EFL bosses are frustrated by the lack of consistency shown by Wembley Stadium and the Metropolitan Police in the start times of their competitions this season.
Wembley has hosted the EFL’s five major finals since 2007, but while this year’s Championship play-off final, along with February’s Carabao Cup final, were allocated a 3pm slot , last month’s FA Cup semi-final between Manchester City and Chelsea began at 5:15 p.m. and next month’s Champions League final will begin at 8 p.m.
The EFL’s complaint is that the authorities are offering other competitions the coveted later places, while their own requests are ignored.
EFL chief executive Trevor Birch pictured in 2019 during his time as an executive at Swansea City.
Wembley Stadium has hosted the five major EFL finals since 2007.
Security alert when PRANKSTER sneaks onto United bus
The YouTube prankster who stormed this year’s BAFTAs by joining the Oppenheimer cast on stage has now managed to find his way onto the Manchester United team bus.
Dressed in a United tracksuit and carrying a designer toiletry bag, Lizwani, who hit the headlines after his antics at the Royal Festival Hall in February, was at it again last Monday, evading security outside Selhurst Park to walk to the bus that was waiting for him.
Mail Sport understands that, after taking a seat aboard the vehicle waiting to take Erik ten Hag and his players back to Manchester following their 4-0 thrashing, he was quickly discovered by United staff.
In what sources described as “friendly” scenes, Lizwani was removed from the trainer, but not before what is considered a substantial security breach.
Such is the significance of the incident that the Premier League quickly issued an alert to its clubs warning them to be on the lookout for possible repeat incidents.
Lizwani has a history of infiltrating awards ceremonies, including the FIFA Ballon d’Or, MOBO and Brit Awards in 2022. At the BAFTAs, she stood behind Oppenheimer star Cillian Murphy and producer Emma Thomas when she accepted the award for best film.
Following the incident in Selhurst Park, Lizwani was detained until police arrived to speak to him.
Palace has launched an investigation into the security breach. Club officials are examining CCTV in a bid to scrutinize the prankster’s movements and get to the bottom of how he was able to pull off his latest trick.
Palace are working on the theory that Lizwani entered the area in question through an exit door when it was opened after last week’s match, then hid before choosing the moment to attack.
It is not the first time that Lizwani aims for the Premier League. In 2018, the trickster shared taking part in a match at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and posed off the pitch with then-Spurs winger Erik Lamela.
YouTube prankster Lizwani, dressed in a United tracksuit and carrying a toiletry bag, addressed the coach.
She made headlines after taking to the stage with the Oppenheimer cast at the BAFTAs.
British Olympic athletes urged to take Eurostar to Paris Games
Team GB has told its athletes they expect them to travel to the Paris Olympics by land and not by air. Eurostar is an official partner and it is believed that the majority of the 350 crossing the Channel will travel by train, reducing GB’s carbon footprint. Experts say 13 train trips are equivalent to one flight.
Norwich hosts the main youth competition
Champions League finalists Borussia Dortmund have become the latest big guns to send a team to play in a Mina Cup qualifying event, held at Norwich City’s training ground.
The winners qualify for the Mina Cup 2025, in Dubai, considered by many to be the main youth tournament in the world.
Other participants alongside the Canaries are Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Benfica, with Real Madrid, Inter Milan and Juventus also likely to travel to Norfolk.
Tigers fans suffer more price increases
Hull City fans appear to be paying the price for the club’s failure to gain promotion to the Premier League, considering ticket prices for next season.
Corporate bettors have received a 9.3 per cent increase after last season’s 18.5 per cent increase. The news broke the day after popular manager Liam Rosenior was fired, a move that has outraged Tigers fans.
Liam Rosenior was sacked as Hull City manager after failing to guide the team to the play-offs
Clashes between fans threaten to change Rugby League
Rugby League has long been applauded for its non-segregated crowds and lack of trouble, but the sport has had to deal with a series of worrying incidents recently.
Last week, Super League powerhouse St Helens were forced to issue several banning orders after ugly scenes marred their defeat to Hull Kingston Rovers.
Following problems in last year’s derby, fans also stayed away from matches between Hull KR and rivals Hull FC.
Wall-to-wall coverage for the fight of a generation
No less than four broadcasters will broadcast Tyson Fury’s heavyweight battle against Oleksandr Usyk on Saturday.
DAZN, Amazon, Sky Sports and TNT Sports participated in the confrontation in Saudi Arabia and His Excellency Turki Alalshikh decided to reach an agreement with all four.
It is the first time that four UK channels will show the same fight. Unfortunately for viewers, there has been no price war, and each is likely to charge around £25.
UK fans will be able to choose from four different broadcasters for Tyson Fury’s heavyweight clash against Oleksandr Usyk.
Chelsea will lose another important figure this summer
Another start at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea have lost several off-field figures since taking control of the United States and now Agenda understands that veteran communications man Adrian Phillips is leaving.
Phillips has worked at the club for a decade and will move to the Wasserman agency, where former Blues boss Graham Potter and Arsenal’s Mikel Arteta are clients.