Kaveh Solhekol

Iranians are enduring the longest and most intense internet blackout in history. on.wsj.com/4v5Vr9j

2,471 Football Banning Orders in force including 1,969 England supporters. They will have to hand in their passports to stop them going to the World Cup next month. 98% compliance rate. 2% who don’t hand them in at police stations are usually wanted by the police.

The number of UK police officers going to the World Cup this summer for England games has been cut by 92 per cent compared to Euro 2024. Some 40 officers went to Germany but only 3 are going to the US because of costs and funding cuts. Host nations usually pay for UK officers to play a vital role and be a visible presence at England games at major tournaments, but US authorities are not providing any funding as they are confident of policing matches effectively using the resources provided by their own 18,000 law enforcement agencies. The UK Football Policing Unit’s budget has been cut by 10% by the Home Office which means they can only send three officers to the US for England's three group games. Finances are so tight that the three officers are likely to stay free of charge at a Police Academy in the Boston area for England's second game against Ghana. Some 7,000 England fans went to the last World Cup in Qatar and there were no arrests. Between 11,000 and 16,000 tickets have been sold so far to England fans for each of their three group games.

‘Iran regime killers shot my son dead in his hospital bed’ #Echobox=1778347142" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">thetimes.com/world/middle-e…

Latest in our World Cup features… spotlight on Iran. It’s about so much more than just football mirror.co.uk/sport/football…

PSG providing free travel and tickets for staff members to attend Champions League final against Arsenal in Budapest. PSG did the same thing last summer when some 500 club employees went to the final in Munich. They were also included in players’ collective bonus pool.

Iranian authorities are complaining about being “censored” after X removed their blue badges on an app they’ve banned for ordinary Iranians, all while using the same internet they have shut down for the entire population for over two months. Maybe stop censoring your own people.

Chelsea’s sporting leadership are now discussing what to do next. They are taking stock of the situation after last night’s shocking performance at Brighton. Although the club have backed Liam Rosenior up to this point, football is ultimately a results business. It’s too early to say whether Rosenior will definitely be in charge for the Leeds game on Sunday. As things stand, he remains in charge, but the situation could change. Chelsea players have the day off today.

⏱️ It's now day 45 of #Iran's internet blackout, with international connectivity severed for over 1056 hours. Regime figures and whitelisted influencers post freely on social media while they silence a population of 90 million whom they claim to serve.

Remember the Iranian people, an excellent article by @VictoriaPeckham reflecting on the horror of daily life - especially for women & girls - before and still now in Iran Enjoy this article for free. thetimes.com/comment/column…

Iran has publicly executed Saleh Mohammadi, a teenage member of the country’s national wrestling team, who was arrested during January’s protests. He was executed despite evidence that his family said proved he had been elsewhere at the time 🔗: telegraph.co.uk/world-news/202…

Tottenham majority owners the Lewis family trust have put another £100m into the club and more could be on the way. A source close to the family said: “This is initial additional funding. As the club’s management decides what’s needed to deliver success, more money will be available. The Lewis family is committed to backing the club to be successful.”

Burnley owner Alan Pace has completed takeover of Espanyol through his company Velocity Sports Partners. Deal worth up to €200m. Will not impact or take resources away from Burnley.

Tottenham takeover: Spurs not for sale after third prospective buyer confirms no intention to bid skysports.com/football/news/…

Tottenham are not for sale. There were three expressions of interest – of varying degrees of seriousness - in buying the club. As some Tottenham shares are still held by private investors, prospective bidders had to make their intentions clear, as set out in the Takeover Code. They have all now confirmed they will not be making bids. That means they cannot bid for six months – unless someone else enters talks about buying the club. The Lewis family are committed to owning Tottenham and are looking forward to a sustained period of stability and long-term success.

Firehawk and Earick consortiums will not be making bids for Tottenham Hotspur. PCP International Finance (Amanda Staveley) said last month they would not be making a bid. Tottenham no longer in offer period.

Get ready for a Spanish LaLiga game 5,000 miles away in Miami and an Italian Serie A game 8,000 miles away in Australia. UEFA have "reluctantly" approved Villarreal v Barcelona being played in Miami in December and AC Milan v Como in Perth in February. The games still have to be approved by FIFA, CONCACAF and the United States Soccer Federation (Villarreal v Barcelona) and FIFA, the Asian Football Confederation and Football Australia (Milan v Como). Rival cubs, including Real Madrid, and supporters’ groups are strongly opposed to domestic league games being played outside their home country. If the remaining hurdles are cleared, Villarreal v Barcelona will become the first major European league game to be played in a foreign country. Villarreal have offered to pay travel costs for their season tickets holders to watch their “home” game in Miami. As Real Madrid have pointed out, the integrity of LaLiga could be undermined because Barcelona will play Villarreal twice at home this season - once in Barcelona and once in Miami, where the vast majority of fans will be supporting them. FIFA is expected to drop its opposition to competitive domestic matches being played abroad after settling a legal challenge by US events promotion and media rights company Relevant Sports. UEFA's executive committee was due to decide whether to approve the requests from the Spanish and Italian federations last month. It delayed making a decision in order to consult more widely with stakeholders. UEFA says the consultations confirmed its position that games should not be played abroad, but FIFA regulations - currently under review - are not clear so it will allow these two games to go ahead: "This decision is exceptional and shall not be seen as setting a precedent". It is not clear whether Villarreal v Barcelona can be played on the scheduled date of 21 December as the Miami Dolphins are playing the Cincinnati Bengals on 22 December at the Hard Rock Stadium. The Premier League have no plans at all to play games outside England.

#202020: Who have been your club's three best Premier League signings since 2020? skysports.com/football/news/…

FIFA wants football to come together and draw a line under legal disputes between stakeholders and the governing body. FIFPro and European Leagues have complained to the European Commission about changes to the international match calendar which they believe were made without proper consultation. There was a rallying call for the game to unite at today’s FIFA council meeting in Zurich. FIFA believes an attack on FIFA is an attack on football.