A statement by the European governing body read: “Following the appointment of a UEFA Ethics and Disciplinary Inspector (EDI) to investigate allegations of discriminatory behaviour during the UEFA Champions League 2025/2026 Knock-out Play-off match between SL Benfica and Real Madrid CF on 17 February 2026, and upon request of the EDI with an interim report, the UEFA Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body (CEDB) today decided to provisionally suspend Mr. Gianluca Prestianni for the next (1) UEFA club competition match for which he would otherwise be eligible for the prima facie violation of Article 14 of the UEFA Disciplinary Regulations (DR) related to a discriminatory behaviour.

“This is without prejudice to any ruling that the UEFA disciplinary bodies may subsequently make following the conclusion of the ongoing investigation and its respective submission to the UEFA disciplinary bodies. Further information about this matter will be made available in due course.”

UEFA opened an investigation into Vinicius Jr’s allegations of racist abuse by Prestianni after the Brazilian had scored the only goal of the first leg in Portugal last Tuesday.

The incident saw the game stopped for eight minutes after the implementation of FIFA’s anti-racism protocol by match referee Francois Letexier.

European football’s governing body appointed an ethics and disciplinary inspector, given the case is so high profile, to gather evidence from speaking to those involved.

Ten games is UEFA’s minimum length of suspension for racist conduct, and their guidelines state that such disciplinary sanctions should be accompanied by awareness programs run by the club.

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.

Real Madrid proposed a two-year cycle for the Club World Cup during talks with Fifa in Miami in June last year, although given the opposition from Uefa and all the domestic European leagues that idea has not progressed. In a related development, last week Real ended their five‑year legal battle with Uefa by withdrawing formally from the European Super League. They appear ready to fall in line with the global football establishment led by Infantino, Ceferin and Nasser al-Khelaifi, the Paris Saint‑Germain president who chairs European Football Clubs.

The Guardian revealed before the Club World Cup in the US last summer that Fifa was open to expanding the tournament from 32 teams, primarily to guarantee the participation of more of the biggest European clubs after Barcelona, Liverpool and Manchester United failed to qualify.

Infantino then said in a speech at the general assembly of European Football Clubs in Rome last October that expansion was on the agenda, saying Fifa was working “to see how we can make this event bigger, even better, even more impactful”.

Uefa’s opposition was a potentially significant obstacle, but another remains with Fifa subject to legal action from the lobby group European Leagues that has been taken to the European Commission. That relates to the international match calendar, including decisions concerning the Club World Cup.

While some at Uefa remain concerned that the huge financial rewards of the Club World Cup will have a destabilising effect on European football, an expansion to 48 clubs is regarded as less disruptive than making it a biennial event.

Although the fine detail has yet to be agreed, European clubs would be among the main beneficiaries of the expansion, with the number of Uefa qualifiers likely to increase from 12 last year to 16 in 2029. Chelsea won £85m from the competition’s £774m prize pot for winning it last year and adding more European teams would have implications for the competitive balance of the Champions League.

Uefa’s position is the latest sign of improved relations with Fifa, which reached a nadir when Ceferin and a group of European delegates including the Football Association chair, Debbie Hewitt, staged a walkout at Fifa congress in Paraguay last May in protest at the late arrival of Infantino, who had been on a diplomatic tour of the Middle East involving Donald Trump and Mohammed bin Salman. With Ceferin and Infantino likely to seek re-election for fourth terms next year, sources close to both men have indicated that a period of calm is in both their interests.

Spain and Morocco are favourites to host the next Club World Cup, which will take place in the summer of 2029, a year before they are two of the main 2030 World Cup co-hosts.

Uefa declined to comment.

Officials from the governing body believe the next broadcast rights sale for Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League games could bring in a minimum of €5bn (£4.3bn) annually.

The current rights, sold in 2024, are worth about £2.9bn per year and new deals will come into effect from 2027.

Rights are due to be put out to tender this month and are likely to involve a six-year commitment – double the current length.

One first-pick game per round could be shown by a streaming service, such as Amazon, Disney or Netflix, although it is unclear how long that would last into the competition.

Broadcasters will be able to bid for rights in multiple markets – England, Spain, France, Italy and Germany are the top five for now – at the same time.

Champions League clubs currently earn almost 75% of the revenue from the Uefa rights sales, with 17% going to Europa League clubs and 8% to sides in the Conference League.

TNT and Amazon Prime show live European games in the UK with BBC Sport holding rights for highlights online, along with a highlights show on BBC One.

The 36-club league format for all three competitions, which was introduced last season, is not changing.

Without directly mentioning any future broadcast deal, Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin addressed clubs at the European Football Clubs’ general assembly in Rome on Wednesday.

Ceferin said: “Together we are building something unique with ambition, to deliver the most engaging football, the most innovative and the most accessible to expand our core revenue streams.

“[We want] to inspire new fans to follow our competitions, to drive engagement with new audiences especially in an ever-changing media and streaming right landscape and to make the most of digital platforms and bring the game closer together for ever.

“This is how we will keep European football at the very top.”

La Liga clubs Villarreal and Barcelona are now set to face each other in Miami in December in what would be the first European league fixture to be played abroad.

Then in February, AC Milan’s Italian Serie A match against Como will be played in Perth, Australia.

Uefa, European football’s governing body, has stressed its “clear opposition” to the plans, but “reluctantly” approved them because there is no legal framework to stop it.

“League matches should be played on home soil; anything else would disenfranchise loyal match-going fans and potentially introduce distortive elements in competitions,” said Ceferin.

“Our consultation confirmed the breadth of these concerns. I would like to thank the 55 national associations for their constructive and responsible engagement on such a sensitive issue.

“While it is regrettable to have to let these two games go ahead, this decision is exceptional and shall not be seen as setting a precedent. Our commitment is clear: to protect the integrity of national leagues and ensure that football remains anchored in its home environment.”

Fans’ group Football Supporters Europe (FSE) says the decision to play the two games abroad could inflict “long-lasting harm” on the sport, and wants tougher rules to prevent it happening again in the future.

“FSE will continue to stand firmly with fans in Spain and Italy in resisting these damaging proposals,” it said.

“Together with our members in these countries, we are looking into every possible option to counter these plans.

“By forcing through these matches, La Liga and Serie A risk undermining their own history and long-term success while inflicting long-lasting harm to football in Europe – and beyond.

“Now is the time for a solid regulatory framework that protects domestic competition.”

Uefa says it consulted stakeholders and found “widespread lack of support” for league matches to be played abroad, echoing concerns raised by fans, other leagues, clubs, players and European institutions.

But it said world governing body Fifa’s regulatory framework is “not clear and detailed enough” for it to block the plans.

Fifa set up a working group last year to look at the impact of playing competitive domestic matches overseas.

Last year, La Liga said it wanted to hold Barcelona v Atletico Madrid in Miami before dropping the idea because of time constraints.

In 2019, Barcelona also planned to stage a league match against Girona in Miami, but the idea was scrapped after opposition from Spain’s football association and its players’ union.

Other one-off matches, such as the Italian Super Cup and Spanish Super Cup, have been held abroad in recent years.

Premier League chief executive Richard Masters said in August there are no plans to play an English top-flight match abroad.

The idea of the Premier League playing an extra round outside England – the so-called ’39th game’ – was raised in 2008 but shelved after criticism from fans and media.

Israel’s national team is currently participating in European qualifiers for next summer’s men’s Fifa World Cup, while Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv is playing in the Europa League.

The BBC has been told by a senior figure at one football federation that many nations are pushing for a vote on whether to throw Israel out of European football, and that the leadership of governing body Uefa wants to act.

On Friday the Turkish FA demanded Israel be banned from football, and a group of 48 athletes signed a joined letter calling for the country’s suspension.

The Times reports that a vote could come as soon as next week and that Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been campaigning against it.

Meanwhile, the US State Department has vowed to resist any attempt to bar Israel from potentially qualifying for a World Cup which will be held mostly on American soil.

So how exactly could a vote work, and what repercussions could it have?

How would a vote work?

Decisions on important matters in European football are made by the executive committee of Uefa, the governing body for the continent.

The executive committee – a group of 20 officials from its different member states – controls Uefa, overseeing the management of its governance, finances and rules.

The group is headed by president Aleksandr Ceferin, who has been in post since succeeding Michel Platini in 2016.

Sixteen members are then elected to their positions by vote, while two represent the European Club Association (ECA), and one represents the European Leagues organisation.

Emergency meetings of the group are not necessarily announced to the public, and even once the result of a vote is declared, Uefa does not typically reveal which members voted which way.

In order for any decision to be voted through by the executive committee, a simple majority of 11 out of 20 members is needed.

In reality, Uefa typically undertakes formal votes of its executive committee only when it knows there will be a clear outcome in one direction or another.

Decisions taken by the group are effective immediately, meaning a decision to suspend Israel would in theory be implemented straight away.

As Uefa governs the World Cup qualifying process for Europe, Israel would effectively be barred from next summer’s tournament.

The Israeli FA did not respond to a request for comment when contacted by BBC Sport.

Who would be making the decision?

The 16 executive committee members who are elected come from a range of countries, and represent their national football federations. One, Moshe Zuares, is an Israeli who was elected this year.

Among the others four come from countries – Spain, Norway, Albania and Armenia – whose governments have issued pro-Palestine messages. However, apart from Turkey, no other football associations have publicly expressed a position on Israeli teams’ participation in international football.

The head of the ECA, Nasser Al-Khelaifi, is a very powerful figure. He is also president of European champions Paris St-Germain, and chairperson of BeIN Media Group, one of Uefa’s most lucrative broadcasting partners.

Al-Khelaifi is a former tennis player from Qatar, which has criticised what it called “reckless Israeli behaviour” after Israel’s forces carried out a strike on senior Hamas leaders in the Qatari capital, Doha, this month. Al-Khelaifi has made no public comment about Israel’s participation in competitions.

His fellow ECA representative Miguel Angel Gil Marin, CEO of Atletico Madrid, is Spanish, while European Leagues representative Claudius Schafer is Swiss.

Image source: Getty Images

Image caption: Aleksander Ceferin and Nasser Al-Khelaifi are key figures in Uefa’s decision-making

Could Uefa and Fifa disagree?

Any decision to suspend Israel taken by Uefa would need to be ratified by global governing body Fifa afterwards.

When Russia was thrown out of football competitions in 2022, Fifa and Uefa announced the decision in a joint statement just four days after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began.

But there is a possibility of disagreement.

Earlier this year Fifa president Gianni Infantino described his relationship with US president Donald Trump as “absolutely crucial”.

Infantino even invited Trump to be part of the Club World Cup trophy presentation in July, and has left a replica of the competition’s trophy sitting in the White House’s Oval Office.

The Trump administration is vehemently pro-Israel, strongly criticised the decision of the UK and others to recognise a Palestinian state, and is now making clear its opposition to any plan to bar Israel from the World Cup.

The BBC has asked Fifa whether it would ratify a Uefa vote to suspend Israel but has not received a response.

Image source: Getty Images

Image caption: Gianni Infantino attended Donald Trump’s inauguration in January and has made multiple visits to the White House since

Which athletes are calling for Israel to be banned?

On Friday a group of 48 athletes signed a statement calling on Uefa to “immediately suspend” Israel from all competitions until it “complies with international law and ends its killing of civilians” in Gaza.

French World Cup winner Paul Pogba is the highest profile signatory, while Crystal Palace midfielder Cheick Doucoure is the only current Premier League player to sign, alongside others including ex-Chelsea winger Hakim Ziyech, former Ipswich captain Sam Morsy and former England cricketer Moeen Ali.

The signatories say they are a “united voice of sports professionals from around the world, standing for justice, fairness, and humanity in sport”.

The statement adds: “[Israel’s] actions violate international humanitarian law and contradict the principles of respect, safety, and peace that sport represents.

“Sport is not neutral in the face of injustice. To remain silent is to accept that the lives of some are worth less than others.”

Image source: Getty Images

Image caption: Paul Pogba is a World Cup winner who has played for Manchester United and Juventus, and is now at Monaco

Is perception changing at the top of football?

Uefa has previously resisted calls to bar Israel from its competitions, with Ceferin saying in August that he is generally opposed to bans.

“I think that all athletes should have the opportunity to compete and that other things should be handled differently,” the Slovenian said.

But the organisation was heavily criticised – including by Liverpool star Mohamed Salah – in the summer when it posted about Palestinian footballer Suleiman al-Obeid on social media but did not refer to the circumstances surrounding his death.

The Palestinian Football Association (PFA) had said he had been killed in an Israeli attack while waiting for humanitarian aid in the southern Gaza Strip.

The PFA has also said that the number of footballers killed or who have died from starvation in Gaza totals 421, including 103 children.

Subsequently, Uefa placed banners on the pitch before the Super Cup match between Paris St-Germain and Tottenham in Italy in August reading ‘stop killing children’ and ‘stop killing civilians’.

The Turkish FA has now become the first Uefa member to publicly demand Israel’s suspension.

“Despite positioning themselves as defenders of civilized values and peace, the sports world and football institutions have remained silent for too long,” said Turkish FA president Ibrahim Haciosmanoglu.

“It is time for Fifa and Uefa to take action. Israel must be banned from all sporting competitions immediately.”

The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

At least 65,502 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza since then, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.

Former Arsenal and current Real Betis defender Hector Bellerin has been outspoken on the Israel-Gaza conflict, and told the BBC he feels the rules have not been equally applied to Russia and Israel.

“I just don’t understand how when the war between Russia and Ukraine started, Russia couldn’t compete in any sports, and now the measurement is a different bar for what is happening with Israel,” the Spaniard said. “I don’t think that is right.

“There are kids and families that are being bombed every day. I wish that all my colleagues, all the organisations in football would step forward, because football most of the time is the place where people look.”

But others maintain that Israel should keep their place in Uefa competitions.

“For either Uefa or Fifa to remove Israel from football competitions would be a betrayal of Jewish communities all over the world, and an act of vilification, demonisation and de-legitimisation of Israel,” said Simon Johnson, ex-director of corporate affairs at the FA and former chief executive of the Jewish Leadership Council.

“It would do nothing to end the war or bring peace to the region.”

Pressure seems to be building towards a formal decision which, whichever way it goes, could have seismic consequences far beyond football.

The  2025/2026 football season kicks off with fireworks for SuperSport viewers on DStv and GOtv, as the 2025 UEFA Super Cup delivers a blockbuster showdown between Paris Saint-Germain and Tottenham Hotspur.

The iconic Stadio Friuli in Udine, Italy, sets the stage on Wednesday, 13 August, for a high-stakes encounter that promises drama, intensity, and legacy-defining moments.

The ruling from the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) also means Nottingham Forest’s spot in the Europa League is confirmed, having been promoted in Palace’s place.

The Eagles qualified for the Europa League after winning the FA Cup last season but were punished by Uefa for breaching multi-club ownership rules.

American businessman John Textor owned a 43% stake in the club until he sold it in July and is the majority owner of Lyon, who have also qualified for the Europa League.

Uefa gave Palace until 1 March 2025 to show proof of multi-club ownership restructuring, but the club missed that deadline.

In July, Palace submitted an appeal to Cas against Uefa – which issued the punishment – as well as Lyon and Nottingham Forest.

In the ruling, Cas said:

• Regulations are clear and do not provide flexibility to clubs that are non-compliant on the assessment date, as Palace claimed.
• Textor still had decisive influence over both clubs at the time of Uefa’s assessment date.
• The panel also dismissed Palace’s argument that they received unfair treatment in comparison to Nottingham Forest and Lyon.

Uefa rules state clubs owned, to a certain threshold of influence, by the same person or entity cannot compete in the same European tournament.

Palace argued Textor does not hold any decisive influence at the club, but Uefa did not accept the Premier League side’s defence.

Palace will face either Norwegian side Fredrikstad or Midtjylland of Denmark in the Conference League play-off round later this month.

On Thursday, the Palestinian Football Association (PFA) said Obeid was killed in an Israeli attack while waiting for humanitarian aid in the southern Gaza Strip the previous day.

The 41-year-old, who was known as the “Pele of Palestinian football” according to the PFA, scored more than 100 goals during his career, including two in 24 international matches.

In a post on X on Friday, UEFA said: “Farewell to Suleiman al-Obeid, the ‘Palestinian Pele’.

“A talent who gave hope to countless children, even in the darkest of times.”

On Saturday, Egypt international Salah, 33, responded with: “Can you tell us how he died, where, and why?”

BBC Sport has contacted Uefa for comment.

Israel began its military offensive in Gaza after the Hamas-led attacks on Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

Since then, more than 61,300 people have been killed in Gaza as a result of Israeli military operations.

At least 38 people have also been killed and 491 injured as a result of Israeli military activity over the past 24 hours, the Hamas-run health ministry said on Saturday.

The UN reported earlier this month that 1,373 Palestinians have been killed seeking food since late May, when a new US and Israeli-backed organisation Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) set up aid distribution sites.

Salah has previously advocated for humanitarian aid to be allowed into Gaza and called for “world leaders to come together to prevent further slaughter of innocent souls” amid the conflict.

The decision stems from Palace breaching multi-club ownership rules as American businessman John Textor owns a stake in the Eagles and is the majority owner of French club Lyon, who have also qualified for the Europa League.

Uefa said the Eagles could appeal its ruling with the Court of Arbitration for Sport and Palace are set to do so.

The rules of European football’s governing body state that clubs owned, to a certain threshold of influence, by the same person or entity cannot compete in the same European competition.

Uefa’s rules set a deadline of 1 March 2025 to show proof of multi-club ownership restructuring – a deadline which Palace missed.

Palace argued Textor does not hold any decisive influence at the club, but Uefa have not accepted the Premier League side’s defence.

Lyon, who also qualified for next season’s Europa League, take precedence over Palace because of their higher league position.

The seven-time French champions finished sixth in Ligue 1, with Palace 12th in the Premier League but qualifying for European competition by winning the FA Cup.

Earlier this week Lyon won their appeal against relegation from Ligue 1 after they were demoted for financial reasons, which affected Palace’s chances of playing in the Europa League.

Had Lyon’s relegation been upheld, they had agreed with Uefa to be excluded from the Europa League, clearing the way for Palace to play in the competition.

English football has two allocated Europa League spots, with Aston Villa securing the other after finishing sixth in the Premier League.

How did we get here?

Palace were huge underdogs to win the FA Cup and their joy at qualifying for Europe for the first time quickly turned to unease when the club realised their spot may be in doubt.

Uefa’s regulations around multi-club ownership and European competitions are in place to prevent collusion.

In the governing body’s rulebook, a club is required to prove they are not “simultaneously involved in any capacity whatsoever in the management, administration, and/or sporting performance of more than one club participating in a Uefa club competition”.

Textor’s Eagle Football owns a 43% stake in Palace and a 77% stake in Lyon, but the Premier League side argued they are an entity that operates entirely independently.

In June, Forest asked for clarity from Uefa on Palace’s position in Europe with the club standing to gain if Palace were demoted to the Conference League.

Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis, who controls Greek side Olympiakos, avoided regulations around multi-club ownership by diluting his control of the Premier League side.

Textor took similar steps to help Palace’s prospects of playing in the Europa League by agreeing to sell his 43% stake to New York Jets owner Woody Johnson in June, but the deal is yet to be completed.

Textor later also resigned from his leadership position at Lyon.

Uefa decided to delay their decision on Palace’s ruling at the end of June, while the club indicated it would almost certainly launch a legal fight if their Europa League place was revoked.

In 2024-25, the first season of the expanded 36-team tournament, clubs who finished in the top eight of the League Phase were guaranteed to play second leg of their round of 16 tie at home. But for the quarterfinals and semifinals, an open draw was held, diluting the value of performance in the table.

In this season’s semifinals, Paris Saint-Germain (15th) and Inter Milan (4th) were both drawn to play the second leg at home, even though they finished lower in the table than their respective opponents, Arsenal (3rd) and Barcelona (2nd). PSG and Inter both went through to the final after winning in the second leg, with the Ligue 1 club running out commanding 5-0 winners at the Allianz Arena.

From next season, the order of the tie will be decided by which team finishes highest — and they will play the second leg at home.

The quarterfinals didn’t throw up such clear examples, with PSG the only team lower-ranked than their opponents (Aston Villa, eighth) to advance, but they were drawn to play the return leg at Villa Park.

The change was agreed by UEFA’s club competitions committee in a meeting ahead of Saturday’s Champions League final. Although the regulations for 2025-26 have already been published, the modification can still be made if ratified by the Executive Committee; as it’s not due to meet again until September, a virtual meeting will be held — no later than the League Phase draw on Aug. 28 — where approval will be confirmed.

It will underline the importance of finishing as high as possible in League Phase, rather than just being in the top eight — which provides two blank gameweeks in February, when teams ranked ninth to 24th take part in the knockout playoff round, and a home second leg in the round of 16.

So this season, by finishing in first and second position, Liverpool and Barcelona would be guaranteed crucial home advantage all the way through.

There was some discussion about giving the higher-ranked club the choice of playing home or away in the second leg, but it was decided to go with automatic leg order.

No other changes were made, included a rumoured scrapping of extra time before penalties and blocking clubs from the same country from playing each other in the knockout playoff round.

Infantino has been on a diplomatic tour of the Middle East alongside United States President Donald Trump and arrived two hours and 17 minutes past the scheduled 10:30 start time (14:30 BST) for the Fifa event.

Infantino said his trip prior to the congress had been crucial as it allowed him “to represent football” in “important discussions” with “world leaders in politics and economy”.

In protest at the 55-year-old Swiss-Italian’s delayed arrival, Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin led a group of European delegates, joined by Football Association chair Debbie Hewitt, in staging a walk-out during a break at the event.

It meant there were clearly empty seats at the Conmebol Convention Center in Luque, on the outskirts of the Paraguayan capital of Asuncion, when the meeting resumed.

Uefa said in a statement the “last-minute changes” to the timings were “deeply regrettable” but “a point” had to be made.

“The Fifa congress is one of the most important meetings in world football, where all the 211 nations in the world’s game gather to discuss issues that affect the sport right across the world,” said European football’s governing body.

“To have the timetable changed at the last minute for what appears to be simply to accommodate private political interests, does the game no service and appears to put its interests second.

“We are all in post to serve football, from the streets to the podium, and Uefa members of the Fifa council felt the need on this occasion to make a point that the game comes first and to leave as originally scheduled.”

Norwegian FA president Lise Klaveness added: “The annual congress is the single most important body to ensure good governance of international football.

“The situation is concerning. Member associations have travelled from all over the world to participate at this congress here in Paraguay, expecting professional leadership and dialogue at the highest level.”

A number of delegates from Concacaf – the North America, Central America and Caribbean confederation – also decided to leave the congress early.

Fifa secretary general Mattias Grafstrom tried to defuse the tensions and said: “Fifa has an excellent relationship with Uefa and also with the European members.

“The president explained the reasons why he was delayed. He had important matters to deal with, and we have had a great congress here.”

Uefa, European football’s governing body, has strict rules regarding multi-club ownership models and it has forced BlueCo, the parent company of both Chelsea and Strasbourg, into a change to allow both clubs a chance of playing Champions League football next season – should they qualify.

Strasbourg are currently sixth in Ligue 1 and will likely need to win their last two matches to secure a third-placed finish to qualify for the Champions League, ahead of the likes of Monaco, Nice, Lille and Lyon.

Chelsea’s owners have been in conversation with Uefa since January about setting up a structure that is compliant. Strasbourg are expected to move into a ‘blind’ trust, while removing any conflicts like board members or staff working across the two clubs.

The two established ways round Uefa’s multi-club ownership rules are to either reduce a stake in one of them – as Brighton owner Tony Bloom did with his Belgian outfit Union-Saint Gilloise – or put one of them into a blind trust so an individual cannot exert influence over two clubs.

In a similar situation to BlueCo, Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis has diluted his control of the club in preparation for possible Champions League qualification, with Olympiakos set to qualify for the competition by winning the Greek league.

Legally, Marinakis has ceased to become a “person with significant control” of the company that owns Forest.

Marinakis maintains his commitment to Forest, as do Chelsea’s owners towards Strasbourg, after substantial off-field and on-field investment since their £64m takeover in 2023.

Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe moved his two other Ineos-owned clubs Nice and Lausanne-Sport into this structure and City Football Group, which owns Manchester City, also moved Girona into a blind trust.

Strasbourg are led by English manager Liam Rosenior and are unbeaten since the March international break, including beating champions PSG last week, with their final two matches against relegation threatened Angers and Le Havre.

Strasbourg could achieve their highest league finish since 1979 with the youngest squad in Europe’s top five leagues.

Chelsea, meanwhile, are fifth in the Premier League with three games against Newcastle, Manchester United and Forest remaining.

If both clubs fall short of qualifying for the Champions League, they could both end up in the Europa League.

Uefa would also bar Chelsea and Strasbourg from making transfers of any kind between the two clubs should they end up in the same competition.

Fifa confirmed last month that it would consider adopting the sprawling new format as a one-off in 2030 to celebrate the tournament’s centenary, after the idea was raised at a meeting of its council by the Uruguayan football association president, Ignacio Alonso.

The global governing body said the subject had been brought up spontaneously and that it had “a duty to analyse” any proposal. But Ceferin left no doubt it would not have Uefa’s backing and was evidently unimpressed by its unexpected emergence.

“This proposal that was made was even more surprising than it was for you,” he said after Uefa’s annual congress concluded in Belgrade. “I think it’s not a good idea for the World Cup itself, and it’s not a good idea for our qualifiers as well. So I’m not supporting that idea. I don’t know where it came from, but it’s strange that we didn’t know anything before this proposal at the Fifa council.”

Uefa will be sending 16 teams to the 2026 World Cup when it adopts a 48-team format for the first time. That number would grow again in the event of a 64-team competition but there is little appetite within the organisation for a vastly watered-down qualifying tournament.

The 2030 edition will be held in Spain, Portugal and Morocco with one-off matches in Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay. It is the next World Cup in which Russia could potentially participate, pending a peaceful resolution to the country’s war in Ukraine. Ceferin held his usual line when the subject of their reintegration, a live topic in sport’s corridors of power, was raised.

“When the war stops, they will be readmitted,” he said. “The first decision [to ban Russia] was done together with Fifa. And as much as we discussed with Fifa, I think we will do it together when we do it.”

Ceferin’s counterpart at Fifa, Gianni Infantino, had earlier expressed a wish to see Russia compete when the conditions are right. Infantino addressed the congress and nodded to the example of Yugoslavia’s disqualification from the 1992 European Championship when expressing a wish for Russia to play again. Yugoslavia were ejected after war led to the country’s disintegration; Russia have been banned from Fifa and Uefa events since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine three years ago.

“We have always to use sport, and football in particular, to bring people together,” Infantino said. “In our world, which is divided, we need to use every opportunity to make sure people speak to each other. As talks are going on for peace in Ukraine I hope we can soon move to the next stage and bring back, as well, Russia to the football landscape because this would mean everything is solved. That’s what we have to cheer for, to pray for.”

Ceferin was significantly less strident when asked to describe the difference between Uefa’s treatment of Russia and Israel. The latter’s teams continue to play in international competitions despite widespread calls to bar them amid the war in Gaza. “If you speak about football, you can see the rankings,” he said. “If you speak about politics, don’t ask me.”

In what could be interpreted as another jab at Fifa and Infantino, Ceferin pointed to the added workload some players will experience at this summer’s controversial Club World Cup. “The Club World Cup is happening, and that’s it,” he said. “The clubs from Europe wanted it and I don’t see this as competition to our competition. It will be more matches for some of the players, but maybe that’s more of a question for my dear colleague Gianni Infantino.”

Otherwise the day in Serbia’s capital passed with little of the tension that marked last year’s congress, in which Ceferin succeeded with his plan to extend presidential term limits before wrong-footing his audience by saying he would stand down in 2027 rather than make use of that option. There are suggestions that some of Uefa’s federations would back him if he decided to run for an unprecedented fourth term and he did not quash the idea this time.

“Let’s speak about today’s congress now,” he said. “I’ve heard many things, you’ve heard many things, but it’s not a good time to speak about it.”

In a series of votes to fill vacant spots on Uefa’s executive committee, Andriy Shevchenko was the most high-profile candidate to fall by the wayside. The president of Ukraine’s football association had run for one of two available two-year terms but his 15 votes were not enough to secure a seat at the table. Israel’s Moshe Zuares was more successful, amassing 31 votes and being elected along with the Spaniard Rafael Louzán Abal.

Overnight a spate of graffiti had appeared outside Sava Centar, the venue for the congress, protesting against Israel’s continued activity within Uefa and its tournaments.

On Monday, Chelsea reported a pre-tax profit of £128.4m for the year ending June 2024 – their first positive financial results under the ownership of Todd Boehly’s Clearlake Capital consortium.

That was largely down to the “repositioning” of their highly successful women’s team as a separate business from the men’s team, and followed a similar move in their previous financial results – when the club sold two hotels to a sister company to keep them compliant with the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules (PSR).

The Blues have already been cleared of any PSR breaches in January, along with the other 19 top-flight clubs.

The current Premier League financial rules do not address associated party transactions (APTs), after clubs were unable to close the loophole after an AGM meeting in June.

However, European football’s governing body Uefa has more stringent Financial Fair Play rules which would discount APTs of all its members, including Chelsea’s sale of its women’s team and two hotels, which were sold for £76.6m during the 2022-23 season.

That would vastly weaken Chelsea’s position over the three-year monitoring period, with Uefa allowing a maximum £75m loss compared to an £105m loss in the Premier League over the same spell.

All cases would have to be assessed individually by Uefa’s independent panel. Punishments can come in the form of settlements or fines, but are unlikely to involve severe sporting sanctions.

In 2022, Paris St-Germain were among the clubs to face substantial fines for breaching Uefa’s FFP rules and were ordered to pay £8.6m.

Chelsea are fourth in the Premier League with nine games left to play, so will likely qualify for one of Uefa’s three main competitions and face scrutiny under its jurisdiction.

They also faced an £8.6m fine over historic FFP breaches under Roman Abramovich in 2023, which remain under investigation by the Premier League.

Antonio Rudiger, Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Jr and Dani Ceballos allegedly made gestures towards the home fans after Real Madrid beat their city rivals on penalties to book their place in the quarter-finals.

TV pictures showed German defender Rudiger appearing to make a throat-slitting motion, apparently towards the crowd after the shootout victory, while Mbappe was shown seemingly making a crotch-grabbing gesture.

Spanish media said Atletico reported the actions to Uefa last week.

The players could be at risk of suspension but there is no guarantee the case will be heard before their quarter-final with Arsenal. The first leg for that tie is at Emirates Stadium on 8 April and the return leg a week later.

In a statement, Uefa said: “[An] ethics and disciplinary inspector has been appointed to investigate allegations of indecent conduct” made by the four Real Madrid players.

“Further information regarding this matter will be made available in due course.”

The former Chelsea and Real Madrid midfielder has been dedicated to building his coaching qualifications, spending months on the course.

Essien expressed his pride on social media after finishing the program, posting, “Finally done with my UEFA certificate in football management journey. Thanks to all for the help. I keep learning about the beautiful game. #UEFACFM.”

Finally done with my UEFA certificate in football management journey. Thanks all for the help. I keep learning about the beautiful game. ⚽️📓🖊 ##UEFACFM pic.twitter.com/V1OnCVRAaC

— Michael Essien® (@MichaelEssien) November 1, 2024

Currently, Essien works as an individual talent coach at Danish club FC Nordsjaelland, where he uses his expertise to mentor young players.

Essien’s career took off in France with Bastia, followed by a successful spell at Olympique Lyonnais. His outstanding performances at Lyon caught the attention of Chelsea, where he became one of the highest-paid players in the Premier League.

At Chelsea, Essien won multiple titles, including Premier League championships and a UEFA Champions League trophy.

He later went on to play for high-profile clubs such as Real Madrid and AC Milan, earning international acclaim for his powerful midfield performances.

The San Siro was to be the venue for the showcase final but, after Milan officials failed to assure Uefa that planned redevelopment work would not hamper the event, European football’s governing body opted to take it away from them.

AC Milan and Inter Milan are considering building a new stadium in the San Siro area.

The new host stadium for the 2027 final is expected to be announced in May or June 2025.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the Uefa Executive Committee on Tuesday, where changes to the organisation’s solidarity funding was also agreed.

The ‘big five’ European leagues – the Premier League, La Liga, Ligue 1, Serie A and Bundesliga – agreed to have their solidarity payments capped at 10m euros (£8.3m) per season up to and including 2026-27.

This is an increase of 1.5m euros on the previous cycle, but there are now 308m euros (£256.3m) to be shared rather than 177.2m euros (£147.4m) in the previous cycle.

The funds are allocated to clubs not participating in European competitions.

“Such funds are meant to support competitive balance across Europe’s top division leagues, where some clubs benefit from additional revenue streams due to European competition participation,” Uefa explained.

At Tuesday’s meeting Uefa’s women’s football strategy for 2024 to 2030 was also agreed, though details of what it entails are yet to be released.

The Gibraltar Football Association (GFA) made an official complaint about the celebrations to Uefa on Tuesday.

The inspector will “evaluate a potential violation of the Uefa disciplinary regulations”, the European football governing body said.

Gibraltar is an enclave at Spain’s southern tip that has been under British rule since the 18th Century, but Spain has long called for its return.

The chanting took place in front of tens of thousands of Spain fans in Cibeles Square, Madrid on 15 July as players celebrated their 2-1 Euro 2024 final success against England.

Manchester City midfielder Rodri, 28, could be seen chanting “Gibraltar is Spanish” on the stage, and AC Milan striker Morata, 31, later encouraged the crowd to join in with the same chant.

The Gibraltar FA complained about Spain’s behaviour, saying it had “noted the extremely provocative and insulting nature of the celebrations around the Spanish Men’s national team winning Euro 2024”.

“Football has no place for behaviour of this nature,” it added.

Gibraltar has been a full member of Uefa since 2013.

However, United will be prevented from signing highly-rated Nice defender Jean-Clair Todibo by Uefa.

City Football Group owns City and Girona, while Ineos controls the football operations of United and Nice, and Uefa does not allow clubs with the same ownership to be involved in the same competition.

The Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) of European football’s governing body said on Friday “significant changes” had been made at Girona and Nice which would “substantially restrict investors’ influence and decision-making power”.

In addition, shares have been transferred through independent trustees to a blind trust, which will be supervised by the CFCB.

Among additional guarantees given by the City Football Group and Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos Group to prove the independence of the respective clubs, they agreed not to transfer players “permanently or on loan, either directly or indirectly from July 2024 to September 2025”.

This means United will not be able to sign Frenchman Todibo, the £40m-rated defender Ratcliffe had hoped would switch clubs.

However, City’s pursuit of Brazilian winger Savio will be unaffected as he has returned to parent club Troyes, who are also part of the City Football Group, after his loan with Girona expired on 30 June.

A CFG source told BBC Sport that City and Girona were compliant with all the CFCB requests.

Ineos said in a statement: “We are pleased with the positive decision from the First Chamber of the Uefa Club Financial Control Body which will see Manchester United play in the Europa League next season. The focus for Manchester United is on the season ahead and performance on the pitch.”

City will be playing in their 14th consecutive Champions League campaign, but Girona qualified for the first time by finishing third in La Liga, their highest-ever league position.

Nice also seemed set to qualify for Europe’s most prestigious club competition for a long time last season but eventually finished fifth in Ligue 1. Manchester United qualified for the Europa League by beating Premier League champions City in the FA Cup final.

It remains to be seen how the matter is dealt with over the longer term, given the shares are due to be transferred back in July 2025.

At that point, CFCB say the clubs will be considered to be “under the control or decisive influence of their investor”.

European football’s governing body said it is looking into a “potential violation” of “the basic rules of decent conduct” by Bellingham.

Bellingham was seen making a crotch-grabbing gesture towards the Slovakian bench after scoring an overhead kick in stoppage time.

The Real Madrid player denied it was aimed at England’s opponents, saying on social media that it was an inside joke directed towards some close friends.

If found to have breached the rules, the 21-year-old could face a suspension, a fine or both.

The rule in question is Article 11 2b, which requires anyone subject to Uefa regulations to respect the “principles of ethical conduct, loyalty, integrity and sportsmanship.”

Anyone whose conduct is “insulting or otherwise violates the basic rules of decent conduct” could be in breach.

England won 2-1 after extra time to set up a quarter-final meeting with Switzerland on Saturday.

Responding to the incident on social media, Bellingham said: “An inside-joke gesture towards some close friends who were at the game.

“Nothing but respect for how that Slovakia team played tonight.”

Cristiano Ronaldo was fined but avoided a ban for making a similar gesture while celebrating a goal for Juventus against Atletico Madrid in a Champions League last-16 second-leg tie in 2019.

Atletico boss Diego Simeone was also fined for making the gesture during the first leg.

Daku grabbed a megaphone before joining in with offensive chants about Serbia and North Macedonia after full-time in Hamburg.

Issues persist at the European Championship in Germany, with chants relating to historic political and ethnic tensions in the Balkans region.

“Daku will be banned for a total of two UEFA representative team competition matches for which he would be otherwise eligible,” a statement from European football’s governing body said on Sunday.

“[Daku] failed to comply with the general principles of conduct, violated the basic rules of decent conduct, used sports events for manifestations of a non-sporting nature and brought the sport of football into disrepute.”

Daku has since apologised for his actions but will miss Monday’s game against Spain in Dusseldorf, where Albania could book their place in the knockout stages for the first-ever time with victory.

The Albanian Football Association sent out a statement to issue an “appeal to all Albanian fans to be more responsible and avoid the creation of these totally avoidable incidents and riots”.

Albania’s football federation has also been fined €47,500 for lighting fireworks, a pitch invasion and transmitting provocative messages not fit for a sports event during the same match.

Meanwhile, Croatia were also penalised for lighting and throwing fireworks during the game, with UEFA issuing a €28,000 fine.

Serbia had already threatened to withdraw from the tournament over the chanting by Croatia and Albania fans at their match before the Serbia FA condemned “shameful racist behaviour” in a separate statement.

Fans could be heard chanting during the 2-2 Group B draw about the killing of Serbians.

The general secretary of the Football Association of Serbia, Jovan Surbatovic, has called for the strongest sanction to be taken.

He told the Serbian state-owned broadcaster RTS: “What happened is scandalous and we will ask [European governing body] Uefa for sanctions, even if it means not continuing the competition.”

Serbia are in Group C and began the tournament with a 1-0 defeat by England on Sunday.

Surbatovic said that he was “sure they will be punished” following Uefa’s decision on Wednesday to cancel the credentials of Kosovar journalist, Arlind Sadiku.

Sadiku made a nationalist double-handed eagle gesture towards Serbia fans during the game against England. The gesture mimics the eagle on Albania’s national flag, which can inflame tensions between Serbian nationalists and ethnic Albanians, who make up the vast majority of Kosovo’s population.

“We will demand from Uefa to punish the federations of both selections,” Surbatovic added.

“We do not want to participate in that, but if Uefa does not punish them, we will think how will we proceed.”

In a statement, the Serbian FA said it had sent a letter to Uefa general secretary Theodore Theodoridis highlighting the “shameful joint chanting”.

The BBC has contacted Uefa for further comment.

Serbia were fined £12,250 after fans threw objects during the England match.

Serbia and Albania were also fined as fans from both countries displayed banners of nationalist maps, external in their opening matches.

“We were punished for isolated cases and our fans behaved much better than the others,” Surbatovic said.

“One fan was punished for racist insults and we don’t want it to be attributed to others. We Serbs are gentlemen and we have an open heart, so I appeal to the fans to remain gentlemen.”

Serbia’s next match is against Slovenia at 14:00 BST on Thursday.

The final 26-man squad list for every country must be submitted to Uefa by June 7.

Here are the squads named so far.

Group A

Germany

Goalkeepers: Oliver Baumann (Hoffenheim), Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich), Marc-Andre ter Stegen (Barcelona)

Defenders: Waldemar Anton (Stuttgart), Benjamin Henrichs (RB Leipzig), Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich), Robin Koch (Eintracht Frankfurt), Maximilian Mittelstadt (Stuttgart), David Raum (RB Leipzig), Antonio Rudiger (Real Madrid), Nico Schlotterbeck (Borussia Dortmund), Jonathan Tah (Bayer Leverkusen)

Midfielders: Robert Andrich (Bayer Leverkusen), Chris Fuhrich (Stuttgart), Pascal Gross (Brighton and Hove Albion), Ilkay Gundogan (Barcelona), Toni Kroos (Real Madrid), Jamal Musiala (Bayern Munich), Aleksandar Pavlovic (Bayern Munich), Leroy Sane (Bayern Munich), Florian Wirtz (Bayer Leverkusen)

Forwards: Maximilian Beier (Hoffenheim), Niclas Fullkrug (Borussia Dortmund), Kai Havertz (Arsenal), Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich), Deniz Undav (Stuttgart)

Scotland squad

Goalkeepers: Zander Clark (Heart of Midlothian), Angus Gunn (Norwich City), Liam Kelly (Motherwell)

Defenders: Liam Cooper (Leeds United), Grant Hanley (Norwich City), Jack Hendry (Al-Ettifaq), Ross McCrorie (Bristol City), Scott McKenna (Nottingham Forest), Ryan Porteous (Watford), Anthony Ralston (Celtic), Andy Robertson (Liverpool), Greg Taylor (Celtic), Kieran Tierney (Arsenal)

Midfielders: Stuart Armstrong (Southampton), Ryan Christie (Bournemouth), Billy Gilmour (Brighton), Ryan Jack (unattached), John McGinn (Aston Villa), Callum McGregor (Celtic), Kenny McLean (Norwich City), Scott McTominay (Manchester United)

Forwards: Che Adams (Southampton), Tommy Conway (Bristol City), James Forrest (Celtic), Lawrence Shankland (Heart of Midlothian), Lewis Morgan (New York Red Bulls)

Hungary squad:

Goalkeepers: Denes Dibusz (Ferencvaros), Peter Gulacsi (RB Leipzig), Peter Szappanos (Paks)

Defenders: Botond Balogh (Parma), Endre Botka (Ferencvaros), Marton Dardai (Hertha BSC), Attila Fiola (Fehervar), Adam Lang (Omonia Nicosia), Willi Orban (RB Leipzig), Attila Szalai (Freiburg)

Midfielders: Bendeguz Bolla (Servette), Mihaly Kata (MTK), Milos Kerkez (Bournemouth), Laszlo Kleinheisler (Hajduk Split), Adam Nagy (Spezia Calcio), Zsolt Nagy (Puskas Akademia), Loic Nego (Le Havre), Andras Schafer (Union Berlin), Callum Styles (Sunderland)

Forwards: Martin Adam (Ulsan Hyundai), Kevin Csoboth (Ujpest), Daniel Gazdag (Philadelphia Union), Krisztofer Horvath (Kecskemet), Roland Sallai (Freiburg), Dominik Szoboszlai (Liverpool), Barnabas Varga (Ferencvaros).

Switzerland squad

Goalkeepers: Yann Sommer (Inter Milan), Yvon Mvogo (Lorient), Gregor Kobel (Borussia Dortmund)

Defenders: Ricardo Rodriguez (Torino), Fabian Schar (Newcastle United), Manuel Akanji (Manchester City), Nico Elvedi (Borussia Monchengladbach), Silvan Widmer (Mainz 05), Cedric Zesigner (Wolfsburg), Leonidas Stergiou (Stuttgart)

Midfielders: Granit Xhaka (Bayer Leverkusen), Xherdan Shaqiri (Chicago Fire), Remo Freuler (Bologna), Denis Zakaria (Monaco), Michel Aebischer (Bologna), Fabian Rieder (Rennes), Ardon Jashari (Luzern), Vincent Sierro (Toulouse)

Forwards: Breel Embolo (Monaco), Steven Zuber (AEK Athens), Ruben Vargas (Augsburg), Renato Steffen (Lugano), Noah Okafor (AC Milan), Zeki Amdouni (Burnley), Dan Ndoye (Bologna), Kwadwo Duah (Ludogorets)

Group B

Spain squad:

Goalkeepers: Unai Simon (Athletic Bilbao), David Raya (Arsenal), Alex Remiro (Real Sociedad).

Defenders: Dani Carvajal (Real Madrid), Jesus Navas (Sevilla), Aymeric Laporte (Al Nassr), Robin Le Normand (Real Sociedad), Nacho (Real Madrid), Dani Vivian (Athletic Bilbao), Alejandro Grimaldo (Bayer Leverkusen), Marc Cucurella (Chelsea).

Midfielders: Rodri (Manchester City), Martin Zubimendi (Real Sociedad), Fabian (Paris Saint-Germain), Mikel Merino (Real Sociedad), Pedri (Barcelona), Aleix Garcia (Girona), Fermin Lopez (Barcelona).

Forwards: Alvaro Morata (Atletico Madrid), Joselu (Real Madrid), Mikel Oyarzabal (Real Sociedad), Dani Olmo (RB Leipzig), Ferran Torres (Barcelona), Nico Williams (Athletic Bilbao), Lamine Yamal (Barcelona), Ayoze Perez (Real Betis).

Croatia squad:

Goalkeepers: Dominik Livakovic (Fenerbahce), Ivica Ivusic (Pafos), Nediljko Labrovic (Rijeka)

Defenders: Domagoj Vida (AEK Athens), Josip Juranovic (Union Berlin), Josko Gvardiol (Manchester City), Borna Sosa (Ajax), Josip Stanisic (Bayer Leverkusen), Josip Sutalo (Ajax), Martin Erlic (Sassuolo), Marin Pongracic (Lecce)

Midfielders: Luka Modric (Real Madrid), Mateo Kovacic (Manchester City), Marcelo Brozovic (Al Nassr), Mario Pasalic (Atalanta), Nikola Vlasic (Torino), Lovro Majer (Wolsfburg), Luka Ivanusec (Feyenoord), Luka Sucic (RB Salzburg), Martin Baturina (Dinamo Zagreb)

Forwards: Ivan Perisic (Hajduk Split), Andrej Kramaric (Hoffenheim), Bruno Petkovic (Dinamo Zagreb), Marko Pjaca (Rijeka), Ante Budimir (Osasuna), Marco Pasalic (Rijeka)

Italy squad:

Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-Germain), Alex Meret (Napoli), Ivan Provedel (Lazio), Guglielmo Vicario (Tottenham)

Defenders: Alessandro Bastoni (Inter Milan), Raoul Bellanova (Torino), Alessandro Buongiorno (Torino), Riccardo Calafiori (Bologna), Andrea Cambiaso (Juventus), Matteo Darmian (Inter Milan), Giovanni di Lorenzo (Napoli), Federico Dimarco (Inter Milan), Gianluca Mancini (Roma), Federico Gatti (Juventus)

Midfielders: Nicolo Barella (Inter Milan), Bryan Cristante (Roma), Nicolo Fagioli (Juventus), Michael Folorunsho (Verona), Davide Frattesi (Inter Milan), Jorginho (Arsenal), Lorenzo Pellegrini (Roma)

Forwards: Federico Chiesa (Juventus), Stephan El Shaarawy (Roma), Giacomo Raspadori (Napoli), Mateo Retegui (Genoa), Gianluca Scamacca (Atalanta), Mattia Zaccagni (Lazio)

Albania squad:

Goalkeepers: Etrit Berisha (Empoli), Thomas Strakosha (Brentford), Elhan Kastrati (Cittadella)

Defenders: Berat Djimsiti (Atalanta), Elseid Hysaj (Lazio), Ivan Balliu (Rayo Vallecano), Ardian Ismajli (Empoli), Arlind Ajeti (CFR Cluj), Naser Aliji (Voluntari), Mario Mitaj (Lokomotiv Moscow), Enea Mihaj (Famalicao), Marash Kumbulla (Sassuolo).

Midfielders: Amir Abrashi, Kristjan Asllani (Inter Milan), Nedim Bajrami (Sassuolo), Medon Berisha (Lecce), Klaus Gjasula (Darmstadt), Qazim Laci (Sparta Prague), Ernest Muci (Besiktas), Ylber Ramadani (Lecce).

Forwards: Jasir Asani (Gwangju FC), Armando Broja (Fulham), Mirlind Daku (Rubin Kazan), Arber Hoxha (Dinamo Zagreb), Rey Manaj (Sivasspor), Taulant Seferi (Baniyas).

Group C

Slovenia squad:

Goalkeepers: Jan Oblak (Atletico Madrid), Vid Belec (APOEL), Igor Vekic (Vejle).

Defenders: Petar Stojanovic (Sampdoria), Jaka Bijol (Udinese), Miha Blazic (Lech Poznan), Jure Balkovec (Alanyaspor), Zan Karnicnik (Celje), David Brekalo (Orlando City), Erik Janza (Gornik Zabrze), Vanja Drkusic (Sochi)

Midfielders: Timi Max Elsnik (Olimpija Ljubljana), Jasmin Kurtic (Sudtirol), Benjamin Verbic (Panathinaikos), Sandi Lovric (Udinese), Adam Gnezda Cerin (Panathinaikos), Jon Gorenc Stankovic (Sturm Graz), Tomi Horvat (Sturm Graz), Adrian Zeljkovic (Spartak Trnava), Nino Zugelj (Bodo/Glimt), Josip Ilicic (Maribor)

Forwards: Andraz Sporar (Panathinaikos), Benjamin Sesko (RB Leipzig), Zan Celar (Lugano), Jan Mlakar (Pisa), Zan Vipotnik (Bordeaux).

Denmark squad:

Goalkeepers: Kasper Schmeichel (Anderlecht), Frederik Ronnow (Union Berlin), Mads Hermansen (Leicester)

Defenders: Andreas Christensen (Barcelona), Simon Kjaer (AC Milan), Joachim Andersen (Crystal Palace), Jannik Vestergaard (Leicester), Victor Nelsson (Galatasaray), Alexander Bah (Benfica), Joakim Maehle (Wolfsburg), Rasmus Nissen Kristensen (Roma), Victor Kristiansen (Bologna)

Midfielders: Christian Eriksen (Manchester United), Thomas Delaney (Anderlecht), Morten Hjulmand (Sporting Lisbon), Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (Tottenham), Christian Norgaard (Brentford), Mathias Jensen (Brentford), Mikkel Damsgaard (Brentford), Jacob Bruun Larsen (Burnley), Andreas Skov Olsen (Club Bruges)

Forwards: Anders Dreyer (Anderlecht), Kasper Dolberg (Anderlecht), Rasmus Hojlund (Manchester United), Jonas Wind (Wolfsburg), Yusuf Poulsen (Leipzig).

Serbia preliminary squad:

Goalkeepers: Vanja Milinkovic Savic (Turin), Predrag Rajkovic (Majorca), Dorde Petrovic (Chelsea),

Defenders: Strahinja Pavlovic (RB Salzburg), Nikola Milenkovic (Fiorentina), Milos Veljkovic (Werder Bremen), Srdan Babic (Spartak Moscow), Uros Spajic (Red Star), Nemanja Stojic (TSC)

Midfielders: Sasa Lukic (Fulham), Nemanja Gudelj (Seville), Nemanja Maksimovic (Getafe), Ivan Ilic (Torino), Srdjan Mijailovic (Red Star), Sergej Milinkovic Savic (Al Hilal), Dusan Tadic (Fenerbahce), Lazar Samardzic (Udinese), Veljko Birmancevic (Sparta Prague), Filip Kostic (Juventus), Filip Mladenovic (Panathinaikos), Andrija Zivkovic (PAOK), Mijat Gacinovic (AEK)

Forwards: Aleksandar Mitrovic (Al Hilal), Dusan Vlahovic (Juventus), Luka Jovic (Milan), Petar Ratkov (RB Salzburg)

England squad

Goalkeepers: Dean Henderson (Crystal Palace), Jordan Pickford (Everton), Aaron Ramsdale (Arsenal)

Defenders: Lewis Dunk (Brighton), Joe Gomez (Liverpool), Marc Guehi (Crystal Palace), Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa), Luke Shaw (Manchester United), John Stones (Manchester City), Kieran Trippier (Newcastle), Kyle Walker (Manchester City)

Midfielders: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Conor Gallagher (Chelsea), Kobbie Mainoo (Manchester United), Declan Rice (Arsenal), Adam Wharton (Crystal Palace).

Forwards: Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), Jarrod Bowen (West Ham), Eberechi Eze (Crystal Palace), Phil Foden (Manchester City), Anthony Gordon (Newcastle), Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), Cole Palmer (Chelsea), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Ivan Toney (Brentford), Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa).

Group D

Netherlands

Goalkeepers: Justin Bijlow (Feyenoord), Mark Flekken (Brentford), Bart Verbruggen (Brighton & Hove Albion)

Defenders: Nathan Ake (Manchester City), Daley Blind (Girona), Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool), Denzel Dumfries (Inter Milan), Jeremie Frimpong (Bayer Leverkusen), Lutsharel Geertruida (Feyenoord), Matthijs de Ligt (Bayern Munich), Micky van de Ven (Tottenham Hotspur), Stefan de Vrij (Inter Milan)

Midfielders: Ryan Gravenberch (Liverpool), Frenkie de Jong (Barcelona), Teun Koopmeiners (Atalanta), Tijjani Reijnders (AC Milan), Jerdy Schouten (PSV Eindhoven), Xavi Simons (RB Leipzig), Joey Veerman (PSV Eindhoven), Georginio Wijnaldum (Al-Ettifaq)

Forwards: Steven Bergwijn (Ajax), Brian Brobbey (Ajax), Memphis Depay (Atletico Madrid), Cody Gakpo (Liverpool), Donyell Malen (Borussia Dortmund), Wout Weghorst (Hoffenheim, on loan from Burnley)

France

Goalkeepers: Alphonse Areola (West Ham), Mike Maignan (AC Milan), Brice Samba (Lens)

Defenders: Jonathan Clauss (Marseille), Ibrahima Konate (Liverpool), William Saliba (Arsenal), Jules Kounde (Barcelona), Theo Hernandez (AC Milan), Ferland Mendy (Real Madrid), Benjamin Pavard (Bayern Munich), Dayot Upamecano (Bayern Munich)

Midfielders: N’Golo Kante (Al-Ittihad), Eduardo Camavinga (Real Madrid), Adrien Rabiot (Juventus), Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid), Aurelien Tchouameni (Real Madrid), Warren Zaire-Emery (Paris St-Germain), Youssouf Fofana (Monaco)

Forwards: Kylian Mbappe (Paris St-Germain), Bradley Barcola (Paris St-Germain), Ousmane Dembele (Paris St-Germain), Kingsley Coman (Bayern Munich), Marcus Thuram (Inter Milan), Randal Kolo Muani (Paris St-Germain), Olivier Giroud (AC Milan)

Poland squad

Goalkeepers: Wojciech Szczęsny (Juventus), Marcin Bulka (Nice), Łukasz Skorupski (Bologna)

Defenders: Jan Bednarek (Southampton), Bartosz Bereszyński (Empoli), Jakub Kiwior (Arsenal), Bartosz Salamon (Lech Poznań), Tymoteusz Puchacz (Kaiserslautern), Paweł Dawidowicz (Verona), Sebastian Walukiewicz (Empoli)

Midfielders: Przemysław Frankowski (Lens), Kamil Grośicki (Pogoń Szczecin), Jakub Moder (Brighton), Taras Romanczuk (Jagiellonia Białystok), Damian Szymanski (AEK Athens) Nikola Załewski (Roma), Jakub Piotrowski (Ludogorets), Bartosz Slisz (Atlanta), Sebastian Szymański (Fenerbahce), Kacper Urbański (Bologna), Piotr Zieliński (Napoli), Piotr Zielenski (Napoli)

Forwards: Adam Buksa (Antalyaspor), Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona), Krzysztof Piątek (Başakşehir), Kamil Swiderski (Verona).

Austria squad:

Goalkeepers: Patrick Pentz (Brondby), Heinz Lindner (Union Saint-Gilloise), Niklas Hedl (Rapid Wien).

Defenders: Stefan Posch (Bologna), Max Wober (Borussia Monchengladbach), Philipp Lienhart (Freiburg), Kevin Danso (Lens), Phillipp Mwene (Mainz), Flavius Daniliuc (Red Bull Salzburg), Gernot Trauner (Feyenoord), Leopold Querfeld (Rapid Wien).

Midfielders: Marcel Sabitzer (Borussia Dortmund), Florian Grillitsch (Hoffenheim), Christoph Baumgartner (RB Leipzig), Konrad Laimer (Bayern Munich), Florian Kain (Cologne), Nicolas Seiwald (RB Leipzig), Romano Schmid (Werder Bremen), Alexander Prass (Sturm Graz), Matthias Seidl (Rapid Vienna)

Forwards: Marko Arnautovic (Inter Milan), Michael Gregoritsch (Freiburg), Andreas Weimann (West Brom), Patrick Wimmer (Wolfsburg), Marco Grull (Rapid Wien), Maximilian Entrup (TSV Hartberg).

Group E

Ukraine squad:

Goalkeepers: Andriy Lunin (Real Madrid), Anatoliy Trubin (Benfica), Heorhiy Bushchan (Dynamo Kyiv).

Defenders: Yukhym Konoplia, Valeriy Bondar, Mykola Matvienko (all Shakhtar Donetsk), Oleksandr Tymchyk (Dynamo Kyiv), Vitaliy Mykolenko (Everton), Maksym Taloverov (LASK), Illia Zabarnyi (Bournemouth), Oleksandr Svatok (Dnipro-1), Bohdan Mykhaylichenko (Polissya Zhytomyr)

Midfielders: Taras Stepanenko, Oleksandr Zubkov, Heorhiy Sudakov (all Shakhtar Donetsk), Andriy Yarmolenko, Volodymyr Brazhko, Mykola Shaparenko (all Dynamo Kyiv), Serhiy Sydorchuk (Westerlo), Ruslan Malinovskyi (Genoa), Mykhailo Mudryk (Chelsea), Viktor Tsyhankov (Girona), Oleksandr Zinchenko (Arsenal).

Attackers: Artem Dovbyk (Girona), Roman Yaremchuk (Valencia), Vladyslav Vanat (Dynamo Kyiv).

Slovakia squad:

Goalkeepers: Martin Dubravka (Newcastle), Marek Rodak, Henrich Ravas (New England Revolution).

Defenders: Peter Pekarik (Hertha Berlin), Milan Skriniar (Paris Saint-Germain), Norbert Gyomber (Salernitana), David Hancko (Feyenoord), Denis Vavro (Copenhagen), Vernon De Marco (Hatta), Adam Obert (Cagliari), Matus Kmet (AS Trencin), Sebastian Kosa (Spartak Trnava).

Midfielders: Juraj Kucka (Slovan Bratislava), Ondrej Duda (Hellas Verona), Patrik Hrosovsky (Genk), Stanislav Lobotka (Napoli), Matus Bero (Bochum), Laszlo Benes (Hamburg)

Forwards: Robert Bozenik (Boavista), Lukas Haraslin (Sparta Prague), Tomas Suslov (Hellas Verona), Ivan Schranz (Slavia Prague), David Strelec (Slovan Bratislava), David Duris (Ascoli), Lubomir Tupta (Slovan Liberec), Leo Sauer (Feyenoord).

Belgium squad:

Goalkeepers: Matz Sels (Nottingham Forest), Koen Casteels (Wolfsburg), Thomas Kaminski (Luton)

Defenders: Wout Faes (Leicester), Timothy Castagne (Fulham), Arthur Theate (Rennes), Jan Vertonghen (Anderlecht), Axel Witsel (Atletico Madrid), Zeno Debast (Anderlecht), Thomas Meunier (Trabzonspor), Maxim De Cuyper (Club Brugge)

Midfielders: Aster Vranckx (Wolfsburg), Youri Tielemans (Aston Villa), Orel Mangala (Lyon), Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City), Arthur Vermeeren (Atletico Madrid), Amadou Onana (Everton)

Forwards: Romelu Lukaku (Roma), Charles De Ketelaere (Atalanta), Jeremy Doku (Manchester City), Lois Openda (Leipzig), Leandro Trossard (Arsenal), Johan Bakayoko (PSV Eindhoven), Dodi Lukebakio (Sevilla), Yannick Carrasco (Al-Shabab)

Romania squad:

Goalkeepers: Florin Nița (Gaziantep), Horatiu Moldovan (Atletico Madrid), Ștefan Tarnovanu (FCSB)

Defenders: Nicușor Bancu (Universitatea Craiova), Andrei Burca (Al Okhdood), Ionuț Nedelcearu (Palermo), Adrian Rus (Pafos), Andrei Ratiu (Rayo Vallecano), Radu Dragusin (Tottenham), Vasile Mogoș (CFR Cluj), Bogdan Racovitan (Rakow Czestochowa).

Midfielders: Nicolae Stanciu (Damac), Razvan Marin (Empoli), Alexandru Cicaldau (Konyaspor), Ianis Hagi (Alaves), Dennis Man (Parma), Valentin Mihaila (Parma), Marius Marin (Pisa), Darius Olaru (FCSB), Deian Sorescu (Gaziantep), Florinel Coman (FCSB), Adrian Sut (FCSB)

Forwards: George Puscas (Bari), Denis Alibec (Muaither), Denis Dragus (Gaziantep), Daniel Birligea (CFR Cluj).

Group F

Portugal squad:

Goalkeepers: Diogo Costa (Porto), Jose Sa (Wolves), Rui Patricio (AS Roma)

Defenders: Antonio Silva (Benfica), Danilo Pereira (Paris St Germain), Diogo Dalot (Manchester United), Goncalo Inacio (Sporting), Joao Cancelo (Barcelona), Nelson Semedo (Wolves), Nuno Mendes (PSG), Pepe (Porto), Ruben Dias (Manchester City)

Midfielders: Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United), Joao Neves (Benfica), Joao Palhinha (Fulham), Otavio Monteiro (Al Nassr), Ruben Neves (Al-Hilal), Vitinha (PSG)

Forwards: Bernardo Silva (Manchester City), Cristiano Ronaldo (Al Nassr), Diogo Jota (Liverpool), Francisco Conceicao (Porto), Goncalo Ramos (PSG), Joao Felix (Barcelona), Pedro Neto (Wolves), Rafael Leao (AC Milan).

Czech Republic squad:

Goalkeepers: Jindrich Stanek (Slavia Prague), Matej Kovar (Bayer Leverkusen), Vitezslav Jaros (Sturm Graz)

Defenders: Ladislav Krejci (Sparta Prague), Martin Vitik (Sparta Prague), Robin Hranac (Viktoria Plzen), Tomas Vlcek (Slavia Prague), Vladimir Coufal (West Ham), David Doudera (Slavia Prague), David Jurasek (Hoffenheim), Tomas Holes (Slavia Prague), David Zima (Slavia Prague)

Midfielders: Tomas Soucek (West Ham), Antonin Barak (Fiorentina), Michal Sadilek (Twente), Lukas Provod (Slavia Prague), Pavel Sulc (Viktoria Plzen), Matej Jurasek (Slavia Prague), Vaclav Cerny (VfL Wolfsburg), Lukas Cerv (Viktoria Plzen), Ondrej Lingr (Feyenoord)

Forwards: Patrik Schick (Bayer Leverkusen), Adam Hlozek (Bayer Leverkusen), Mojmir Chytil (Slavia Prague), Tomas Chory (Viktoria Plzen), Jan Kuchta (Sparta Prague)

Georgia squad:

Goalkeepers: Giorgi Loria (Dinamo Tbilisi), Giorgi Mamardashvili (Valencia), Luka Gugeshashvili (Qarabag).

Defenders: Guram Kashia (Slovan Bratislava), Otar Kakabadze (Cracovia), Lasha Dvali (APOEL), Jemal Tabidze (Panetolikos), Luka Lochoshvili (Cremonese), Giorgi Gocholeishvili (Shakhtar Donetsk), Giorgi Gvelesiani (Persepolis).

Midfielders: Nika Kvekverskiri (Lech Poznan), Otar Kiteishvili (Sturm Graz), Giorgi Chakvetadze (Watford), Levan Shengelia (Panetlikos), Giorgi Tsitaishvili (Dinamo Batumi), Anzor Mekvabishvili (Universitatea Craiova), Giorgi Kochorashvili (Levante), Sandro Altunashvili (Wolfsberger AC), Jaba Kankava (Slovan Bratislava)

Forwards: Giorgi Kvilitaia (APOEL), Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Napoli), Budu Zivzivadze (Karlsruher), Georges Mikautadze (Metz), Zuriko Davitashvili (Bordeaux), Saba Lobzhanidze (Atalanta United)

Turkey squad:

Goalkeepers: Mert Gunok (Besiktas), Ugurcan Cakir (Trabzonspor), Altay Bayindir (Manchester United)

Defenders: Zeki Celik (Roma), Merih Demiral (Al Ahli), Mert Muldur (Fenerbahce), Ferdi Kadioglu (Fenerbahce), Abdulkerim Bardakci (Galatasaray), Samet Akaydin (Panathinaikos), Ahmetcan Kaplan (Ajax).

Midfielders: Hakan Calhanoglu (Inter Milan), Kaan Ayhan (Galatasaray), Okay Yokuslu (West Brom), Orkun Kokcu (Benfica), Salih Ozcan (Borussia Dortmund), Ismail Yuksek (Fenerbahce), Arda Guler (Real Madrid)

Forwards: Cenk Tosun (Besiktas), Irfan Kahveci (Fenerbahce), Kerem Akturkoglu (Galatasaray), Baris Alper Yilmaz (Galatasaray), Yunus Akgun (Leicester), Kenan Yildiz (Juventus), Bertug Yildirim (Rennes), Semih Kilicsoy (Besiktas), Yusuf Yazıcı (Lille)

The move by European football’s governing body is to try to stop groups of players “mobbing” referees in scenes which are “bad for the image of football”.

“In a bid to improve the status quo we at Uefa want referees to explain more of their decisions to all teams competing at the upcoming Uefa Euro 2024 tournament,” said Roberto Rosetti, Uefa’s managing director of refereeing.

“How will we do this? The idea is simple: we ask that all teams ensure their captain is the only player who speaks to the referee.

“We ask the captains to ensure their team-mates do not encroach upon and surround the referee, allowing direct conversations to take place in order that the decision be relayed in a timely and respectful manner.”

Uefa’s initiative follows football’s lawmakers, the International Football Association Board (Ifab), announcing trials earlier this year which included only a team’s captain being able to approach a referee in certain situations.

Euro 2024 takes place in Germany, who will get the competition started with a game against Scotland on Friday, 14 June.

“Any team-mate ignoring his captain’s role and/or who approaches the referee showing any sign of disrespect or dissent will be shown a yellow card,” added Rosetti.

“Evidently, if the captain is a goalkeeper, there will need to be an outfield player nominated who can fulfil this role should an incident occur at the opposite end of the pitch.”

Albert Gudmundsson scored a hat-trick as Iceland came back to beat Israel 4-1 in the Hungarian capital Budapest.

Ukraine scored two late goals to stun Bosnia 2-1 in Zenica.

Georgia, who have never qualified for a tournament, beat Luxembourg 2-0, while Greece enjoyed a comfortable 5-0 win over Kazakhstan in Athens.

Wales beat Finland 4-1 in Cardiff, with Poland defeating Estonia 5-1.

The Euro 2024 play-offs involve the group winners of the top three divisions in the last Uefa Nations League, or else the highest-ranked teams who did not qualify for the tournament directly.

Israel’s home game against Iceland had to be played in Budapest because of the war in Gaza.

Eran Zahavi gave them the lead with a penalty but Gudmundsson’s fine free-kick and Arnor Traustason’s strike turned the match around before half-time.

Zahavi then missed a penalty, before Genoa forward Gudmundsson scored two late goals to complete his hat-trick.

Bosnia looked set to be their opponents in the final following Mykola Matviyenko’s own goal, as he turned Amar Dedic’s cross into his own net.

But Roman Yaremchuk swept home an 85th-minute equaliser and Girona striker Artem Dovbyk headed in a dramatic winner two minutes from time.

The final will be held in the Polish city of Wroclaw with Ukraine unable to host it because of the continuing invasion by Russia.

Georgia’s victory ended the dream of Luxembourg, who have been trying to qualify for a major tournament since 1934, thanks to Budu Zivzivadze’s double.

The underdogs thought they were level at 1-1 in the 53rd minute when Gerson Rodrigues fired home.

But the goal was overturned by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) and instead team-mate Maxime Chanot was sent off for a professional foul that had happened at the other end 45 seconds earlier.

Gus Poyet’s Greece had a more comfortable night with a 5-0 cruise over Kazakhstan – thanks to four different goalscorers in the first 40 minutes and a late own goal.

The losers of these matches will play each other in friendlies on Tuesday.

The European Club Finance and Investment Landscape report says United’s players at the end of their 2023 financial year cost 1.42bn euros (£1.21bn) in combined transfer fees.

The 2020 Real Madrid squad were previously the most costly at £1.13bn.

United’s squad included £82m Antony, £80m Harry Maguire, £73m Jadon Sancho and £70m Casemiro.

The total does not include £72m Rasmus Hojlund, £55m Mason Mount or £47m Andre Onana, all of whom joined in the 2023 summer transfer window.

United finished third in the Premier League last season, their first campaign under manager Erik ten Hag.

The reports says three other squads – Manchester City, Chelsea and Real – cost more than £1bn in transfer fees.

Chelsea’s figures go up to June 2022, meaning the £850m they spent from the summer of that year to August 2023 is not counted.

British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s deal to buy a 25% stake in United was approved by the Football Association on Wednesday.

The purchase is worth about £1.03bn and his Ineos Group will take control of football operations.

It comes after Uefa voted to change its rules, which would have allowed the 56-year-old Slovenian to run again and potentially stay at the helm of European football’s governing body until 2031.

The English Football Association (FA) was the only nation to oppose the rule amendment at a Uefa congress in Paris.

The FA said leaders should serve a “maximum” of three terms of four years.

Previous rules allowed a president to serve three terms in office but the new ruling means Ceferin’s initial term, when he replaced Michel Platini in 2016 part-way through a four-year cycle, does not count as a full term served.

Ceferin took over when Platini stepped down in May 2016 after being banned by world governing body Fifa over ethics breaches.

Despite a two-thirds majority of 49 nations voting to pass the motion, he later announced he would not stand in 2027.

Ceferin told a news conference: “I decided six months ago that I would not run any more. The reason is that after some time every organisation needs fresh blood, but mainly because I was away from my family for seven years now.

“I intentionally didn’t want to disclose my thoughts before, because firstly, I wanted to see the real face of some people and I saw it.”

Opponents of the motion – including FA chief executive Mark Bullingham – argued the change goes against the pledge Ceferin made to preside over cleaner corporate governance of Uefa when he took over from Platini.

Uefa general secretary Theodore Theodoridis said Ceferin’s decision not to tell the national associations of his plans beforehand was not an embarrassment for the FA.

“I don’t think so,” he said. “We have a democracy.”

The change is seen as a controversial one and Uefa’s technical director Zvonimir Boban quit his role in January in protest at Ceferin’s presumed intention to stay on for a further term, calling the move “beyond comprehension”.

Ceferin responded to this after making his announcement, saying Boban was aware he would not seek re-election and called his stance a “pathetic cry”.

“He could not wait because after my disclosure, his whining would not make sense,” Ceferin added.

Other statute changes, including the requirement to have at least two female members on the Uefa executive committee, were also part of the motion and Bullingham, along with representatives from Norway and Iceland, had voted against the plan to “bundle” them together.

The FA says it was supportive of the other proposed statue changes but that once the motion to group them together was passed, it was forced to vote against them all.

“We requested and voted for the statute changes to be tabled separately, but this was not supported by a sufficient majority and we respect that,” said an FA spokesperson.

“We believe that it was always intended that a principle of three terms of four years should be a maximum period for any Uefa exco member to serve.”

Ceferin recently told the Telegraph that Uefa “were right” to give City a two-year European football ban in 2020.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport overturned the punishment on appeal.

City are also contesting claims by the Premier League that the club have broken their financial rules.

“As a lawyer that he is and president of Uefa, he should wait and after do whatever he wants,” said Guardiola.

“He has to respect it and he has to wait. He has a lot of jobs to do at Uefa. A lawyer should respect the procedure and understand we have a right to defend ourselves.”

City were charged with 115 breaches of Premier League regulations in February last year.

Premier League chief executive Richard Masters says a date has been set for the hearing but, speaking in front of MPs earlier this month, he said he could not reveal when it will take place.

In February 2020, City were initially banned from the Champions League for two seasons by UEFA and fined €30m (£25m) after they were found to have seriously misled European football’s governing body and broken Financial Fair Play rules.

However, in July 2020, the two-season suspension was lifted after an appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), and the fine reduced from €30m to €10m. CAS indicated that “most of the alleged breaches” were “either not established or time-barred”.

In February 2023, the Premier League charged City with 115 alleged breaches of the league’s financial rules over nine seasons between 2009 and 2018, during which time they won the league title three times.

Premier League chief executive Richard Masters says a date has been set for that hearing, but no exact date has been specified. Manchester City deny any wrongdoing.

Ceferin, speaking to The Daily Telegraph, would not be drawn on the Premier League’s case against City, but said a guilty verdict would validate UEFA’s charges from 2020.

“We know we were right,” Ceferin said, in his first public comments about the Premier League case. “We wouldn’t decide if we didn’t think we were right.

“As a trial lawyer for 25 years, I know that, sometimes, you win a case that you are sure you will lose. And, sometimes, you lose a case when you’re sure. You just simply have to respect in a serious democracy the decision of the court.

“I don’t want to speak about the case in England. But I trust that the decision of our independent body was correct. I didn’t enter into this decision.”

Everton and Nottingham Forest were charged with breaching Premier League Profitability and Sustainability Rules earlier this month – and Everton were deducted 10 points in November for the same offence.

When asked if Ceferin understood fans’ confusion and frustration over the time it is taking to deal with City in comparison, he said: “They want to know what’s going on and what are the consequences but I don’t want to enter into this concrete process because I don’t know what the Premier League is dealing with.

“I really don’t want to criticise, or something like that. It wouldn’t be fair.”

In the Premier League case, Man City allegedly did not provide accurate financial information and did not fully disclose the financial remunerations that were made to one of their managers over a four-year period.

The Premier League also alleges Man City did not comply with UEFA’s Financial Fair Play rules over a five-year period. They also allege Man City have not fully co-operated with the Premier League’s investigation.

Sky Sports News has contacted Manchester City for comment.

It had been claimed by the ESL and its backers, A22, that Uefa and Fifa were breaking competition law by threatening to sanction clubs and players who joined the breakaway league.

A ruling on Thursday from Europe’s highest court found against the governing bodies.

However, the court stated: “That does not mean that a competition such as the Super League project must necessarily be approved”.

An initial report released last December by the ECJ said the rules of football’s European and world governing bodies were “compatible with EU competition law”.

However, the verdict will be seen as a blow to the authority of Uefa and Fifa and how they govern the game.

The report said that when new competitions are “potentially entering the market” Fifa and Uefa must ensure their powers are “transparent, objective, non-discriminatory and proportionate”.

The report adds: “However, the powers of Fifa and Uefa are not subject to any such criteria. Fifa and Uefa are, therefore, abusing a dominant position.

“Moreover, given their arbitrary nature, their rules on approval, control and sanctions must be held to be unjustified restrictions on the freedom to provide services.

“That does not mean that a competition such as the Super League project must necessarily be approved. The Court does not rule on that specific project in its judgment.”

Responding to the ECJ verdict on X, formerly Twitter, A22 chief executive Bernd Reichart wrote that the ESL “have won the right to exist”.

He added: “Uefa’s monopoly is over. Football is free. Clubs are now free from the threat of sanctions and free to determine their own future.

“For fans: we offer free broadcasting of all Superleague matches. For clubs: Income and solidarity expenses will be guaranteed.”

The ESL saga began in April 2021 when news broke that 12 teams – including English teams Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham – had signed up to the breakaway competition.

There was widespread anger and condemnation from fans, other European leagues and even government, leading to the collapse of the plans within 72 hours.

The six Premier League clubs plus Atletico Madrid, Inter Milan and AC Milan were fined by Uefa, but action against Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus was halted during the legal process, although Juventus signalled their intention to quit the project in July.

The ESL has not been scrapped completely, however, with Real Madrid and Barcelona remaining interested in pursuing the venture.

In a statement, Spain’s La Liga said European football had “spoken”.

It added: “Today, more than ever, we reiterate that the “Super League” is a selfish and elitist model.

“Anything that is not fully open, with direct access only through the domestic leagues, season by season, is a closed format.”

Last year Fifa and Uefa banned all Russian teams from their competitions following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“We unanimously voted against,” RFU president Alexander Dyukov said of the proposal.

The RFU said it hopes to continue talks with Uefa about returning to European competition.

“We have decided to continue contacts with Uefa, especially as there is progress,” said RFU committee member Mikhail Gershkovich.

“Let’s see how the situation develops next year.”

In recent months Uefa showed signs of relaxing restrictions on Russia’s youth teams, but later abandoned plans to reinstate Russia’s under-17 sides to European competition.

From next season the competition will adopt a Swiss league format, with all of the 36 sides involved in one group and table.

Each side will play eight games, instead of the current six, and there will be a new knockout play-off round introduced between the league stage and last 16.

We’ve trawled through the archives and picked out some of the great group games from years gone by.

Don’t forget to rank yours at the bottom and ask your friends to do the same.

Galatasaray 3-3 Man Utd, 2023

Most great games have mistakes in, don’t they?

That was certainly the case in this game with Red Devils summer signing Andre Onana twice letting free-kicks in from Hakim Ziyech when he should have perhaps done better.

United had raced into a two-goal lead, including a thunderbolt from Bruno Fernandes, but ended up having to settle for a point in a classic match they had led 3-1.

Marseille 1-2 Tottenham, 2022

Tottenham are never far from drama in the Champions League.

How about a 95th-minute winner to seal your place in the knockout stages?

Spurs went behind against their French hosts and, if the scoreline had stayed that way, they were destined to drop to third in their group and as a consequence, Europa League beckoned.

But Clement Lenglet equalised and, with Marseille piling on the pressure as they needed to win to progress, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg struck a late winner to confirm Spurs as group winners.

Spurs’ position in the group had changed six times over the course of the match, and it was one of the great evenings of ebbs and flows.

Tottenham 2-7 Bayern Munich, 2019

It was a disastrous night for Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino as his side capitulated at home to the eventual German Bundesliga champions. He was sacked less than seven weeks later.

Spurs actually took the lead through Son Heung-min, but Bayern scored five unanswered goals.

Harry Kane scored from the penalty spot to reduce the arrears, but Serge Gnabry, formerly of Arsenal, then scored his third and fourth goals on an evening to savour for the visitors.

Borussia Dortmund 8-4 Legia Warsaw, 2016

This is only the game in Champions League history to have seen 12 goals.

Legia Warsaw took the lead in the 10th minute, before four goals in seven minutes, including two for Shinji Kagawa, made it 3-2 to Dortmund. There were two more before the break as the hosts established a 5-2 lead.

Both sides scored again before the hour mark, and then there were three goals in the final 10 minutes to cap a night packed with action.

Liverpool 8-0 Besiktas, 2007

Another famous night at Anfield.

There have only been two eight-goal winning margins in the Champions League, but this was the first time it had happened.

Yossi Benayoun scored a hat-trick, while Peter Crouch and Ryan Babel both scored twice, with Steven Gerrard also on the scoresheet.

Liverpool 3-1 Olympiakos, 2004

Liverpool had gone into the game three points behind the Greek side and needing to win by two clear goals to have a better head-to-head record and qualify for the knockout stages.

Rivaldo put the visitors ahead at half-time before Florent Sinama Pongolle and Neil Mellor both scored to put the home side in the ascendancy.

With the game in the balance up stepped club legend Gerrard to score a stunning late goal to put his side through.

The rest, as they say, is history with the Reds famously going on to win the trophy, beating AC Milan on penalties in the final.

Inter Milan 1-5 Arsenal, 2003

Arsenal may have gone on to be Premier League ‘Invincibles’ in the 2003-04 season, but their Champions League campaign was less plain sailing.

A 3-0 defeat by Inter Milan and a 2-1 reverse against Dynamo Kyiv, plus a goalless draw against Lokomotiv Moscow, had left Arsene Wenger’s side bottom of their group after four games.

However, up stepped Thierry Henry, scoring twice, alongside Freddie Ljungberg, Edu and Robert Pires to ensure the Gunners left the San Siro with a famous win.

A victory in their final group game against Lokomotiv Moscow was enough for the Gunners to top their group and progress to the last 16.

Monaco 8-3 Deportivo, 2003

Monaco produced a scintillating attacking display at Stade Louis II to put eight goals past Deportivo La Coruna.

It took 11 minutes for Monaco to surge into a 2-0 lead through Jerome Rothen and Ludovic Giuly.

Croatian striker Dado Prso scored two of his four goals to double the lead before Diego Tristan and Lionel Scaloni both scored to reduce the Spaniards’ arrears.

Prso was on target again to make it 5-2, while Jaroslav Plasil scored number six with Prso made it four for a memorable night.

Tristan got his second of the match and Deportivo’s third before Edouard Cisse rounded off the scoring.

Despite this thrashing, Deportivo would go on to reach the semi-finals while Monaco went one better and got to the final where they lost to Jose Mourinho’s Porto.

Hamburg 4-4 Juventus, 2000

This was the first 4-4 draw in the Champions League.

Juventus took an early lead and, after Hamburg equalised soon after, Filippo Inzaghi scored twice to put the Italian side in the driving seat.

But Hamburg scored three goals without reply, including goalkeeper Hans-Jorg Butt pulling them level from the penalty spot, to turn the contest on its head for a 4-3 lead.

However, Inzaghi wasn’t done there and completed his hat-trick from the penalty spot to seal the draw.

Man Utd 3-3 Barcelona, 1998

While Manchester United’s 1998-99 season famously ended in Barcelona with their comeback win over Bayern Munich to complete the Treble, they actually faced the Spanish giants in the first match of their Champions League group campaign.

Having beaten Polish side LKS Lodz in a qualifier, they hosted Barca in their opening group match and it was a classic.

The Red Devils led 2-0 and then 3-2 on the night – their third goal a trademark David Beckham free-kick – but the visitors rallied to rescue a 3-3 draw.

The return game didn’t disappoint – six more goals and nothing between the sides, with Brazil legend Rivaldo scoring twice for Barca, and Dwight Yorke doing likewise for United.

Barcelona 0-4 Dynamo Kyiv, 1997

The Nou Camp is famous for Champions League nights, but this one saw the Catalan side humbled by the Ukrainians.

Kyiv took the lead inside the opening 10 minutes through a 21-year-old Andriy Shevchenko.

The Ukraine striker then doubled his side’s lead in the 32nd minute before completing a first-half hat-trick just before the break.

Serhiy Rebrov made it four late on as the likes of Rivaldo were powerless to stop the dominant Kyiv.

Ceferin was elected in 2016, replacing Michel Platini, and one of reforms he put in place was a three-term limit for all executive appointments.

He is due to step down in 2027 but the Slovenian’s supporters are working on a plan to amend the rule.

If it was put in place, Ceferin, who was unopposed when he was re-elected this year, could stand again in 2027.

Former Manchester United chief executive David Gill, a member of Uefa’s executive committee, is leading the opposition to any change.

The amendment, which his supporters want as Ceferin took over part-way through Platini’s four-year term in office, would mean any appointment before 2017 would not be counted as part of the allowable three terms.

The matter was raised at an executive committee meeting last week, when Gill is understood to have reacted angrily, arguing the plan was undemocratic. Others at the meeting also voiced their opposition, although it is not known if Ceferin, who has huge support in eastern Europe, has enough wider backing to push through his controversial plan.

The proposal is due to go before Uefa’s congress in Paris on 8 February, when it will need a two-thirds majority of the organisation’s 55 members for the relevant statutes to be amended.

In a statement, Uefa said on Monday: “The legal committee proposed a number of changes to the statutes which clarify some existing provisions to ensure that none are applicable retroactively – in line with a basic legal principle. Both the governance committee and the executive committee approved the changes which will now be considered by congress in February.”

The ‘Fussballliebe’ uses Adidas’ connected ball technology to send data in real-time to officials.

Uefa says the ball will offer “unprecedented insight into every element of the movement of the ball, contributing to the video assistant referee (VAR) decision-making process”.

The technology knows when a touch has taken place, but not where on the body.

Officials will then use images from cameras, as they do now, to decide whether a handball has taken place.

Uefa believes it should speed up that process for such decisions, along with providing more accurate offside calls.

“Combining player position data with artificial intelligence (AI), the innovation contributes to Uefa’s semi-automated offside technology and will be key to supporting faster in-match decisions,” said Uefa.

“The technology can also help VAR officials to identify every individual touch of the ball, further reducing time spent resolving handball and penalty incidents.”

There has been criticism of VAR across Europe, especially in the Premier League, with many managers speaking out about how the technology is used.

The Premier League opted against using semi-automated offsides this season, with its sponsor Nike yet to produce a ball the top-flight clubs are happy with.

Euro 2024 takes place in Germany from 14 June to 14 July.

Lewd noises could be heard as Switzerland were drawn in Group A with Scotland, Hungary and hosts Germany.

A similar incident occurred on the BBC in the build-up to January’s FA Cup tie between Liverpool and Wolves.

YouTube prankster Daniel Jarvis claimed responsibility for both that and the latest prank.

Jarvis broadcast himself live on X, formerly Twitter, ringing a mobile phone at intervals to trigger the noises as the Euros draw, which was streamed on the BBC, took place in Hamburg, Germany.

He told viewers: “Listen that was us, that was us. We got it in there, we put the phone in there, we rung it, sex noise at the Euro 2024 draw.”

Host Giorgio Marchetti, the deputy general secretary of European football’s governing body, attempted to take control of the situation, saying: “There is some noise here that… has now stopped. No noise anymore.”

When was asked about the incident, England manager Gareth Southgate said he could vaguely hear the noises while sat in the audience.

“I’m assuming it was some sort of a prank, but it was hard to really make out what it was,” he said.

During the FA Cup coverage, presenter Gary Lineker and pundits Paul Ince and Danny Murphy were startled when similar noises were heard during a broadcast from Molineux Stadium.

A studio hunt uncovered a planted mobile phone and the BBC apologised to any viewers who were offended.

Lineker later posted on X he thought it was a “good prank” and added: “As sabotage goes it was quite amusing.”

Last month European football’s governing body announced it was exploring how to reintegrate the Russian youth team into the international setup, having suspended all Russian teams from Uefa competitions following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Now the organisation says that finding a way to reintegrate Russia’s U17 side has proven too difficult logistically.

“No technical solution to allow Russian teams to play could be found,” a Uefa spokesperson said, who added that the “agenda point was withdrawn”.

Uefa had argued that boys and girls should not be punished for the actions of adults.

But around a dozen national associations, including the English Football Association, publicly expressed their opposition to playing against Russia if drawn against them at either the men’s competition in Cyprus or the women’s in Sweden next year.

“Speaking as an English FA, we made our position very clear 18 months ago – we won’t play Russia in any category age group as long as there is a war,” FA chair Debbie Hewitt said after the executive committee meeting on Tuesday.

“We felt very strong in that. That is a position we retain.”

As well as barring its teams from participating in continental competition, Uefa also revoked Russia’s hosting rights for the 2022 Champions League final and 2023 Super Cup, which were due to be held in Saint Petersburg and Kazan respectively, as well as cancelling the sponsorship contract with state-owned energy giant Gazprom.

BBC Sport understands the decision was not supported unanimously within Uefa, which comes after European football’s governing body banned all Russian sides following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The English FA has already said it will not allow England to play Russia.

Sweden has also said its U17 side will not host Russia.

Uefa made the surprise reversal earlier this week and is now deciding how to integrate the teams back into the male and female European championships, due to take place next year, given the respective qualifying draws have already been made.

Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin has said that youth players should not be held accountable for the actions of the Russian Government.

Evidently, this stance is not accepted by the Ukrainians, who want the decision overturned.

In its letter, the Ukraine FA says: “We are convinced any step towards reintegration of Russian representatives is a hazardous and terrifying trend, which means nothing but support to the Russian terrorist state and all their crimes committed in Ukraine.”

The next Under-17 male European Championship finals are due to be played in Cyprus next year, with women’s equivalent scheduled for May in Sweden.

After banning the country’s teams from European competition, Uefa also revoked Russia’s hosting rights for the 2022 Champions League final and 2023 Super Cup – due to be held in Saint Petersburg and Kazan respectively – as well as cancelling the sponsorship contract with state-owned energy giant Gazprom.

Italy formally submitted a bid in April to host the 2032 European Championship while Turkey also submitted a bid to host the tournament in either 2028 or 2032.

“UEFA will now work with FIGC and TFF to ensure that the documentation to be submitted for their joint bid is compliant with the bidding requirements,” European soccer’s governing body said in a statement.

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If the joint bid does comply with such requirements, it will be submitted to the UEFA Executive Committee on Oct. 10 where the host appointments for 2028 and 2032 will be made, UEFA added.

A joint bid to host the 2028 edition has also been placed by England, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

Decisions on venues and match schedules will be made at a later stage, UEFA said.

They were one of a number of clubs sanctioned by Uefa under FFP rules in place between 2019 and 2022.

United said they were “disappointed by the outcome”.

However, they added the club accepted the fine “for what Uefa acknowledges to be a minor technical breach of its previous Financial Fair Play rules”.

In explaining the reason for the punishment, United continued that “this reflected a change in the way that Uefa adjusted for Covid-19 losses during the 2022 reporting period, which allowed us to recognise only 15m euros of the 281m euros of revenues lost due to the pandemic within the FFP calculation”.

Barcelona were also fined 500,000 euros (£428,000) by European football’s governing body.

Uefa said the Spanish club was guilty in 2022 of “wrongly reporting … profits on disposal of intangible assets (other than player transfers) which are not a relevant income under the regulations”.

AC Milan, Besiktas, Inter Milan, Marseille, Monaco, Paris St-Germain and Roma were found to have complied with FFP rules in 2022 but Uefa said it “will continue monitoring their compliance with the settlement agreement during next season”.

There were reports of fans having to walk extended distances along busy roads, queue for hours for transport to and from the stadium and being left without water as Manchester City beat Inter Milan on 10 June.

Uefa previously apologised after Liverpool fans were penned in and teargassed before last year’s final in Paris.

European football’s governing body had not previously addressed the issues experienced by supporters in Istanbul.

However, at the opening of the four-day European Football Fans Congress in Manchester, Ceferin accepted problems had arisen in Turkey that needed to be addressed.

“Given what some of you experienced recently, I would understand if I got a cold reception tonight,” he said.

“We are well aware that in Istanbul not everything was perfect. I am certainly not playing down the problems encountered by some.

“But let us continue working together to improve what can we improve.

“I’m thinking in particular transport links to and from the stadium, the hosting of the stadium supporters and access to water and toilets for everyone.”

Football Supporters Europe is collecting fan accounts from Istanbul to present a report to Uefa.

Ceferin said Uefa’s other major finals in the men’s and women’s games had passed without significant issues.

The showpieces in 2024 – when Wembley will host the Champions League final and Germany the European Championships – will be a “unique experience” for fans, he added.

Ceferin apologises for Paris failings

Ceferin used his opening address at the National Football Museum to praise fans for protesting against the proposed European Super League in 2022, saying: “You were the captain and led the team in the match of our lives.”

However, memories of the chaotic scenes in Paris remain fresh in the mind, as do the initial attempts by Uefa and French authorities to blame supporters for events outside the Stade de France.

Uefa’s own review concluded European football’s governing body bore “primary responsibility” and it was “remarkable” it had not led to loss of life.

The review added that attempting to blame ticketless fans was “reprehensible”.

“I have come here to say sorry,” Ceferin said. “We would love to erase events that happened last year from our memories.

“Last year everyone welcomed our decision to move the final from St Petersburg to Paris and in the end we all know what happened.

“Good intentions are many times not enough. We know that and we are sorry for that.”

‘We must rid ourselves of idiots’

Earlier this week, West Ham were stopped from selling tickets to fans for their first Europa League group game next season due to the behaviour of fans at the Europa Conference League final in Prague.

Premier League referee Anthony Taylor was also verbally harassed at an airport in Budapest last month following the Europa League final, leading Ceferin to address fan behaviour.

“We must shout, call out and rid ourselves of these idiots, who discredit both football and the fans,” he said.

“Let’s rid ourselves of those who pour out the hate towards football officials, the referees, Uefa staff, federations and leagues.

“They are fans like you. They love football like you and they have families like you. And they make mistakes like you and me.

“I will never accept the kind of threats and intimidation and violence that some people are subjected to as we saw just recently.”

La Gazzetta dello Sport details how UEFA have been keeping a close eye on the Bianconeri’s legal troubles over the last year and have been carrying out their own investigation into the club’s financial practices, receiving countless documents from the Turin Public Prosecutor’s Office.

Juventus’ appeal to CONI’s Collegio di Garanzia against their 15-point deduction was partially successfully, being temporarily annulled pending a new sporting trial. UEFA are optimistic that a legal decision will be made in Italy by the end of June, but are planning to move should things take longer than expected.

What poses a real threat to Juventus is Financial Fair Play. Back in September 2022, the club were fined €3.5m by UEFA for violations of these rules, and they signed various agreements allowing them to avoid a further €19.5m fine. These agreements were based off balance sheets provided by the Old Lady, the same documents now at the centre of investigations by the Turin Public Prosecutor’s Office and FIGC.

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Should Juventus fail to qualify for the Champions League, Europa League or Europa Conference League, the urgency would be removed for UEFA, allowing them to wait for the Italian justice system. This would be problematic for the Bianconeri, however, as a possible exclusion from competition could be delayed to the 2024-25 season.

Should the Old Lady earn a spot in a European club competition, UEFA would have to make a move, likely before the end of July or start of August. Exclusion from these competitions is a likely outcome, due to the fact that the plea deal back in September was based off the suspicious balance sheets.

The Uefa football board also includes high-profile former players such as Italy legend Paolo Maldini and ex-Wales forward Gareth Bale.

Its first meeting will be on Monday, 24 April.

The agenda includes the video assistant referee (VAR) system, handball and player behaviour.

Uefa says the board is “designed to give an institutional yet independent voice of experience and expertise on fundamental football-related topics, including the laws of the game, refereeing, match calendar, elite youth development and player well-being”.

England manager Gareth Southgate, former England defender Rio Ferdinand and former Liverpool and Everton boss Rafael Benitez are also part of the new body.

European’s football governing body said the “members were selected based on their outstanding club or national team football achievements, impeccable international reputation and extensive experience”.

“Uefa is delighted to see that the very ones who have shaped the game’s history with their talents and philosophy through decades are gathered again around our common goal – to protect the game of football and its essential values,” said Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin.

Uefa football board members:

Jose Mourinho, Roma manager

Eric Abidal, former France defender

Carlo Ancelotti, Real Madrid manager

Gareth Bale, former Wales forward

Rafael Benitez, former Liverpool manager

Fabio Capello, former England manager

Petr Cech, former Czech Republic keeper

Rio Ferdinand, former England defender

Luis Figo, former Portugal forward

Robbie Keane, former Republic of Ireland striker

Jurgen Klinsmann, South Korea manager

Ronald Koeman, Netherlands manager

Philipp Lahm, former Germany defender

Henrik Larsson, former Sweden striker

Michael Laudrup, former Denmark attacking midfielder

Paolo Maldini, former Italy defender

Roberto Martinez, Portugal manager

Juan Mata, Galatasaray midfielder

Predrag Mijatovic, former Montenegro forward

Gareth Southgate, England manager

Patrick Vieira, former France midfielder

Rudi Voller, former Germany striker

Javier Zanetti, former Argentina defender

Zinedine Zidane, former Real Madrid manager

UEFA opened a formal investigation into Barcelona last month for potential violation of the European soccer governing body’s legal framework regarding payments made by the club to a company owned by a senior refereeing official.

“I cannot comment directly on this for two reasons,” Ceferin told Slovenian newspaper Ekipe SN in an interview published on Monday.

“Firstly, because we have an independent disciplinary committee. And secondly, because I have not dealt with this matter in detail.

“However, I can say something. As far as I am informed, the situation is extremely serious. So serious that it is, in my opinion, one of the most serious (ones) in football since I have been involved in it.”

The alleged payments of 7.3 million euros ($7.96 million) were made by Barcelona from 2001 to 2018 to firms owned by Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira, then-vice president of the refereeing committee of the Spanish Football Association.

“At the level of the Spanish league, of course, the matter is out of date and cannot have competitive consequences, while the proceedings are ongoing at the level of the Spanish civil prosecutor’s office,” Ceferin added.

“The same applies to UEFA, nothing is time-barred here either.”

In a statement in February, the club denied any wrongdoing, saying it had paid an external consultant who supplied it with technical reports related to professional refereeing, which it claimed was a common practice among professional football clubs.

In his acceptance speech, Mr Čeferin, who was the only candidate, thanked delegates for their support. “It is a great honour but mainly it is a great responsibility towards … football,” said the President. “I will do my best not to disappoint.”

The 55-year-old Mr Čeferin has served as UEFA’s seventh president since 2016, when he replaced former French international Michel Platini. He was subsequently re-elected in 2019.

In closing the 2023 edition of UEFA Congress, Mr Čeferin echoed the pledge that he delivered after his first election in Athens: “I promise you that I will never forget that we are here because of football. We will put football first, always. I will do whatever I can to protect football together with you.”

British businessman Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who owns French club Nice, has bid to buy United, as has Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani’s Qatari consortium.

Rules stop anyone having “control or influence” over two clubs in the same Uefa competition.

“We have to speak about this regulation,” Ceferin said.

Speaking to Gary Neville on The Overlap, he added: “There is more and more interest in this particular ownership.

“We shouldn’t just say no to multi-club ownership but we have to see what rules we set because the rules have to be strict.”

Paris St-Germain president Nasser al-Khelaifi is set to be a key figure in any Qatari ownership bid.

It raises the prospect of United and PSG not being able to both play in the Champions or Europa League.

Uefa defines control or influence as:

• holding a majority of the shareholders’ voting rights
• having the right to appoint or remove a majority of the members of the administrative, management or supervisory body of the club
• being a shareholder and alone controlling a majority of the shareholders’ voting rights pursuant to an agreement entered into with other shareholders of the club
• being able to exercise by any means a decisive influence in the decision-making of the club

“Those are the current rules which we have to rethink,” Ceferin said. “It has to be quick because everything has to happen quick in football.

“We are not thinking about United only. We have to see what we will do, speak within the house and the take it to the executive committee.

“The options are it stays like that or we allow them to play the same competitions. I am not sure yet.”

Sheikh Jassim’s representatives and Ratcliffe are set to be at Old Trafford this week to receive a presentation on the potential sale process.

Manchester City are part of the City Football Group, an example of multi-club ownership, but none of their clubs currently play in the same competitions.

It follows a recent independent report that found Uefa bears “primary responsibility” for the chaotic scenes before the game against Real Madrid.

Fans were penned in and sprayed with tear gas outside Paris’ Stade de France as kick-off was delayed by 36 minutes.

Uefa said the refund scheme “covers all of the Liverpool FC ticket allocation for the final, i.e. 19,618 tickets”.

“We have taken into account a huge number of views expressed both publicly and privately and we believe we have devised a scheme that is comprehensive and fair,” said Uefa general secretary Theodore Theodoridis.

“We value the input from the Liverpool FC supporter organisations Spirit of Shankly and Liverpool Disabled Supporters Association as well as the open and transparent dialogue throughout this period.

“We recognise the negative experiences of those supporters on the day and with this scheme, we will refund fans who had bought tickets and who were the most affected by the difficulties in accessing the stadium.”

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Liverpool were also part of the process of securing refunds for their fans and, as supporters bought tickets from them directly rather than Uefa, the club will administer the process.

Uefa and French authorities initially blamed ticketless fans for the events outside the stadium.

The report, which Uefa commissioned after the 28 May final, said there was “no evidence” to support the “reprehensible” claims.

It added that “it is remarkable no one lost their life” and the collective action of Liverpool supporters was “probably instrumental” in preventing “more serious injuries and deaths” outside the stadium.

The report made 21 recommendations in an attempt to ensure “everything possible is done” to prevent any similar incident happening again at a major sporting event.

Spirit of Shankly and the Liverpool Disabled Supporters’ Association said they “welcomed” the “unprecedented” refund move by Uefa.

“With a promise to reimburse supporters, Uefa have gone some way to acknowledging their part in the fiasco,” said a statement.

“But it does not excuse Uefa, exempt them from criticism or lessen the need for them to implement all of the recommendations made by the independent inquiry.

“We will work alongside Liverpool and publish details once we know how and when refunds will be processed.”

Europe’s soccer governing body released its Benchmarking report, a review of the European football finance landscape, which highlighted how the sport is returning to normality after the economic challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The report said revenue across nearly 150 clubs is up by an average of 4.6 per cent while sponsor and commercial revenue was 13 per cent higher than pre-pandemic levels after they missed out on seven billion euros ($7.49 billion) during the pandemic.

However, there was concern over operating costs going up by 11 per cent while finance costs have increased 18 per cent, with player wages being the main culprit.

“Despite the unprecedented turmoil of recent years, wages have continued to grow, rising on average by 16 per cent compared to pre-pandemic standards,” Ceferin said.

“Top-division players’ salaries, for example, have more than doubled during the past decade.

“And while this is not a negative trend per se, it is clear that many are compromising their economic sustainability in their reckless pursuit of success.”

The report showed a 108 per cent increase in player wages over the last 10 years and they have continued to rise since 2019 despite the revenue decreases during the pandemic.

Uefa also said the January transfer window was dominated by English clubs who accounted for about 31 per cent of global transfer activity and a whopping 53 per cent of global transfer spending.

English clubs spent a total of 830 million euros ($887.77 million) in the winter window while earning only 100 million euros. The numbers differ from Fifa’s report which said English clubs spent $898.6 million last month.

“A combination of the start of the new uplifted English TV deal, new club investors and a balanced bottom half of Premier League table, appear to have fuelled record English club January window activity,” Uefa’s report said.

But Ceferin said Uefa must remain vigilant and “strictly implement” rules related to financial sustainability at both the European and domestic levels.

“Uefa took the first step last summer by introducing the first squad cost ratio rule in the new Financial Sustainability Regulations, restricting spending on wages, transfers, and agent fees,” Ceferin added.

“Clubs will be assessed against limit on these costs, moving from 90 per cent in 2023 to 70 per cent in 2025, providing a timely and direct measure between squad costs and income to encourage more performance-related costs, while limiting the market inflation of wages and transfer costs of players.

“The key is now to remain fair, strict, and consistent.”

Signing players on extended contracts enables Chelsea to spread the player’s transfer fee over the life of that deal when submitting their annual accounts.

That means £89m signing Mykhailo Mudryk will be valued at £11m a year over his eight-and-a-half-year deal.

Uefa is to set a five-year limit over which a transfer fee can be spread.

Clubs will still be able to offer longer deals under UK regulations but will not be able to stretch transfer fees beyond the first five years.

The change to FFP rules will come into force during the summer and will not apply retrospectively.

France defender Benoit Badiashile and Ivory Coast striker David Datro Fofana both signed six-and-a-half-year deals at Chelsea earlier this month and Noni Madueke joined on a seven-and-a-half-year contract following Ukraine winger Mudryk’s arrival.

Defender Wesley Fofana moved to Stamford Bridge on a seven-year deal and left-back Marc Cucurella joined on a six-year contract last summer. Raheem Sterling’s deal is five years.

The Madueke transfer took Chelsea’s spending since last summer close to £450m, but the players’ long contracts will help them comply with the regulations.

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The Blues have to adhere to two sets of regulations – the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules and, as they regularly play in European competition, Uefa’s FFP regulations.

Under Uefa’s current rules, clubs can spend up to 5m euros (£4.4m) more than they earn over a three-year period. They can exceed this level to a limit of 30m euros (£26.6m) if it is entirely covered by the club’s owner.

The governing body has a wide list of potential punishments for clubs that break these rules, ranging from warnings to fines and even the loss of European titles.

However, new Uefa rules introduced last June limit clubs’ spending on wages, transfers and agents’ fees to 70% of their revenue, although permitted losses over a three-year period have risen to 60m euros (£49.96m).

A gradual implementation of the regulations has been agreed, with the percentage set at 90% of revenue in 2023-24 and 80% in 2024-25 before reducing to 70% in 2025-26.

The Premier League’s separate rules allow for total losses of £105m over a three-year period. Any club that posts losses in excess of that figure could face penalties, including large fines or even a points deduction.

Hundreds of spectators were crushed as they tried to flee the overpacked stadium in Malang, East Java on Saturday, after police fired tear gas to disperse agitated fans of the losing home team, Arema FC, who had poured onto the pitch.

The incident is one of the world’s worst stadium disasters, with police saying 125 people died, while the Malang city health department put the death toll at 131.

“Uefa has today announced that a moment of silence will be held prior to kick-off in memory of the victims of the tragic events at Kanjuruhan Stadium in Indonesia,” it said in a statement.

“This moment of silence will take place at all Uefa matches this week (Champions League, Europa League, Europa Conference League and Women’s World Cup play-offs).”

Indonesia’s soccer federation said the club’s security officer and the head of its organising committee would be banned from the sport for life while dozens of police officers have been placed under investigation, with at least nine suspended.

The Russian national team and Russian clubs were banned from international competitions earlier this year by Uefa following the invasion of Ukraine.

“All Russian teams are currently suspended following the decision of the Uefa Executive Committee of 28 February 2022 which has further been confirmed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on 15 July 2022,” European football’s governing body said in a statement.

“Russia is therefore not included in the Uefa European Football Championship 2022-24 qualifying draw.”

Russia saw an appeal against the ban rejected by CAS in July.

“The Union is currently awaiting for the full text of the CAS decision, following the study of which a decision will be made on further steps,” the Russian Football Union said.

Russia were also banned from the upcoming World Cup in Qatar by Fifa.

The team had originally qualified for the European qualifying playoffs.

The Russian women’s side were also kicked out of this year’s Euro in England, with their place taken by Portugal.

The 2024 European Championship will be hosted by Germany, with the qualifying draw set for 9 October in Frankfurt.

Germany’s interior minister has also asked for Belarus to be banned from the tournament due to the country’s backing of Russia.