Egyptian Premier League tops ranking of most penalties awarded; English refs wait before they whistle
April 21 – Egyptian referees leading a ranking of leagues worldwide of the highest frequency of penalties awarded.
Performance
England suffer World Cup injury scare as Williamson limps out of Arsenal vs Man Utd clash
April 20 – England’s women have been handed a major injury scare just months before the World Cup this summer after captain Leah Williamson limped out of Arsenal’s 1-0 defeat at WSL title rivals Manchester United on Wednesday.
Bayern drop Mané for punching Sane after Man City loss
April 14 – Bayern Munich have dramatically dropped Sadio Mané and fined the Senegal forward following reports that he struck teammate Leroy Sané after Tuesday’s Champions League 3-0 loss to Manchester City.
Dortmund head ranking of Big 5 U20 players getting game time, Arsenal are only EPL team in top 20
April 14 – A ranking by the CIES Football Observatory of the percentage of minutes played by footballers who had not yet turned 20 in domestic league matches found Denmark’s Nordsjælland top with an astonishing 37% of minutes played.
Aussies scout talent for 2026: Alex Robertson opts to follow in family footsteps
April 4 – Alex Robertson, a box-to-box midfielder, has pledged his international allegiance to Australia despite representing England at both U17 and U18 levels.
Wrexham deliver last minute drama as they chase a Hollywood-style happy ending
April 11 – Hollywood actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney celebrated in the stands as Wrexham, the club they took over in 2020, moved closer to promotion in dramatic fashion on Monday.
Kompany’s bounce back Burnley return to Premier League at first attempt
April 11 – Burnley are back in the big time. With seven matches to spare, the Clarets clinched promotion to the Premier League with a 2-1 victory against Middlesbrough, the culmination of Vincent Kompany’s one-season transformation of the club.
Argentina bump Brazil off top slot in World Rankings, France take second
April 8 – World Champions Argentina, with wins over Panama and Curacao in the last international window, have returned to the top of the FIFA rankings, replacing Brazil who slipped to third behind France.
US women continue to dominate FIFA rankings ahead of World Cup 2023
April 6 – While the men’s World Ranking has seen Argentina take over at the top, the women’s ranking, with teams deep into their April international window, sees the USA still dominant in top position, one they have held since 2017.
‘Last man standing’ – Klopp says he has only kept his job based on past performance
April 4 – Liverpool’s German manager Jurgen Klopp has bemoaned the rate at which Premier League managers are losing their jobs and says he’s only still at his club because of past successes.
Potter bumped by Boehly’s billions, Rodgers leaves Leicester
By Andrew Warshaw
April 3 – The number of Premier League managers who lost their jobs in the same season stretched to a record 12 on Sunday after Chelsea parted company with Graham Potter and Leicester off-loaded Brendan Rodgers.
Has Messi’s bubble burst? PSG fans whistle discontent as Lyon win and Barca rumours grow
April 3 – Lionel Messi’s name was met by whistles from his own Paris St-Germain fans on Sunday before they fell to a seventh defeat of 2023 at home to Lyon.
Iceland fire Vidarsson after poor start to Euro 2024 qualifiers
March 31 – Iceland’s FA have parted company with head coach Arnar Vidarsson (pictured) after an underwhelming start to their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign.
Nagelsmann’s downhill run at Bayern finds Tuchel waiting in the wings
March 24 – Julian Nagelsmann has been left stunned by Bayern Munich’s decision to sack him while still in contention to win three trophies, according to German reports.
Sevilla replace Sampaoli with Mendilibar as club slip towards relegation zone
March 22 – Spanish club Sevilla have dismissed their coach Jorge Sampaoli (pictured) following their 2-0 defeat to Getafe at the weekend. He will be succeeded by Jose Mendilibar.