Gianni Infantino, the FAI, IFA and six Arab football federations
Thursday

The Football Association of Ireland has formally withdrawn its support for Gianni Infantino, while Northern Ireland’s IFA backed UEFA’s stance. Separately, Qatar, Morocco, Egypt, Lebanon, Sudan and Mauritania issued a joint statement supporting the FIFA president.

The opposing declarations underline how Infantino’s election support is fragmenting after FIFA’s abandoned private-investment proposal. Ireland joins England and Wales in withdrawing backing, while the six Arab federations give Infantino an important bloc of support ahead of March’s election.

La Liga and Spain’s technical refereeing committee
Thursday

Spanish referees will use new measures against deliberate time-wasting, including delayed substitutions for players taking too long to leave and temporary exclusion procedures for suspected fake injuries. Goalkeeper time-wasting can also force an outfield team-mate off temporarily.

Officials can start a ten-second countdown when deliberate delaying is identified and apply the new sanctions after that point. Spain has separately rejected an optional rule that could punish players for covering their mouths while speaking to opponents.

Wayne Rooney, Mark Goldbridge, The Overlap and Disney+
Thursday

Wayne Rooney will co-host a new Manchester United-focused programme with influencer Mark Goldbridge called Stick to United with Wayne Rooney. Disney+ has signed a distribution agreement covering 50 episodes of the new show and 40 Stick to Football episodes.

The project expands Gary Neville’s Overlap network after it bought Goldbridge’s YouTube channels for an undisclosed seven-figure sum earlier this year. Rooney will continue separate BBC and Match of the Day work while adding the new digital programme.

Memphis Depay and Corinthians
Thursday

Memphis Depay is reportedly preparing a €30m claim against Corinthians after the Brazilian club declined to honour what he says was an agreed two-year contract extension. The Netherlands forward had already publicly accused the club of breaching its commitment.

The reported claim covers overdue payments from his previous deal plus salary and a signing fee tied to the proposed extension. Corinthians say they abandoned the renewal because another large commitment would threaten the club’s financial sustainability.

Riyadh Season, the Spanish football federation and Sela
Thursday

Riyadh Season has become an official sponsor of the 2027 Spanish Super Cup even though the tournament will be played in Istanbul rather than Saudi Arabia. Sela will handle commercial rights and operational responsibilities under the agreement.

Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and Real Sociedad will contest the competition at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium. The move keeps Saudi commercial involvement attached to the Super Cup despite the event leaving the kingdom for the first time since 2021.

The EFL, Football Association and Sky Sports
Thursday

Twenty-five EFL matches kicking off at 3pm on Saturday will be broadcast live domestically because England’s usual television blackout cannot be enforced. The schedule includes six Championship, nine League One and ten League Two fixtures.

UEFA Article 48 requires at least half of matches in a country’s top two divisions to be played simultaneously before blocked hours apply. With the Premier League not starting this weekend, the threshold is not met and Sky can show every match.