Articles by Paul MacInnes

Premier League clubs reject controversial ‘anchoring’ but agree new financial rules

Clubs approved squad cost ratios but rejected tying spending to a multiple of the central revenue earned by the bottom-placed side

3 hours ago

Sports

Webb defends VAR ruling out Liverpool equaliser against Manchester City

The referee’s chief said the disallowed Van Dijk header was not unreasonable while Webb dismissed the comparison to a similar decision that went in City’s favour

Nov 11, 2025

World

English football agrees to ditch match tributes for unrelated global events

English football has agreed it will no longer hold minute’s silences or other forms of commemoration for events that do not directly relate to the game

Nov 6, 2025

World

‘Notes slid under doors’: Southgate reveals England’s Traitors obsession

England used the game as a form of team bonding under their former manager, with Marc Guéhi, the son of a minister, anguishing over potentially having to lie

Nov 6, 2025

World

Fifa heats up battle with players’ union Fifpro by sidelining it from welfare talks

Fifa’s move to develop proposals for protecting player welfare without consulting the international trade union will intensify its dispute with Fifpro

Nov 5, 2025

World

A night with Gareth Southgate: jokes, waistcoat chat and a bagful of lessons

Former England manager was engaging with selfies and sharing his sense of purpose on the York stop of a promotional book tour

Nov 4, 2025

World

Gareth Southgate reveals he is not looking for return to football management

Sir Gareth Southgate says he is not looking for a return to football management, explaining it would be hard to recreate the ‘higher calling’ he found as the England manager

Nov 3, 2025

Enhanced Games are dangerous and must be stopped, says Wada head

The head of the World Anti-doping Agency has called on US anti-doping authorities to act to stop the Enhanced Games, describing the new event as ‘dangerous’ and ‘irresponsible’

Oct 30, 2025

Body image taboos holding girls back from playing sport, experts warn

Taboos around women’s bodies are holding girls back from pursuing sport into adulthood, a parliamentary committee has heard

Oct 29, 2025

Long-throw trend prompts Ifab to consider time limit for taking throw-ins

Football’s lawmakers are considering taking action against the most fashionable trend in the game: long throws

Oct 28, 2025

Boxing Day could be left with just one Premier League match

There may be just one Premier League match on Boxing Day, due to TV deals and tight scheduling

Oct 27, 2025

Dejphon Chansiri and everything that has gone wrong at Sheffield Wednesday

What has happened, why has it happened and what happens now – and could a regulator have prevented this?

Oct 24, 2025

Research reveals racist chants on rise in Israeli football – with Maccabi Tel Aviv the worst offenders

Kick It Out Israel found 367 instances in the 2024-25 season – of those, 118 were observed in stands containing Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters

Oct 23, 2025

Fifa joins with trade union to promote ‘safe working conditions’

Fifa has agreed a five-year deal with Building and Wood Workers’ International, the trade union which has criticised Fifa for giving the 2034 World Cup to Saudi Arabia

Oct 22, 2025

British breakthroughs and India pride amid empty seats and controversy at para athletics worlds

History-making wins capture the imagination despite sparse crowds in Delhi, with 35 world records tumbling

Oct 6, 2025

British breakthroughs and India pride as Delhi hails para athletics worlds a success

Empty seats caught the eye but history-making performances captured the imagination, with 35 world records tumbling

Oct 6, 2025

As Billy Vigar’s family grieve, FA faces questions over its response on safety issues

Alex Fletcher called for changes after crashing into concrete hoardings three years ago. As far as he is concerned, nothing happened as a result

Oct 4, 2025

Masters denies Premier League transfer spending is damaging European football

Richard Masters, the Premier League’s chief executive, has denied that the top flight’s transfer spending is damaging European football

Oct 2, 2025

Politics

Uefa puts Israel vote on hold after Donald Trump’s proposed peace plan

National federations who were supportive of the ban have accepted a decision to pause as Maccabi Tel Aviv are due to face Dinamo Zagreb in the Europa League on Thursday

Sep 30, 2025