Leicester have won their appeal against a decision that an independent commission had jurisdiction to consider an alleged breach of the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules.
The Premier League said it was “surprised and disappointed” by the move to uphold the Foxes’ appeal.
An independent appeal board found that Leicester’s accounting period – after it was claimed the club had exceeded the maximum permitted £105million loss over a three-season period – ended on June 30th 2023, after the club were relegated from the top flight.
The Premier League said that the appeal board’s decision “effectively means that, despite the club being a member of the (Premier) League from seasons 2019-20 to 2022-23, the League cannot take action against the club for exceeding the relevant PSR threshold in respect of the associated accounting periods”.
Leicester welcomed the decision, adding the verdict supported their “consistently stated position that any action against the club should be pursued in accordance with the applicable rules”.
The club could have faced a points deduction had they been found to have breached the financial rules.
Arsenal have turned down a bid from Saudi Arabian side Al-Ittihad for Leandro Trossard, the PA news agency understands.
The offer for the 29-year-old was an initial £4million to take him on loan with an obligation to make the move permanent next summer for £25m.
However, it is understood that Arsenal did not entertain the bid and see Trossard as a key member of Mikel Arteta’s side as they seek to build on consecutive runners-up finishes in the Premier League and end their 20-year wait for the title.
The club added Chelsea’s Raheem Sterling to their squad in the final hours of the transfer window on Friday but the club do not deem him to be a replacement for Trossard.
The Belgium international came off the bench to score his side’s opening goal in their 2-0 win away at Aston Villa but gave a low-key celebration seemingly in response to having been left out of the starting XI.
He played from the start as Arsenal were held 1-1 at the Emirates by his former club Brighton – whom he left in January 2023 to move to north London – on Saturday.
The transfer window for clubs in Saudi Arabia’s Pro League closes on Monday.
Manchester United chief executive Omar Berrada has insisted Erik ten Hag has his and the club’s full backing and remains the right man to take the club forward.
United triggered a one-year contract extension for Ten Hag in the summer, but only after considering alternatives in the wake of an eighth-placed finish in the Premier League and unexpected FA Cup success, beating Manchester City in the final.
Ten Haag
But there were fresh questions over the amount of progress United have made under Ten Hag following Sunday’s poor 3-0 home defeat to rivals Liverpool, already United’s second league defeat of the fledgling campaign after they lost 2-1 at Brighton last weekend.
Speaking alongside new sporting director Dan Ashworth shortly before kick off against Liverpool, Berrada said it would take more than a couple of bad results to shake the club’s belief in their manager.
“Do we still believe in Erik? Absolutely,” he said. “We think Erik is the right coach for us and we’re fully backing him.”
Ten Hag’s contract was extended before either Berrada or Ashworth had taken up their positions this summer but both said they were happy with the decision.
Ashworth said: “I’ve really enjoyed working with Erik for the last eight weeks.
“I see my job is to support him in every way I possibly can and whether that’s operationally, whether that’s with recruitment, whether that’s with medical, whether that’s with psychology, whether that’s training ground flow, it’s just to take as much of that off him to allow him to fully focus on the training pitch and the match tactical plan to deliver success for Manchester United.”
Ashworth’s first few weeks in the job were dominated by the transfer window, in which United signed Matthijs De Ligt, Manuel Ugarte, Joshua Zirkzee, Leny Yoro, and Noussair Mazraoui.
But just as notable were the departures of players including Scott McTominay and Jadon Sancho.
After a falling out with Ten Hag early last season Sancho returned to former club Borussia Dortmund on loan in January.
The pair appeared to have made up as Sancho took part in United’s pre-season and played in the Community Shield, but on deadline day he joined Chelsea on loan with an obligation to buy.
Asked what had changed, Ashworth said it had been down to the player’s wish to move on.
“We felt we had enough depth in that particular position to be able to cover it, we’ve got four really good wide players – Jadon was a fifth – and it just enabled us to make that decision that if it was good for him and good for us it was something we were willing to consider,” Ashworth said.
“He wanted to explore the opportunity at Chelsea, like Scott wanted to explore the opportunity at Napoli, like Aaron (Wan-Bissaka) wanted to explore the opportunity at West Ham. We’re not in a position where we’re kicking players out of the club.”
McTominay’s move to Napoli saw the Scot end a two-decade long association with United after coming through the club’s academy from an early age.
Ten Hag expressed his regret at losing the midfielder but it is a reality of the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules (PSR) that selling homegrown players is hugely beneficial on the accounting side.
Ashworth said that was an “unintended consequence” of the rules but added that McTominay had wanted to go.
“Scott’s been fairly open that maybe he needed a change,” Ashworth said. “He’s been in Manchester United for 21 years, I think. He’s been a brilliant, brilliant servant.
“But sometimes in life you fancy a change and do something different. So we have to respect what those human beings, what they want for their career and their life as well.”
Luton winger Chiedozie Ogbene has completed a move to Premier League newcomers Ipswich for an undisclosed fee.
The 27-year-old Republic of Ireland international, who scored four times in 30 appearances for the Hatters in last season’s top flight, has signed a four-year contract.
Ogbene told Town TV: “I’m very excited and feel lucky to have this opportunity to play in the Premier League again.
“It’s an opportunity I had to grab with both hands and I can’t wait to be involved as soon as possible.”
Ogbene began his career in Ireland with Cork City and Limerick before spells at Brentford, Rotherham and Luton.
Burnley have continued their squad overhaul by signing Hannibal Mejbri on a four-year deal from Manchester United.
The Tunisia attacking midfielder, 21, joins for an undisclosed fee and is the eighth new arrival at Turf Moor this summer.
“I’m very excited. Very happy to be here and I can’t wait to see the fans,” he said.
“After speaking to the coach (Scott Parker), the project sounded good to me and hopefully we can make it a success.”
Mejbri joined United in 2021 – the same year he made his Tunisia debut – and spent loan spells at Birmingham and Sevilla.
Manchester City full-back Joao Cancelo has joined Al Hilal on a permanent deal.
Manchester City’s Spanish manager Pep Guardiola (C) speaks to Manchester City’s Portuguese defender Joao Cancelo (R) during the English Premier League football match between Manchester City and Bournemouth at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, north west England, on August 13, 2022. -. (Photo by OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images)
It is understood Cancelo moves to the Saudi Pro League in a deal worth 25million euros (£21.1m), ending the Portugal international’s five-year stay with City after arriving at the club in a £60m move from Juventus.
“I would like to wish everyone at City continued success in the future,” Cancelo, 30, was quoted as saying on the Premier League club’s website.
“I had many very special moments during my time here at this great club.
“I would like to thank my team-mates, the coaches, all the staff at City and the fans for everything during my time here.”
Cancelo made 154 appearances for City and was part of three Premier League title-winning sides at the Etihad Stadium.
He went out on loan to Bayern Munich in January 2023 and spent last season at Barcelona.
Cancelo represented Portugal at this summer’s European Championship in Germany.
But he did not feature in City’s first two Premier League games this season, against Chelsea and Ipswich.
City director of football Txiki Begiristain said: “I would like to thank Joao for his contribution during a remarkable period at City.
“He made a big impact in title-winning campaigns and was a huge influence on the pitch.”
Nigeria’s D’Tigress experienced a 74-88 quarter-final loss to the U.S. women’s basketball team at the 2024 Paris Olympics on Wednesday night.
Nigeria, who have made physical play a trademark, looked anything but intimidated by the powerhouse Americans as they traded buckets in the opening minutes.
Two-time WNBA Most Valuable Player A’Ja Wilson scored 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to pace a US side that could break a tie with the US men’s basketball team for the most consecutive Olympic golds — set from 1936-68.
Jackie Young added 15 points and Breanna Stewart — another two-time WNBA MVP chipped in 13.
The US will face Australia in the semi-finals on Friday after the Opals saw off Serbia 85-67.
France beat Olympic newcomers Germany 84-71 to set up a semi-final against European champions Belgium, 79-66 winners over previously unbeaten Spain.
France, led by 24 points from Marine Johannes, delighted fans, but the United States were the big draw at Bercy Arena.
NBA superstar LeBron James and USA teammate Bam Adebayo were courtside for the clash between the US dynasty and the first team from Africa, male or female, to make the Olympic basketball quarter-finals.
Nigerian sprinter, Favour Ofili, expressed her frustration on Tuesday, revealing that she will not compete in the 100-metre race at the ongoing Olympics in Paris due to administrative failures by the Athletics Federation of Nigeria and the Nigerian Olympic Committee.
She said this in a series of tweets on Tuesday night calling for accountability from those responsible and voiced her skepticism about the trustworthiness of both organisations.
The LSU Track and Field alumni hopes to be entered in the 200-metre event.
LSU track refers to the track and field programme at Louisiana State University.
Her post read, “It is with great regret that I have just been told I will not be competing in the 100 metres at this Olympic Games. I qualified, but those with the AFN and NOC failed to enter me. I have worked for four years to earn this opportunity. For what?”
Despite qualifying for the event, Ofili disclosed that the officials did not enter her, marking a repeat of the previous Olympics, Tokyo 2020.
She added, “Please remember, in the last Olympic Games, I was not able to compete because AFN, NADC and NOC failed to release funds for athletes to be tested, which made 14 Nigerian athletes that qualified to not compete. Now this……”
Simone Biles claimed her first Olympic gold medal since coming to terms with the ‘twisties’.
Watched by Serena Williams and Microsoft founder Bill Gates, Biles brought the house down with her show-closing floor routine, showing none of the injury angst that had afflicted her during the qualifying process two days earlier.
Biles in action at the ongoing Paris 2024 Olympics
In truth Biles could simply have swirled around the floor and soaked up the acclaim such was the American dominance of the competition, as they finished almost six points clear of silver medallists Italy.
Great Britain, whose squad was decimated by injuries to the Gadirova twins and Ondine Achampong, qualified in seventh and could harbour few realistic hopes of emulating their stunning bronze medal win in Tokyo three years ago.
But the team of Becky Downie, Alice Kinsella, Georgia-Mae Fenton, Ruby Evans and 16-year-old Abigail Martin confounded expectations with a near-faultless display and were placed third until the final piece of apparatus.
Downie admitted the team briefly believed they may have just done enough to reach the podium but ultimately, Brazil’s big finish on vault let the South Americans leapfrog into the bronze medal position.
“Once Alice had gone through beam I thought we’d done enough from our adding-up, but then it came through that we were going to be fourth,” said Downie.
“It is tough when you come so close, but we gave our all. It was an emotional day for me but I felt quite calm. I wanted to take it all in because I know I don’t have many of these moments left, and I enjoyed every minute.”
The day was especially poignant for Downie as it fell on the birthday of her brother Josh, who died suddenly at the age of 24 in 2021, as she was preparing to try to earn a place in the team for Tokyo.
Becky Downie came agonisingly close to leading Great Britain to a team medal
The 32-year-old Downie dazzled throughout, and delivered a score of 14.933 on the uneven bars which was the highest of the day, and will lift her into medal contention for the individual apparatus final this week.
For Biles and her US team-mates Jade Carey, Jordan Chiles, Sunisa Lee and Hezly Rivera, gold was a virtual certainty from the start, and a smiling Biles appeared to revel in the redemptive moment as they eased to gold.
It was in the Tokyo team final in 2021 that Biles left the floor during warm-ups for her first rotation, subsequently playing no part in the final and revealing she was suffering from a mental block – the so-called ‘twisties’ – that would ultimately see her miss out on all but one of her individual finals.
Simone Biles won the fifth Olympic gold medal of her career
On Tuesday night in Bercy, Biles was back to her best, enthralling the packed crowd as she soared to her eighth Olympic medal, allowing her to extend her undisputed status as the most decorated athlete – male or female – in her sport.
“After I finished vault I was relieved – I was like, woo, there’s no flashbacks,” said Biles. “I did feel a lot of relief and as soon as I landed vault I knew that we were going to do this.”
Biles still has the all-around final and three out of four individual apparatus finals in Paris in which to enhance her legacy further. The packed crowds will return, and so will the gold rush.
Chelsea have completed the signing of Danish goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen from Villarreal on a seven-year deal.
Jorgensen, a Denmark Under-21 international, is the Blues’ eighth summer signing under new boss Enzo Maresca and will provide competition for current goalkeepers Robert Sanchez and Djordje Petrovic.
Chelsea said on their official website: “The 22-year-old has signed a seven-year contract with the Blues and joins up with his new team-mates during our summer tour of the USA.”
Filip Jorgensen in action for Villareal
Jorgensen, born in Sweden, progressed through Villarreal’s youth set up and made 37 appearances for the Spanish club in all competitions last season after making his LaLiga debut in January 2023.
He added: “This move is a dream come true. I am very excited to have signed for Chelsea, one of the biggest clubs in the world
“I can’t wait to get to know everyone and to start playing with all my new team-mates.”
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Marc Guiu, Omari Kellyman, Tosin Adarabioyo, Renato Veiga, Caleb Wiley and Estevao Willian have all arrived at Stamford Bridge since the end of last season.
Former Leicester boss Maresca was appointed as Chelsea’s head coach in June following the departure by mutual consent of Mauricio Pochettino.
