LaLiga has called for Kylian Mbappe's contract at Paris Saint-Germain to be ripped up, demanding French government officials act and league chiefs take a closer look at the capital club's spending.

France striker Mbappe signed a new three-year deal with PSG in May, turning down Real Madrid who had been courting him for the past year.

The terms of the contract have not been officially disclosed, but Mbappe is widely reported to have received a staggering signing-on fee as well as extraordinary wages. Figures of €100million for signing and €50m per season have been suggested.

Lawyer Juan Branco, representing LaLiga, told a news conference in France on Friday that Spanish league chiefs are ready to go to court to challenge PSG's finances.

Ligue 1 champions PSG have strenuously denied being in breach of financial fair play regulations, but the Spanish authorities have expressed doubts about the legitimacy of their vast recent outlay on players. PSG have been owned by the Doha-based Qatar Sports Investments since 2011.

LaLiga wants the Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) and the DNCG, the body that oversees football club finances in France, to examine in detail whether the Mbappe deal should have been given the green light.

"We are going to request the repeal of the approval of Mbappe's contract from the minister of sports, because that is the supervisory authority of sports administration," Branco said.

"Subsequently, we will appeal to the LFP so that it acts via its legal commission the DNCG in order to operate a monitoring report on the accounts of PSG. This is a legal step which will allow us to establish whether Mbappe's contract is within the economic parameters which are imposed by the regulations of the DNCG and UEFA financial fair play."

PSG signed Lionel Messi last August after Barcelona ran out of money to hand their captain a new contract, and also acquired former Real Madrid skipper Sergio Ramos at the end of his Santiago Bernabeu stay.

Real Madrid were optimistic about landing Mbappe, but hopes in Spain that he would move to LaLiga were dashed.

Branco said LaLiga was prepared to take action via the administrative court of Paris to seek the quashing of Mbappe's contract.

The lawyer added: "We are going to proceed in the form of a graduated response. We are going to see little by little what is the capacity of the French professional footballing bodies and also regulatory and administrative authorities to react to our appeals and our requests.

"As time goes by, we will increase the pressure."

LaLiga has also complained to UEFA, European football's governing body, about PSG, as well as Manchester City.

Javier Tebas, the Spanish league's president, this week claimed the agreement between PSG and Mbappe was "an insult to football".

Branco said LaLiga would "go upmarket... harden our game" if necessary, saying it considers the French capital giants to be spending on a "fraudulent" scale.

That accusation has been consistently denied by PSG.

Sepp Blatter has denied approving fraudulent payments to Michel Platini while he was president of FIFA, saying the cash transfer was a "gentleman's agreement" between the pair.

Blatter and Platini were last year charged with fraud and other offences by Swiss authorities relating to a payment of 2million Swiss francs made by world football's governing body to the ex-UEFA chief in 2011.

The trial at the Federal Criminal Court in Bellinzona was due to start on Wednesday, but Blatter was unable to attend as he was suffering from chest pains.

Blatter provided his testimony on Thursday, stating he asked former France captain Platini to work for FIFA as an advisor when he was elected as president in 1998.

The 86-year-old said the governing body could not afford the CHF 1m per year Platini asked for but agreed to pay him CHF 300,000 a year, with the remaining cash to be settled up at a later date.

Blatter said in court: "I knew when we started with Michel Platini that is not the total, and we would look at it later,"

He stated that they shook hands on a "gentleman's agreement".

Blatter added: "It was an agreement between two sportsmen. I found nothing wrong with that."

Platini said: "I trusted the president and knew he would pay me one day."

The 66-year-old Platini told the court he did not need the money he was owed when he stopped working for FIFA in 2002, a time when Blatter claimed the governing body was "broke".

It was not until January 2011 he asked FIFA to pay up after hearing two former employees had received substantial payments, and Platini revealed he was paid 10 days after sending an invoice, with Blatter approving the transfer.

Blatter was originally banned from footballing activities for eight years, reduced to six, by FIFA in 2015 following an Ethics Committee investigation that described the payment as "disloyal". Platini was also given an eight-year suspension, which was later reduced.

Swiss Blatter has been charged with fraud, misappropriation, criminal mismanagement and forgery of a document. Platini has been charged with fraud, participating in misappropriation, participating in criminal mismanagement and forgery of a document.

Both Blatter and Platini deny any wrongdoing. The case continues.

Gareth Southgate was perplexed as to why Hungarian children booed England players when they took the knee before the Three Lions' shock Nations League defeat on Saturday.

Dominik Szoboszlai's second-half penalty gave Hungary a shock 1-0 victory at the Puskas Arena.

The League A Group 3 game was supposed to be played behind closed doors as punishment for racist behaviour in the same stadium during Euro 2020 last year.

Yet children were allowed to attend the game and a crowd of 35,000 watched England's record 22-game unbeaten run come to an end in Budapest.

There were boos when England players took the knee prior to kick-off in the same stadium where some of Southgate's players were subjected to racist abuse during a World Cup qualifier in September.

England manager Southgate told Channel 4: "The first thing is that is why we do it [take the knee], to try to educate people around the world. I have no idea why people would choose to boo that gesture.

"I think very often, young people especially, they can't know why they are doing it really, so they are being influenced by older adults. The UEFA decision [to allow people into the ground], that is for other people to decide.

"I think we've made our stand as a team, everybody knows what we believe and what we stand for. I think tonight, I've got to focus on the football. When you lose, you can't be talking too much about other areas because I think that would be a lack of responsibility for the result."

Southgate said there could be no excuse for a substandard display from England, although he questioned referee Artur Dias' decision to award Hungary a penalty when Reece James was adjudged to have fouled Zsolt Nagy.

"We have to accept that we did not do enough to win the game, a draw would have been the fair outcome," he said. "We did not create too many clear-cut chances and the actual result hinged on a decision which is harsh but probably won't be overturned.

"Once it has been given as a penalty, he probably will not overturn it. You see challenges like that in the box, Reece James puts his body between the ball and the forward makes a meal of it. Away from home sometimes you will get those calls.

"It has [been a long season], but the heat was a factor and took a lot out of the players, and we tried to refresh the team earlier than normal.

"The balance of finding out about new things and the consistency of the regular team, I have to look at whether I got that right.

"I don't want to be too harsh on them, these are games where we need to learn from. They are bitterly disappointed because we want to keep winning matches. If we want to be a team right at the top tier of football, we need to come here and win."

Gareth Southgate hopes Hungary being forced to play their Nations League opener against England behind closed doors will serve to demonstrate the unacceptability of racism to younger fans.

Saturday's sparse crowd at the Puskas Arena will be populated by children after UEFA issued Hungary with a three-match spectator ban due to racist abuse by supporters during Euro 2020 games in Budapest.

UEFA rules state children - along with one adult for every 10 young fans - can attend behind-closed-doors matches, which England will also take advantage of when they also serve a one-match spectator ban during their home game against Italy at Molineux on June 11.

England's punishment was handed down after crowd trouble broke out prior to the Three Lions' Euro 2020 final loss to Roberto Mancini's men last July.

Southgate's side have been faced with unsavoury scenes when visiting Hungary before, with Raheem Sterling and other black players the target of abuse during England's 4-0 win in Budapest in September 2021 – with FIFA giving the hosts a separate spectator ban after those events.

Speaking at his pre-match news conference, Southgate stated his hope that allowing young fans to attend in such circumstances will help to bring about a future free of discrimination.

"I imagine Hungary will have the same feelings about restrictions on their home games as us, they won't want it to happen again. Everybody learns from every experience," he said.

"Our players wanted to focus on the football after that night [last year's 4-0 win]. They played incredibly well, and we want to do that again.

"We've shown how we feel about these issues, in terms of racism and it's unacceptability. Hopefully the young people in the stadium will recognise why this opportunity has happened and, in some ways, maybe this will be part of the education for the next generation.

"Each generation that passes will bring more tolerance, and we have the same situation in our country, so we've got to keep setting the right example. All being well, the young people will enjoy the game and take a bigger message from it."

Meanwhile, England skipper Harry Kane, who scored during the dominant win in Hungary last year, says the Three Lions are focused on what they can do on the pitch.

"Obviously, the way the players responded during that game was a credit to themselves," he recalled.

"It's down to UEFA and what they see fit as the punishment. We can only perform to the best of our ability and try and get the three points. 

"We hope the game goes well for the fans watching, for the children coming to watch the players. We're concentrating on the game, and we want to get off to a good start."

England have faced Hungary regularly in recent years, also drawing 1-1 with Marco Rossi's team in a World Cup qualifier last October, and will encounter them twice more within the next fortnight.

Southgate believes that Wembley stalemate provided a better representation of Hungary's strength than the previous meeting in Budapest, and is prepared for a challenging contest.

"The match in Budapest was one of the more different performances I've seen from Hungary over the past two or three years," he added, "Normally they are very difficult to score goals against, we played very well too.

"At Wembley, it was more like the Hungarian side I've seen, against the bigger sides particularly. They are difficult to break down, and it will be a tough match."

Rangers say only the "mutual respect of both sets of fans" prevented more severe problems from occurring when the Europa League final was staged in Seville this month.

Eintracht Frankfurt were crowned champions when they beat the Glasgow giants 5-4 on penalties at Estadio Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan on May 18.

Representatives of Rangers, the Bundesliga club and Football Supporters Europe (FSE) met last Friday to debrief and discuss "several significant organisational issues" during the final.

Rangers on Monday stated that fans were not treated with the respect and dignity that they should have been.

"Supporters Europe (FSE) met to debrief and discuss several significant organisational issues during the recent UEFA Europa League final in Sevilla," a club statement said.

"These issues could easily have led to even more severe problems on the night and it was only thanks to the calmness and mutual respect of both sets of fans towards each other that there were not more severe injuries suffered. All three parties applaud the remarkable calmness of the two fan bases, given the situation they faced.

"Apart from the severe lack of food and – even more critically in the soaring temperatures – of water, there were several organisational problems around policing, body searches and beyond. Both clubs, as well as FSE, received a huge amount of complaints and witness statements from fans present in the stadium.

"All three parties will now work jointly to report back to UEFA and the local public authorities in Spain, and will make recommendations to ensure these problems can never occur again at a European final.

"Fans spend a lot of effort, time and money following their teams all over Europe and expect to be treated with respect and dignity while attending football games. This expectation was not met at all at the Europa League final in Sevilla."

UEFA have come in for criticism following chaotic scenes outside the Stade de France ahead of the Champions League final between Real Madrid and Liverpool on Saturday.

UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin labelled the crowd trouble at the Euro 2020 final between England and Italy as unacceptable and warned it must never happen again.

Italy secured their first European Championship since 1968 with a penalty shoot-out victory over England at Wembley Stadium in July, but the game was marred by clashes before the final.

Hundreds of supporters without tickets attempted to gain entry prior to kick-off, with an independent review later concluding it was "clear we were close to fatalities and/or life-changing injuries for some, potentially many" of the fans in attendance after 17 mass breaches of Wembley's gates.

UEFA punished the Football Association (FA) with a two-game stadium ban, one of which is suspended for two years, and an £84,560 fine.

The FA subsequently apologised and said it was appalled at the disorder that saw ticketless fans fight with stewards and police officers in an attempt to force their way into the stadium.

Ceferin, who was in attendance at the final, reinforced his disappointment with the failures of football as he spoke to a UEFA congress in Vienna on Wednesday.

"We still have many problems to solve to make our sport a role model and greater source of inspiration than it is today," Ceferin said.

"The images of violence at Wembley Stadium at last year's Euro final are unacceptable.

"When a family goes to see a match of any competition, it should be a time for fun, celebration and enjoyment. People should feel safe in and around a stadium.

"They should never feel in danger. With the authorities' help, this cannot happen again. Ever."

 

UEFA has approved changes to the Champions League format from the 2024-25 season, including an increase to eight group-stage matches.

European football's governing body had already announced in April that the competition would expand from 32 teams to 36 in two seasons' time.

And following talks in Vienna on Tuesday, the UEFA Executive Committee confirmed the number of rounds in the group stage will increase from six to eight.

All group and knockout-stage games up until the final will continue to be staged on midweek days, as it currently the case.

Two of the four additional places in the expanded format will be awarded on the basis of the highest-performing countries from the past season across UEFA club competitions.

If that had been the case this season, an additional team from the Premier League and Eredivisie would have qualified for next season's tournament.

It had previously been reported that those two places would go to clubs on the basis of their historic performance in European competition, but that is no longer the case.

Of the other two spots, an extra team will qualify from the fifth-ranked country in Europe, while another will go to one of the domestic champions who do not qualify automatically.

Commenting on the changes, UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin, said: "UEFA has clearly shown today that we are fully committed to respecting the fundamental values of sport and to defending the key principle of open competitions, with qualification based on sporting merit, fully in line with the values and solidarity-based European sports model.

"Today's decisions conclude an extensive consultation process during which we listened to the ideas of fans, players, coaches, national associations, clubs and leagues to name but a few, with the aim to find the best solution for the development and success of European football, both domestically and on the international club stage."

Under the new format, the initial phase will contain a single league consisting of all 36 teams, with each side playing four home games and four away games against eight different opponents.

The top eight sides in the league will qualify automatically for the knockout stage, while the teams finishing in ninth to 24th place will compete in a two-legged play-off to secure their path to the last 16.

Ceferin added: "We are convinced that the format chosen strikes the right balance and that it will improve the competitive balance and generate solid revenues that can be distributed to clubs, leagues and into grassroots football across our continent while increasing the appeal and popularity of our club competitions.
 
"I am really pleased that it was a unanimous decision of the UEFA Executive Committee, with the European Club Association, European Leagues and National Associations all agreeing with the proposal made. Another proof that European football is more united than ever.

"Qualification will thus remain purely based on sporting performance and the dream to participate will remain for all clubs."

Similar format changes will also be applied to the Europa League and Europa Conference League, with both also including 36 teams in the initial league phase.

Jose Mourinho is "convinced" Roma will advance to the Europa Conference League semi-finals against Bodo/Glimt, insisting his side are "the best team" in the tie.

The Giallorossi boss also said he was not interested in discussing the controversy which erupted at the end of the two sides' first-leg clash, but pointedly highlighted Roma's "exemplary" conduct when losing to the same opponents last October.

Roma fell to a 2-1 reverse at the home of the Norwegian champions last Thursday, and are winless in their three head-to-head meetings with them this season (one draw, two losses), scoring just four goals and conceding 10.

Controversy erupted after the first-leg clash, with Bodo/Glimt boss Kjetil Knutsen and Roma goalkeeping coach Nuno Santos receiving bans from UEFA after the former accused Santos of assault in the tunnel after the game.

Mourinho, who is looking to deliver the capital club their first major trophy since 2008, said he was convinced Roma would prove they are "the best team" at the Stadio Olimpico, but refuted suggestions that there would be "tension" between the two camps on Thursday.

"I haven't seen any player feeling the tension, and I didn't in any of the three games we have already played," Mourinho said. "The first game [a 6-1 loss last October] was a historic defeat for us, as a club, and as professionals. But our conduct was, in my opinion, exemplary in the way we reacted to losing in the way we lost.

"We showed a spirit of fair play, a dignity and a comportment that was unusual. Usually, people react in negative ways to something like that, but we showed honour, outside of the humiliation of the result itself.

"What happened on Thursday evening was something detached from the contest. The game was normal, then there was an ugly moment, but one that bears no relation to anything else that happened [on the pitch].

"That's it. Tomorrow we just want to play, and I think that they just want to play. We want to reach the semi-finals and so do they.

"Tomorrow I am expecting a football match where the best team wins, and I am convinced that we are the best team."

Mourinho was also asked about Bodo/Glimt's repeated allegations that Santos had provoked the post-match altercation last week, after the Norwegian team saw an appeal against their head coach's ban rejected by UEFA.

Bodo/Glimt have also accused Roma of "bombarding the media with untruths' related to the incident, but Mourinho refused to be drawn on such comments.

 "I don't have to think about it," Mourinho added. "UEFA are the ones who think about it. I don't decide, UEFA decide.

"I don't have anything to say about what Bodo/Glimt have had to say. If you only want to ask me about what others have said about different things, then I am not interested in doing that."

Roma will be looking to build upon a strong home record in European knockout ties as they attempt to reach the final four. The Giallorossi are unbeaten in their last 11 home games played in the knockout stage of European competitions (nine wins, two draws), scoring in each of those games and averaging 2.2 goals per game.

Wales are among the countries to have declared an interest in hosting the 2022-23 Nations League finals.

UEFA confirmed on Wednesday that the football associations of Wales, Belgium, Poland and Netherlands have all declared their interest in making a bid, with the deadline to submit final bid dossiers not until October 5.

The league phase begins in June 2022, and will run until September, with a break between then and June to allow for the remainder of the domestic season and the 2022 World Cup.

The hosts will be confirmed in January 2023, with the finals due to be held from June 14-18.

The draw for the competition took place in December, with 2018 World Cup finalists France and Croatia together in Group A1, Spain and Portugal among those in Group A2, and the trio of Italy, England and Germany featuring in Group A3.

Interestingly, the four nations to have declared an interest in hosting the finals have all been pitted against one another in Group A4.

Portugal staged the first edition of the tournament in 2019, while Italy hosted in 2021.

Bodo/Glimt head coach Kjetil Knutsen will miss Thursday's Europa League Conference clash with Roma after UEFA dismissed the club's appeal against his suspension.

The 53-year-old alleged Giallorossi goalkeeping coach Nuno Santos assaulted him in the tunnel after the Norwegian champions claimed a 2-1 first-leg win over Roma in the competition's quarter-finals last week.

UEFA's Control, Ethics and Disciplinary body then provisionally suspended both men from all European competitions on Monday while its investigation into the incident continued, leading Bodo/Glimt to lodge an appeal.

However, European football's governing body has upheld its previous decision, announcing Knutsen "is provisionally suspended for the next UEFA club competition matches in which he would otherwise participate until the UEFA Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body decides on the merits of the case".

Bodo/Glimt professed themselves "surprised and shocked" by the original decision to issue a ban to Knutsen, who accused Santos of grabbing him by the neck and pushing him against a wall after the match.

Roma were also accused by their rivals of "bombarding the media with untruths" relating to the incident, while Knutsen said he "considered whether it was really a good idea to continue working in football" after the altercation.

Bodo/Glimt travel to Rome for the decisive second leg of the tie on Thursday, having won 10 and drawn eight of their last 18 away games in all competitions.

The visitors claimed a 2-2 draw on their previous visit to the Stadio Olimpico in November and are unbeaten in three clashes with Jose Mourinho's team this season, winning two and drawing one. The Norwegian team have scored 10 goals and conceded just four in their head-to-head clashes with the Giallorossi.

Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter and ex-UEFA boss Michel Platini will go on trial facing corruption charges in June, Switzerland's Federal Criminal Court (FCC) has confirmed.

The pair were last year charged with fraud and other offences by Swiss authorities relating to a payment made in 2011.

Switzerland's attorney general's office (OAG) published an indictment following an investigation that began in 2015.

Both men "are accused of unlawfully arranging a payment of CHF2million from FIFA to Michel Platini", the OAG said at the time.

The date for the trial to start has now been set for June 8, with proceedings set to last until June 22.

The case centres on a payment made by FIFA to Platini in 2011, authorised by Blatter, which the OAG alleges "was made without a legal basis".

The indictment alleges that Platini demanded this CHF2million payment more than eight years after his work as a consultant for Blatter between 1999 and 2002 had come to an end, and that it "damaged FIFA's assets and unlawfully enriched Platini".

According to the indictment, Platini had allegedly been paid by FIFA an annual fee of CHF300,000 for his consultancy work. This amount had been agreed upon in a written contract, the indictment said.

Blatter was originally banned from footballing activities for eight years, reduced to six, by FIFA in 2015 following an Ethics Committee investigation that described the payment as "disloyal". Platini was also given an eight-year suspension.

Both Blatter and Platini have denied any wrongdoing, with the former FIFA president stating there was a "gentleman's agreement" over the payment.

Blatter has been charged with fraud, misappropriation, criminal mismanagement and forgery of a document. Platini has been charged with fraud, participating in misappropriation, participating in criminal mismanagement and forgery of a document.

Bodo/Glimt head coach Kjetil Knutsen and Roma goalkeeping coach Nuno Santos have been provisionally suspended by UEFA following assault allegations.

Santos was accused of assaulting Knutsen in the tunnel after Jose Mourinho's men fell to a 2-1 first-leg defeat in their Europa League Conference quarter-final in Norway last Thursday. 

Both clubs released statements in the aftermath of the incident, with Roma announcing that they were cooperating with UEFA and local authorities to investigate the claims.

The Norwegian champions accused their opponents of "bombarding the media with untruths" relating to the altercation, and European football's governing body has since announced its decision on the matter.

Both coaches will be provisionally suspended from European fixtures until a further ruling is made on the case by UEFA's Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body.

Knutsen alleged that Santos grabbed him by the neck and pushed him against a wall during a heated alteration outside the dressing rooms after the match.

The encounter marked the second time the Norwegian side have beaten Roma in this season's competition, with a first-half Lorenzo Pellegrini goal cancelled out by second-half strikes from Ulrik Saltnes and Hugo Vetlesen. 

Roma will attempt to overturn the first-leg deficit when they welcome Bodo/Glimt to the Stadio Olimpico for the crucial return leg on Thursday.

Clubs across Europe face renewed scrutiny of their spending on wages, transfers and agent fees after UEFA announced an overhaul of its financial fair play system.

UEFA's executive committee approved new club licensing and financial sustainability regulations at its meeting in Nyon as the first major reform since financial regulations were imposed in 2010.

The alterations focus on "solvency, stability and cost control" to promote financial sustainability, with the "squad cost" regulations – which come into place from June 2022 – limiting the spending of clubs.

Clubs will only be able to spend up to 70 per cent of revenue on wages, transfers and agent fees, with breaches resulting in "pre-defined financial penalties and sporting measures".

UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin said the game, hit hard by the COVID-19 crisis, needed to be prepared in case of "any potential future shock".

In terms of solvency, there will be greater protection for creditors – and punishments for late payers – with no overdue payables towards football clubs, employees, social and tax authorities and UEFA.

UEFA revealed further changes to the previous financial fair play (FFP) rulings, with football earnings – similar to break-even results – allowed to show an increased "deviation" from the previously permitted €30million over three years to €60m over the same time period. That is to aid the balance sheets of clubs, ensure the fair value of transactions and to reduce debts, UEFA said.

UEFA's FFP chief Philippe Rasmussen said in a news conference there was an additional €10million allowance in this area "for clubs that are in good financial health".

Ceferin said on Thursday: "UEFA's first financial regulations, introduced in 2010, served its primary purpose. They helped pull European football finances back from the brink and revolutionised how European football clubs are run.

"However, the evolution of the football industry, alongside the inevitable financial effects of the pandemic, has shown the need for wholesale reform and new financial sustainability regulations.

"UEFA has worked together with its stakeholders across European football to develop these new measures to help the clubs to address these new challenges.

"These regulations will help us protect the game and prepare it for any potential future shock while encouraging rational investments and building a more sustainable future for the game."

A campaign has been launched by Football Supporters Europe (FSE) calling on the European Union to safeguard football following last year's failed Super League plot.

The controversial proposal for a breakaway competition was announced last April but fell through two days later amid huge criticism from governing bodies and fan groups.

Premier League clubs Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham were first to withdraw, followed by Inter, Milan and Atletico Madrid.

Despite multiple threats, including a possible ban on competing in the Champions League, Juventus, Real Madrid and Barcelona have stood by the doomed project.

The FSE has now unveiled a campaign called "Win it on the Pitch" with the aim of garnering one million signatures to encourage the European Commission to role out new laws.

The organisation wants action taken to protect the European model of sport and for fans to be involved in discussions to help shape the long-term future of sport.

"The super league fiasco proved that European sport is on the brink of catastrophe," a statement from the organisation read.

"Decades of mismanagement has left countless clubs, communities, and competitions vulnerable to hostile takeovers by predatory investors whose only aim is to make money.

"Enough is enough. We must turn the outpouring of indignation, solidarity, and common purpose that greeted the super league into a clear, practical, and long-term plan of action.

"Sport is a social good that belongs to everyone – not just the wealthy and the elite. 

"Now more than ever, it is crucial that the institutions of the European Union, Member States, and politicians work with fans and concerned citizens to safeguard football and other sports across the continent."

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has dismissed the notion of Russia hosting Euro 2028 as "beyond satire", instead suggesting the tournament be awarded to Ukraine.

Russia launched a bid for either Euro 2028 or Euro 2032 on Wednesday, despite the country's ongoing invasion of their Eastern European neighbour.

That puts the 2018 World Cup hosts against a joint United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland bid for the former, an Italy bid for the latter and a Turkey bid for either event.

"The idea of Russia holding any idea of football tournament or any kind of cultural event right now is beyond satire," Johnson said in Brussels, where a Nato summit addressing Vladimir Putin's invasion is taking place.

"I can’t believe that anybody would seriously consider their suggestion."

Johnson appeared to forget that his own country had bid for Euro 2028 when he subsequently suggested the best path would be to hand it to Ukraine, who jointly hosted Euro 2012 with Poland.

"I think the best thing possible would be for the entire Russian forces to retire forthwith from Ukraine and hand the tournament to them," Johnson added.

Last year's rearranged Pan-European edition saw Italy triumph over England in a penalty shoot-out final at Wembley Stadium.

Hosts will be confirmed for 2028 and 2032 in September 2023, ahead of the next edition in Germany in 2024.

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