City verdict imminent

GM football fans. It’s Thursday, Nov. 28, and we’re covering an update on Man City’s 115 charges, David Coote’s latest scandal and much more. First time reading? Sign up here.

Editor’s note: Starting this week, Route One’s Daily Brief will be sent from a different email address. If it doesn’t land in your inbox, make sure to check your junk or spam folders.

TODAY’S EUROPA LEAGUE STATS

Tottenham vs Roma (20:00 GMT / 15:00 ET). Spurs have lost just one of their 10 home games against Italian sides, while Roma have won just one of their 23 away matches against English sides. Manchester United vs FK Bodo/Glimt (20:00 GMT / 15:00 ET). It took United until matchday four to get their first win of the league phase, earning the club their first win in Europe for over 12 months. Nice vs Rangers (20:00 GMT / 15:00 ET). Nice have lost just two from 12 league games, but are sitting 31st in the Europa League. Rangers sit in 10th after two wins, one draw and one defeat. Full list of Europa League fixtures here.

Plus… 

• Champions League results: Liverpool 2 - 0 Real Madrid | Aston Villa 0 - 0 Juventus | Celtic 1 - 1 Club Brugge | Dinamo Zagreb 0 - 3 Dortmund (Full results here)

• Leicester set to appoint Ruud van Nistelrooy as manager (More)

• Guardiola says he did not intend “to make light” of self-harm (More)

• Toni Kross wins European Men’s Global Player; Lamine Yamal wins Golden Boy (More)

• Hull City sack head coach Tim Walter after just 18 games in charge (More)

• Brentford’s Norgaard wins appeal against VAR red card (More)

CITY 115 CASE

Man City 115 charges case could delay until end of the season, but initial verdict expected in December

An initial verdict on Manchester City’s 115 alleged financial breaches is expected in December. But the case may not be concluded before the end of the season, legal experts (paywall) suggest. With an appeal expected after the initial verdict, it could delay a final verdict until after May. Dive deeper into the case here.

The Lawyer, a legal magazine, has reported (paywall) that the hearing has been paused. The two parties, City and the Premier League, are now preparing their closing arguments. They will deliver their concluding evidence in mid-December, with an initial verdict expected before Christmas.

If City are found guilty of their most serious charges, they could face relegation or a points deduction. This case, and City’s legal challenge against sponsorship rules (see previous write-up), has contributed to the Premier League’s £48.1mn legal bill last year – six times what they’d budgeted for. These costs come out of the league’s shared broadcast revenue.

POLL

HEAD START

> NWSL sees record increase in attendance. The National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) set a new attendance record in 2024. Clubs averaged 11,250 fans in attendance, a six per cent increase compared to the previous year. In total, two million fans attended matches for the first time in its 12-season history. The NWSL has seen a number of changes this year, including an expanded league to 14 teams, from 12 in 2023. What’s more, during its first season of the NWSL’s new media rights deal, the league drew a record 967,900 average viewers on CBS in primetime Saturday night.

> Man United increase ticket prices for the remainder of the season. Adults, children and senior tickets will all cost £66, a long way from the £1.50 charged in the Stretford End in 1980. The same tickets previously started at £40 for adults and £25 for children earlier this season. The Manchester United supporters group The 1958 will stage a peaceful protest against increased ticket prices ahead of Sunday’s fixture against Everton. Across the English top flight, ticket prices have been increasing drastically. A report found that Liverpool’s ticket prices have increased by 875% since 1990. Meanwhile, only Crystal Palace out of the 20 Premier League sides opted to freeze ticket prices this season.

> Lampard set to return to management with Coventry, reports suggest. Frank Lampard is reportedly closing on a return to management with Championship side Coventry. Multiple reliable sources have confirmed the claims. The former Chelsea midfielder is expected to succeed Mark Robins, who was sacked after almost eight years in charge. Lampard presided over 11 games for Chelsea in the 2022/23 campaign and lost eight of those matches. During his time at Everton, which lasted 12 months and 44 games, Lampard recorded 12 wins, eight draws and 24 defeats. While he did steer The Toffees to safety in his first year, he was sacked in the following season. Learn more about Lampard’s time as manager here.

COOTE BETTING PROBE

David Coote now investigated over betting allegations, no financial gain suspected

The FA is investigating an allegation that referee David Coote discussed giving a yellow card with a fan before a Championship match. The claim is that Coote booked then-Leeds United player Ezgjan Alioski against West Brom in October 2019, then messaged a friend saying: "I hope you backed as discussed."

Coote reportedly denies any wrongdoing. He said: “Whatever issues I may have had in my personal life they have never affected my decision-making on the field.” There is no suggestion of any financial gain by Coote and the booking is regarded as entirely correct. Leeds have issued a statement to say they’re aware of the situation.

Coote is currently under investigation for remarks about Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp. Another video (viewer discretion advised) showed the top flight referee sniffing a white powder while at Euro 2024.

AROUND THE FOOTBALL WORLD

Top Five European Leagues

> Inter Milan top Opta’s global power ranking, suggesting they’ve overtaken Manchester City as the best team in the world. Liverpool have also nudged ahead of their title rivals (More)

> Lille says that two of their supporters were stabbed when a group of fans were attacked in a bar ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League game at Bologna (More)

Rest of the World

> Luis Suarez has renewed his contract with Inter Miami through the 2025 MLS season (More) | St. Louis City SC hires former Aston Villa defender Olof Mellberg as head coach. The 47-year-old, who made more than 100 appearances for Sweden, will replace Bradley Carnell, who was fired in July (More)

> Argentinian president Javier Milei is floating the idea of allowing foreign ownership of the country’s football clubs. The clubs are currently member driven but they’ve seen foreign ownership work well in the Brazilian league (More)

ROUTER’S VOICE

Yesterday, we asked you: Do you think the quality of football broadcasts is good enough? 

🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 📺 Absolutely... (46%)

🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 😴 Nope... (46%)

🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ✍️ Other (write in!)... (8%)

Your punditry takes:

• 📺 M.P: “As a brand new fan of football, the broadcasters have helped me to follow the game and have a better sense of what is happening as I learn the beautiful game.”

• 😴 S.W: “Football pundits are ruining televised football. I watch every game on mute because the experts are so smug & arrogant. We should be given a choice on the Red Button to choose ‘Crowd Noise Only’.”

• ✍️ J.M: “I do not think the quality of the broadcasts is an issue at all. The problem is having to pay for 3 or 4 different services to watch the matches and even then only having a limited selection because of the black-out period in the UK.”

EXTRA TIME

Easily the worst miss of the season. / via X

Pep explains scratches on his face after City draw...

… and when he was scared of Salah playing upfront.

Ajax players give their opinion on the most underrated players in the world. / via X

How Lewandowski reached 100 Champions League goals.

Wealdstone manager Matty Taylor scored bangers in the Premier League. / via X

Footballers who did unusual jobs after retiring.

No way past Conor Bradley for Mbappe. / via X

Micah Richards banned from saying Brest.

GAME FACE ON

Question: Arsenal’s 3-0 victory over Nottingham Forest was their 2,000th win in English top-flight history, making them just the second side to reach this milestone after who?

Bonus: How many wins do they have?

Scroll below for the answer.

ON TODAY

Europa League

• Anderlecht vs Porto (17:45)

• AZ vs Galatasaray (17:45)

• Manchester United vs Bodo/Glimt (20:00)

• Nice vs Rangers (20:00)

• Tottenham vs Roma (20:00)

• Full list of fixtures here

Conference League

• Heidenheim vs Chelsea (17:45)

• Fiorentina vs Pafos (20:00)

• Full list of fixtures here.

*All time in UK. ET -5. CST -6. PST -8. MST -7. CET +1.

Answer

Liverpool (2,069 wins).