Ukraine's Fifa Complaint

GM football fans. It’s Tuesday, Feb. 25 - Ukraine’s Fifa complaint, Manchester United’s ‘transformation plan’, and everything else you need to know. Forwarded this email? Sign up here.

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FIXTURES

Premier League MW27: Crystal Palace vs. Aston Villa, 19:30 / 14:30. Palace have won five of their last six league home games against Villa; but they’ve struggled at Selhurst Park of late, winning just one of their last eight games at home. Chelsea vs. Southampton, 20:15 / 15:15. Despite losing their last two games in the league, Chelsea have won 11 of their last 14 against sides starting the day at the bottom of the league. See the full list of Premier League fixtures here.

Copa del Rey, Semi-Final: Barcelona vs. Atletico Madrid, 20:30 / 15:30. Barcelona are on a 13-game unbeaten run in all competitions, and have scored 14 goals in their last three Copa del Rey matches. Atletico are unbeaten in eight matches in all competitions and beat Barcelona 2-1 in La Liga earlier this season.

Results…

• La Liga: Sevilla 1-1 Mallorca (League Table)

• Serie A: Roma 4-0 Monza (League Table)

• Super Lig: Galatasaray 0-0 Fenerbahce (Match Report) (League Table)

TOP TALKING POINTS

Ukraine’s Fifa Complaint

Shakhtar Donetsk’s chief executive Serhii Palkin has accused Fifa of failing to support Ukrainian football, almost exactly three years since Russia’s full-scale invasion. Palkin believes the sport’s governing body kept its doors “closed” and hasn’t helped with the creation of a fund to keep Ukrainian football afloat. In 2022, the country’s most popular club even sought €43m in damages from Fifa after ruling that foreign players in Ukraine could suspend their contracts because of the invasion.

These comments came just before the second half of the Ukrainian Premier League resumed on Friday after a two-month pause. Andriy Shevchenko, the Ukrainian FA president, says the priority is ensuring the sport remains viable during wartime. As a result of the conflict, the country’s most decorated clubs—Shakhtar Donetsk and Dynamo Kyiv–are having their worst season in European competitions; neither was close to a place in the Champions League or Europa League knockout rounds.

Shakhtar, in particular, have felt the strain of having to play every single European match abroad, often requiring epic overland journeys. “Our domestic income from sponsorship, television rights and tickets is peanuts,” said Palkin. He continued: “We survive through Ukrainian owners investing their own money in clubs. We want a situation where the clubs make money for themselves without the need for huge support.” He believes it will take years before clubs’ performance and financial standing recover to pre-war levels.

Man Utd’s ‘Transformation Plan’

Manchester United have confirmed that they are set to make up to 200 more redundancies in what the club calls its ‘transformation plan’. It is understood staff will not be informed if they are at risk until next month. Last summer, 250 staff members were let go, reducing the club's workforce by nearly a quarter.

The cost-cutting is a response to the club recording losses of £373m over the past five years—a result of wasteful recruitment costs and inconsistent results on the pitch. The initial round of redundancies was estimated to save the club between £40m and £45m per year, with the latest round expected to save around £18m to £36m. In addition to the redundancies, United will close the canteen at Old Trafford, ending free staff lunches.

United had the largest workforce of any single Premier League club, with an average of 1,140 employees at the end of the 2023-24 campaign. Manchester City had just 611 employees over the same period. Liverpool had 1,008, Chelsea had 872, and Arsenal had 723.

EFL To Discuss 3UP

This week, the English Football League (EFL) and its 72 clubs are meeting to discuss the ‘3UP’ campaign. The initiative, launched by the National League, requests a vote to allow three clubs to be promoted from the fifth tier to the EFL. At present, only two teams are promoted from the National League to the EFL each season.

The 72 National League clubs believe “the timing is right” for reform due to the incoming introduction of the Independent Football Regulator, which is expected to be effective later this year or in early 2026. In addition, ample evidence suggests that top National League teams are now on par with, or even superior to, struggling League Two sides.

The EFL has clarified that it’s willing to “consider changes to the current position on promotion and relegation.” However, there is a feeling that such a change without complementary financial reform could destabilise the football pyramid by putting undue financial strain on lower-tier clubs. It’s likely the EFL will want to delay changes until a ‘New Deal’ on broadcast revenue is completed with the Premier League.

Watch an explainer on the complicated English football pyramid here.

POLL

ON THE BALL

Europe

> Opening hours in pubs could be extended in the UK if England and Wales go far at the Women’s European Championship in July (More)

> The French Football Federation (FFF) president has joined forces with the country's referees after Marseille president Pablo Longoria accused them of being corrupt (More); Longoria has since backtracked on his comments and admitted there is no corruption in French football (More)

> Rangers have appointed former club captain Barry Ferguson as their new manager until the end of this season (More)

> Thibaut Courtois, Belgium and Real Madrid goalkeeper, is available for selection for the national team again and is expected to make his return next month (More)

> Moise Kean, Fiorentina striker, has been discharged from hospital following his collapse on the pitch from a head injury (More)

Americas

> Japan lead the USA on goal difference in the SheBelieves Cup table after both recorded second victories, setting up a decider on Wednesday (Feb. 26) (More)

> Atalanta United hosted an attendance of 65,520, which the club claims is the third-largest crowd at a football match in the world (More); see the highest average attendance in Europe last season (More)

> Canada Soccer has released updated standards for grassroots football (More / link at the bottom of webpage) | The City of Toronto is handing over a $7.5m cheque for social initiatives this year and next as part of its Fifa World Cup budget (More)

Rest of the World

> The United Arab Emirates Football Association announced it had submitted a bid to host the 2031 edition of the Asian Cup (More)

ROUTERS’ VOICE

Yesterday’s Poll: Following Liverpool's 2-0 win over Manchester City, do you think the Premier League title race is effectively over?

🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🔴 Absolutely... (85%)

⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ 🙅 Nope... (12.5%)

⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ✍️ Other... (2.5%)

Your punditry takes:

• 🔴 J.H: “It would have to take a catastrophic crumble from Liverpool now to not have this in the bag. They have a fairly comfortable run of fixtures from now until May by which point you think the writing would already be on the wall.”

• 🔴 K.C: “It's over. At this point, it isn't a question of mathematics–anyone who's watched them play this season knows how efficient and ruthless this Liverpool team is. I don't see them taking their foot off the gas. They want it, and they're going to take it.”

• 🙅 K.H: “Drawing with Villa and Everton shows that the Reds can leave points on the table. Resting on the season could lead to Arsenal catching them.”

EXTRA TIME

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Is Salah set for the greatest individual Premier League season?

The best dive you’ll see all week. (via X)

Mesut Ozil has entered into the world of politics.

Real Madrid’s 2025-26 home kit leaked.

Does this skill deserve a yellow card?

Testing the first and last ever Nike Premier League ball. (Video)

The best MLS photos from the opening games.

Pundits impersonate each other.

Opta’s latest predictions on Championship promotion.

Ranking every Premier League team by their best game.

GAME FACE ON

Question: The 46 goals scored across the MLS this weekend were the most in the opening week in league history. Can you name which season held the previous record?

Scroll below for the answer.

ON TODAY

Premier League

• Brighton vs Bournemouth (19:30)

• Crystal Palace vs Aston Villa (19:30)

• Wolves vs Fulham (19:30)

• Chelsea vs Southampton (20:15)

Spanish Copa Del Rey, Semi-Final

• Barcelona vs Atletico Madrid (20:30)

DFB Pokal, Quarter-Final

• Bielefeld vs Bremen (19:45)

Coppa Italia, Quarter-Final

• Inter Milan vs Lazio (20:00)

Scottish Premiership

• Celtic vs Aberdeen (20:00)

Women’s Nations League

• See full list of fixtures here.

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

Answer

2019/20 - 41 goals were scored in MLS’s opening weekend in 2019.