footballers

“Serious mismanagement” at a charity set up to help former and current professional footballers put funds at risk, a Charity Commission inquiry has found.

The inquiry was launched in 2019 because the Commission had “serious concerns” about how the Professional Footballers’ Association Charity – now called the Players Foundation – was being run.

It has now published a highly critical report which details a series of failings.

They include £1.9m of funds from the Football Association being transferred from the charity’s bank account to the Professional Footballers’ Association, the players’ union, “without a clear explanation”.

The charity also paid about 80% of the union’s operating costs – around £6m annually, including £5m on salaries. “Multiple trustees” – including former chief executive Gordon Taylor – held salaried senior PFA roles, creating a conflict of interest.

Funding a trade union is not considered a charitable purpose in law, the regulator said.

The charity also owned properties in Manchester in London which the union occupied rent-free. That cost the charity more than £627,000 when interest was added, the Commission said.

The £1.9m and unpaid rent were returned following the Commission’s intervention.

The charity received an official warning from the regulator in September 2022 “for mismanagement that had taken place from its incorporation in 2013 to the beginning of 2019”.

A trustee, Darren Wilson – who was the PFA’s director of finance – was disqualified from being a trustee or holding a senior management position in a charity for four years.

“Remedial actions have now been implemented at the charity, including proper separation from the union, appointment of new trustees, and establishment of a distinct identity for the charity,” the Charity Commission said.

“It has also adopted a new funding model, after the Football Association and Premier League stopped funding of the charity upon its separation from the union.”

Irish Sport for Palestine accuses Israel of engaging ⁠in ‘genocide’ in war on Gaza ahead of UEFA Nations League game.

Leading Irish footballers have joined celebrities in a campaign urging ⁠the Republic of Ireland to boycott a UEFA Nations League match against Israel later this year.

An open letter sent to the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) from campaign group Irish Sport for Palestine accuses Israel of engaging ⁠in “genocide” in the war in Gaza and of breaching UEFA and FIFA statutes by allowing teams to play on occupied Palestinian land.

In November 2025, 93 percent of FAI members voted for its leadership to press UEFA to suspend Israel under those statutes, a mandate campaigners say the Irish governing body should “respect and represent”.

Israel has denied that its forces have ‌committed genocide during the war in Gaza.

The letter, entitled “Stop the Game”, was signed by League of Ireland players, former men’s coach Brian Kerr and twice women’s player of the year Louise Quinn.

Irish rock band Fontaines D C, hip-hop trio Kneecap and singer-songwriter Christy Moore were among the other signatories, along with Oscar-nominated actor Stephen Rea.

Ireland are set to host Israel at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium on October 4, while a September 27 fixture designated as an Israeli home ⁠match is expected to be staged at a neutral venue.

The letter includes a statement ⁠from Shamrock Rovers captain and Professional Footballers’ Association of Ireland chair Roberto Lopes.

“We can’t ignore the humanitarian catastrophe in Palestine; the sheer loss of life there has to take precedence over any sporting consideration,” said Dublin-born Lopes, who is set to play at the ⁠World Cup for Cape Verde in June.

“Ireland has an opportunity here to lead and do what others won’t.”

Israel have played in UEFA competitions since the early 1980s after ⁠being excluded from Asian Football Confederation (AFC) competitions in the 1970s when ⁠several countries refused to play against them.

Ireland’s prime minister Micheal Martin said the two matches against Israel should go ahead.

“We have been critics and have opposed very strongly Israeli government policy within Gaza in particular. We condemned the Hamas attack on Israel which was absolutely horrific,” ‌the taoiseach told The Irish Times.

“I think sport is an area that can be challenging when it crosses into the realm of politics.”

In February, FAI Chief Executive David Courell said the national team had no choice but ‌to ‌fulfil its obligations or risk harming the long-term sporting interests of Irish football, including potential disqualification from future competitions.

A poll by the Irish Football Supporters Partnership found 76 percent of respondents opposed the fixture being played.

3. Tonton Zolo Moukoko (Championship Manager 01-02)

“We went to a small village in Malaysia,” Tonton Zola Moukoko told me. “I gave my passport to the officer. He was shocked. ‘Are you really Tonton Zola Moukoko?’ he asked. ‘You can’t be the one that was playing at Derby!'”

Moukoko’s legend travelled far and wide, carried on fans’ forums and whispered between Championship Manager anoraks. And there was truth in its roots.

Derby beat AC Milan and Bologna to sign the 15-year-old from Djurgardens in Sweden, where he moved from Democratic Republic of Congo to live with his brother after losing both parents.

He was a fledgling star in County’s academy, whose attributes on the game would see him grow into a skilful number 10 in the mould of Lionel Messi, often ending up at Europe’s biggest clubs.

At real-life youth or reserve games, fans would ask for his signature. But Moukoko never made a senior appearance at Derby. The death of his older brother saw him return to Sweden, and he spent his career in the lower Scandinavian leagues.

“Things happened around me which changed me a lot, changed my football career,” he said. “I didn’t really enjoy football any more.

“I found it very difficult to sleep for a long time after my brother died. Football was not the right thing for me after that.”

Moukoko is happy, though, that his legend endures among those who signed him on the game: “Still now, I have people calling from Australia, France, all over the place.”

Players at the World Cup could face a red card if they cover their mouths when speaking to opponents during confrontations.

The decision was taken during a special meeting of the Fifa Council in Vancouver, Canada, on Tuesday, where two Fifa-proposed law amendments were approved.

Players who leave the pitch in protest at a referee’s decisions could also now face a red card, following ugly scenes at the Africa Cup of Nations final between Morocco and Senegal.

Both law changes have been approved as competition opt-ins by the International Football Association Board (Ifab).

Fifa has confirmed they will be adopted at this summer’s World Cup.

The issue of players covering their mouths became high profile in February when Benfica winger Gianluca Prestianni raised his shirt while speaking to Real Madrid’s Vinicius Jr during a Champions League game.

The Argentina international was accused of racist abuse and provisionally banned for one match. Following a Uefa investigation, Prestianni was found guilty of homophobic conduct and banned for six matches – three of which were suspended.

The issue was discussed at the Ifab annual general meeting in Wales later that month where it was agreed the matter would be on the agenda at the Fifa Council.

The decision remains at the absolute discretion of the referee, who will consider all circumstances before issuing a red card.