Six Nations to start on Thursday for first time in 2026
The first midweek championship game in 78 years has been scheduled for February 5 in order to avoid a Friday night clash with the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Milan. France TV is the host broadcaster for both the Olympics and Six Nations, pending confirmation of a contract renewal.
A Saturday night game did not suit broadcasters in France, the UK or Ireland, and so a scheduling decision came down to either a Saturday afternoon slot or an opportunity to break new ground and launch the championship on a Thursday night.
Tom Harrison, the Six Nations chief executive, has been anxious to
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BBC News
2 minutes ago
- BBC News
Transfer window set to break all records
With two weeks to go until the Premier League summer transfer window closes, clubs are well on course to spend a record amount on new from Transfermarkt, external shows that Premier League clubs have already spent £2.26bn on players since the window opened at the start of is an increase of 12.7% on the £1.97bn spent during the summer of current record stands at £2.36bn during the 2023 summer transfer window. With more deals to come and the future of several players unclear as the 1 September deadline nears, it seems certain a new record will be BBC Sport takes a deeper look at the spending and how it compares with other leagues in Europe. Premier League spending bigger than Europe's big leagues combined As always, Premier League clubs are spending more than their foreign top-flight clubs have exceeded the transfer investments of Serie A, Bundesliga, Ligue 1 and La Liga teams in the Premier League have spent £1bn more than they have raised in sales. The only other top European league to have a minus net spend is La Liga, where Spanish clubs have spent £35m more than they have brought is perhaps unsurprising that the Premier League is driving the sales for the bigger three biggest Premier League signings so far this summer in terms of fees paid have been for players from Bundesliga clubs - Florian Wirtz (Bayer Leverkusen to Liverpool) - £100m rising to £116m with add ons; Hugo Ekitike (Eintracht Frankfurt to Liverpool) - £69m rising to £79m with add-ons; Benjamin Sesko (RB Leipzig to Manchester United) - £66.3m rising to £73.7m with Serie A is the top-spending league outside the Premier clubs have spent £783m - but that is still less than the net spend of the Premier League, never mind the total spend. Six clubs break transfer record This has been an unusual transfer window - in that there have been two first opened between Sunday, 1 June and Tuesday, 10 June, because of an exceptional registration period relating to the Fifa Club World Cup.A total of £400m was spent before the traditional transfer window opened, with Manchester City paying about £108m to sign Rayan Cherki, Rayan Ait-Nouri and Tijjani then reopened on Monday, 16 June and will close again on Monday, 1 clubs have broken their transfer records this completed a deal of up to £42.5m to sign Burkina Faso forward Dango Ouattara from Bournemouth, who spent £34.6m on French centre-back Bafode promoted Burnley and Sunderland have paid £25m and £26m respectively for French midfielder Lesley Ugochukwu and Senegal midfielder Habib Diarra, whose deal could rise to £30m with Forest have broken their transfer record twice this summer, first for Switzerland winger Dan Ndoye from Bologna, then winger Omari Hutchison from Ipswich for £ June, Liverpool signed Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen for a guaranteed £100m and a further £16m in add-ons. Should those add-ons be achieved, Wirtz's move to Anfield would become a British transfer record to beat the £107m Chelsea paid Benfica for Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernandez in the current 20 Premier League clubs, 16 have broken their transfer record in the past four years, with four - Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City and Arsenal - having transfer records of £100m or the other end of the scale, Burnley's record transfer fee paid is £ spending about £200m on players this summer, Manchester United's record signing remains Paul Pogba from Juventus for £91m in 2016, around the same time Crystal Palace paid Liverpool £27m for Christian Benteke, which also remains a record for the Eagles. How does spending compare to Europe's top clubs? For the past two seasons, all three teams promoted to the Premier League - Burnley, Sheffield United, Luton Town, Leicester City, Ipswich Town and Southampton - have been relegated straight is harder than ever which perhaps explains why Sunderland have been busy recruiting players like former Arsenal midfielder Granit to Transfermarkt, the Black Cats are now top of the table in terms of clubs promoted to the Premier League with highest spends., external Next are Nottingham Forest, who invested heavily after promotion in La Liga, Serie A, the Bundesliga and Ligue 1, only Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid have spent more than the £140m-plus Sunderland have paid for Atletico Madrid are the biggest spenders outside the Premier League having shelled out £153m, with neighbours Real Madrid a close second on £ figures, however, are well down on the reported £289.5m Liverpool have invested in their squad since being crowned Premier League is more than three times the amount Paris St-Germain (£90m) have spent since winning the Champions in Europe, Juventus have spent £103m, Bayer Leverkusen £100m, RB Leipzig £98m and AC Milan £ have spent just £22.5m so far. The biggest signing outside the Premier League is Luis Diaz from Liverpool to Bayern Munich in a £65.5m deal, including add-ons. And how big could it become? With the clock ticking towards the deadline, the future of Newcastle forward - and Liverpool target - Alexander Isak, who is valued at £150m by his club, remains Premier League spending smash the £2.5bn barrier?Liverpool are keen on Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi, while Eagles forward Eberechi Eze is wanted by forward Yoane Wissa and Manchester United striker Alejandro Garnacho could also be on the move, along with Chelsea's Nicolas Jackson and Christopher will Premier League spending stand after the window closes?Let us know your thoughts - comment below.
Daily Mail
3 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Ex-France and Real Madrid star seeks whopping £56m in compensation from FIFA - after winning landmark ruling last year
Former France and Real Madrid star Lassana Diarra has restarted legal proceedings against FIFA and the Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) in a bid to win compensation after a court ruled in his favour against the international governing body last year. Diarra had been locked in a decade-long legal battle with FIFA after he had been ordered to pay £8.8million (10.5 million euros) for his breach of contract at former side Lokomotiv Moscow in 2014. FIFA also suspended Diarra for 15 months for terminating his own contract at the Russian club, which had stemmed from a dispute over Lokomotiv attempting to reduce his salary on the basis of his performances. A move to Belgian side Charleroi was then put in jeopardy, with Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) siding with FIFA's initial ban. Diarra brought fresh legal action in 2015, claiming that he had been prevented from doing his job after FIFA refused to issue him the necessary International Transfer Certificate to register him with the Belgian FA for the Charleroi move to go ahead. With the deal going south, Diarra argued that this action was in breach of European labour laws, and in October 2024, the European Court of Justice (CJEU) ruled that some of FIFA's rules on player transfers did breach European Union legislation. Make your 7 picks by 12.30pm on Saturday, August 16 to win £1,000* *18+, excludes NI. Terms and conditions apply As per BBC Sport, Diarra then hoped that FIFA and RBFA would reach out to him to make financial amends and provide an 'amicable settlement', but with no contact forthcoming, the ex-midfielder is now seeking £56m via the courts. 'I have been forced to fight this legal battle since August 2014,' Diarra said in a statement. 'That's more than 11 years. 'I am doing this for myself - but I have also done it for all the up-and-coming, lesser-known players who do not have the financial and psychological means to challenge FIFA before real judges.' Diarra has also argued that the amendments FIFA have made are not yet in line with the requirements needed as a result of the CJEU ruling. 'Since the ECJ issued its ruling in the Diarra case in October 2024, FIFA has been working with its stakeholders to amend its regulations following the guidance offered by ECJ,' a FIFA statement read. 'FIFA does not comment on on-going legal matters.' Diarra is supported in his battle by professional footballers' unions FifPro, FifPro Europe, and France's UNFP, as well as Dutch foundation Justice for Players (JfP), who started their own legal action against FIFA earlier this month. JfP launched a class action lawsuit seeking billions of compensation for players who have featured in the United Kingdom or the European Union and may have potentially missed out on earnings due to current transfer regulations. The group's action is also directed at football associations in France, Germany, Belgium, Denmark, and the Netherlands. 'We stand firmly alongside Mr Diarra,' JfP said on Monday, adding that FIFA's 'temporary changes to the transfer rules... still don't fully comply with EU law'.
The Sun
3 minutes ago
- The Sun
Yoane Wissa, 28, deletes all reference to Brentford and changes Instagram to black circle in Newcastle transfer protest
WANTAWAY Brentford striker Yoane Wissa has removed all reference to the club from his Instagram as he pushes for a move to Newcastle. The striker has been subject to interest from the Magpies for the last few weeks. 2 And he was left out of the Bees matchday squad to face Nottingham Forest on Sunday after he made it clear he watns to leave. Now he has doubled down and deleted all of his Brentford-related posts on social media. And he has changed his Instagram profile picture to a black circle. Wissa, 28, has just 12 months remaining on his deal but Brentford have rejected a £30million offer from Newcastle. SunSport understands they are refusing to let the striker leave until they have signed a replacement and they are demanding £60m. Brentford were interested in Arnaud Kalimuendo but the 23-year-old looks set to join Nottingham Forest instead. Newcastle are expected to return with a £35m offer for Wissa, who is keen to join to play Champions League football. Eddie Howe wants him just as badly - especially after his Toon side kicked off the campaign without a recognised forward after on-strike Alexander Isak refused to play. BEST FREE BETS AND BETTING SIGN UP OFFERS 2 And the Magpies' need for a new striker was evident as they failed to turn their dominance into three points as they drew 0-0 at Aston Villa. Newcastle have missed out on Liam Delap, Joao Pedro, Hugo Ekitike and Benjamin Sesko in their so far unsuccessful hunt for a new frontman this summer.
