The most striking events of yesterday’s game at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium came long before kick-off, with an organised protest march to the stadium. It was the biggest organised display of discontent Tottenham have seen for years. There have been moments of frustration and disappointment over the years, just as you would endure at any football club. There was a real outburst of anger in April 2021 when Spurs signed up to join the Super League and fans congregated outside the stadium with anti-ENIC and anti-Levy banners not too different from those seen on Sunday. But that was still the era of Covid restrictions and those protests were just a few dozen fans outside the ground, many of them wearing masks. This was something bigger. It all started two hours before kick-off at the junction of Lordship Lane and the High Road, just down the road from the stadium. At first, a few dozen fans were gathered on the pavement in front of The Trampery, the grand red brick building on the cor...
The Premier League has once again been made to look foolish by Manchester City’s smart lawyers and run up yet another big legal bill. The top flight competitionhas been dealt a devastating blow in its legal battle with Manchester City after its sponsorship rules enforced between 2021 and 2024 were declared void. An independent tribunal ruled in October last year that three elements of the rules regarding Associated Party Transactions (APT) were unlawful, in particular around loans from owners and shareholders to clubs. City’s interpretation of the initial decision was that the APT rules in their entirety were void and that the unlawful elements could not simply be struck off. The Premier League dismissed these concerns and pushed ahead with amendments which were approved by 16 of the 20 top-flight clubs in November. The rules, introduced in December 2021 in the wake of the Saudi-led takeover of Newcastle United, were designed to maintain the competitiveness of the...