FA inquiry cover-up

GM football fans. Route One here, and we’re covering United’s PSR challenges, the FA try to cover up an inquiry and much more. Enjoy Route One? Share us with a friend on WhatsApp with this link.

TONIGHT’S CHAMPIONS LEAGUE STATS

Aston Villa vs Bayern Munich (20:00 UK). Villa could become just the second English team to win their first two UEFA Champions League games after Leicester City did so in 2016-17. But Harry Kane has seven goals in six career appearances at Villa Park. Liverpool vs Bologna (20:00 UK). Liverpool have lost three of their last five home games against Italian sides, but they’ll be confident having won their last 10 group/league stage games at Anfield in major European competitions. Lille vs Real Madrid (20:00 UK). Madrid are unbeaten in 14 Champions League games. They can equal the streak they recorded when they went 15 undefeated under Zinedine Zidane. Full list of Champions League fixtures tonight here.

Plus…

• Champions League results (More)

• Newcastle through to last of 16 of the Carabao Cup with a 1 — 0 win over Wimbledon (More)

• Match officials announced for Matchweek 7 (More)

• Bruno Fernandes has successfully appealed his red card against Spurs (More)

• German tabloid Bild accuses Harry Kane of going missing in big games (More) / in German

• Women’s Euro 2025 tickets go on sale, Uefa hopes to sell 720,000 (More)

• Red Bull secures partnership with five Premier League clubs for next year (More)

• Cole Palmer’s matchworn shirt from Saturday on bid for £16,000 (More)

PREMIER LEAGUE

Man United face fresh PSR challenge if they fail to reach Champions League, Adidas to penalise club

Manchester United face fresh Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) challenges if they go another year without playing in the Champions League. They currently sit 13th in the league, with only one win in five league games.

The club’s annual report states that its sponsor Adidas would deduct 30 per cent of their annual payments if the club failed to qualify for the Champions League in consecutive seasons. That’s a £10mn penalty from Adidas for each year of non-participation in the tournament. The report also shows that combined broadcast and matchday revenue from European competitions fell from £75mn in 2021-22, when they reached the UCL last-16, to just £37.5mn in the Europa League in 2022-23.

United announced a loss of £113.2mn for last season, taking the club’s losses over three years to £254.7mn. That’s well over the Premier League’s permitted PSR limit of £105mn. To make matters worse, if United decide to sack Erik ten Hag, reports suggest it could cost the club around £17.5mn.

POLL

HEAD START

😢 Iniesta retires aged 40. Andres Iniesta is expected to announce his retirement on October 8, per reports by Relevo. Since parting ways with the Emirates Club in the United Arab Emirates on July 1, Iniesta has been without a team. The 40-year-old is considered one of the greatest midfielders of all time, having scored the winning goal in the 2010 World Cup final and having won four Champions League titles.

🏟️ Newcastle face £1bn bill. Newcastle will be left with a bill of around £1bn if they expand and renovate St James’ Park. The club insists they haven’t made a decision just yet but it’s thought that detailed plans for the expansion have been drawn up. The cost of a new stadium would be an estimated bill of between £2bn and £3bn.

💸 Barca suffer eight-figure loss. Despite reducing their wage bill from €670mn to €500mn, Barcelona has announced losses of €91mn. The Catalan side has also admitted that the sale of Barca Vision, a digital platform for fans, has not gone ahead as they had hoped – forcing a write-down of €141mn in the club’s assets.

FA INQUIRY COVER-UP

FA tried to prevent inquest into football’s role in player’s death

The Football Association has argued that it’s not in the public interest for a coroner to investigate whether football killed a former professional player with dementia. The inquiry relates to former Middlesbrough defender Bill Gates who died last October, aged 79.

An autopsy revealed that Gates suffered from severe traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a condition linked to repeated head impacts. His wife, Judith, concluded it was the impact of heading a ball that had caused the damage. A senior coroner intended to investigate whether the trauma was caused by Gates’ occupation as a footballer for Middlesborough, where he became Britain’s first £50-a-week player.

According to reports, at the pre-hearing inquest, the FA suggested that the investigation should be curtailed. They argued that “you wouldn’t ordinarily” investigate the causes of a dementia case. This didn’t go down well inside the Crook Civic Centre and it’s likely that an inquiry will go ahead. It’s an unusual statement since the FA commissioned a report which found that outfield players are almost four times more likely to suffer neurodegenerative disease than the rest of the population. Some recent studies have suggested that modern players may be at greater risk because of the increased speed of footballs.

AROUND THE FOOTBALL WORLD

🇪🇸 La Liga: Real Madrid are open to offers to Aurelien Tchouameni, with Liverpool the club most interested in sealing a £66m deal for next summer (More) / in Spanish

🇸🇦 Saudi Pro League: Cristiano Ronaldo says he doesn’t care about individual awards anymore (More)

🇮🇹 Serie A: AC Milan are in talks with Theo Hernandez over a new contract (More)

🇩🇪 Germany: Jurgen Klopp receives the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany by President Frank-Walter Steinmeier for creating a “positive image” of Germany in Britain (More)

ROUTER’S VOICE

Yesterday, we asked you: Do you think clubs sack managers too quickly in today's game?

🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🔨 Absolutely, they need more time to build... (81%)

🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⏳ Nope, results are everything... (13%)

⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ✍️ Other (write in!)... (6%)

Your punditry takes:

• 🔨 S.F: “There are lots of examples in the past where managers have come close to the sack but stayed and gone on to great things. Alex Ferguson being the most prominent, Klopp is another and Arteta at the moment.”

•  🔨 J.R: “Managers need time to build "their team." Arsenal has certainly grown under Arteta. They have finished 8th, 8th, 5th, 2nd and 2nd since the 2019/2020 season. Give your managers time.”

• ✍️ J.E.D: “Absolutely. teams are too quick to sack managers. There should be a transfer window for managers in the same way as there is for players. Teams may be more inclined to make the right selection of manager.”

EXTRA TIME

The secret behind Brentford’s early goals.

Lip reader reveals Vini Jr’s rant to Atletico Madrid players.

Andres Iniesta in slow-motion.

Stats behind why Griezmann should be considered one of France’s best ever.

Man United’s 25-26 third kit to bring Cantona nostalgia.

Could PSG be a better team without Kylian Mbappe?

Troy Deeney’s BBC Team of the Week.

When Aston Villa beat Bayern Munich to win European Cup – then lost the trophy in the pub.

Bournemouth’s stadium announcer announcing the last train back to Southampton is cancelled.

GAME FACE ON

Question: Which goalkeeper won two European Cup titles with Nottingham Forest?

Clue: Most capped England player.

Scroll below for the answer.

ON TODAY

Champions League

• Girona vs Feyenoord (17:45)

• Shakhtar D vs Atalanta (17:45)

• Aston Villa vs Bayern Munich (20:00)

• Benfica vs Atletico (20:00)

• Dinamo Zagreb vs Monaco (20:00)

• Lille vs Real Madrid (20:00)

• Liverpool vs Bologna (20:00)

• Leipzig vs Juventus (20:00)

• Sturm vs Club Brugge (20:00)

Conference League

• Basaksehir vs Rapid (15:30)

• Vitoria SC vs Celje (15:30)

*All times in UK. EST -5. PST -8. CET +1. CST +8. JST +9.

Answer

Peter Shilton.