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English football fans are officially the best behaved in Britain and Ireland - and England is the home of fair play, according to UEFA.
European football's governing body has published its fair play rankings for 2024-25 and some may be surprised at the results.
Countries are ranked on the overall fair play of themselves and their clubs in UEFA competitions, improvement in score from one season to the next and behaviour of supporters.
In the fan behaviour section England finished sixth, Northern Ireland 12th, Wales 14th, Scotland 19th and the Republic of Ireland 23rd.
In the overall category, England finished top with 8,527 points while Moldova took the prize for biggest improvement and the Faroe Islands landed top spot for behaviour of spectators.
Scotland finished 15th, the Republic of Ireland 26th, Wales 27th and Northern Ireland 28th.
The news means that the FA will now be awarded £44,000 to donate to the amateur or professional club of their choice for a fair play or respect-themed project
English football fans are officially the best behaved in Britain and Ireland, ranked sixth this year
Cheers to that, UEFA!
The news that Anheuser-Busch has entered into exclusive talks over replacing Heineken as the beer sponsor for UEFA's men's competitions has left some wondering which product the world's biggest brewer will chose to advertise.
According to those with knowledge of the situation, which will see the Americans pay around £176m a year from 2027 - up from Heineken's £106m, - the smart money is on Michelob Ultra, rather than Budweiser. AB, which also brews Corona and Modelo, is rumoured to be relaunching Michelob in the UK having applied for trademarks for Michelob and Michelob Ultra Zero.
The low-calorie drop is now the biggest selling beer in the US, while Budweiser is already the official beer of FIFA's World Cup.
Everton's rugby league success
Everton's impressive new stadium could become a staple on the rugby league calendar following its successful hosting of England's Ashes defeat by Australia on Saturday.
A sell-out crowd took in a 14-4 defeat with officials delighted at how their move to the city played out.
Should Manchester United go ahead with their redevelopment or rebuild of Old Trafford it would come as no surprise to see a Grand Final held at the side of the River Mersey, while a Magic Weekend of Super League fixtures at the Hill Dickinson would appear to be inevitable.
The only negative, aside from the result, were the gargantuan queues for the loos that snaked around the concourses with a configuration rethink needed for what is often a thirsty crowd.
Everton are understood to have been pleased with the event, although the setting off of red pyrotechnics from the roof ahead of kick-off may have raised a few eyebrows.
Everton passed its audition at hosting rugby league and will likely be a venue that is used again
Australia beat England 14-4 to win the Ashes series with the match played to a sell-out crowd
Padel and MMA dealt blow to Olympics aspirations
The hugely popular sports of Padel and Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) both failed to get on the first rung of the ladder for Olympic Games inclusion last week.
Olympic grandees decided that both sports were too mired in political controversy to risk recognising the respective International Federations claiming governance.
At least three different bodies claim control of MMA, whilst the International Tennis Federation claim Padel is a discipline of tennis and should not be treated as a separate sport in its own right.
Why Rafa Benitez will hope to avoid a Greek tragedy
New Panathinaikos manager Rafa Benitez will be hoping this job lasts longer than his last one.
Newly-appointed boss Rafa Benitez will hope to last the duration of his Panathinaikos contract
The former Liverpool and Real Madrid boss was shown the door after just eight months in charge at Spaniards Celta Vigo and has his work cut out in Greece, with his side seventh in the top flight. That role was his first in football since he was sacked by Everton in 2022.
Should he extend his two-year deal, which reportedly makes him Greece's highest-ever paid manager, he will do what he did not on Merseyside, and lead his club into their new stadium.
In 2027, Panathinaikos are due move into a state-of-the-art, 40,000-capacity venue in the west of Athens, which also includes a volleyball, handball and basketball stadium, swimming pool and gymnastics facilities.
