Latest news with #AstonVillaFC
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Aston Villa handed BIZARRE £125,000 fine by the Premier League on the first day of the season - after breaching little-known rule during their last campaign
Aston Villa have been hit with with a hefty fine on the opening day of the Premier League season. The Villains will have to pay up £125,000 after breaching a little-known Premier League rule for the fifth time. It relates to the misuse of a system which is designed to keep matches in the top flight flowing freely. They have now been banned from using the Premier League's multiball system for their first three home fixtures of the season after five instances of misusing it last season. The £125,000 fine means they have now paid a remarkable £305,000 in total for persistently breaking the rules since the start of the 2024-25 campaign. A Premier League statement read: 'the Premier League has entered into a sanction agreement with Aston Villa FC after the club accepted it had breached the Premier League's multiball rules. First introduced in the 2022/23 season, the multiball system is intended to maintain the flow of League matches, reduce delays and enhance the fan experience. Clubs are required to adopt a multiball system at every League match and adherence to the relevant rules and guidance is of vital importance to maintain consistency and, crucially, to ensure that home clubs do not gain a competitive advantage through their misuse of the system. The accepted breach was the club's fifth of the multiball rules during the 2024/25 season. The club will pay a £125,000 fine and will be prohibited from operating the multiball system in its first three home League matches of the 2025/26 season.' One of the violations cited in the Premier League's 'sanction agreement' with Villa, revealed on the eve of the new season, details their final home game against Tottenham Hotspur last term when Unai Emery's side were chasing Champions League qualification. Villa were accused of having their ball boys and girls help them throughout the match, including positioning additional youngsters and balls behind the goal they were attacking but not the one they were defending. Villa's players were found to have had balls handed to them on multiple occasions in direct contradiction of the multiball system, which was introduced in part to avoid a home side gaining a competitive advantage over the away team. The officiating team, led by referee Peter Bankes, raised his concerns with the 'multiball supervisor' at half-time. Villa won 2-0 to lift themselves into the Champions League places before going on to finish sixth in the Premier League. That Spurs victory marked their fifth breach, prompting the authorities to issue this ban as they believe the ball boys and girls had been deliberately instructed to help their club. For their coming games against Newcastle, Crystal Palace, and Fulham, there will only be a single-ball system in place. When the ball goes out of play and remains close to the pitch, the players will have to retrieve it themselves to restart play. If the ball cannot easily be retrieved, it will then be allowed to be collected by the ball boys or girls.
Bloomberg
07-08-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Billionaire Needing a Win Gets Welcome Reprieve in Puerto Rico
By , Jim Wyss, and Dylan Sloan Save Wes Edens needed a win. The billionaire's jointly owned Milwaukee Bucks fizzled in the NBA playoffs. The Premier League's Aston Villa FC, in which he also holds a stake, fell short in the race for the Champions League.
BBC News
23-07-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Flowers, beer bottles and an orchestra - Birmingham pays respects to Ozzy Osbourne
Just two-and-a-half weeks ago, disciples of the "prince of darkness" flocked to Birmingham for Ozzy Osbourne's final gig. Now they have come back to mourn following his death - laying pint glasses and whisky bottles among the flowers and at the impromptu shrines to Ozzy Osbourne in Birmingham tell the story of how deeply his impact was felt, and how far it conveyed the pride of his home city ("Birmingham forever Ozzy - you rock!"), while others came from further afield ("Gracias Ozzy!"; "Thank you for the music - from me and all your fans in Bulgaria.")Others were personal messages about how much his music meant."You have touched millions, my whole life your music has played almost as if raising me," another congregated at locations including the Black Sabbath bench - which features cut-out figures of the four band members. Ozzy's was dressed with a Sabbath hat and a scarf of Aston Villa bench itself was covered with flowers - interspersed with some beer bottles, empty glasses and a Jack Daniels bottle, in honour of his famously hard-drinking lifestyle. "It's just amazing to see the big community come together and support everyone," said one fan, 20-year-old Nate Baker from Redditch in wore a special Aston Villa shirt that was sold to mark Ozzy and Sabbath's huge concert at Villa Park less than three weeks gig was billed as their farewell show. Ozzy suffered long-running health problems and performed seated - but appeared in good spirits, and no-one expected the end to come for him so soon after that landmarks were created before that event to celebrate the show - and have now been turned into makeshift memorials. 'There will never be another Ozzy': Stars pay tribute to rock legendFans pay tribute to Ozzy Osbourne's 'immense cultural legacy'Wild life of Ozzy Osbourne, rock's 'prince of darkness'Did Ozzy Osbourne really bite the head off a live bat? A row of bunches of flowers lines a mural depicting the faces of the band's four members on a bridge near New Street station."To be honest, it hadn't really sunk in when I heard the news last night, and I thought that coming here and seeing all the tributes and all the love being expressed would really start to make it feel real, and it has," said Paul Williams, from Stafford."It feels comforting to be part of the community here, where we've all come to the same place to express our grief and our love and our thankfulness for what he gave the world."Mr Williams added a sheet of paper to the memorial with his own portrait of Ozzy."I'm a comic artist, and so the way that came most naturally to me to express my thankfulness was to do a quick doodle before I came down on the train this morning. It's not necessarily my best work, but I'm happy to see it there amongst all the flowers, being blown askew by the wind." Those laying flowers included Paul Allen, a classical musician from Walsall. His brother loved Sabbath - but Mr Allen said he has only recently been catching up on the appeal of the founding fathers of heavy metal."I'm only just starting to grasp their place in musical history, and I have a lot of respect for that," he said."They took their industrial background and heritage, and somehow managed to expose that in the music, along with a strange mixture of Lord of the Rings ideas and Dennis Wheatley witchcraft, devil worshipping, science-fictiony stuff."They had this melting pot of new ideas. They weren't part of a hippy movement. They weren't part of a prog rock thing. They just were doing their own thing." Elsewhere, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra gave Ozzy a symphonic send-off by recreating Black Sabbath - the doom-laden self-titled track from the band's debut album - as part of a performance under the departure boards at New Street exhibition about Ozzy's life in Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery - which was opened to coincide with the farewell gig - has now also become another destination for fans to remember him.A queue soon formed for a book of condolence - watched over by a black-and-white photo of Ozzy clutching a cross, which the museum hastily put up on Wednesday morning. "I just wrote, 'Condolences to the family, and Ozzy's making his way through the Hole in the Sky'," said Steve Bennett, from Liverpool - referring to the title of a song from Sabbath's 1975 album Sabotage."I've got every one of their albums, and a lot of his solo stuff as well."Ozzy was "one of rock's great frontmen, in a great band, who changed the way music was perceived", he signatory to the book of condolence was 32-year-old Tamara Jenna. "I said, 'Rest in peace, Ozzy. You made Birmingham proud'."She added: "I heard the news last night and it's such a sad loss to Birmingham. He did so much for the city and for heavy metal, and I think it's definitely worth paying respects to what he's done for the city, let alone the genre." The age range of the visitors to the exhibition proved Ozzy's cross-generational appeal. Jonty Carter, a volunteer at the museum, was there at the very start of Sabbath's journey - after being taken to see them play at a pub in Birmingham in the late 1960s by fellow members of his Boys' Brigade."They sneaked me in the entrance, and Black Sabbath were on. So I saw them when I was 12, which is just unbelievable," he recalled."And some of the music has just lived for me forever. I don't think it's ever going to be surpassed. It was game-changing at the time." Kelly Pearce went to pay her respects at the exhibition with her mum and two children."He never changed - even when he went to America, he was still always a Brummie, which we love," she said."What makes me laugh is that the way he speaks, with all these swear words, is so natural to normal Brummies. My father grew up in Aston as well, and he's exactly the same."So to me, he could have just been one of your uncles. He was just so down to earth with no airs and graces. Just love him."It was lovely that he got his final wish as well - to come back to England and do his last gig here, which was just unforgettable."
Scottish Sun
24-04-2025
- Sport
- Scottish Sun
Premier League club announce plans to expand stadium with new stand and concert venue boosting capacity to over 50,000
A PREMIER LEAGUE club has announced plans to expand its stadium capacity to over 50,000. Aston Villa currently play at Villa Park which boasts a capacity of 42,918. 8 Aston Villa have announced plans to expand the North Stadn at Villa Park Credit: Aston Villa FC 8 The work will raise the capacity of the stand to 12,000 Credit: Aston Villa FC 8 The total capacity of Villa Park will rise to over 50,000 Credit: Aston Villa FC 8 The club have claimed there will be more space and faster service Credit: Aston Villa FC The West Midlands club are now planning on redeveloping the North Stand to boost its capacity. The club has announced plans that will refurbish and expand the number of seats in the iconic stand. The North Stand is planned to have its capacity raised from 5,000 to 12,000. This increase will see the club's total capacity rise to over 50,000, making it one of the largest in the Premier League. READ MORE ON SPORT GROUND DESIGNS Three-time English title winners to construct one of UK's biggest stadiums Plans for expansion were first announced but were postponed despite being approved by Birmingham City Council. Work is expected to be completed in 2027 ahead of Euro 2028 in which Villa Park is a host venue. The club have stated that the work will "further modernise the stadium" and will "solidify its status as a world-class sports and entertainment venue." A video shared on social media by the club claims that the stand will offer more space and faster service and a better fan experience. JOIN SUN VEGAS: GET £50 BONUS As well as the stand being refurbished, Villa are also be opening a new club shop. Villa's executive chairman Nassef Sawiris said: "Since Wes [Edens] and I became owners of this storied club in 2018 and Atairos joined us as partners in 2024, we have shared a clear ambition: to restore Aston Villa to its rightful position competing at the highest levels of English and European football, and to transform the club into a global brand and European powerhouse. Heartwarming moment Matty Cash's reporter sister tells him she loves him after Aston Villa's PSG defeat 8 The work is expected to be completed in time for Euro 2028 Credit: Aston Villa FC 8 The North Stand currently holds just 5,000 Credit: Getty 8 Villa have played at the historic ground since 1897 Credit: Aston Villa FC 8 Nassef Sawiris [R] has insisted that the work will help the club's ability to compete Credit: Getty "Thanks to the Mayor's commitment to develop Witton Station and to improve local transport links, this project will mark an important milestone in the club's journey to becoming a world-class sports and entertainment venue. "A bigger, better North Stand will not only allow many more Villans to see their team in person, improving matchday experience, but will also dramatically improve the club's ability to invest and compete in the long term." The club has also stated that it will be able to "adapt and modernise" the North Stand without losing any seasons during the season. In December, the club also revealed it will be building the Premier League's largest beer hall. The multi-million pound renovation project, planned to launch this Christmas, will feature a centrepiece named 'The Warehouse'. It will become the largest beer hall in the Prem and access will be free to ticketed supporters on matchday.
The Irish Sun
24-04-2025
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Premier League club announce plans to expand stadium with new stand and concert venue boosting capacity to over 50,000
A PREMIER LEAGUE club has announced plans to expand its stadium capacity to over 50,000. Advertisement 8 Aston Villa have announced plans to expand the North Stadn at Villa Park Credit: Aston Villa FC 8 The work will raise the capacity of the stand to 12,000 Credit: Aston Villa FC 8 The total capacity of Villa Park will rise to over 50,000 Credit: Aston Villa FC 8 The club have claimed there will be more space and faster service Credit: Aston Villa FC The The club has announced plans that will refurbish and expand the number of seats in the iconic stand. The North Stand is planned to have its capacity raised from 5,000 to 12,000. This increase will see the club's total capacity rise to over 50,000, making it one of the largest in the Premier League. Advertisement READ MORE ON SPORT Plans for expansion were first announced but were postponed despite being approved by Birmingham City Council. Work is expected to be completed in 2027 ahead of Euro 2028 in which Villa Park is a host venue. The club have stated that the work will "further modernise the stadium" and will "solidify its status as a world-class sports and entertainment venue." A video shared on social media by the club claims that the stand will offer more space and faster service and a better fan experience. Advertisement Most read in Football Exclusive JOIN SUN VEGAS: GET £50 BONUS As well as the stand being refurbished, Villa are also be opening a new club shop. Villa's executive chairman Nassef Sawiris said: "Since Wes [Edens] and I became owners of this storied club in 2018 and Atairos joined us as partners in 2024, we have shared a clear ambition: to restore Aston Villa to its rightful position competing at the highest levels of English and European football, and to transform the club into a global brand and European powerhouse. Heartwarming moment Matty Cash's reporter sister tells him she loves him after Aston Villa's PSG defeat 8 The work is expected to be completed in time for Euro 2028 Credit: Aston Villa FC Advertisement 8 The North Stand currently holds just 5,000 Credit: Getty 8 Villa have played at the historic ground since 1897 Credit: Aston Villa FC 8 Nassef Sawiris [R] has insisted that the work will help the club's ability to compete Credit: Getty "Thanks to the Mayor's commitment to develop Witton Station and to improve local transport links, this project will mark an important milestone in the club's journey to becoming a world-class sports and entertainment venue. Advertisement "A bigger, better North Stand will not only allow many more Villans to see their team in person, improving matchday experience, but will also dramatically improve the club's ability to invest and compete in the long term." The club has also stated that it will be able to "adapt and modernise" the North Stand without losing any seasons during the season. In December, the club also revealed it will be The multi-million pound renovation project, planned to launch this Christmas, will feature a centrepiece named 'The Warehouse'. Advertisement It will become the largest beer hall in the Prem and access will be free to ticketed supporters on matchday. Top 10 biggest Premier League grounds Here are the biggest grounds in the Premier League in their current state.. Old Trafford - 75,653 London Stadium -- 62,500 Tottenham Hotspur Stadium - 62,06 Anfield - 61,276 Emirates Stadium- 60,704 Etihad Stadium - 55,097 St James' Park - 52,338 Villa Park - 42,660 Stamford Bridge - 41,798 Goodison Park - 39,571
