Prem Rules Voided

GM football fans. It’s Monday, Feb. 17 - Premier League’s financial rules declared void, MLS’s latest competitor, and everything else you need to know. Forwarded this email? Sign up here.

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FIXTURES

La Liga: Barcelona vs Rayo Vallecano, 20:00 / 15:00. Victory would propel Barcelona to the top of La Liga. Hansi Flick’s side have three straight wins in all competitions, scoring nine goals in their last two. However, Vallecano are on a three-game winning streak in the league; they sit sixth in La Liga with 35 points from 23 matches.

Results…

• Premier League: Liverpool 2-1 Wolves (Match Report) | Tottenham 1-0 Manchester United (Match Report) (League Table)

• La Liga: Espanyol 1-1 Athletic Club | Valladolid 0-4 Sevilla | Mallorca 3-0 Las Palmas | Betis 3-0 Real Sociedad (League Table)

• Serie A: Fiorentina 0-2 Como | Monza 0-0 Lecce | Udinese 3-0 Empoli | Parma 0-1 Roma | Juventus 1-0 Inter Milan (League Table)

• Women’s Super League: Man Utd 3-1 Palace | Arsenal 5-0 Spurs | Chelsea 2-1 Everton | Leicester 3-0 Aston Villa | West Ham 3-1 Brighton | Man City 4-0 Liverpool (League Table)

TOP TALKING POINTS

APT Declared Void

A new ruling on the Premier League’s associated party transaction (APT) rules has deemed them void and unenforceable. There are conflicting interpretations of the ruling’s significance. In general, though, it comes as a blow to the league and a legal win for Manchester City.

In October, an independent tribunal ruled that three aspects of the rules were unlawful. The Premier League responded by rewriting three areas of the rules, and the revisions were passed by a majority of clubs in November. Nevertheless, the tribunal determined that the unlawful aspects could not be separated from the rest of the APT rules, rendering the entire set void for the specified period.

However, in a statement, the Premier League maintains that the current APT rules remain valid and enforceable. A spokesperson stated, "The previous APT rules are no longer in place, as clubs voted new APT rules into force in November 2024. This decision expressly does not impact the valid operation of the new rules."

A reputable source claims that any club that had a case heard under the APT rules is now in a position where they could seek compensation. It could leave the Premier League liable for tens of millions of pounds. It also puts the league’s chief executive, Richard Masters, in focus for confirming the changes despite being cautioned against implementing them.

MLS Competitor Incoming

The United Soccer League (USL), the organiser of North America’s second and third-tier men’s competitions, has been given the green light to launch a Divison One men’s league. The new league, likely to be launched in time for the 2027-28 season, will rival Major League Soccer (MLS).

While it is unclear what the composition of the new league will be, US Soccer Federation requires a Division One league to have at least 12 teams located across the country. Additionally, at least 75% of these teams must be based in metropolitan markets with a population of at least one million, and each team must play in stadiums with a minimum capacity of 15,000 seats. A spokesperson said that the USL has no plans to switch its men’s competitions to a fall-to-spring schedule.

The USL operates a different model than MLS in that the club owners run the teams as a separate business, while MLS uses the single-entity model, where team owners are league partners. This model completes the USL’s tiered system, allowing club promotion and relegation in the long term. MLS operates a closed-league system with no pathway for promotion or relegation.

Read more about USL’s competitor to the National Women’s Soccer League here.

La Liga’s Three-Horse Race

Real Madrid remain favourites to win the La Liga title despite dropping points for their third consecutive league game in a 1-1 draw at Osasuna. According to Opta’s latest projections, Los Blancos have a 50.5% chance of winning the league–down from 52%. Jude Bellingham was controversially sent off for swearing near the referee—see the clip here (subtitles contain profanity).

Atletico Madrid failed to capitalise on the league leaders dropped points after drawing 1-1 at home to Celta Vigo. After 24 games played each, Atletico sit just one point behind Real Madrid in the table. Before this game, Diego Simeone’s side were given a 20.4% chance of winning the league, but that has since been downgraded to 17%.

Barcelona, who host Rayo Vallecano today (Feb. 17), have seen their title chances improve, rising from 26.7% to 32.3%. A win would put Hansi Flick’s side on top of La Liga on goal difference.

POLL

ON THE BALL

Europe

> Manchester United’s department of about 80 scouts is facing considerable cuts as part of Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s next round of up to 200 redundancies (More) | Amad Diallo will likely miss the rest of the season with an ankle ligament injury (More)

> Lauren James scored a stoppage-time winner as Chelsea came from behind to beat Everton 2-1 in the Women’s Super League (Match Report) | Manchester Untied retain second place in the WSL after a 3-1 win over Crystal Palace (Match Report)

> Bayer Leverkusen were unable to narrow the gap at the top of the Bundesliga after a goalless draw to Bayern Munich (More) | Jamal Musiala extends his contract at Bayern until 2030, with a reported $175m release clause (More)

> PSG’s 1-0 win over Toulouse continues their unbeaten run in Ligue 1 this season (More) | Dante, 41, extends his contract with OGC Nice (More)

Americas

> Seven players from two clubs in Mexico’s third division were suspended for a combined 57 years for involvement in sports betting and fixing matches (More)

> The Women’s El Salvador Beach Soccer Cup is underway, with Switzerland winning 8-7 against the USA on penalties following a 2-2 draw in normal time (More)

> Hulk is now tied with Neymar as the highest-scoring Brazilian player still active, with 439 goals for club and country (More)

> Inter Miami drew 2-2 in their final preseason game to Orlando City; the match drew over 42,000 at Raymond James Stadium (More)

Rest of the World

> Former winners Pohang Steelers and current Chinese champions Shanghai Port will learn their Asian Champions League Elite fate this week (More)

> Auckland FC finished the weekend on top of the men’s A-League after a 2-0 win over Western United (More) | Melbourne City extended their unbeaten run to 17 games in the women’s A-League this season (More)

> Al-Ittihad have extended their lead at the top of the Saudi Pro League after a 4-1 win over Al-Wehda; Al-Ittihad’s Karim Benzema is one goal behind Al-Nassr’s Cristiano Ronaldo this season (League Stats)

ROUTERS’ VOICE

Friday’s Poll: Would you demand a replay if the opposition had an extra player on the field for 22 seconds?

🟨 🟨 🟨 🟨 🟨 ⬜️ 🗓️ Absolutely... (45%)

🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🙅 Nope... (50%)

🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ✍️ Other (write in!)... (5%)

Your punditry takes:

• 🗓️ J.Z: “I would absolutely demand a replay if the opposition had an extra player on the field for 22 seconds. Football is a fast-moving game, and 22 seconds is definitely a lot of time compared to other sports, and having an extra player on the pitch, especially if the opposition scores would promote a problem.”

• 🙅 G.W: “It's so insignificant it doesn't matter unless the player who should have gone off puts one in the postage stamp, of course. Lots of things happen that could be then considered for replay. Ball in wrong place for a free kick? Tick! Thrown in the wrong place? Tick! And anyway, as a Leicester fan, the opposition could have three LESS players on the pitch and they'd still probably win. And we wouldn't want a replay.”

• ✍️ D.W: “Only if that player impacted the game, in any way, during that 22-second period. Why make teams play an additional 90 minutes (plus) for any minimum negative infringement? This would also have a very significant impact on the fans, staff, security, etc.”

EXTRA TIME

The stats behind Burnley’s 1000 minutes without conceding…

… and where their form ranks in history.

How Emma Hayes wants to revolutionise US soccer.

Antony scores in his third straight game for Real Betis. (via X)

BBC’s Premier League team of the week.

Sweden side AIK’s stunning limited edition black-out kit.

How good is the MLS compared to Premier League and Liga MX?

Chloe Kelly given heroes welcome after 2,815 days out.

How Manchester United are making big profits and huge losses at the same time.

James Maddison bites back at Roy Keane’s criticism. (via X)

GAME FACE ON

Question: Liverpool have won 60 points in 25 Premier League matches under Arne Slot. Who is the only manager in the competition’s history to win more through his first 25  matches?

Scroll below for the answer.

ON TODAY

La Liga

• Barcelona vs Vallecano (20:00)

Serie A

• Genoa vs Venezia (19:45)

Liga MX

• San Luis vs Leon (01:00)

• Pachuca vs Pumas (01:00)

EFL Championship

• Leeds vs Sunderland (20:00)

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

Answer

Jose Mourinho won 64 points in his first 25 games as Chelsea manager in 2004-05.