Author: Timi-Zacchaeus Oluwaferanmi

The tragic death of 21-year-old Billy Vigar, a former Arsenal youth player, has triggered widespread outrage and renewed demands for urgent safety reforms in English football. Vigar, who played for Chichester City, passed away on Thursday after sustaining a “significant brain injury” during a National League system match the previous weekend. While the club has not confirmed the precise cause, it is widely believed that Vigar’s fatal injury resulted from colliding with a concrete wall close to the pitch. The incident has drawn painful parallels to previous safety concerns and sparked criticism of football authorities for failing to act sooner.…

The debate over football’s congested calendar has intensified after the global players’ union, Fifpro, released its latest report warning of a growing crisis in player welfare. The union described the current state of the game as “a perfect storm of how not to treat a human,” highlighting excessive travel, a lack of recovery time, and unprecedented demands on young footballers. The Report’s Findings Fifpro’s fifth annual report, published this week, studied the 2024-25 season and revealed alarming numbers. Veteran midfielder Luka Modric, now 40, played more matches than any other player worldwide—76 games for Real Madrid and Croatia. Meanwhile, Australia…

Chelsea will be without Cole Palmer for up to three weeks as the England international continues to nurse a groin injury that has troubled him since the summer. The midfielder was forced off in the first half of last weekend’s Premier League defeat to Manchester United at Old Trafford. Head coach Enzo Maresca has confirmed that the decision to rest Palmer until October’s international break is precautionary, aimed at preventing the issue from worsening. Injury Management Over Surgery Palmer first experienced discomfort during Chelsea’s shortened pre-season in July, which came off the back of their Club World Cup triumph. Though…

Liverpool’s promising young defender Giovanni Leoni will be sidelined for up to a year after suffering a serious knee injury on his debut for the club.

Manchester United forward Amad Diallo has been granted compassionate leave following the death of a close family member, with head coach Ruben Amorim confirming the Ivorian will miss Saturday’s Premier League clash away to Brentford. The 22-year-old, who has featured in all six of United’s matches so far this season, has been given “all the time he needs” by the club. Amorim said football was “not important” in the face of personal tragedy and emphasised the support structure in place for the winger. “Amad is going through a very difficult moment and our job is to support him,” Amorim told…

Liverpool Football Club has revealed the scale of its toughest-ever crackdown on ticket touting, disclosing that it has shut down 145,000 ticket accounts in the past two years and issued a record 1,114 lifetime bans in the last season alone. The Premier League champions said that the measures follow the discovery of widespread abuse of software used to harvest tickets, often at the expense of genuine fans. According to club investigators, touts used bot technology, burner phones, and fake identities to manipulate the ticketing system and resell seats at vastly inflated prices. Lifetime bans surge The 1,114 lifetime bans imposed…

Arsenal have secured a major boost to their defensive stability after William Saliba agreed to a new five-year contract that will keep him at the Emirates until 2030. The French international, who has become a cornerstone of Mikel Arteta’s backline, was already under contract until 2027. But his new deal ends speculation linking him with a move to European giants Real Madrid and signals his long-term commitment to the club. From prospect to defensive leader Saliba joined Arsenal from Saint-Etienne in July 2019 as a highly rated teenager. He was loaned back to the French club for the 2019–20 season…

Liverpool teenager Rio Ngumoha has signed his first professional deal with the Premier League champions, capping a remarkable 12 months in which he has emerged as one of English football’s most exciting young prospects. The 17-year-old forward, who only joined the Reds from Chelsea’s academy last year, has already made five senior appearances, scored a dramatic Premier League winner, and earned a Champions League debut. Now, he has committed his future to the Anfield club, though Liverpool have not disclosed the length of the contract. A meteoric rise Ngumoha announced himself in unforgettable style last month when he scored a…

Montenegrin club FK Arsenal Tivat have seen their suspension from European competition reduced from 10 years to seven after a successful appeal to UEFA. The original sanction, handed down in July following allegations of match-fixing, would have barred the club from continental football until 2035. The revised ruling now limits the punishment to the end of the 2031-32 season. The case stemmed from Arsenal Tivat’s involvement in the 2023-24 Europa Conference League qualifying round, where the club drew 1-1 away to Armenian side Alashkert before being dismantled 6-1 in the home leg. UEFA launched an investigation amid suspicions of irregularities…

Liverpool’s defensive ranks have taken a major hit after summer signing Giovanni Leoni suffered a suspected anterior cruciate ligament injury on his debut. The 18-year-old centre-back, recruited from Serie A side Parma for a fee of £26 million plus add-ons, limped off in the closing stages of Liverpool’s 2-1 Carabao Cup third-round victory over Southampton on Tuesday night. Leoni, who had impressed with 17 senior appearances in Italy’s top flight before his move to Merseyside, was making his first appearance under new head coach Arne Slot. But what should have been a night to remember quickly turned into a nightmare,…