Norwegian federation president distances self from Fifa presidency but believes governing body can be reformed

As the rain whips around Oslo’s government quarter, Lise Klaveness is shielding herself from the wind, trying to work out tactics. “Of course we cannot probably do everything alone, but we have a voice, we have the right to speak, we have the right to suggest, so let’s see,” she says. “We will at least try to be a spearhead.”

The president of the Norwegian Football Federation wants to re-engage Fifa, and other governing bodies, on the topic of remedy. A slightly arcane aspect of human rights policy in normal times, the importance of remedy became very clear in the aftermath of the World Cup in Qatar, when the families of those injured or killed in the work that led up to the tournament were left without financial compensation after Fifa chose to direct a legacy fund elsewhere.

• Kogan says he has faced ‘absolutely no political pressure’

• Regulator wants deal on redistribution through leagues

The chair of the Independent ­Football Regulator (IFR), David Kogan, has said he will resign if he faces any political pressure on how to respond to Manchester City being found guilty of breaching Premier League financial rules over a nine-year period, insisting “my independence is absolute”.

Kogan could remove City’s Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG) should the damning verdict of an independent commission be upheld at the end of an ongoing appeal process. ­Concern had been raised, however, that the proximity of City’s ­ownership to Abu Dhabi’s rulers could trigger a political intervention by the UK ­government and an immediate test of the new regulator’s powers.

Arsenal came back from a goal down to defeat strong opponents and reset their form after a lengthy international break. The Gunners were not great against Leeds, and the defence continues to look more vulnerable than last season, but the impact from their bench and the belief that roared through the team after they forced an equaliser suggested they have acquired the resilience of champions. Or as the home support put it: “we know who we are.”

The Gunners had five Englishmen in their starting line-up, the first time that had happened since 1999. Daniel Farke, meanwhile, selected the same Leeds side as he had for the previous three matches. Some had predicted a goal-fest, others another upset for the champions. There was a real sense of uncertainty as to the outcome as this match began.

• Nigeria filed complaint over ineligible players in playoff

• Fifa investigators aware of situation before tournament

Fifa allowed the Democratic Republic of the Congo to compete at this summer’s World Cup despite reports suggesting an internal investigation found that the country had fielded an ineligible player in qualifying.

The player in question, the goalkeeper Lionel Mpasi, starred for his nation at the tournament, including against England in the last 32. Mpasi, who was born in France and played for Les Bleus at youth level, had never completed the process of switching nationalities, Fifa reportedly found. No punishment was levied against the Congolese federation, Fecofa.

• Allegation of an incident in or near tunnel at half-time

• Israeli FA denies anyone ‘spat towards the coach’

Uefa has launched an investigation into claims a member of the Republic of Ireland coaching staff was spat at during the heated Nations League encounter with Israel on Sunday.

The European governing body has confirmed that post-match reports submitted by match officials “contained an allegation of an incident in or around the tunnel at half-time” and that it will be the subject of a disciplinary investigation “regarding potential misconducts from player(s)”.

• Commission: club broke rules over nine-season period

• City will appeal against verdict before Friday deadline

The Premier League has confirmed Manchester City have been found guilty of all charges of breaching its financial rules over a nine-year period, with the club found to have boosted their income by a staggering amount of more than £900m.

In a bombshell announcement the Premier League revealed an independent commission had found City guilty of arranging “sham ­contracts” with commercial partners to artificially inflate revenues and reduce costs, and of filing inaccurate accounts to hide the true state of their finances, which if accurately reported would have led to significant breaches of Premier League and Uefa spending limits.

Football and politics are inseparable in the modern world, no matter how many people wish they were not. But whether the beautiful game can ease the ills of our age is another matter. After a week in which the issue of Irish support for the people of Gaza had turned this fixture into a battle of conscience, the outcome of this underwhelming match ultimately felt inconsequential.

In the end the result was indeed a walkover, just not because of a boycott. On Saturday night the question had been whether Heimir Hallgrimsson’s side would take to the field in Hungary at all. If they did, would their heads be in the game? It turned out that a week of internal angst had been enough to produce collective resolve among the Irish squad, or at least those selected to play. Strong and assertive from the off, their forwards each scored in the first half to settle the contest, with plenty of symbolic action to assure those back home of their feelings.

• Bolton goalkeeper issues statement after withdrawal

• Ireland players will wear black armbands in match

The Republic of Ireland will fulfil their fixture against Israel in Hungary on Sunday night, but only after lengthy deliberations between the players resulted in a “significant majority” voting to play. The Bolton goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu, however, will not be involved, after pulling out in protest.

After a week in which the Irish team and officials have come under increasing domestic pressure to boycott the match due to Israel’s military actions in Gaza, training was delayed by five hours on Saturday while the squad discussed whether to go ahead.

We analyse what City must do to appeal, why even that might not be the end of the legal wrangling, and the potential penalties if the verdict is upheld

Manchester City have been found guilty of the vast majority of the 134 disciplinary charges brought against them by the Premier League.

• City face sanctions after more than 100 rule breaches

• Club insist on innocence and are expected to appeal

Manchester City have been found guilty of the vast majority of more than a hundred charges related to breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules, throwing English football into turmoil.

The serial champions now face the possibility of being relegated from the Premier League, or expelled from the competition altogether, after a verdict in the biggest disciplinary case in the history of the sport was finally delivered.

Despite fierce opposition to the Nations League encounters across Irish society, a boycott has not materialised

The match is being played in a neutral country and the stands are likely to be empty but Sunday’s Nations League fixture between Israel and the Republic of Ireland will nonetheless have the eyes of the world upon it.

Since February’s draw paired the sides against each other, voices across Irish society have demanded a boycott of the match. The Republic of Ireland’s government says Israel is committing genocide through its military action in Gaza, and the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) wants Israel suspended from international competition. But unless Ireland’s players decide not to take the field in the Hungarian city of Debrecen, the match will go ahead.

The club have been found guilty by an independent panel on almost all of more than 100 Premier League charges but are intending to appeal the verdict

• Manchester City found guilty of FFP breaches

An independent panel has found Manchester City guilty on almost all of more than a 100 charges of breaking Premier League competition rules between the seasons 2009-10 and 2022-23. The panel found they had acted in bad faith and broken numerous rules over financial fair play. City, meanwhile, say the process is continuing and it is understood the club intend to appeal against the guilty verdict.

It is a symbol of the connection between the fanbase and club, but there is a growing fear executives would prefer stadiums full of one-off tourists

The document known as “the oldest football season ticket in the world” promises its bearer access to every Burnley home game of the 1884-85 season. It is a ticket that predates the Football League by four years, with all the fixtures played against east Lancashire neighbours. All the same, the legend on the ticket carries a stern warning: “This card is not transferable. Any member violating this rule will be at once expelled from the club.”

For Burnley 1884 read Manchester United 2026. While the oldest remaining season ticket is safely preserved at Turf Moor, at Old Trafford 685 season tickets were voided this summer after a club investigation found evidence of their having been resold on the secondary market. United said such practices “undermine fair access to tickets for genuine supporters and have no place at Manchester United”. United fan groups again protested against the actions of the club’s ownership, claiming: “The way you treat us is a disgrace.”

• Tottenham lose 3-2 at home with two late goals

• ‘We can’t lose the game in this way,’ says manager

Roberto De Zerbi tore into his failing Tottenham team after their 3-2 defeat by Aston Villa, saying “we can’t lose the game in this way”. The Italian headed straight down the tunnel at full time, but was once again forced to endure boos as Tottenham went into the three-week international break without a Premier League victory to their name and just two points on the board.

De Zerbi criticised his team’s mentality, but also the physical condition of his players, and said the substitute Mohammed Kudus had disrupted the balance of his team.

Spurs have a remarkable ability to find new ways of inflicting pain on their fanbase and they did it again here, petering out from a strong start into humiliating defeat to confirm their worst ever start to a Premier League campaign. On the upside, they did get two goals. They were both late consolations, but beggars can’t be choosers.

Aston Villa were meanwhile ruthless in claiming their first victory of the season. They capitalised in first-half added time to take the lead while Spurs were temporarily down to 10 men. In the second, Unai Emery’s side were robust in defence and clinical on the counter, and supreme strikes from both Nicolas Jackson and Emi Buendía decided the contest. With Johan Manzambi the other goalscorer, there were pleasing signs for the Spaniard’s turbo-charged refit of his team.

• ‘Campus Collection’ aimed to mark 1893 club founding

• Range pulled from website two hours after launch

Oxford United have abandoned a new range of American style-sportswear after it inadvertently referenced the tragedy of September 11.

The League One club launched their new “Campus Collection” on Friday morning but had removed it from sale by lunchtime, after clothing designs were revealed to bear the slogan “United 93”. The U’s immediately published an apology that admitted to a lack of understanding of “the historical context and associations” related to the branding and made “sincere apologies for this error and any offence caused”.

• Webb wants to stop ‘ridiculous situations’

• Says VAR officials in United v City had ‘tunnel vision’

Howard Webb has described the law around accidental handball as “a bit of a nonsense” and called for its reform to stop referees being drawn into “ridiculous situations”.

The chief refereeing officer for English football made his remarks on Tuesday, when he also fronted up over the error that allowed Manchester City to win Sunday’s Manchester derby. Webb said he was “really disappointed” with the video assistant referee call that failed to spot Enzo Fernández interfering with play from an offside position before Erling Haaland scored the only goal.

• Matt Donohue and his assistant not used this weekend

• Pro Ref said allowing winner was ‘error of judgment’

The video assistant referee officials who allowed Erling Haaland’s winning goal in the Manchester derby on Sunday have been stood down. Matt Donohue and his assistant, Blake Antrobus, have been told by Pro Ref they have not received appointments for this weekend’s round of Premier League fixtures.

The chief refereeing officer, Howard Webb, took the decision with his management team after a review of the weekend’s action. Their availability will be reconsidered after the international break.

Derek McInnes has endured a much‑scrutinised start to life at Ibrox but the Rangers manager got the old ground bouncing here as his side dominated Celtic in front of an all-blue crowd to decide the first Old Firm encounter of the season.

Against a backdrop of bouncing techno from the tannoy, Rangers fans celebrated three memorable goals in a thumping League Cup win. A brace for the captain, Dan Neil, bookended Kevin Kelsy’s second‑half finish to put Martin O’Neill’s side down with relative ease. It also showcased a nascent identity for McInnes’s side, one defined by unbending physical commitment and lots and lots of sprinting. The quality of the football may have been patchy, but the commitment was enough to get the 51,212 home fans at the top of their voices.

• Letter alleges Fifa president ‘has abused his power’

• Donald Trump links and FFE scandal among objections

More than 100,000 people have added their names to a complaint against Gianni Infantino, alleging the Fifa president has “at a minimum, abused his power, violated his duty of political neutrality, and violated his duty of loyalty” through his interactions with Donald Trump.

The Reboot Fifa campaign was launched before the World Cup with the aim of delivering “the biggest complaint Fifa has ever received” over the organisation’s alleged failings of governance. The campaign has since extended the scope of its accusations to include the reversal of the ban for Folarin Balogun at the tournament and the aborted Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE) scheme.