After putting out plenty of fires, keeping hot-headed footballers in check was never going to ruffle Sam Allison.

On Boxing Day, Allison will become the first black man to officiate a Premier League game in 15 years when he takes charge of Sheffield United’s home game against Luton.

Allison, 42, had played at Swindon, Bristol City, Bournemouth and Exeter before moving down the football pyramid into the semi-professional game.

After considering what to do when he eventually hung up his boots, Allison decided to keep them on for a while longer – but this time with a whistle in hand.

Allison took charge of his first match on a Sunday morning in his home county of Wiltshire, when a few things he had learned along the way helped him get through.

“I was lucky enough that I was able to sell decisions just based on my footballing experience,” Allison recalled in an interview with the English Football League website.

“I remember giving a penalty in the game and it was more of a guess rather than getting in the right position to give the right decision.

“It’s inevitable that having played at a decent standard, you can use that football intelligence to identify foul challenges, people’s intent, movement, anticipate play and look at trigger pass and people’s body movement and shape, and understanding phases of play.

“It just gives you that head start, I believe. And from that point onwards, it was infectious.”

As well as his love for the game, Allison also needed an income to help support the next steps of his referee’s journey.

In 2006, he joined the fire service part-time.

“I had to look at something that would give me the time and flexibility to do both careers,” he said.

“I’ve gone from being totally operational and ‘Fireman Sam’ getting out there fighting fires and wearing breathing apparatus and doing water rescue and rope rescue, to progressing as a station manager.”

Supported by the likes of the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) and Football Association, Allison has been able to go on to take charge of more than 100 matches in the EFL.

A first Premier League exposure came in October 2022, when Allison was fourth official in the fixture between Brighton and Chelsea.

Uriah Rennie was the last black referee to take charge of a Premier League game in 2008 having officiated in the competition for 11 years up to that point.

Allison hopes the Boxing Day fixture will be the start of his own lengthy stint as a top-flight referee.

“I don’t hide that I want to reach the top,” he said.

“I want to be a role model within my community and show representation as a black man in football and being a referee at the same time. My desire has to be to reach the top just to show people that you can do it.

“Pressure comes with it, but when you are fighting fires and saving lives, that is a pressure situation.

“Having that visibility is key, but at the same time, you have to have ability, desire, work hard and take the opportunities when they come forward.”

Rebecca Welch is not the first footballer to have told a referee just how they should do their job – but a decade later, it is her own decisions which are now set to be front and centre in the Premier League.

On December 23, Welch will break new ground once again when she takes charge of Fulham against Burnley at Craven Cottage.

Yet but for taking one of her friends to task, Welch, 40, might never have given refereeing a go herself.

“I played football and didn’t even think about refereeing until one of my really good friends, who is a referee, refereed us,” she said in an interview with the Independent in November ahead of becoming the first female to act as fourth official in a Premier League match for Fulham against Manchester United.

“I spent the whole game telling her how to do her job! Her response was, ‘If you think it’s that easy, give it a go’. That’s how it happened and 10 years later, here I am.”

Welch’s love of the game stemmed from playing, but it was with the whistle where she made her mark.

At the start of her refereeing career in 2010, Welch, who is from Washington in Tyne and Wear, was still working in an administrative capacity for the NHS.

After gaining her badges through the Durham County Football Association, Welch began taking charge of university games as well as in Sunday leagues.

It was, though, not long before she took it up on a full-time basis and soon climbed through the ranks.

Welch has regularly refereed high-profile games in the Women’s Super League and took charge of the 2017 and 2020 Women’s FA Cup finals at Wembley.

She has also officiated in the Women’s Champions League, the latest fixture being Benfica’s 1-0 win over Frankfurt on December 13.

Added to FIFA’s elite list of international officials during December 2020, Welch was part of the team at the 2022 Women’s Euros as well as this year’s Women’s World Cup, which included refereeing hosts Australia in their last-16 win over Denmark.

Welch is also no stranger to firsts in the men’s game.

In 2021, she was the first woman to be appointed to referee a match in the Football League for the Sky Bet League Two fixture between Harrogate and Port Vale.

Walsh later took on matches in the Championship – she was in charge of Hull’s 4-1 win over Rotherham on November 28 – and also the third round of the FA Cup.

Despite Welch now set to find herself in the spotlight, with every decision under the microscope at Craven Cottage on December 23, she is not about to let anything distract her from just getting on with the job, according to referee’s chief Howard Webb.

“Rebecca is a really calm, focused individual on the field. She does command a lot of respect in a pretty understated way. When you meet her, she’s got a presence about her,” Webb said.

“She has a good reading of the game, she is an accurate decision maker, a good athlete on the field too and has really worked hard to get to this position over several years.

“She has good reading of the game, good subtle management of the players as well and I have got no doubt she will show all of those qualities at Fulham on the 23rd.”

Rebecca Welch will make history as the first woman to referee a Premier League match later this month, while on Boxing Day Sam Allison will become the first black man to officiate a top-flight game in 15 years.

The 40-year-old Welch will take charge of the Fulham v Burnley match on December 23, while Allison will be the man in the middle for Sheffield United’s home game against Luton three days later.

Uriah Rennie was the last black referee to take charge of a Premier League game in 2008 having officiated in the competition for 11 years up to that point.

Welch started out as a referee in 2010 while working in an administrative capacity in the NHS before going into officiating on a full-time basis. She made history in April 2021 when she became the first woman to be appointed to referee an EFL match, taking charge of the League Two fixture between Harrogate and Port Vale.

Howard Webb, the chief refereeing officer of Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), said: “Rebecca is a really calm focused individual on the field. She does command a lot of respect in a pretty understated way. She has a good reading of the game, she is an accurate decision-maker, a good athlete on the field, too.

“When you meet her, she’s got a presence about her, she’s not got huge stature in terms of being really tall but she has a presence about her. She’s a really determined official. She is similar in some ways to Stephanie Frappart, the French official who has worked on the Champions League this year

“She’s really worked hard to get to this position over several years. She’s worked hard physically, technically and really does deserve this opportunity. I went to see her myself recently in a game in the Championship and was highly impressed by what I saw in terms of her command of the game.

“She has good reading of the game, good subtle management of the players as well and I’ve got no doubt she’ll show all of those qualities at Fulham on the 23rd.”

Welch has also regularly refereed high-profile games in the Women’s Super League and took charge of the 2017 and 2020 Women’s FA Cup finals at Wembley, as well as matches at the 2022 Women’s Euro and this year’s Women’s World Cup.

She was also the first woman to officiate in the men’s Championship and FA Cup third round, and was the fourth official for last month’s Premier League encounter between Fulham and Manchester United.

Allison, 42, played with Swindon, Bristol City, Bournemouth and Exeter and had worked as a firefighter before focusing full-time on officiating.

“Both Rebecca and Sam were part of the development group that was created last year. They went through a selection process to be part of that,” Webb added.

“Credit to them they have delivered good performances in the Championship this season and deserve their opportunities due to their quality and the talent that they have.

“Of course it’s significant in terms of Rebecca being the first female to take the whistle in the Premier League, she was the fourth official a few weeks ago for the first time, and we have lots of talented female officials working in the game.

“We have Kirsty Dowle taking charge of her first Football League game this weekend at Doncaster Rovers, she’s another FIFA-registered official.

“I just hope that other people will see the success of these female officials, young girls and young women, and think that refereeing might be for them.

“Sam being the first black referee in the Premier League since Uriah Rennie back in 2008, again we know he has performed well in the Championship this year at a consistent level and we are confident he will deliver a strong performance.

“The profile of the game will serve as a role model for others in under-represented communities and that is undoubtedly a positive.

“We need greater diversity because undoubtedly there is quality in all communities and previously for whatever reason we have not been able to bring people through from those groups and now it’s happening at last thankfully.”

Allison has taken charge of over 100 matches in the EFL and his first Premier League exposure came in October 2022, when he was fourth official in the fixture between Brighton and Chelsea.

Rebecca Welch will become the first female referee in the Premier League when she takes charge of Fulham against Burnley on December 23.

Welch became a referee in 2010, balancing the role alongside her job in the NHS.

In 2021, she was the first woman to be appointed to referee a match in the Football League for the Sky Bet League Two fixture between Harrogate and Port Vale.

Welch, who comes from Washington in Tyne and Wear, was also the first woman to referee matches in the Championship and third round of the FA Cup.

Last month she became the first female to act as fourth official in a Premier League game as part of the officiating team for Fulham against Manchester United.

During her career, Welch has also officiated high-profile matches in the Women’s Super League, twice refereeing the Women’s FA Cup final and she has also taken charge of international matches, including at the 2023 Women’s World Cup.

Mikel Arteta has escaped punishment following a Football Association charge after the Arsenal manager’s recent post-match rant at refereeing standards.

The Spaniard labelled the decision to allow Anthony Gordon’s goal to stand in a 1-0 Premier League defeat at Newcastle on November 4 as “embarrassing” and a “disgrace”.

Arteta was later charged by the FA for breaking Rule E3.1 – which could have resulted in a ban but has instead been cleared of any wrongdoing.

“An independent Regulatory Commission has found the charge against Mikel Arteta for an alleged breach of FA Rule E3.1 to be not proven,” an FA statement read.

“The manager was charged following various comments in media interviews after Arsenal’s Premier League game against Newcastle United on Saturday 4 November.

“It was alleged that his comments constituted misconduct in that they were insulting towards match officials and/or detrimental to the game and/or brought the game into disrepute.”

There were no set sanctions for if Arteta had been found guilty – but a fine or touchline ban would have likely been the outcome.

Arteta has since said he would continue to speak out against poor officiating and the use of VAR if he felt the standards were not being met.

In the written reasons for the rule not being proven, it was revealed Arteta claimed that: “The word ‘disgrace’…‘has a very similar spelling and pronunciation to the Spanish ‘desgracia’…the Spanish word has connotations of misfortune, tragedy or bad luck rather than the connotations of the English equivalent which suggest contempt, dishonour or disrespect.

“While the English meaning may lead to interpretations of abuse or insult, this was not the intended meaning.”

Despite Arteta’s comments at St James’ Park, Professional Game Match Officials Limited chief Howard Webb later said the process to award Gordon’s goal had been correct and VAR had been right in not overruling the on-field call.

Arsenal came out in support of Arteta by issuing a statement the following day – although the club avoided an FA charge for also questioning the capability of match officials.

The outcome of Arteta’s charge means he is free to return to the dugout for Arsenal’s visit of Brighton on Sunday, having served a one-match touchline ban in last weekend’s 1-0 loss at Aston Villa, having accrued three yellow cards this season.

Ange Postecoglou has warned Tottenham defender Cristian Romero that his tackles will be under the spotlight for the rest of the season.

Romero only returned from a three-match ban for his red card against Chelsea earlier this month but faced criticism on Sunday for a poor challenge on Callum Wilson towards the end of Spurs’ 4-1 win over Newcastle.

VAR did review the incident, which stayed as a caution, but if Romero had been sent off, he would have faced a four-match suspension and that would have further depleted a Tottenham team already without eight first-team players for Friday’s trip to Nottingham Forest.

Postecoglou said: “It’s fair to say the spotlight will be on him for the rest of the year.

“Any challenge he does, whether it’s something that’s pretty clear like the Chelsea game or last week, which I thought was as much clumsy as anything else.

“He knows that, he understands that. He’s just got to make the adjustments that he needs to do during the game, but I don’t think it’s a subject for long chats.

“It’s pretty evident the impact he has on us when he’s playing and when he’s not and we much prefer to have him out there.”

Spurs failed to win any of the matches which Romero missed through suspension and his ban coincided with fellow defender Micky van de Ven being sidelined with a hamstring injury.

Van de Ven will not play again until January and, while Postecoglou is pleased with the partnership struck up between Romero and Ben Davies, a left-back by trade, he is keen to bring in another centre-back in January.

“As a team I thought we were a lot more organised with our press (against Newcastle),” Postecoglou added.

“Romero makes a big difference to that but I thought Ben Davies was outstanding as well last week. He’s getting a run of games now but we’ve always got to be mindful he is not a centre-back.

“We’ve been very fortunate that Ben’s been able to fill in for us there. He’s really good at taking in information, he really understands the game, not just his own role but how we want to play and that’s helped him.

“Having Romeo next to him helps in that sense and Vic (Guglielmo Vicario) because he’s taken a bit of a leadership role back there as well.

“Ultimately, we still need to sign another centre-back because at the moment we are a little bit on tenterhooks because if something happens again we are short and we are already short.”

Postecoglou revealed Giovani Lo Celso would miss the clash at Forest with a niggle picked up in training this week.

Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri has warned his players to be wary of the threat posed by Genoa when the sides meet at Stadio Luigi Ferraris on Friday evening.

Juve’s win over Serie A champions Napoli in the last round of fixtures places them second in the table behind Inter Milan heading into the match, but Allegri believes a different approach will be needed this week.

“Genoa have very respectable numbers at home, they are an aggressive team that play good football,” Allegri told reporters at a pre-match press conference on Thursday.

“(Coach Alberto) Gilardino is doing an important job, we will also find (Radu) Dragusin, (Koni) De Winter and (Alessandro) Vogliacco, three guys who grew up at Juventus.

“We will have to interpret the match differently than the last three (Inter, Monza and Napoli).”

Genoa are 14th but have only lost two of their seven home matches.

“Historically, matches against the Rossoblu are always difficult: I remember an episode years ago, after 23 minutes we were already 3-0 down,” Allegri recalled.

“We have to be careful, match their pace, the stadium atmosphere is red hot and the fans push them on. It will be fundamental to make our qualities count.”

Allegri confirmed Moise Kean would be out for up to four weeks for treatment on a long-standing tibia issue.

Mattia De Sciglio is set to make a gradual return in the new year from an anterior cruciate ligament injury suffered last season, but Allegri otherwise has a full squad to pick from on Friday with Timothy Weah returning from a thigh problem.

Allegri anticipated Kean’s absence could mean more opportunities for 18-year-old attacking midfielder Kenan Yildiz, who has so far managed just 36 minutes this season from the substitutes’ bench.

“He, like other boys, is growing very well. We need him to continue to improve and wait for the right moment,” Allegri said.

Juventus have scored 14 fewer goals than league leaders Inter, with Lautaro Martinez and Hakan Calhanoglu’s 21 goals just two less than Juve’s overall total.

Allegri insisted he was “happy” with his strikers, despite Dusan Vlahovic’s tally of five making him their highest individual goalscorer.

“In recent matches Vlahovic has shown his technique, excellent physical and mental condition, despite the missed penalty in Monza,” the coach said.

“Tomorrow could be, for him and for (Federico) Chiesa, the opportunity to return to scoring; other players have scored in this last period and that’s fine.

“The important thing is to have the right attitude, run and apply pressure to help out even in the defensive phase.”

Juventus have not lost since a 4-2 defeat to Sassuolo on September 23, while Genoa’s last win came at home to Verona on November 10.

They have lost three and drawn one of their four Serie A matches since then.

Caribbean sides Cavalier of Jamaica and Dominican Republic's Moca FC will have Major League Soccer (MLS) outfits FC Cincinnati and Nashville SC to contend with in the opening round of the 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup, the region's premier men’s club competition.

The draw was conducted on Wednesday evening.

This, the tournament's 59th edition, revamped to include 27 of the best clubs from North America, Central America, and the Caribbean, and five rounds, crowns the Confederation's club champion. It also serves as the sole qualification route for the region's clubs to the new and expanded FIFA Club World Cup. 

Participating clubs in the tournament's Round One were drawn as follows: 

Round One

RO Matchup #1: Philadelphia Union (USA) vs Deportivo Saprissa (CRC)
RO Matchup #2: Deportivo Toluca (MEX) vs CS Herediano (CRC) 
RO Matchup #3: Club America (MEX) vs Real Estelí FC (NCA)
RO Matchup #4: CD Guadalajara (MEX) vs Forge FC (CAN)
RO Matchup #5: New England Revolution (USA) vs CA Independiente (PAN)
RO Matchup #6: Houston Dynamo FC (USA) vs St. Louis CITY SC (USA)
RO Matchup #7: Tigres UANL (MEX) vs Vancouver Whitecaps FC (CAN)
RO Matchup #8: Orlando City SC (USA) vs Cavalry FC (CAN)
RO Matchup #9: CF Monterrey (MEX) vs Comunicaciones FC (GUA)
RO Matchup #10: FC Cincinnati (USA) vs Cavalier FC (JAM)
RO Matchup #11: Nashville SC (USA) vs Moca FC (DOM)

Following home and away play, in February 2024, the aggregate score winner in each matchup will advance to the Round of 16. The Round of 16 matchups will be as follows: 

Round of 16 

R16 Matchup #1: CF Pachuca (MEX) vs W1 
R16 Matchup #2: SV Robinhood (SUR) vs W2 
R16 Matchup #3: W3 vs W4 
R16 Matchup #4: LD Alajuelense (CRC) vs W5 
R16 Matchup #5: Columbus Crew (USA) vs W6 
R16 Matchup #6: W7 vs W8 
R16 Matchup #7: W9 vs W10 
R16 Matchup #8: Inter Miami CF (USA) vs W11 

The Round of 16 will be played in March 2024, followed by the quarterfinals and semifinals in April, and the single-leg final on Sunday, June 2.  

Concacaf will announce the complete schedule for Round One in the coming days.

2024 Concacaf Champions Cup Windows 

Round One: February 6-8 (Week 1), 13-15 (Week 2), 20-22 (Week 3) and 27-29 (Week 4) 
Round of 16: March 5-7 (First Legs) and 12-14 (Second Legs) 
Quarterfinals: April 2-4 (First Legs) and 9-11 (Second Legs) 
Semifinals: April 23-25 (First Legs) and April 30 - May 2 (Second Legs) 
Final: Sunday, June 2 (Single Leg) 

By virtue of winning the 2023 Concacaf Champions Cup, Mexican outfit, Club Leon secured a berth in the expanded 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, joining the 2021 and 2022 champions, CF Monterrey (Mexico) and Seattle Sounders FC (USA), respectively. The 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup winner will join these three clubs as the region's four representatives in the expanded 32-club FIFA Club World Cup 2025.

Newcastle and Manchester United’s early exits from Europe could contribute to an English club missing out on a fifth place in next season’s Champions League.

Here, the PA news agency seeks to explain why.

What is this all about?

In May 2022 UEFA signed off on the format for the new-look Champions League, which will feature a 36-team league phase from next season instead of the 32-team group phase we have all got used to.

Initially it had been proposed that the two clubs with the highest individual coefficient score – based on their historic European performance – who had missed out on Champions League qualification via the conventional route would still gain entry to the new league phase, provided they had done enough to qualify for one of the other two UEFA club competitions.

That proposal was controversial because it could have meant teams ‘leapfrogging’ into the Champions League over clubs with a lesser European pedigree.

Instead, a decision was ultimately taken to award the places to one club from each of the two countries who collectively perform best in the previous season’s three UEFA competitions.

How do they work that out?

Each time a club wins a game in Europe, they get two points in the coefficient rankings, one for a draw and none for a defeat. Bonus points are also awarded for the progress a team makes in the competition they are involved in, with extra weighting given to the Champions League in that respect.

A country score is then calculated by adding together each clubs’ score and dividing it by the number of clubs from that country playing in European competition.

Newcastle and Manchester United’s failure to qualify for the Champions League last 16 saw them miss out on a collective 10 coefficient points, plus any additional points for further wins and progress in that competition. They could also have gained extra points via progress and results in the Europa League.

How do the standings currently look?

Germany and Italy currently hold the top two positions, which would mean the one club in each of those countries who came closest to qualifying for the Champions League via the conventional route would benefit.

England could still get one of the top two places if the Premier League clubs left in Europe perform extremely well, but the failure of two of England’s four representatives to make the Champions League last 16 – or even to drop into the Europa League – makes it more of an uphill struggle.

In four out of the previous five seasons, England finished in the top two.

Manchester City youngster Micah Hamilton marked his senior debut with a dream goal as the holders finished the Champions League group stage with a 3-2 win at Red Star Belgrade on Wednesday.

With fellow 20-year-old Oscar Bobb also on the scoresheet, here the PA news agency looks at who these fresh faces are.

Who is Micah Hamilton?

The midfielder was born and brought up in Manchester and has been in the club’s system since the age of nine.

Also a City fan, he was a ballboy at the Etihad Stadium and pictures have emerged of him and manager Pep Guardiola on the touchline six years ago.

He is a versatile player who can play centrally or wide and has represented England at various youth levels.

Why has he been relatively low key until now?

Hamilton is highly rated and is currently the captain of City’s elite development squad but his progress has been hampered in recent seasons by injuries.

This is perhaps one reason why other recent City academy graduates such as Cole Palmer, Rico Lewis and James McAtee have had more attention.

He has been on the fringes of the first-team squad this season and was an unused substitute at Newcastle in the Carabao Cup and against Young Boys in the Champions League.

Who is Oscar Bobb?

Bobb is another attacking player who is rated in his native Norway as one of his country’s most promising prospects.
He joined City from Valerenga in 2019.

Having shone in the club’s youth ranks, he is now with Guardiola’s first-team squad full-time. He has made regular substitute appearances this season with the game at Red Star being his second start of the campaign.

What has been said about them?

Brian Barry-Murphy, the former Rochdale manager who is now in charge of City’s EDS, speaks highly of both players and gave Hamilton a label of “street footballer” that seems to have followed him a little.

Barry-Murphy said: “I say to him he’s a street footballer. You see Oscar Bobb who’s very exciting to watch. Micah is the same, someone who can eliminate players one by one, no matter how the game evolves.”

What are their prospects?

Bobb’s involvement this season clearly indicates that he is in Guardiola’s thinking and further opportunities are likely to come his way. History suggests he will have to be patient, however.

Phil Foden was only introduced to the first team gradually and still, at 23 and one of England’s best midfielders, is not a regular starter. The process is still ongoing for Lewis.

Cole Palmer recently decided to leave to seek more chances elsewhere, as did the likes of Jadon Sancho and Brahim Diaz in the past.

Hamilton will have to work hard to even reach Bobb’s level of involvement in what is a star-studded squad.

Micah Hamilton admitted he was struggling to take everything in after his dream goalscoring debut for Manchester City in the Champions League.

The 20-year-old former club ball boy grasped his opportunity as manager Pep Guardiola made wholesale changes for Wednesday’s final group stage dead rubber at Red Star Belgrade.

Hamilton opened the scoring in the first half with a superb strike and also won a late penalty as holders City triumphed 3-2 to wrap up Group G with six wins from six.

“I don’t even know what to say,” the academy graduate told the club’s website.

“I started just trying to ease into the game and then the moment came and I just took the opportunity. I didn’t know what to do to celebrate!

“It’s not even sunk in yet. I’m just taking it all in. It’s amazing.”

Manchester-born Hamilton joined City at the age of nine and has worked his way through the club’s ranks.

Injury has hindered his progress but he shone in Belgrade alongside two other recent academy products in Rico Lewis and Oscar Bobb, the scorer of City’s second goal.

Hamilton said: “I’ve played with (Rico) right through the age groups and now to be doing it on the big stage is something mad, and the same with Oscar. I played with him last season.

“Two top players. To have them there by my side felt so good.

“The academy system is top at City and especially when you train with the first team day to day, you improve every day. They make you feel comfortable and welcome and I just felt myself on the pitch.

“I’m just going to keep my head down, keep working and hopefully chances will come.”

The strikes from Hamilton and Bobb gave City a 2-0 lead before Hwang In-beom pulled one back. Kalvin Phillips, making a rare start, restored a two-goal cushion with an 85th-minute spot-kick before Aleksandar Katai headed a late consolation.

It was Phillips’ first goal for the club having struggled to establish himself since his move from Leeds last year. The England midfielder has been linked with a move away in January but Guardiola did not want to fuel any speculation.

“I don’t know what is going to happen,” he said. “Now he is here. There are a lot of games until the end of January, hopefully he can help us.”

Tottenham vice-captain Molly Bartrip believes a genuine rivalry with Arsenal has now developed in the Women’s Super League.

Spurs host Jonas Eidevall’s team at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday fresh from a 3-3 draw at Arsenal on Wednesday in a Continental Tyres League Cup group fixture which ended with a penalty shoot-out that the hosts won 4-3.

The midweek clash was the 11th meeting between the clubs during the last four years and, while Tottenham remain winless, they have come a long way since a 10-0 FA Cup loss to Arsenal in 2017.

“I think sometimes we forgot Tottenham haven’t been a women’s team in the top league for a long time,” former Arsenal trainee Bartrip told the PA news agency.

“I actually started off at Tottenham in the Under-10s but they weren’t the biggest team and Arsenal were, so I went there and learned a lot from a young age.

“I am obviously thankful for that, but at the same time I am a Tottenham player now and I want to beat them.

“I will not shy away from saying that. It would be amazing to beat them and the derby is a big game. It is a battle, it is a rivalry and why can’t we make it ours and really give a fight to them.”

Spurs took the lead three times on Wednesday and the result represented the third time they have held Arsenal to a draw at the end of 90 minutes.

The only occasion in the WSL was during the 2021-22 campaign, when Vivianne Miedema struck in the 92nd minute to deny Tottenham a 1-0 win.

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Bartrip added: “I remember that game specifically and I actually thought we had it.

“Unfortunately we conceded at the end but the ones that were there for that game can take a lot from it.

“Actually to be fair every game you play against Arsenal you learn a bit more about yourself and what Robert (Vilahamn) is developing within this group is confidence, so hopefully we can take that into this game.”

New boss Vilahamn was hired from Hacken this summer to help Tottenham improve after a difficult last season that saw them battle against relegation.

The Swedish coach immediately produced an upturn in results, with Spurs embarking on an eight-match unbeaten run before recent heavy WSL defeats to Manchester City and Manchester United, but they have been boosted by the midweek draw at Arsenal, where Bartrip again captained the side with Bethany England only on the bench after her recent return from a hip injury.

“Of course it has been an honour but I am just (one of) a squad of 26 players and I am the lucky one to have worn it,” centre-back Bartrip insisted.

“At the same time, I just want to give everything I can for the team and every game I want to be the best version of myself.

“More than anything, it is what I can do for the team. I don’t really think too intensely about the armband.

“Beth is an amazing captain, Olga (Ahtinen) is also an amazing vice-captain and the three of us work together to try to create a good team environment, a good place for the girls to be and on the pitch.

“We want to try and lead the team as best we can so hopefully we’re doing that.”

Football agents’ fees linked to international transfers in the men’s game reached an all-time high in 2023, according to new data published by FIFA.

Agents earned 888.1million US dollars (£701.6m) from such deals, the sport’s global governing body found.

The figure represents a 42.5 per cent increase on last year and is up by more than one third on the previous record set in 2019, FIFA said.

English clubs were the single biggest contributors to this year’s record total, spending 280m US dollars (£221.2m) on agents’ service fees, with Saudi Arabian clubs the second-highest spenders as buyers on 86m US dollars (£68m).

FIFA’s report excludes domestic transfer deals such as those involving Moises Caicedo, Declan Rice and Kai Havertz, so the true amount earned by agents in the year will be substantially higher.

New regulations which would cap agents’ fees have been ruled to be in breach of UK competition law.

The Football Association had been due to introduce the new domestic rules – which closely mirror new FIFA agent regulations at international level – from October 1, but a legal challenge was launched by four player agencies.

That challenge sparked arbitration proceedings, and while the full decision has not been published, the FA announced on November 30 that the tribunal had ruled the fee cap to be anti-competitive.

FIFA’s rules have also been challenged in other jurisdictions. A district court in Dortmund granted an injunction preventing certain aspects of the new regulations – including the fee cap – being applied to any deal where any party – agent, club, player or coach – had a link to the German market.

In the summer, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) indicated its backing for the legitimacy of the FIFA regulations.

In its 89-page award, the CAS panel noted: “FIFA did demonstrate that the prospect of higher agent service fees incentivises agents to generate more transfers, which in turn produces a series of negative effects on the market of football agent services.

“Therefore, capping agent service fees is appropriate to remediate or mitigate the negative effects highlighted by FIFA.”

Under the new rules, agents working on transfer deals where a player’s salary is due to be over 200,000 US dollars a year would have their fees capped at six per cent of the annual excess above that amount where they have represented the player and the buying club, or three per cent if they represented one of those parties.

Agents representing the selling club will be entitled to a fee equivalent to 10 per cent of the transfer compensation.

The FIFA report also found that agents’ fees in the women’s game exceeded one million US dollars for the first time. The number of deals involving agents reached a record 125, an increase of more than 20 per cent compared to 2022, and the fees totalled 1.4m US dollars (£1.1m).

Eddie Howe has challenged his Newcastle players to book themselves another crack at the Champions League after seeing them slip out of Europe in dramatic fashion.

At one point on Wednesday evening, the Magpies were heading for the last 16 of European football’s premier club competition, but they ended it empty-handed after AC Milan came from behind to snatch a 2-1 win at St James’ Park.

That booked them a Europa League berth and ended Newcastle’s continental involvement for the season, but a disappointed Howe is targeting a swift return.

He said: “I’d love the opportunity to do that again and I think that has to be our focus very quickly. I don’t think we can look at anything other than that.

“We want to be there again and we’re still close enough in the Premier League to do that and compete. All these things happen for a reason, I’m a believer in that.

“The ambition is there, of course. It’s there from all of us – but doesn’t mean it’ll happen. We have to make that happen.

“Any time you don’t achieve what you want, you have a setback, you have a disappointment, you have to use it as fuel and that’s very much has always been my way.

“The pain that you feel now is motivation for tomorrow. We now have to focus on the Premier League and have to try to make sure we get our form in the Premier League as strong as we can.”

The defeat by Milan – the Magpies’ third on the trot in all competitions – came courtesy of goals from Christian Pulisic and substitute Samuel Chukwueze after Joelinton had blasted them ahead.

They will resume domestic action against Fulham on Saturday sitting in seventh place in the table, seven points adrift of Manchester City in fourth.

While their domestic home for has been excellent, Newcastle have won only once on the road and with their injury problems starting to abate – Callum Wilson, Sean Longstaff and Dan Burn were all involved against the Italians – Howe is calling for a fresh focus.

He said: “I don’t want a hangover from this. We have to learn from it and quickly put it away.

“The players need to believe how good they can be, how good we are and this is a good test of that for us because of what’s happened in the last week.

“Football is an amazing thing, isn’t it? You go back 10 days and we had just beaten Manchester United with our best performance of the season. Then three games later, we’ve had three defeats.

“That’s football.”

What the papers say

The fallout from Manchester United’s Champions League exit continues with the future of manager Erik ten Hag under the spotlight. The Independent says no major decisions are expected until the sale of 25 per cent of the club to Ineos boss Sir Jim Ratcliffe is completed, but The Sun reports former Chelsea and Brighton boss Graham Potter is in line to take over.

The Daily Mail reports United are more likely to listen to offers for players after missing out on the money for reaching the knockout stages. Brazil midfielder Casemiro, 31, and France duo Anthony Martial, 28, and Raphael Varane, 30, could be available.

Chelsea left-back Ian Maatsen could be on the move in January. According to the Daily Mirror, the club will be open to offers for the Dutch defender, 21.

English defender Archie Brown’s performances for Belgian side Gent have been catching the eye back home. The Daily Mail says Everton, Burnley and Leeds United are interested in the 21-year-old.

Social media round-upPlayers to watch

Jakub Kiwior: AC Milan are talking to Arsenal about a loan move for the Poland defender, 23, according to Italian outlet Calciomercato.

Nico Elvedi: Borussia Monchengladbach’s Swiss defender, 27, is a potential target for Chelsea, reports Teamtalk.