• Decision is ‘incomprehensible and unjustifiable’

• Belgium appeal against striker’s availability for tie

• Explained: Trump’s phone calls and Fifa’s rationale

Uefa has hit out at Fifa’s decision to lift USA striker Folarin Balogun’s suspension for Monday’s last-16 tie with Belgium, describing the move as “incomprehensible and unjustifiable” and accusing world football’s governing of crossing “a red line”.

Europe’s governing body made no bones over their opposition to the shock call, one Belgium have been granted an appeal against. There are no guarantees, however, over when that decision will be made or whether Fifa’s reasoning for lifting Balogun’s suspension will be made public.

• Omar Artan to officiate PSG v Aston Villa in August

• ‘Football is made to connect people,’ says Uefa head

Omar Artan, the Somali referee prevented from officiating at the World Cup, will take charge of the Super Cup in August, Uefa has announced.

Artan found himself at the centre of controversy after being denied entry to the US, with the Fifa president, Gianni Infantino, suggesting he was powerless to overrule Donald Trump’s administration. Somalia is one of 12 countries on a travel ban list introduced by the US president last year.

• Changes apply to World Cup and Euro qualifiers

• Starts in 2028-29 season with elements of Swiss system

Europe’s larger nations will no longer face mismatches against minnows such as San Marino or Andorra in men’s World Cup and European Championship qualifying after Uefa agreed a new format designed to produce more competitive fixtures.

As reported by the Guardian in April the structure, which will take effect after Euro 2028, will be based on the most recent set of Nations League rankings. It will also include elements of the Swiss system implemented across Uefa’s club competitions over the past two seasons, meaning in effect that teams compete in larger groups.

• Teams with same owner can not compete together

• Head of women’s football says ‘no exceptions’

Uefa’s head of women’s football has said rules prohibiting clubs with the same owner from playing together in the Women’s Champions League will be strictly enforced, dealing a blow to investors such as Michele Kang.

Kang owns OL Lyonnes, who are in Saturday’s Women’s Champions League final, and London City Lionesses, whose head coach, Eder Maestre, last week stated their desire to compete for the Women’s Super League title next season.

• Club need permission for proposed stadium upgrades

• Draw with Manchester City sealed first ever European qualification

Bournemouth are facing a race to complete upgrades to the Vitality Stadium to enable it to stage European football next season. Uefa has granted Bournemouth a provisional stadium licence after meeting club officials in April to review their redevelopment project, but improvements are required owing to the limited size of the hospitality areas and broadcasting facilities.

A visit from Uefa’s stadium inspection and commercial operations team will take place next month after Bournemouth secured European qualification for the first time courtesy of a 1-1 draw with Manchester City on Tuesday.

• New rules will not apply in European competitions

• Uefa will monitor automatic red card rule in World Cup

Uefa has opted against following Fifa’s lead and introducing automatic red cards for players who cover their mouths when confronting an opponent or leave the pitch in protest at a refereeing decision.

Football’s lawmaking body, the International Football Association Board (Ifab), approved those regulations last month after prompting from Fifa and they will take effect on 1 June, with match officials instructed to apply them at the World Cup. But Uefa’s decision means they will not apply in the men’s and women’s Champions Leagues or its other club competitions.

• Three European finals restricted to TNT and HBO Max

• Uefa understood to be unhappy with the decision

The Champions League final will not be available to watch for free in the UK for the first time since the competition’s modern rebrand 34 years ago when Arsenal face Paris Saint-Germain in Budapest.

The rights holder, TNT Sports, is understood to have irritated Uefa by opting to charge fans to watch all three European finals despite English clubs chasing a clean sweep of titles.

• Men’s tournament could follow Women’s World Cup method

• New format would likely come in after Euro 2028

An adapted version of the Nations League format is frontrunner among several options being considered for a revamp of the men’s European Championship qualifiers, which face an overhaul likely to be implemented after Euro 2028.

The Guardian understands the plans were presented to Uefa’s national team competitions committee on Tuesday and will now be considered by individual Football Associations, who will discuss them in smaller groups over the coming days. A final decision will be taken by the Uefa executive committee in Istanbul before next month’s Europa League final.

• Sponsorship income due to rise by more than 40%

• Champions League clubs to benefit from the growth

Uefa is poised to bring in more than €1bn (£870m) a year in commercial revenues from club competitions from next year, with two more global sponsorship deals close to being agreed.

UC3, the commercial joint venture owned by Uefa and the clubs, is finalising agreements with an official payments provider and technology partner, which would complete their roster of premium global partners and see sponsorship income rise by more than 40%. Six-year deals with AB InBev as Uefa’s official beer partner and Pepsi as soft drinks provider from 2027 to 2033 have already been agreed, while Nike last week entered exclusive negotiations to replace Adidas as Uefa’s match ball provider.

• Exit could spell end of Gennaro Gattuso’s tenure

• Ceferin: ‘Infrastructure is among the worst in Europe’

The crisis engulfing Italian football has deepened with the country’s football federation president, Gabriele Gravina, resigning and the Uefa president, Aleksander Ceferin, warning that it risks losing its co-hosting rights for Euro 2032.

Gravina announced his resignation at an emergency meeting of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) general council two days after Italy failed to reach a World Cup finals for the third successive time, losing on penalties to the outsiders Bosnia and Herzegovina. He had come under heavy scrutiny since their exit in Zenica, the country’s minister for sport, Andrea Abodi, intensifying the pressure by calling for “a renewal of the FIGC leadership”.

• Premier League clubs wanted 28-man squad

• Atlético Madrid among clubs with reservations

Uefa has rejected requests from English clubs to increase the size of Champions League squads to 28 next season after a backlash led by their counterparts in Spain.

Larger squad sizes was one of the matters discussed at a meeting of Uefa’s club competitions committee last month, but the proposal has not been put forward for the next meeting of Uefa’s executive committee, which will take place before the Europa League final in Istanbul on 20 May.

• Trial planned from 2027, potentially in big Asian market

• Uefa rejects call to end league phase ‘country protection’

Uefa hopes to follow in the Premier League’s footsteps and trial a new direct-to-consumer streaming service for Champions League matches in the next television rights cycle.

If implemented successfully the trial could pave the way for games to be streamed more widely via a dedicated platform. Discussions are in their early stages and it is unclear whether the service would be offered free of charge. A major Asian market such as Indonesia or India could be an attractive starting point for UC3, the joint venture set up by Uefa and European Football Clubs (EFC) to manage their competitions’ commercial rights, as it seeks to determine the project’s viability.

• Game was scheduled for 27 March at Lusail Stadium

• Uefa claims alternative venue could not be agreed on

The “Finalissima” football match between Spain and Argentina, scheduled to be held in Qatar later this month, has been cancelled due to the conflict in the Middle East.

The contest between the current European champions, Spain, and Copa América winners Argentina was scheduled for 27 March at the Lusail Stadium near Doha, which hosted the 2022 World Cup final, won by Argentina.

• Union of European Clubs wants to help non-elite teams

• Its plan relates to revenue from Uefa club competitions

Competitive balance across Europe’s leagues would be transformed with the adoption of a new model for distributing revenue from the Champions League and other Uefa club competitions, according to a proposal by the Union of European Clubs (UEC).

Clubs competing in the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League benefit this season from a bumper €3.317bn (£2.87bn) prize pot, culled from annual €4.4bn revenue primarily generated by media rights sales. Only €308m of the latter figure is divided among clubs who did not reach those competitions, in the form of solidarity payments.

• Clubs in favour say squads of 28 would reduce injury risk

• Critics fear move would deepen hoarding of top talent

Elite clubs are lobbying Uefa to expand the size of Champions League squads to 28, arguing it would reduce the risk of injuries. The calls have come at the highest level of the European game and prompted fears that it would deepen the hoarding of top talent.

At a meeting of Uefa’s club competitions committee (CCC) last month, clubs argued that the cap of 25 players should be increased. It is not a view shared by all 16 clubs represented on the CCC, with some strongly against expansion.

• Benfica appeal against ban for Real Madrid second leg

• Brazilian alleged he was racially abused

Gianluca Prestianni will not be available for Benfica’s Champions League playoff at Real Madrid on Wednesday night after Uefa suspended him following allegations that he racially abused Vinícius Júnior during the first leg. The one‑game ban is a provisional mea­sure as an investigation continues.

Benfica have said they will appeal and regret being “deprived” of the winger, but the club admitted they did not expect to be able to prevent the 20-year-old Argentinian from missing the second leg at the Santiago Bernabéu.

• Backing a sign of improved relations between presidents

• Tournament expected not to be held every two years

Uefa is ready to back Fifa’s proposed expansion of the Club World Cup to 48 teams for the next edition in 2029 in a sign of improving relations between their respective presidents, Aleksander Ceferin and Gianni Infantino.

The European football governing body had opposed plans to grow the Club World Cup over concerns an expanded tournament could threaten the status of the Champions League, but Uefa is now willing to back Fifa in return for an undertaking that the competition will not be held every two years.

• Benfica manager criticised strongly by Kick It Out

• Uefa investigating Real Madrid player’s claims

José Mourinho has been accused of gaslighting for his response to Vinícius Júnior’s allegations of racist abuse. The Benfica manager was criticised strongly by the anti-discrimination charity Kick It Out for referencing the Real Madrid forward’s goal celebration when talking about the incident.

Vinícius’s allegation that he was racially abused on Tuesday by Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni during Madrid’s Champions League playoff win in Lisbon prompted Uefa to appoint an ethics and disciplinary inspector to investigate. Benfica said they would collaborate with the investigation but reiterated their support for Prestianni, who they said was “victim” of a “smear campaign”.

• Ukrainian FA president seeks meeting on Thursday

• Fifa president due at Uefa congress in Brussels

Andriy Shevchenko will seek a meeting with Gianni Infantino on Thursday to discuss the Fifa president’s recent comments that favoured Russia’s return to international football competitions.

Infantino sparked condemnation in Ukraine when, speaking in an interview last week, he said the ban on Russia’s participation should be reassessed. Shevchenko, the Ukrainian Association of Football president, is looking to restate Ukraine’s position in private when the pair attend Uefa’s congress in Brussels.

• Madrid were sole surviving proponents of breakaway

• Uefa statement suggests club’s legal case will be closed

The Super League project has finally died out after Uefa announced it had reached “an agreement of principles for the wellbeing of European club football” with Real Madrid and the European Football Clubs group.

In a surprise statement released the day before Uefa stages its annual congress in Brussels, the governing body said all parties had agreed a way forward “respecting the principle of sporting merit with emphasis on long-term club sustainability and the enhancement of fan experience through the use of technology”.