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Coventry chase promotion, Norwich v Ipswich, and more: football news – live | Football

Published

2 months ago

April 11, 2026

info@oxinfo.co.uk

Key events

League One: It’s all going on at Home Park, Jayden Wareham had restored Exeter’s lead in the 87th minute but just 180 sconds later Malachi Boateng bundled in from close range from a scrappy set-pice. Lovely stuff.

Championship: Coventry are still struggling to find a breakthrough against Sheffield Wednesday. A couple of big chances in succession as Josh Eccles heads narrowly wide and Ellis Simms could not convert as he came on to a low cross swept in from the right.

League Two: Louis Watson has pulled one back for Crawley a Bristol Rovers to make it 2-1. The Sussex side have around 10 minutes to find an equaliser.

League Two: It did not take long for Bromley to take advantage of MK Dons going down to 10 men. Marcus Ifil has pulled one back and halved Dons’ lead, it’s 2-1 in MK.

GOAL! Arsenal 1-2 Bournemouth (Scott 75)

The Cherries are back in front with 15 minutes to go at the Emirates. Barry Glendenning has full coverage of that one here:

League One: Promoted Lincoln were 2-0 up against Leyton Orient but Dominic Ballard has pulled one back for the Os.

Elsewhere, Lorent Tolaj has equalised for Plymouth in their local derby clash with Exeter.

League Two: MK Dons are 2-0 up against Bromley, a scoreline that would deny the Ravens promotions, but the league leaders have a lifeline with Jon Mellish earning a red card for a second bookable offence.

I’ll leave you in the very capable hands of Tom Bassam while I grab a bite to eat.

Premier League: Raya playing with fire, taking a risk passing out to Zubimendi with Bournemouth’s strikers nearly on top of him. Not the first time he has done that today, either. Howls from the Emirates crowd. The home side have only had one shot on target so far – the penalty converted by Gyokeres.

A nervy final 25 minutes ahead for the league leaders, looking for a winner.

National League: York are a goal to the good against Tamworth and set to stay top of the table as things stand. Automatic promotion rivals Rochdale play Wealdstone this evening. Only the champion goes up, it is likely to go all the way to the wire.

Boreham Wood’s Matt Rush has scored a couple within five minutes for them against Hartlepool. They are certain to be in the play-offs.

Premier League: Arteta rings in the changes. Eze, Trossard and Dowman are off the bench and on the pitch. Cometh the hour, cometh the ~~man~~ child? The highly-tipped teenager could make his most important impact to date.

Meanwhile, 55 minutes in at top versus bottom in the Championship, Coventry are yet to break the deadlock against Sheffield Wednesday, though they nearly sprung the offside trap moments ago for a simple finish.

League One: Deadlock broken in the Devon derby as Reece Cole puts Exeter ahead away to playoff-pursuing Plymouth. That goal could be crucial in keeping them up. Their fans are unsurprisingly going loco, bragging rights potentially in the offing too.

At the other end, Cardiff go a goal up at Bolton with a header from Osmari Kellyman, taking them ten points clear in second place as things stand.

Two minutes later, Chris Willock adds a second!

Premier League: The players are back out at the Emirates. Big half ahead for Mikel Arteta’s side, who flattered to deceive for much of that first half. Going a goal down seemed to spur them into action, mind.

No changes from either manager at half-time.

Photograph: Javier García/Shutterstock

Some half-time reading for you: Barney Ronay’s bid to turn £10 into £1,000 at the bookies

“I knew Arsenal were going to lose because I stare at sport all the time and I can see when something is crap. I’m the crap whisperer.

They duly lost. And this was my high point. Ten pounds had become £120. Yes, somehow only that tiny amount after all this winning and omniscience. But still a vast return in five days! I’ve got the key. I’ve got the secret. I am invincible. I … cannot lose.”

Lunchtime half-time scores

How things stand in the 12.30pm kick-offs.

Premier League

Championship

League One

League Two

Championship: George Hirst doubles Ipswich’s lead at Carrow Road in first-half stoppage time. Firmly in control of the East Anglia derby, they have two more games in hand over promotion rivals Middlesbrough and Millwall. They will be favourites to go up to the Premier League – if they can hang on.

The Guardian has kicked off a new chapter in puzzles with the launch of its first daily football game, On the ball. It is now live in the app for both iOS and Android … so what are you waiting for?

Illustration: Photograph/The Guardian

GOAL! Arsenal 1-1 Bournemouth (Gyökeres 35 pen)

Arsenal are level: Viktor Gyökeres scores his 18th goal of the season, lashing the ball beyond Petrovic. He went the right way, but there was too much pace and precision on it.

However, the decision to award the penalty will be dissected at half-time and beyond. The ball was hit against Ryan Christie’s out-stretched hand at point-blank range and Michael Oliver awarded it. Many referees would not have given that one.

Premier League: Arsenal are playing like they have the weight of the world on their shoulders. Their opponents are more fluid and pressing them back into their own half.

At Coventry, the Championship leaders nearly fashion a messy opening from a corner but the Sheffield Wednesday goalkeeper falls on the ball.

Coventry managing Frank Lampard is up off his seat, urging his charges on. Photograph: Mark Kerton/Shutterstock

League Two: MK Dons have made it 2-0 against leaders Bromley with a Ben Wiles goal. The south Londoners may have to wait another match or two to confirm their promotion.

GOAL! Arsenal 0-1 Bournemouth (Kroupi Jr 17)

The leaders are behind at the Emirates. Arsenal’s defence was caught asleep and failed to play Truffert offside as he surged down the left, his cross pinged off Saliba’s boot and sat up perfectly for Eli Junior Kroupi to put away at the back post.

Championship: Ipswich go ahead at Norwich, thanks to a Jaden Philogene penalty, sending the goalie the wrong way.

Pretty stonewall, as Ben Slimane nearly inadvertently takes off Taylor’s head with a wild swing at the ball, going for a clearance from a free kick.

The table as things stand:

Jaden Philogene sends Kovacevic the wrong way. Town lead the Old Farm Derby!! Photograph: Nigel French/PA

Championship: Dear me, bottom-of-the-table Sheffield Wednesday (one league win all season) nearly take a shock lead at Coventry through an absolute howler.

Goalkeeper Carl Rushworth slipped as he kicked the ball and got the ball caught under his feet. Jerry Yates nearly picked his pocket for the most straightforward goal, but somehow Rushworth recovered and got away with it.

A wobbly moment for the Sky Blue’s stopper! Photograph: Alex Dodd/Shutterstock

League Two: Second-placed MK Dons are a goal up inside 34 seconds. Nathaniel Mendez-Laing charges through and slips the ball low into the net. No time wasted, just what Paul Warne would have wanted.

Their opponents, league leaders Bromley have a slim chance of securing promotion if results go their ways, but they are already on the back foot here.

Lunchtime games kick off

The whistle blows for the lunchtime games. Plenty of important matches, we’ll keep the focus on Arsenal, Coventry, the East Anglian and Devon derbies and the League Two table-top clash.

Whether at the match or watching on the telly, feel free to send me your thoughts, hopes or fears here.

Ben White starts for Arsenal at the Emirates. Photograph: Andrew Boyers/Action Images/Reuters

How De Zerbi is aiming to keep Spurs up

After West Ham’s thumping of Wolves last night, the heat has been turned up even higher on Spurs, in the relegation zone for the first time since August 2015. How will they stay in the Premier League, then? The new manager has a cunning plan.

“I want to keep the ball,” De Zerbi said. “I want to see again the Tottenham I watched with Postecoglou because, in my second season in Brighton, there was Postecoglou here with a lot of these players and it was one of the best teams in terms of quality of play. With Pedro Porro, with [Destiny] Udogie, with [Micky] van de Ven, with [Cristian] Romero, and I would like to see it again.”

Some Spurs fans may have their heads in their hands reading that, but they and you can read more about his masterplan here:

Expat Coventry fan Dan from Perth (Australia, not Scotland) writes in: “Have just been reflecting on the 2016/17 Checkatrade final when, all alone at a casino’s sports bar, with a moon-bound spaceship’s range of screens showing all manner of local footy varietals to no one in particular, I still had to beg the bemused manager (who knew not of this competition or my team) to allocate the tiniest box in the corner so I could experience Wembley and the first real bright spot in my Cov supporting adult life (being 19 when we were relegated to the championship and then on down that slippery slide).

“Fast forward and I’ll be in front of another small screen in my study streaming the match with a significant plus one – my eight-year-old who, while not actually yet a fan (and who may, in fact, not be paying attention at all while making loom bracelets) has been here for the entire journey back.

“Can’t believe we’re finally maybe going back up; fingers crossed today is the day.”

Today’s key fixtures

My pick of the matches this fine Saturday afternoon (3pm BST unless stated). Plenty of lunchtime action and some matches pitting promotion and relegation rivals against one another in League Two:

Premier League

Championship

Coventry City (1st) v Sheffield Wednesday (24th) – 12.30pm
Norwich City (9th) v Ipswich Town (3rd) – 12.30pm
Middlesbrough (4th) v Portsmouth (21st)
Southampton (6th) v Derby (8th)

League One

Plymouth Argyle (7th) v Exeter City (21st) – 12.30pm
Cardiff City (2nd) v Bolton Wanderers (4th) – 12.30pm
Bradford City (3rd) v Stevenage (6th)

League Two

MK Dons (2nd) v Bromley (1st) – 12.30pm
Cambridge United (3rd) v Notts County (4th)
Newport County (22nd) v Harrogate Town (24th)

Scottish Premiership

Arsenal v Bournemouth team news

Seven games left for Arsenal, who are nine points up on Manchester City with a game in hand.

Piece of cake, right? Ha ha ha. More like seven chances to slip up, especially if their recent domestic form is anything to go by. After Carabao Cup final defeat and a surprise loss to Southampton in the FA Cup, Mikel Arteta will be keen to canter away to their first title in 22 years with minimal fuss and put the lid on talk of bottling it.

Three changes from the XI which beat Sporting, with Lewis-Skelly, Havertz and Martinelli coming in. Barry Glendenning has all the latest updates for us here.

Taking three points against Bournemouth will be no easy feat. They are unbeaten in 11 matches and only the top three Premier League sides have lost fewer matches than Andoni Iraola’s team. However, hampered by being draw specialists – fifteen in the Prem this year! – they are only 13th in the table.

Arsenal XI: Raya, White, Saliba, Gabriel, Lewis-Skelly, Zubimendi, Rice, Havertz, Madueke, Gyokeres, Martinelli
Subs: Arrizabalaga, Mosquera, Hincapie, Jesus, Eze, Norgaard, Trossard, Dowman, Salmon

Bournemouth XI: Petrovic, Jimenez, Hill, Truffert, Senesi, Scott, Christie, Rayan, Tavernier, Kroupi Jr, Evanilson
Subs: Mandas, Adams, Brooks, Gannon-Doak, Smith, Diakite, Adli, Unal, Toth

Preamble

To paraphrase the Titanic old lady, it feels like it’s been 84 years but after a 19-day intermission, the Premier League was back with a bang last night.

We’ll have all the reaction to West Ham’s 4-0 win over Wolves, lifting themselves out of the relegation zone and putting Tottenham Hotspur into the bottom three. Your move, Roberto De Zerbi.

At the other end of the table, Arsenal are at home to Bournemouth in today’s first kick-off (12.30pm BST), while Liverpool host Fulham this evening, last season’s winners seeking to get over their Champions League stinker and qualify for the continent’s premier club competition again.

In the Championship, leaders Coventry City could effectively ensure promotion today if they beat abject Sheffield Wednesday, in a lunchtime kick-off, and rivals Middlesbrough drop points at home to Portsmouth. After 25 years away from the top division, it is surely only a matter of time for Frank Lampard’s side, given their vastly superior goal difference.

The other choice fixture is the East Anglian derby, as Norwich City could dent Ipswich’s promotion push. Spicy.

In League One, second-placed Cardiff City could take a big step towards promotion if they can see off Bolton Wanderers. And in League Two, first plays second, with Bromley v MK Dons. The south Londoners (just about, even if it feels like Kent) could secure promotion today, and just need a win.

At the top of the Scottish Premiership, it’s all to play for. Hearts face Motherwell and if they lose, Celtic would be on the same number of points if they beat St Mirren.

As ever, please do get in touch with comments, tangents and matchday musings.

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UK News

Arrest over push of woman into bus's path in 2017

Published

59 minutes ago

June 15, 2026

info@oxinfo.co.uk

A 44-year-old man is in custody over the incident where a woman appeared to be shoved into the path of a bus.

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UK News

World Cup 2026: Fifa urged to remove official over hand gesture; teams hit back at Ceferin; Iran arrive in US – live | World Cup 2026

Published

2 hours ago

June 15, 2026

info@oxinfo.co.uk

Key events

More now on the hand gesture story mentioned earlier. Fifa’s discrimination monitor at the World Cup has called for a video assistant referee to be removed for appearing to make a hand gesture resembling a white supremacist sign.

“Advice from our experts is that the gesture used clearly resembles an upside down ‘OK’ hand symbol used as a ‘white power’ symbol in global far-right circles,” the Fare network, a longtime partner of Fifa and Uefa, the European football governing body, to monitor racist and discriminatory chants, flags and symbols at international games, said in a statement. “Clearly this official should have no further role to play in this World Cup,” Fare said in a statement, describing the gesture as “neo-Nazi.”

Kick-off times are more friendly for the UK viewer today. Spain v Cape Verdi at 5pm and Belgium v Egypt at 8pm. But we need to think globally so that’s 3pm for Cape Verdi viewers cheering on their team while in Egypt it’ll be 10pm for those tuning in to see if Mo Salah can inspire his team to victory over the Belgians.

The biggest test for the UK viewer today is Iran v New Zealand at 2am BST. In Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch that’ll be 1pm while in Tehran, Mashhad and Karaj it’s a less palatable 4.30am.

Thanks Sarah. As for World Cup songs, this one from the German 1990 squad always sticks in my mind. While England took the genre to a new level with New Order and John Barnes’ rap, the Germans very much went down the traditional route. A singer that looks like a cross between Chris de Burgh and Thomas Muller, Karl-Heinz Riedle on maracas, one or two playing air saxophone. Pleasingly dreadful.

The Germans’ response to New Order

I am off to grab some food and so I leave you in the hands of Dave Tindall who will take you through the next few hours of news. I’ll be back later on.

From requests of your favourite football songs to another on if you live in a World Cup host city. We want to hear from you if you have football teams in town from the atmosphere to how it is affecting business. Use the form on this page to get in touch:

We have another shout for the best/worst football song and I can’t decide which side of the forward slash this one belongs on. Graeme Neill said:

Timely given yesterday evening’s match. Japan’s Cornelius and his utterly bonkers Ball in Kick Off is worth a listen:

France will kick-off their tournament against Senegal on Tuesday and to say they have attacking quality is an understatement. The team boasts players like the captain, Kylian Mbappé, Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembélé, Michael Olise and Cherki but they all have a role to play, according to Adrien Rabiot. Read more:

Jacob Steinberg

The cat is well truly out of the bag. Nobody expected the conversation to be quite so revealing when Jude Bellingham and Morgan Rogers sat on the Lions’ Den sofa last week. Content controlled by the Football Association was an unlikely place for Bellingham to drop a few truth bombs, but the England midfielder was not minded to hold back when it was time to discuss his experience at Euro 2024.

“It didn’t feel like there was any kind of hierarchy,” the 22-year-old said. “I think at the Euros we got some things a little bit wrong off the pitch. I don’t feel like the group connected as well as it could have – for a number of reasons.”

Fifa urged to remove official over hand gesture

Fifa have been urged to remove a video review official who appeared to make a white supremacy hand gesture during Germany’s 7-1 win over Curaçao.

The governing body’s discrimination monitor at the World Cup called for Shaun Evans from Australia to be removed from the tournament.

The gesture was also spotted by several fans who posted about it on social media.

“Advice from our experts is that the gesture used clearly resembles an upside down ‘OK’ hand symbol used as a ‘white power’ symbol in global far-right circles,” the Fare network said.

Fifa are yet to comment on the situation.

There have been some sights at the World Cup but Scotland fans taking over Fenway Park is one that has been one of the most surreal. The Boston Red Sox lost 6-4 to the Texas Rangers but Scotland fans stayed long after the game was over singing “super John McGinn” and during the match there was a rendition of “yes sir, I can boogie”.

Photograph: Mark Stockwell/AP

Anil Patel has emailed:

This absolute banger wasn’t attached to any particular team but is one of the best themes out there.

This is a great shout and a fun fact for you about it, it was initially written to be a baseball anthem. Some baseball news coming your way soon…

If anyone is unsure of the song I referenced, here it is:

Football songs can be iconic or occasionally cringey, that one with Dizzee Rascal and James Cordon comes to mind for the latter for me. What are your best/worst anthems for a major tournament? Get in touch and let me know.

England may have banished some penalty shootout demons in the last few major tournaments but the question of who would step up to take one is one that will always be asked. One such player who said he would take on is Eberechi Eze, despite missing one in the Champions League final. Have a read of what he said:

There will be many questions raised at this World Cup. Who will win the trophy? Who will claim the Golden Boot? What will the next standout moment be? But there is another question that has been answered in the following piece: Where have the WAGs gone?

Matt Hughes

Fox will not face any punishment from Fifa for breaking the governing body’s advertising rules during the opening game of the World Cup between Mexico and South Africa last week.

The US broadcaster broke Fifa’s strict guidelines for showing commercials during hydration breaks on the first occasion they were in operation by returning to the live action 10 seconds after play had resumed during the second half at Mexico City Stadium.

Fifa’s tournament regulations, which were given to all rights holders two months ago, state that while broadcasters can show ads during hydration breaks they must return to the match 30 seconds before play resumes.

Sometimes a team needs a player to have some standout performances to jump start a tournament and Jordan Henderson believes that player for England will be Jude Bellingham. Henderson said:

I’m sure he will have a big impact for us in this tournament. I can remember five years ago I gave him his first cap, it was away at Middlesbrough. How much he’s grown, as a player and as a person since then, is incredible really. I had a good idea when I first saw him playing and training, and the way he was.

I think everybody forgets how young he is. We do rondos and it’s the youngest in, and there’s people that I think should be going in before him, but he’s always one of the first in the middle to go in. It just reminds us how young he is. I honestly couldn’t speak highly enough of him.

Photograph: Julian Finney/Getty Images

The travel at this tournament has grabbed more than a few headlines so far and there is another one pertaining to Australia. The Socceroos beat Turkey 2-0 in their opening game with their second against one of the co-hosts, the US, on Friday. Their focus will be on that game but recovery is also high on their list. Read more here:

There have already been so many historic moments at this tournament, including Scotland’s first World Cup win in 36 years. Mo Salah is hoping to replicate the moment and end Egypt’s long wait of 92 years for a victory at the tournament. The team have their first game against Belgium today to try and make history:

Spain, who start their campaign today against Cabo Verde, are among the favourites to win the World Cup after their European Championship success in 2024. Here’s a piece on how the team are embracing the tag and how they are using one trophy-winning tournament to potentially lift another:

Uruguay will take on Saudia Arabia later today but their travel was delayed amid challenges across the tournament.

The team’s initial flight from Mexico was cancelled with their replacment delayed. The Uruguay captain, José María Giménez, described the situation as “difficult”.

There are more games to be played today with another four in store. The details for those kick-off times and match-ups are below but do get in touch to let me know what your World Cup routine is. Are you having to get up early to watch the games? Or are you in a time zone where you can get home from work and watch back-to-back football until it’s time for bed? Email me and let me know, here are today’s fixtures:

Spain v Cabo Verde (5pm BST, 12pm ET, 9am PT)
Belgium v Egypt (8pm BST, 3pm ET, 12pm PT)
Saudi Arabia v Uruguay (11pm BST, 6pm ET, 3pm PT)
Iran v New Zealand (2am BST, 9pm ET, 6pm PT)

So what happened in the matches yesterday? Four took place with the biggest win coming in Germany’s 7-1 dismantling of Curaçao. The island nation will be disappointed with the result but they also made history as they scored their first-ever World Cup goal. That came from Livano Comenencia, who plays his club football for Zürich. Have a read of that report and others for all the latest action on pitch:

Čeferin criticised for ‘uninteresting’ comment

UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin was criticised by multiple nations from Asia, Africa and the Caribbean after reportedly saying the expanded World Cup creates “uninteresting” matches.

According to Zurnal 24, the boss said at a conference last Monday: “We have a huge number of matches that are completely uninteresting.”

The associations of Cape Verde, Congo, Curaçao, Haiti, Jordan and Uzbekistan released a joint statement, which was in solidarity with the federations of Algeria, Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Senegal, South Africa and Tunisia.

It said: “Football does not belong to a select group of nations. Its strength comes from its universality,” the statement said. “For many countries, participation in the FIFA World Cup is not only a sporting achievement. It is a moment that inspires a generation, accelerates football development and creates memories that last a lifetime.”

Photograph: Toya Sarno Jordan/FIFA/Getty Images

Ben Fisher

The Iran striker Mehdi Taremi has said the controversy and disruption surrounding their involvement at the World Cup undermines Fifa’s message of peace and conceded he felt the tension before arriving in Los Angeles on the eve of their opener, hours before a peace deal was announced. For the first time since the competition’s inception, a host nation has received a country with which it is at war.

On Sunday Iran flew to LA from Tijuana, Mexico, where they were relocated amid an ongoing row over visas, but are expected to face opposition from Iranians, many of whom believe the national team do not represent the country. Iran has been beset by problems in the buildup to the tournament, with several officials denied entry to the US.

Preamble

Hello and welcome to today’s World Cup news blog where we bring you the latest updates from the global event being hosted across the US, Canada and Mexico.

Any breaking news, team updates or reflections on what has happened so far will be all here for you to feast on, no matter what you are doing with your Monday.

Please do get in touch too, we always like to hear from readers. Potentially on the best underdog story at the World Cup or any quirky predictions you may have for the tournament.

Amongst several stories surrounding the competition today is Iran’s arrival in the US. The team landed on Sunday before they take on New Zealand.

More details on that story will be with you shortly, as well as the reports from the games that took place yesterday to catch up on all the latest action.

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