The England batter picked up a ball that had stopped in the crease by his feet

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Feb-2024England batter Hamza Shaikh ensured his time at the Under-19 World Cup would not be forgotten when he was given out obstructed the field against Zimbabwe.In the 17th over, Shaikh defended a ball down by his feet and Zimbabwe wicketkeeper Ryan Kamwemba started to come from behind the stumps to collect it. Then, with the ball stationary in the crease, Shaikh bent down to pick it up to pass it back to the fielders, as is often seen from batters.Kamwemba and the bowler, Ryan Simbi, led the appeal and it was sent upstairs by on-field officials Donovan Koch and Masudur Rahman where third umpire Nigel Duguid gave it out.Previously it would have been handled the ball, but that mode of dismissal was combined with obstructed the field in 2017 with MCC saying they were effectively the same thing.

Wow… https://t.co/gEb7UBSnDy

— Sam Billings (@sambillings) February 3, 2024

The relevant Law, 37.4, reads: “Either batter is out Obstructing the field if, at any time while the ball is in play and, without the consent of a fielder, he/she uses the bat or any part of his/her person to return the ball to any fielder”.Unsurprisingly, there was reaction on social media. “Oh get a grip,” Stuart Broad posted on X. “He’s passing a stationary ball back to the fielder? Doing him a favour! Cant give that out.”Sam Billings retweeted a video of the dismissal, simply adding: “Wow.”Late last year Mushfiqur Rahim was given out obstructed the field in a Test against New Zealand when he punched a delivery away after defending it down into the crease.

Arsenal have reportedly received the all-clear to complete the £64 million (€73.5m) signing of Viktor Gyokeres from Sporting CP, with the Swedish striker set to undergo a medical this weekend. The 27-year-old is poised to wear Thierry Henry's legendary No.14 shirt at the Emirates Stadium after turning down other clubs to join Mikel Arteta's side this summer.

Arsenal finally agree deal to sign Gyokeres from SportingSet to pay around £64m including add-onsStriker to wear Henry’s iconic No.14 shirtFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

has reported that Arsenal have struck a full agreement with Sporting for Gyokeres, paying an initial £54.8m plus £9.2m in add-ons. The Swedish striker has now been granted permission to travel to London for a medical on Saturday. With personal terms and final clauses now sorted, the deal is ready to be completed. The striker will sign a five-year contract upon completion of his medical.

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Gyokeres scored 54 goals in 52 games last season and has been the Gunners’ top striker target all throughout the summer. Arsenal struggled for goals from a reliable No. 9 in 2024-25 due to injuries to Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz, and Arteta has been keen to boost his firepower after finishing second in the Premier League for the third-straight season.

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The 27-year-old had attracted a lot of interest from several other clubs, but had his heart set on a move to Arsenal, with his agent even waving his commission to seal the move, as per the report. Gyokeres is expected to wear the iconic No.14 shirt, famously donned by Henry.

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(C)Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT FOR GYOKERES?

The Swede will complete his medical in the coming days. He is expected to feature in the rest of their tour of Asia, offering Arteta a first look at his new striker. Funnily enough, Gyokeres will likely play his first official game for the Gunners against Manchester United, who had shown a lot of interest in the striker, at Old Trafford against his former boss, Ruben Amorim, on the opening weekend of the new Premier League season.

Barcelona have struck a kit sponsorship agreement with the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the club has confirmed.

• DR Congo logo to appear on Barca training shirt
• A potentially controversial move
• Barca receive financial boost

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Barca have struck a deal with DR Congo's Ministry of Sports and Leisure that will see the Congo's logo of DRC, coeur de l’Afrique (DRC, the heart of Africa), on the back of their training shirts. The package is worth a total of €44 million (£38m/$50m) to Barca, who are consistently attempting to balance the books particularly after completing the signing of Marcus Rashford on loan.

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  The move is hugely controversial, however. While the Camp Nou will now feature House of the DRC, an exhibition which “will highlight the richness and diversity of Congolese cultural and sporting heritage through interactive exhibitions”. However, DRC is currently seeing intense fighting between their nation's army and a Rwandan-backed military group called March 23 Movement. The war has resulted in thousands of deaths, and Amnesty International have said there is an "ongoing human rights crisis" in the country.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  Rwanda, of course, have a sponsorship agreement with Arsenal and "Visit Rwanda" appears on the Gunners' shirt sleeves. The British government has suspended aid to the country over their alleged arming of the M23 group, as they continue fighting in the country, but Rwanda deny supporting the rebel group.

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  WHAT NEXT?

  Barcelona continue their pre-season preparations against FC Seoul on Thursday. Questions around DRC's sponsorship are unlikely to disappear.

“We can maybe be just a bit braver,” stand-in T20I captain van der Dussen says after the 3-0 defeat to West Indies

Firdose Moonda27-May-2024South Africa were “taught a lesson in how to play in Caribbean conditions” in the opinion of stand-in T20I captain Rassie van der Dussen, who oversaw a 3-0 sweep at the hands of West Indies.Van der Dussen, who is not part of South Africa’s T20 World Cup squad despite being the second-highest run-scorer in T20 cricket in 2024, stood in for Aiden Markram, as captain and No. 4 batter, with disappointing results. South Africa slumped to a second successive T20I series defeat to West Indies. They have not won a T20I series out of the four they have played under white-ball coach Rob Walter and kept “making the same mistakes,” van der Dussen said.He identified South Africa’s batting, especially upfront, as too circumspect. “From a batting front, we can maybe be just a bit braver,” he said. “We saw the way that the West Indies play, especially in the powerplay. They really take it on. When the ball’s new, it’s easier to score. It gets tough towards the back end when the ball gets soft.”Related

T20 World Cup 2024 FAQs: Timings, venues and more

Markram not a typical SA captain (and that's a good thing)

Batting first, West Indies put on scores of 64 for 1 and 51 for 1 in the powerplays in the first two games, and chasing 164 in the final game on Sunday, they raced to 83 without loss in that period. South Africa were 46 for 3 and 85 for 2 chasing (the latter their highest powerplay score) and 45 for 2 batting first. The obvious difference is the number of wickets lost among a top order that will need to do duty at the T20 World Cup. Both Reeza Hendricks and Quinton de Kock enjoyed some individual success – Hendricks with his 51-ball 87 in the first game and de Kock with a 17-ball 41 in the second – but their partnership only succeeded once and Ryan Rickelton, the No. 3, was unable to get past 20.Van der Dussen put some of that down to exhaustion and some to taking longer than they should to assess conditions, but remained harsh in his assessment. “We just couldn’t adapt early enough. We had a long week in terms of layovers in Miami and so forth. We saw that in the first match, but you can’t keep making the same mistakes.”The middle order didn’t fare much better – van der Dussen was the only batter of those carded No. 4 to 7 to get two scores in double-figures – but they will be entirely replaced by Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller and Tristan Stubbs, which should boost South Africa’s power-hitting.The problem? None of them were in the IPL 2024’s top-ten run-scorers’ list and all were inconsistent to varying degrees at the tournament.Klaasen started the IPL well but fell away in the middle period, though he did score a half-century in the second qualifier; Markram and Miller only scored one fifty each in 11 innings and nine innings respectively; Stubbs, the best of the lot, scored three fifties and showed off good finishing skills in his time in India.Van der Dussen was hopeful that their return to the national side will boost the scoring rate. “The guys are very experienced. Many of them have played CPL a few times,” he said. “We don’t know what conditions we’re going to get in the USA but the middle order is made up of very experienced, world-class players.”Anrich Nortje has had a poor time of it, both at the IPL and in the Caribbean•Getty ImagesAnrich Nortje’s form remains a concernMatters appear more worrying on the bowling front, where van der Dussen said West Indies “just out-skilled us” as South Africa “tried a few different things but nothing seemed to work”. The biggest concern is Anrich Nortje, who went wicketless in the two matches he played and continued to concede runs heavily – as he did at the IPL – but there may also be some furrowed brows over the fitness of Ottneil Baartman. He bowled his full quota of four overs in the first match but picked up a lower limb strain and did not play the next two games. Baartman offers more variations than anyone else in the South African squad, especially as Lungi Ngidi is only part of the reserves, and his availability for the tournament could be crucial to their chances.South Africa were without Kagiso Rabada, who was recovering from a soft tissue infection, for this series and Tabraiz Shamsi, who travelled with the squad but did not play a game because of a lower limb injury. Bjorn Fortuin operated as the first-choice spinner and was fairly economical but only picked up one wicket.It could even be argued that he was outshone by newcomer Nqaba Peter, the legspinner, who is not part of the T20 World Cup squad but is a prospect for the future. Asked to identify some positives, Peter was immediately on van der Dussen’s mind. “Youngster Nqaba Peter made his debut and looks like he’s been playing for a few years already,” he said. “And Bjorn Fortuin bowled well at stages. So there’s some glimpses here and there, which we’ve got to look for. But I think overall we were just short of the mark by quite a long way this week.”South Africa have one more opportunity to fine tune. They will play a warm-up match against a yet-to-be-confirmed opposition in Florida on Wednesday before their tournament begins against Sri Lanka in a week’s time.

MatériaMais Notícias

O Corinthians passou sufoco, mas venceu o Fast-AM por 3 a 1, em jogo realizado nesta sexta-feira pela segunda rodada da Copa São Paulo de Futebol Júnior. Claudinho abriu o placar para a equipe amazonense aos 10 minutos do primeiro tempo. Na segunda etapa, Higor precisou de apenas um minuto para empatar a partida, aos 32, e Felipe Augusto definiu o resultado com mais dois gols, aos 34 e 43 minutos.

O Timãozinho encerra sua participação na primeira fase às 21h45 (hora de Brasília) da próxima segunda-feira, dia 09, diante da Ferroviária, os donos da casa. Na outra partida do grupo, o Fast-AM enfrenta o Zumbi-AL, que venceu a Ferroviária por 1 a 0 e empatou em número de pontos com os anfitriões.

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+ Mercado da Bola: saiba as últimas movimentações do seu time
+ Confira 20 clubes tradicionais que nunca foram campeões da Copinha
+ Veja as maiores vendas já feitas por clubes brasileiros

FAST ABRE O PLACAR
O Corinthians bem que tentou pressionar, mas novamente circulou a bola com muita dificuldade. O Fast, por sua vez, se posicionava mais atrás e esperava uma chance de contra-atacar. Mas foi com uma jogada construída que o clube amazonense abriu o placar: inversão de bola do lado direito para o esquerdo; de pé em pé, a bola retornou ao lado direito, para a chegada de José. O lateral cruzou em direção ao segundo pau e Claudinho subiu para guardar de cabeça, aos 10 minutos do primeiro tempo.

NENECA APARECE
O Timãozinho tentava pressionar, mas não conseguia encontrar brechas na defesa adversária. Com os 10 jogadores de linha atrás da sua intermediária de defesa, o Fast soube suportar a posse do Corinthians. As chances mais perigosas do Alvinegro foram na bola parada de Matheus Araújo, com grande defesa de Neneca, e nas jogadas individuais de Wesley pelo lado direito.

CORINTHIANS PRESSIONA
No segundo tempo, o Corinthians continuou pressionando, mas esbarrava nas mesmas dificuldades. O Fast, entretanto, dava sinais de cansaço físico e mental. Em um desses momentos de desconcentração, o zagueiro Murillo perdeu uma chance claríssima dentro da pequena área, praticamente debaixo do gol.

BRILHA A ESTRELA DE HIGOR
Aos 31 do segundo tempo, o técnico Danilo tirou Arthur Sousa e colocou Higor, que precisou de apenas dois toques para decidir empatar o jogo: o atacante recebeu um passe cavado de Breno Bidon e, já no domínio, limpou a marcação enquanto ajeitava a bola para a finalização. Tapa certeiro no canto de Neneca e alívio corintiano.

VIRADA BIZARRA
Dois minutos depois, um lance bizarro da defesa amazonense permitiu o empate corintiano. Juninho chutou de fora da área e Neneca rebateu para o meio da área. O zagueiro Cordeiro chutou a bola na direção do próprio gol, mas a bola acertou a trave. No rebote, Felipe Augusto garantiu a virada corintiana.
​
FELIPE AUGUSTO DE NOVO
Com o placar adverso, a equipe do Fast começou a ceder mais espaços que o normal, facilitando o jogo para o Corinthians. Foi em uma dessas ocasiões que Felipe Augusto encontrou brechapara ampliar o placar, com um chute forte em cima de Neneca, que aceitou.

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FICHA TÉCNICA
FAST CLUBE-AM 1×3 CORINTHIANS

Data e hora: 6 de janeiro de 2022, às 21h45
Estádio:Fonte Luminosa, em Araraquara (SP)
Árbitro:Renan Pantoja de Quequi
Assistentes:João Pedro de Morais eIzabele de Oliveira
Analista de vídeo:Demetrius Pinto Candançan
Cartões Amarelos:Lucas (38’/1T), Bahia (44’/1T) e Adson (35’/2T) para o Fast; Arthur Sousa (38’/1T) e Ryan (49’/1T) para o Corinthians
Cartões Vermelhos: não houve
Gols:Claudinho (10’/1T) (1-0) / Higor (32’/2T) (1-1) / Felipe Augusto (34’/2T) (1-2) / Felipe Augusto (43’/2T) (1-3)

FAST CLUBE-AM (Técnico: Darlan Borges)
Paulo Neneca; José, Lucas, Cordeiro, Luquinhas (Isaque 38’/2T); Ezequiel, China, Bahia (Adson Barreto ‘/2T); Vitinho (Hitalo 38’/2T), Claudinho (Thiago Figueiredo 36’/2T) e Elissandro

CORINTHIANS (Técnico: Danilo Andrade)
Kauê; Caipira, Alemão, Murillo, Vitor Meer; Zé Vitor (Gabriel Moscardo 17’/2T), Ryan (Felipe Augusto 17’/2T), Matheus Araújo; Kayke (Juninho 24’/2T), Arthur Sousa (Higor, 31’/2T) e Wesley (Breno Bidon 24’/2T)

كشفت رابطة الأندية المحترفة، عن أفضل 4 أهداف في الجولة الرابعة من بطولة الدوري المصري الممتاز في الموسم الجديد.

وسجل لاعبو الدوري المصري 14 هدفا في الجولة الرابعة، منها هدف فوز الزمالك على فاركو، وانتصار مودرن سبورت على بيراميدز 2-1.

طالع| “بطولات” يكشف عن الحكم الأقرب لإدارة مباراة الأهلي وبيراميدز في الدوري

في حين انتهت 3 مباريات بالتعادل السلبي دون تسجيل أهداف، ومن بينها مواجهة غزل المحلة والأهلي، والتي أقيمت على استاد المحلة. أفضل 4 أهداف في الجولة الرابعة

وبحسب رابطة الأندية على فيس بوك، فإن الأهداف المرشحة للأفضل، تمثلت في هدف غنام محمد لاعب مودرن في شباك أحمد الشناوي حارس بيراميدز.

كما دخل هدف سموحة الذي سجله عبد القادر يحيى في شباك كهرباء الإسماعيلية، في الوقت القاتل، ضمن القائمة.

وترشح هدف محمد عمار لاعب الإسماعيلي بالرأس في شباك طلائع الجيش ضمن القائمة، وأخيرًا جاء هدف أحمد عاطف لاعب زد في شباك وادي دجلة، في القائمة.

Lancashire 92 (Gilchrist 6-24, Agar 4-35) and 119 for 4 (Jennings 40) trail Kent 261 (Evison 71*, Williams 3-44, Lyon 3-50, Balderson 3-67) by 50 runsNathan Gilchrist took a career-best 6 for 24 to deepen Lancashire’s current batting woes and help Kent take complete control of their Vitality County Championship match on a dramatic afternoon at Emirates Old Trafford.Replying to the visitors’ 261, Keaton Jennings’ side were bowled out for 92 in 30 overs, with both Gilchrist and Wes Agar, who bagged 4 for 35, making the most of cloudy conditions.Presented with the luxury of a 169-run first-innings lead, the Kent skipper, Daniel Bell-Drummond, chose to enforce the follow-on and his decision was justified as Lancashire lost three wickets for as many runs late in the day to finish on 119 for 4, still 50 runs in arrears.In the 40 minutes’ play that had been possible before lunch, Kent resumed on 203 for 7 and added 36 runs for the loss of Agar, who was bowled for 13 when he went back to a quicker delivery from Lyon that turned through the gate.The new ball was taken immediately after lunch and brought dividends when Gilchrist was caught behind by Matty Hurst off Tom Bailey for 10, but Matthew Parkinson, who was playing his first innings at Emirates Old Trafford since he left Lancashire for Kent, ensured that his new team would collect a bonus point when he edged two runs through the slip cordon.That, however, was the extent of the last man’s modest heroics as he was caught behind for 3 two overs later, thus giving Will Williams his 200th wicket in first-class cricket. Joey Evison ended the innings unbeaten on 71, his runs scored off 150 balls, ten of which he hit for four.The value of Evison’s 198-minute innings was soon apparent as Lancashire collapsed to 40 for 7 in 17.4 overs. Luke Wells was the first to go when he edged Agar to Jack Leaning and departed for 10 but the disintegration really gathered pace when the home side lost four wickets for five runs in ten balls.Josh Bohannon cover-drove Gilchrist for four but lost his middle stump next ball when he inside-edged an attempted pull into his wicket. Next over, skipper Keaton Jennings nicked behind to Harry Finch for 4 when caught half-forward by Agar, who then trapped Tom Bruce lbw first ball.The tumble of wickets continued next over when George Bell nicked Gilchrist to Finch and the same bowler had George Balderson caught at slip by Denly for 2 to leave Lancashire in tatters. Tom Hartley added to the mayhem when his wild slash to a ball outside the off stump merely gave Zak Crawley his first catch and Gilchrist his fourth wicket.Lancashire’s disastrous afternoon continued when Tom Bailey was caught down the leg side off Agar for 5 but some defiance was shown by Hurst, who hit three fours and two sixes in an innings of 36 that took his side past 61, their lowest first-class score against Kent, which they made at Old Trafford in 1884.Hurst became Gilchrist’s fifth wicket when he pulled him straight to Crawley at deep midwicket and the innings ended when Williams edged a ball from Gilchrist to give Finch his fourth catch.In their second innings, Wells and Jennings immediately took the attack to Kent’s new-ball attack. The fifty partnership came up in the ninth over and the aggression continued even after Wells had been caught at slip by Leaning off Gilchrist.Bohannon helped his skipper add a further 51 before he was caught by Leaning off Evison for 31 when attempting a drive and Lancashire suffered another crucial blow when Jennings was brilliantly stumped by Finch off Parkinson for 40. Will Williams lasted only one ball before being bowled by Gilchrist for a single.

Bangladesh, the hosts of the T20 World Cup later this year, have now lost eight home T20Is in a row

Srinidhi Ramanujam09-May-2024

India extended their dominance over Bangladesh to complete a 5-0 T20I series sweep with a 21-run win in the fifth and final game in Sylhet on Thursday. India posted 156 for 5 after opting to bat, thanks to strong hands from D Hemalatha, Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana and a late cameo from Richa Ghosh. Though Ritu Moni and Shorifa Khatun fought back in the second half of the chase after Radha Yadav’s three-wicket burst, it wasn’t enough for a consolation win for Bangladesh.Radha, on her comeback for India after being off the national radar for a year, ended the series as the most successful bowler with ten wickets, which got her the Player-of-the-Series award to go with the Player-of-the-Match award for her three-wicket haul on Thursday.Related

Harmanpreet impressed with India's calmness in 5-0 win

S Asha: 'WPL showed us that everybody can dream'

How Radha levelled up her game with a 'smiling face'

Coming off a 2-1 T20I series defeat at home against Australia, India will be happy to have produced a convincing series victory in Bangladesh, where the T20 World Cup will be held in October. Bangladesh, though, have now lost eight T20Is in a row now, five here and three earlier against Australia, all at home.But, despite losing five wickets by the halfway stage in the chase, Bangladesh went past the 120-run mark for the first time in the series, thanks to Moni’s 33-ball 37 and Shorifa’s unbeaten 28 from 21 balls. However, there was little of note from the other batters.Titas Sadhu gave India their first breakthrough when she removed Sobhana Mostary for a nine-ball 13 in the third over. In the next over, Radha struck, dismissing Dilara Akter as she miscued a pull to mid-off. Radha’s third double-wicket over of the series came in the ninth of the innings when she knocked out Nigar Sultana’s stump with a loopy delivery that spun in, and three balls later, she trapped Rubya Haider lbw for 20. After that over, she had figures of 2-0-4-3. She finished with 3 for 24 after being targeted by Moni and Shorifa.After ten overs, Bangladesh were 52 for 5, needing 105 from the remaining 60 balls.But Moni fought back. She charged down the track against the spinners, used width when it was on offer to score towards backward point, and played a ramp shot to Pooja Vastrakar as well. With Shorifa , she shared a 57-run partnership off 41 balls for the sixth wicket, bringing the equation down to 53 runs from 24 balls. However, S Asha, playing her second T20I, dismissed Moni in the 17th over to end Bangladesh’s hopes. Asha finished with 2 for 25 from her four overs.Smriti Mandhana was one of three India batters to get into the 30s•BCB

Hemalatha, Mandhana, Harmanpreet and Ghosh shine with the batWith Bangladesh sloppy in the field, India raced to 71 for 2 after ten overs, Mandhana and Hemalatha taking control after Shafali Verma, playing her 100th international game, fell early. Mandhana, in particular, showed good intent in her 25-ball 33, hitting four clean fours and an inside-out six over extra cover off offspinner Sultana Khatun. However, she was given out lbw in the eighth over, with replays suggesting that the ball hit her pad just outside off stump as she missed with an attempted back-foot punch. No DRS meant Mandhana had to go.Hemalatha, at No. 3, started slowly, scoring 13 off her first 17 balls. She was also dropped when on 8. However, she accelerated, finding her touch soon to score 37 off 28 balls. This included two powerful hits to long-on and long-off for sixes and two fours – a sweep and a swpie over midwicket after charging down the track.India’s innings really took off when she was joined by Harmanpreet. The two scored 60 off 42 deliveries for the third wicket with the India captain chipping in with a 24-ball 30. After a run-a-ball 12, Harmanpreet picked up her pace, hitting three fours off Moni in the 13th over. However, Harmanpreet’s wicket – trapped lbw by left-arm spinner Nahida Akter when she went across for a sweep shot – triggered a mini collapse as India went from 122 for 2 to 124 for 5 in six balls.After a few quiet overs, Ghosh injected some impetus into the innings, teeing off to hit an unbeaten 28 off 17 balls, hitting three fours and a six over the bowlers’ head to help India ger past 150, which was well beyond Bangladesh’s reach.

FIFA and five football associations face a multi-billion euro class action lawsuit by a players' foundation over restrictive transfer rules.

A Dutch foundation is preparing lawsuit against FIFA & five FAsClaim seeks billions in compensation for affected footballersLawsuit is direct consequence of Diarra's court rulingFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

A Dutch foundation, Justice for Players, is preparing a mass legal claim against FIFA and five national football associations, seeking billions of euros in compensation for an estimated 100,000 professional footballers, reports. The foundation announced its intention to file the lawsuit with the Midden-Nederland District Court, asserting that FIFA's transfer regulations have unfairly restricted players' ability to earn income since 2002. This collective action is made possible by a landmark court ruling in favour of former Real Madrid player Diarra, which deemed FIFA's rules unlawful. Alongside FIFA, the Dutch, German, French, Belgian and Danish football associations are named in the lawsuit, in addition 31 associations have been notified of the case.

AdvertisementGettyA LOOK INTO DIARRA'S CASE

This legal battle has been brewing for years, but the tipping point was the European Court of Justice (CJEU) ruling on the case of Diarra. The French midfielder had a long-running dispute with Lokomotiv Moscow, which led to a hefty €10.5 million (£9m/$12m) fine and him being prevented from joining a new club after he terminated his contract. Diarra challenged FIFA's Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (RSTP), arguing they unlawfully restricted the "free movement of workers" within the European Union. The court agreed, stating that the rules created "unforeseeable and potentially very high financial risks" for players, giving them little power to negotiate or leave clubs under difficult circumstances.

While the 1995 Bosman ruling freed players to move on a free transfer at the end of their contracts, the Diarra case targets a different aspect of player rights: the ability to terminate a contract prematurely. The ruling provides a crucial legal foundation for the new class action, suggesting that FIFA's rules went too far in protecting clubs at the expense of player freedom. Player unions like FIFPro, which supported Diarra, have long argued that these rules stifled player mobility and suppressed wages, particularly for those in the lower divisions.

LAWSUIT BY DUTCH FOUNDATION

Justice for Players is supported by Deminor, one of Europe's largest litigation funders, which will cover all legal costs. This crucial backing means affected players can register for the lawsuit at no personal expense. The claim estimates that the restrictive FIFA rules caused players to earn approximately eight per cent less over the course of their careers. The lawsuit targets not only FIFA but also the national associations that are responsible for enforcing the regulations, holding them "jointly liable" for the damages. This is a deliberate strategy to ensure accountability and a financial payout, as if one party is unable to pay, the others will have to. The case is being led by Dutch law firm Finch Dispute Resolution, with advisory support from Jean-Louis Dupont, the lawyer who was also instrumental in the landmark Bosman ruling.

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AFPWHAT NEXT FOR FIFA & FIVE FAs?

The class action lawsuit against FIFA and five national football associations poses a serious threat to the existing transfer system, demanding far-reaching reform beyond FIFA’s minor post-Diarra changes – deemed inadequate by FIFPro. With potential for massive financial penalties and a legal mandate to align the RSTP with European labour laws, the case could reshape how contracts and player movement are governed globally. National bodies, now facing joint liability, may be forced to reassess their enforcement roles, making way for a new era of player empowerment, greater freedom, and fairer compensation across all levels of the game.

Chelsea beat Bayer Leverkusen 2-0 in a pre-season friendly on Friday, as Estevao Willian and Joao Pedro impressed at Stamford Bridge.

• Estevao leaves his mark 
• Making his debut at Stamford Bridge and scored
• Pedro rounded out victory

• Getty Images Sport
  

  TELL ME MORE

  Estevao Willian opened the scoring after just 17 minutes, finishing from close-range after Cole Palmer's lobbed effort bounced off the crossbar. 

  Chelsea dominated territory throughout the first half and looked incredibly comfortable, though Mark Flekken was rarely truly tested. One flashpoint saw Palmer react angrily to a bad tackle from Jarrell Quansah, prompting a short melee, but he shrugged it off. 

  Leverkusen were simply unable to find a way out of their half in the second period and were camped on the edge of their box. 

  While Chelsea somewhat struggled for fluency – understandable given the sheer number of changes made throughout the game – they showed some glimpses of what a brutal attacking force they can be, and Pedro, another summer signing, found the net late on to rubber-stamp the win. 

  The former Brighton attacker took the ball on the edge of the box and fired a low, zipping effort into the bottom corner to a thunderous roar from the Stamford Bridge crowd. He is a fan favourite already.

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  THE MVP

  It simply has to be Estevao. The Brazilian teenager was making his first start in west London with a global super-club. Did it phase him? Not a bit of it. The wonderkid not only scored what was an admittedly simple finish, he lit up the flank with his fearless running and fleet-footed dribbling. Leverkusen could barely get near him. Chelsea have a real player on their hands, here.

• NEW FACES

  Estevao, the Brazilian wonderkid, made quite the first impression with his close-range finish and wild, sliding celebration. While Andrey Santos was signed in 2023, he embarked on a series of loans and is now attempting to break into Enzo Maresca's first XI, earning a start here, with headline-grabbing striker signing Liam Delap up front.

  Jorrel Hato, on at half-time alongside Dario Essugo, made a superb block shortly after his introduction to deny Patrik Schick.

  Just after the hour, Delap was subbed off after another uneventful performance in which he could not properly impact proceedings to be replaced by fellow new signing Pedro. Jamie Gittens also came on for Tyrique George. 

  But it was Pedro who stole the headlines, netting the second goal of the game in the last minute; he has some real momentum ahead of the new campaign. 

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  ONES TO WATCH

  Teenage duo Josh Acheampong and Tyrique George, both 19, started in central defence and on the flank respectively. Acheampong was fortunate to get away with a terrible mistake ten minutes into the second half as he slipped on the ball and allowed Schick in on goal, but his effort was blocked by Hato. 

  Of course, 18-year-old Estevao found the net with one of his first touches in a blue shirt and enjoyed a stunning performance, somewhat putting his fellow youngsters to shame. 

  George, by comparison, ran at the defence every chance he got and was perhaps just a little too eager to show his quality as he kept snatching at his efforts.

  Genesis Antwi, an 18-year-old defender, came off the bench, as did Aaron Anselmino and Samuel Rak-Sakyi, but they barely had any time to make a significant impression.