate’s midfield balance.

Plus: Josh Widdicombe joins the panel in part three to discuss his new podcast series about Ali Dia, and when Barry met Harry at Cheltenham.

Matty Cash will miss Poland’s Euro 2024 play-off final against Wales due to injury. The Aston Villa player suffered a suspected hamstring injury 11 minutes after coming on as a half-time substitute in yesterday’s 5-1 play-off semi-final win over Estonia.

Some more emails on kitgate and other games this weekend!

Jonathan writes:

The prime minister, Rishi Sunak, has said that he “prefers the original England shirt”.

What on earth does that even mean?? I do wish journalists would challenge such opportunistic shit-stirring nonsense. Starmer isn’t much better on this.

I bet if asked, Sunak would say his favourite Beatles album is The Best of The Beatles.

And Thomas is hopeful:

Good to see Derby get a mention – in the company of Man City even! On a trip home last weekend (from the US) I watched them play promotion rivals Bolton. Bolton were by far the better team but Derby got the 1-0 win with massive support from a sold out 32,000+ crowd. Derby play Northampton tomorrow with a chance to extend their lead over Bolton to seven points and close to within two of Portsmouth. Given that Bolton still have to play Portsmouth and none of Derby’s remaining fixtures are against any of the top 8, things are looking hopeful for a return to the Championship.

View image in fullscreen

And Ben puts it succinctly:

Hi Yara. The thing I find most tiresome about all this shirt chat (and that is a heavily contested category) is that all the usual rent-a-gobs who will be piping up about this will not also be banging the drum about Fifa’s hands off approach to those poor souls who will be building their stadiums.

They will remain weirdly silent about the news just published in this blog about the FA essentially ignoring evidence about concussions and brain injury.

They will somehow keep their cool about the horrible use of racism or tragedy chanting (a deplorable practice but now so common it has shorthand name) or the abandonment of promising young players by big teams.

There are a million issues in football that are far more pressing and worthwhile of political intervention, yet as with everything with our current political status quo, the best we can hope for is some culture wars ping-pong on the deck of the Titanic.

Grim reading that but very well said.

Harvey Elliott pressed his claims for a late run into England’s Euro 2024 squad with two goals in the under-21s’ 5-1 victory over Azerbaijan.

The 20-year-old Liverpool midfielder took his tally to seven goals in six matches and is now the leading scorer across the whole of this Under-21 Euros qualifying campaign.

Elliott will hope to catch Gareth Southgate’s eye again at home to Luxembourg in Bolton on Tuesday as he looks to follow the Manchester United midfielder Kobbie Mainoo in breaking into the senior setup.

Chelsea’s Noni Madueke scored his fourth of the campaign as the visitors pressed home their dominance with two goals inside five first-half minutes, with Aston Villa’s Jaden Philogene and Elliott scoring after the break before the debutant Archie Gray scored the fifth in the 88th minute.

It means the reigning European champions are the tournament’s leading goalscorers with 25 and they drew level on points with Group F leaders Ukraine, who head to Baku on Tuesday. PA Media

The Football Association have responded to the backlash surrounding the new England kit and has defended the multicoloured St George’s Cross, saying it was part of a tribute to the team that won the World Cup in 1966.

An FA spokesperson said:

The new England 2024 Home kit has a number of design elements which were meant as a tribute to the 1966 World Cup winning team. The coloured trim on the cuffs is inspired by the training gear worn by England’s 1966 heroes, and the same colours also feature on the design on the back of the collar. It is not the first time that different coloured St George’s cross-inspired designs have been used on England shirts.

We are very proud of the red and white St George’s cross – the England flag. We understand what it means to our fans, and how it unites and inspires, and it will be displayed prominently at Wembley tomorrow – as it always is – when England play Brazil.”

Read the full story here.

More thoughts on the England shirt drama. Adam writes:

Hi Yara. Ireland fan here. Kit designers have typically avoided modifying national symbols (crosses, dragons, harps, etc.) and played loose and fast with the exact colours (see Ireland World Cup kit).

The expanded colour scheme on the cross is (IMHO) kind of nice and reminiscent of highlights from NHS branding. Fifty bonus politics points to the first party to U-turn and embrace the colour scheme as patriotic.

I actually thought it was an NHS tribute when I first saw the kit. And I do find the politics around it a bit tiresome. Especially given that this is not the first time the kits have donned non-traditional St George’s Cross.

Gianpiero is a happy Welsh fan:

Great win last night … Makes you forget about the rugby debacle …. On to Poland … Who knows??!!! CYMRU AM BYTH!!!

And Lisa hopes for more from Gareth Southgate tomorrow:

Hello Yara. I did not know that the Brazil team was so depleted going into tomorrow. I pray that means we get to see a more adventurous lineup from Gareth. Would love to see some of the young lads go toe-to-toe with BRAZIL!

Harry Maguire says England have players who can produce in big moments and the squad is ready to win the Euros in Germany this summer.

I feel that as a group, we’re ready to win. If you are to win the Euros, you are probably going to have to win a penalty shootout. Tournament football is built on big moments.

The quarter-final against France at the 2022 World Cup could have gone either way but it went to them.

We have the players to produce the big moments. We have to be mentally prepared so that in this tournament, we make these moments ours.

Maguire also spoke about the criticism for his performances last year and claimed that playing for England as a Manchester United player brings added scrutiny.

I think that different clubs have different scrutiny on players. I think every player who’s played for United and the country has come to a time when they’ve played for the country and people haven’t been happy.

It’s part and parcel of football and playing for such a historic club. I wouldn’t change it for the world.

The Football Association “was always fully aware” of the risk of concussion and brain injury to players as early as the 1980s but failed to take steps to improve safety, the high court has been told.

Lawyers representing several former footballers and their families have said in court documents that minutes from an FA committee meeting in 1983 “indicate” that it knew of the risk posed by head injuries “but failed to take action to reduce the risk of players to the lowest reasonable level”.

Ten former professional footballers – and the families of a further seven who have died – are suing the FA, the Football Association of Wales (FAW), the English Football League (EFL) and the sport’s law-making body, the International Football Association Board (Ifab).

Read the full story below.

View image in fullscreen

Any thoughts, musings, questions, complaints or epiphanies on how your team will fare this weekend? Whether it is England, Wales, Manchester City, Derby, Crewe or Dundee United, send me an email.

How have Brazil fared in this post-Tite era? Not great. They’re winless in their last four games, all World Cup qualifiers, having drawn with Venezuela before registering back-to-back-to-back losses against Uruguay, Colombia and Argentina.

These upcoming friendlies will be massive to boost some morale ahead of the Copa América this summer.

Dorival Júnior is certainly excited about the match at Wembley and is keen to get the good vibes back to Brazil again.

Read our interview here where he talks World Cup, England and his best Brazil team of all time.

View image in fullscreen

Thanks Luke and hello all! Happy Friday! We know quite a bit about how England will be shaping up in tomorrow’s friendly, but what about Brazil?

Dorival Júnior has a depleted squad to choose from as he prepares to name the very first lineup of his tenure.

The Seleção are without (deep breath) Neymar, Marquinhos, Éder Militão and Casemiro, Alisson, Ederson, Gabriel Jesus, Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Magalhães. (And exhale).

Raphinha, Rodrygo, Vinícius Júnior and Richarlison are expected to start but for fans at Wembley, there will certainly be some new faces on display. With both mainstay keepers out, one of three uncapped goalkeepers will be making their first team debut: Leo Jardim, Bento or Rafael.

Sávio, the 19-year-old wonderkid, who is heavily linked with Manchester City may also make an appearance.

That’s the lot from me. Yara El-Shaboury is here to guide you through the next bit.

22 Mar 202409.06 EDT

Ben Fisher

It was a burst that proved the catalyst for Wales’s resounding 4-1 win over Finland, another absorbing night under the lights in Cardiff. With a couple of minutes gone, Harry Wilson received the ball on the left flank, about 30 yards from goal, and punched a pass into Brennan Johnson with the outside of his left foot. Seeking a one-two, Wilson charged past five blue shirts, picked up the baton on the perimeter of the box then beat another in Matti Peltola before getting a shot away. It was an arced run that quickened the pulse and subsequently soothed the inevitable anxieties in the stands.

Say what you like about the new England football kit, it’s definitely not as bad as Nike’s effort for the Rugby World Cup back in 2007, is it?

View image in fullscreen

Saturday’s Manchester derby in the WSL could see City hit the top of the table. Will Unwin reports:

Given the supposed furore about the England kit, Gareth Southgate’s answer to the inevitable question from the media later today will be interesting.

Commercial imperatives (the fact they’ve already manufactured the kit, that is) will ensure Nike won’t be backing down any time soon. It follows that a suitably approving line has to be found regarding the design.