Palestinian FA asks for Israel to be expelled from FIFA (2024)

News

• Arsenal exit Champions League; Real Madrid beat Man City
• Premier League now unlikely to get fifth Champions League place
• FA Cup replays scrapped, final to be played on penultimate weekend

Live

• Liverpool travel to Atalanta in Europa League quarter-finals

Features

• Haaland a peripheral figure on City’s biggest night of the season
• No Barca, Liverpool or Man Utd. What now for the Club World Cup?
• Keita’s Bremen ban is latest low point since Liverpool move

Subscribe

• Sign up for the new The Athletic FC newsletter
• Join The Athletic Insiders WhatsApp channel

The Palestinian Football Association (PFA) has asked FIFA to expel the Israel Football Association (IFA) on the grounds of the country’s alleged human rights and humanitarian law violations committed in the war in Israel and Gaza.

The proposal was made by the PFA in a submission to the international football governing body for discussion at the 74th annual FIFA congress in Bangkok, where the 211 member nations will vote on a number of key issues — including confirmation of the host nation of the 2027 Women’s World Cup.

The PFA says they want to “address the unprecedented international human rights and humanitarian law violations committed by Israel” and called on FIFA to push the IFA to address discrimination and racism within its league and acknowledge violations of the federation’s statutes.

Harry Kane says facing England teammate Jude Bellingham the Champions League semi-finals vindicates the pair’s moves abroad.

Kane’s Bayern Munich progressed to the semi-finals with a 3-2 aggregate victory over Arsenal on Wednesday and Bellingham’s Real Madrid were later confirmed as their last-four opponents after their penalty shootout win against Manchester City.

Bellingham or Kane — and his Bayern team-mate Eric Dier — could become the first English male players to win the Champions League with an overseas club since Owen Hargreaves won the competition with Bayern Munich in 2001.

“I’m really happy for him (Bellingham) but it will be another war against his team,” Kane said.

“That’s the experiences we both went abroad to try to achieve: to play in these big nights in the Champions League, to play in these big semi-finals. It will be one to enjoy and I’m sure there will be a lot of English fans watching both of us.”

Barcelona have been fined €25,000 and handed a suspended one-match ban on selling tickets to away fans for UEFA competitions for “racist behaviour” of supporters during the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final against Paris Saint-Germain.

Barcelona won the first leg in Paris 3-2 but lost the return leg 4-1 at Montjuic to be eliminated from the competition at the quarter-final stage.

On Thursday, the UEFA appeals body fined Barcelona on three separate counts of supporter conduct during the first leg in France; €25,000 for “racist behaviour”, €2,000 for the lighting of fireworks and €5,000 for acts of damage.

Alongside the fine for "racist behaviour", UEFA have placed a suspended one-match ban on the club selling tickets to away fans for matches in European competitions for a probationary period of one year, starting from April 18.

The FA Cup has scrapped replays from the first round proper from the 2024-25 season in a six-year agreement to restructure the competition.

The 2025 FA Cup final will be played on the penultimate round of the Premier League season, with no league fixtures to be staged on the Friday night or Saturday to give exclusivity to the event, while there will be no further midweek rounds in the competition.

This season’s FA Cup final will take place on May 25 at Wembley Stadium, six days after the final round of matches in the Premier League season.

The semi-final stage will take place over the weekend of April 20-21, with current holders Manchester City facing Chelsea in Saturday’s match before Manchester United play Championship side Coventry City the following day — with both matches to be staged at Wembley.

The FA Cup finals in 2021 and 2022 were both staged one week before the end of the Premier League season, but all other finals since 2013 have been staged following its conclusion.

The FA Cup will also scrap replays from the first-round stage — the round at which League One and League Two teams enter the competition — onwards next season.

The move is designed to ease fixture congestion, with replays currently in place for the first-round to the fourth-round stage. Replays from the fifth-round stage onwards were removed by the FA in 2018.

More details below

Jude Bellingham described eliminating Champions League holders Manchester City to reach the last four of the competition in front of his brother as a "beautiful" moment.

Bellingham, 20, played the entirety of Real Madrid's quarter-final second leg at the Etihad, scoring in the shootout to help the 13-time winners advance 4-3 on penalties after the tie finished 4-4 on aggregate.

The England international revealed brother Jobe — currently at Sunderland — was in attendance to see him run out in his new club colours for the very first time.

Asked whether the victory was extra special coming on home soil, Belligham told TNT Sports: "It was beautiful, my brother's here today and it's the first time he's got to see me play for Madrid.

"I feel really proud of that kind of stuff. It's the main part of why I do it, to be honest. I get a lot of fun out of playing football but the idea of being able to play a game and come home to my mum and dad is one of the things I love the most."

The former Birmingham City and Borussia Dortmund midfielder has made an instant impact since arriving in Spain, scoring 20 goals in 35 appearances — adding 10 assists — in all competitions.

"I could never have dreamed of how it's started, not just because of the performances and the goals, just the feeling you get playing for the club," he said.

"You get to put that badge on your chest and you feel so grateful to be there."

Madrid will take on Bayern Munich for a place in the Wembley final, with the first leg set for April 30 at the Allianz Arena.

Ballon d’Or winner Aitana Bonmati says the Women’s Super League is an “attractive” competition for Spanish players after criticising the lack of legacy in the domestic game following Spain’s Women’s World Cup.

The 26-year-old Barcelona midfielder highlighted how the WSL empowers its players and singled out Arsenal and Manchester City’s style of play as desirable factors to Spain internationals.

A number of Spanish players have moved to the WSL in recent seasons, with Laia Aleixandri and Leila Ouahabi joining Manchester City, Lucia Garcia and Irene Guerrero signing for Manchester United and Laia Codina moving to Arsenal.

Former Barcelona captain Vicky Losada signed for her third WSL club last summer when she joined Brighton following spells at Manchester City and Arsenal.

"You in England are doing things so well," Bonmati told BBC Sport. "You treat women's football good. You give power to the players and to the league. Here in Spain, I cannot say the same.

"The league in England is competitive and every year they are putting more money into it to develop it. They are making the league more attractive."

It’s FIFA’s shiny new toy and the brainchild of the body’s president, Gianni Infantino.

Yet the inaugural, expanded, 32-team Club World Cup, which will take place in the United States next summer, will kick off without a number of football’s European heavyweight sides and the participation of many of the game’s stars is far from guaranteed.

Barcelona’s 4-1 home defeat by Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday, condemning them to a 6-4 aggregate exit from the Champions League quarter-finals, means they join a list of definite absentees that already includes Manchester United, Liverpool and AC Milan.

Arsenal will also miss out after being knocked out of the Champions League by Bayern Munich.

So with some of the world’s most decorated clubs and plenty of individual footballers with the greatest commercial pull failing to book their places, what does this mean for the new competition?

Chelsea manager Emma Hayes explained Lauren James missed Wednesday’s WSL victory over Aston Villa because of injury but refused to comment on the nature of the problem or time scale for her return.

James, who has 13 goals in 15 WSL appearances this season, played the full 90 minutes during Sunday’s FA Cup semi-final loss to Manchester United but was not listed in Chelsea’s squad for the three-goal victory over Villa.

“She was unavailable, as was (Jelena) Cankovic,” said Hayes after the game. “Cankovic was sick this morning and Lauren is injured.”

Read the full article below.

Juventus have been ordered to pay their former player Cristiano Ronaldo more than €9.7million ($10.35m, £8.3m) plus interest in back wages by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC).

Ronaldo, 39, played for the Italian club between 2018 and 2021 with the back payment related to his agreement with Juventus to defer part of his wages during the Covid pandemic.

Juventus said in a statement on Wednesday that they will “review the decision made by the (FIGC) arbitration board” and noted that the decision recognised “the absence of fraud” by the club, whose conduct “did not affect” Ronaldo’s willingness to “enter into such a compensation reduction agreement.”

The Premier League is on course to miss out on an additional place in next season’s Champions League following Arsenal’s elimination by Bayern Munich at the quarter-final stage on Wednesday.

Two nations will be awarded an extra fifth place in next season’s edition of Europe’s premier club competition, with the performance of Italian sides in Europe set to guarantee Serie A gains one of those slots.

The second spot based on co-efficients will either go to the Premier League or the German Bundesliga, with the two nations neck-and-neck before the start of the quarter-final stages of the three competitions.

The Bundesliga’s average was marginally ahead of the Premier League’s, but the German top-flight had just four clubs remaining in the competition compared to five English clubs.

With this week's results...the news is not good for the Premier League.

Everton Women manager Brian Sorensen has signed new contract to remain in charge until June 2026.

Sorensen, 43, joined the Merseyside club from Danish outfit Fortuna Hjorring ahead of the 2022-23 season and led Everton to a top-six finish in the Women’s Super League (WSL) in his maiden campaign.

Sorensen — whose previous deal was set to expire this summer — said: “I’m very happy – I really like it here. I like the club, I like the people in the club and I like the fans.

Daniele De Rossi will stay on as Roma head coach on a permanent basis, the club have confirmed.

The former midfielder and club captain was appointed until the end of the season in January following the sacking of Jose Mourinho.

He has gone on to win 11 of his 16 games in all competitions, only losing twice.

Owners Dan and Ryan Friedkin confirmed the move on Thursday and pledged to “build a long-term project” with the 40-year-old at the helm.

A statement read: “After meeting yesterday afternoon with Daniele De Rossi, we are delighted to announce he will continue as head coach of AS Roma after this season and for the foreseeable future.

“In his short tenure as head coach, the positive impact that his leadership has brought to the entire club has told its own story.

“Daniele leads with respect and courage, while his strength and deep-rooted belief in the club are truly aligned with Roma’s values, city and unparalleled fans.

“We will continue to work together as hard as we possibly can to deliver a future that AS Roma’s fans deserve. We couldn’t be happier to build a long-term project with Daniele.”

Callum Wilson has returned to first-team training with his Newcastle United team-mates as the England striker aims to return before the end of the month.

The 32-year-old underwent surgery in February on a pectoral injury which he suffered when grappling with a defender in the final minute of Newcastle’s 3-2 victory at Nottingham Forest on February 10.

Wilson left the pitch at the City Ground using his shirt as a makeshift sling and was initially ruled out for 12 weeks after requiring surgery.

Jorginho says a crucial lapse in concentration cost Arsenal in their Champions League quarter-final exit at the hands of Bayern Munich on Wednesday night.

The tie was delicately poised after last week's 2-2 draw in the first leg at the Emirates, but Joshua Kimmich's 63rd-minute header from Raphael Guerreiro's cross was enough to send the Germans through to the semi-finals 3-2 on aggregate.

Kimmich was left unmarked at the back post for what to proved to be the game's only goal and Jorginho admitted his side should have dealt with the cross better.

"I think we could've defended it better, of course," he told TNT Sports after the game.

"When it's a tight game, if you switch off for one second then it's a goal.

"It's a tough one (to take) but, in this competition, if you switch off for just a little bit then you pay the price.

"Unfortunately we didn't go through but we have to keep our heads up because we still have a lot to play (for)."

Mikel Arteta's side are now winless in their past three matches in all competitions and play Wolverhampton Wanderers in a do-or-die game on Saturday with their Premier League title hopes hanging in the balance after last weekend's defeat to Aston Villa.

The Gunners are second in the table — two points behind leaders Manchester City — with six games of the season remaining.

Premier League clubs could require approval from a government-approved independent regulator should they wish to play any home matches abroad, due to a clause inserted into the Football Governance Bill that was introduced to the UK parliament in March.

The possibility of taking one-off domestic league fixtures abroad has increased after FIFA were dropped from a landmark lawsuit by the U.S. events promoter Relevent, who in 2018 were thwarted in their attempts to take a La Liga fixture between Girona and Barcelona to Miami in the United States.

Read the full story below.

Manchester United and Trafford Council’s joint Old Trafford task force has been finalised with the addition of four new members.

The joint task force was created at the beginning of March to explore options for regenerating the Old Trafford area of Greater Manchester, with the building of a new stadium at the heart of plans given greater priority since Sir Jim Ratcliffe acquired a minority stake in the club.

Lord Sebastian Coe was appointed as chair of the task force and confirmed on X — formerly known as Twitter — that he chaired its inaugural meeting on Monday night.

The task force includes Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, and Sara Todd, Trafford Council’s CEO, as well as Gary Neville, the former United defender.

Read the full story below.

Jurgen Klopp has reiterated the rallying call he gave to his team ahead of the famous second leg comeback against Barcelona in 2019 as Liverpool prepare to overturn another 3-0 deficit against Atalanta in the Europa League quarter-final.

Goals from Gianluca Scamacca (2) and Mario Pasalic at Anfield have given Liverpool a mountain to climb and, unlike previous European comebacks under Klopp, it will have to be done away from home.

“I remember that I said (in 2019): ‘If we fail, then let’s fail in a most beautiful way’ and that’s how I see it again,” said Klopp, who initially joked that he already had a pre-match speech written.

Read what Klopp had to say in full below ahead of tonight's clash.

Former Brazil and Barcelona forward Romario has officially registered himself as a player for Rio de Janeiro second-division side America-RJ, where he also serves as the club president.

The 58-year-old confirmed on social media that he will be playing and participating in future matches.

Romario’s plans regarding his return to America-RJ’s line-up remain uncertain. While he clarified that he won’t participate in league matches, he expressed a strong desire to share the pitch with his son, Romarinho, who also plays for the club.

Read the full story below.

Three days after losing ground in the Premier League title race, Arsenal were knocked out of the Champions League by a rejuvenated Bayern Munich.

Mikel Arteta’s side lost out to a Joshua Kimmich goal in the second half of a game that was tighter for large parts than the first leg that ended 2-2 at the Emirates.

We break down all the action from a painful night for Arsenal in Munich.