Man City
Webb Stands By VAR Decision Over Diogo Dalot Challenge After Derby
Howard Webb says VAR was right to leave Diogo Dalot on the field after the Derby challenge. Details.
Howard Webb, head of Premier League referees, has defended the decision not to have VAR recommend a red card for Diogo Dalot following the recent Manchester derby. Dalot remained on the field for the full 90 minutes and played a part in Manchester United’s 2–0 victory.
The choice not to dismiss Dalot has split opinion, with a number of former referees saying the challenge deserved a red card. Webb acknowledged the differing views but argued that the correct process was followed and that the on-field decision should be respected. “Is there excessive force? Some will say, yes,” he told Match Officials Mic’d Up . “I’m not quite there, but I can see that there could be.
“It’s a subjective judgment … but I’m absolutely aligned that once that decision is taken on the field, we leave it as referee’s call and we don’t intervene with the VAR.
“I think it’s one where the referee’s call should stand on the field. That’s what we’ve said we’ll do where there’s a mix of considerations.
“I think there is a mix, and therefore in this situation, it was right to leave it as the referee’s call.”
Webb also warned against judging incidents solely from still images. He said context and speed matter when assessing contact and intent. “At full speed, when you play it in real time, you can see there’s not a great deal of speed in the action, not a lot of intensity,” he continued.
“We were heavily criticised a few years ago for using slow motion and freeze frames because people said, ‘This is not reality, it’s not how the game is played.’
“When you slow it down, it can look a lot worse—and it does. When you freeze-frame it, you can make a lot of situations look like red card offences.
By that reasoning, Webb maintained the on-field decision should remain in place where officials judge there are mixed factors, and VAR should not overturn that judgment.
Arsenal
How City and Arsenal’s Remaining League Schedules Stack Up as Title Race Tightens
City applied pressure after Brentford; Arsenal must win all three remaining league games, to clinch.
Manchester City closed some of the gap on Premier League leaders Arsenal with victory over Brentford on Saturday evening, re-applying pressure as the run-in approaches. Arsenal control their own fate: they will win a first title in over two decades as long as they taste victory in each of their last three league fixtures. City must hope for slip-ups from the Gunners while navigating their own commitments.
Arsenal face an immediate test on Sunday as the in-form Gunners travel to relegation-threatened West Ham United for their 36th match of the season. That trip represents the biggest banana skin remaining on Arsenal’s schedule, with their motivated hosts scrapping for survival and capable of making life awkward for Mikel Arteta’s side. Still, the league leaders will be strong favorites to clinch three points.
Arsenal’s penultimate Premier League fixture reads Burnley at the Emirates Stadium on May 18. Burnley are already relegated, have lost their previous five in all competitions and have managed just one Premier League win since the start of November. Arsenal finish the season with a London trip to Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on May 24. Palace could rest personnel ahead of their Conference League final against Rayo Vallecano three days later.
Man City’s schedule includes a rearranged fixture with Crystal Palace this coming Wednesday. Crystal Palace have occasionally proven a thorn in City’s side, most notably triumphing over Pep Guardiola’s men in last year’s FA Cup final. City also have this term’s FA Cup final against Chelsea next Saturday. Three days after the Wembley showdown, they return to Premier League action away at Bournemouth on May 19. Other fixtures for City include Crystal Palace (H) on May 13 and Aston Villa (H) on May 24.
With Arsenal needing three straight wins to secure the title and City still pressing, the closing weeks of the season will be decisive for both clubs.
Analytics & Stats
Opta Simulations Leave Arsenal Favoured as City Cut Lead to Two Points
Opta’s simulations keep Arsenal favourites despite City’s late wins and a tightening title race ’26.
Opta’s supercomputer still ranks Arsenal ahead in the title race despite Manchester City’s late reply at Brentford and a tightening gap. City reduced Arsenal’s lead to two points with both clubs having three matches remaining, but the model continues to favour the Gunners in most scenarios.
Jérémy Doku had been on target twice against Everton on Monday night, yet those goals could not stop City dropping points in a 3–3 draw. Erling Haaland, who scored against Brentford, insisted his team were “still in it” after the Everton setback. Saturday’s reaction at Brentford and the potential importance of goal difference in this finish were both underlined by City’s late flurry.
Opta’s projections list Arsenal on 76 actual points with a predicted 82.37 points and a 79.7% chance of winning the title. Manchester City sit on 74 actual points with a predicted 79.55 points and a 20.3% title probability. Arsenal were given an 85% chance of winning the league in the immediate aftermath of City’s stumble on Merseyside earlier this week.
The computer’s view takes in upcoming schedules. City are shown with fixtures against Crystal Palace and Aston Villa either side of a trip to Bournemouth, a sequence the model judges tricky because Bournemouth remain in the chase for Champions League qualification.
Elsewhere, Manchester United’s place in the Champions League was effectively sealed as they crawled to a goalless draw with Sunderland in their first game after securing qualification. Opta projects United to reach 68.01 points with a 100% chance of qualifying for Europe’s top competition. Liverpool drew 1–1 with Chelsea and still need another win to guarantee a top-five finish. “We wanted to qualify for it weeks ago,” Slot sighed. “It isn’t the season we’re having, though. Sometimes it is really hard to accept these results because we are used to different ones.”
Bournemouth’s manager reflected on survival and ambition after a 1–0 win over Fulham. “Today was a very important step forward,” Bournemouth’s Andoni Iraola beamed after his side battled to a 1–0 win over Fulham on Saturday, “but we still have to get more points.” Brighton’s captain also noted the season’s extremes. “It’s a mental season,” club captain Lewis Dunk gushed, “one minute we’re looking at relegation and now we’re talking about Europe, it’s great fun football, isn’t it?”
On the bottom end, Tottenham conclude the matchday with a crunch clash against Leeds on Monday and their chances of survival have improved, while West Ham do not face Arsenal until Sunday.
Man City
Premier League legal fight with Man City has cost hundreds of millions, accounts show
Premier League legal fight with Man City has cost hundreds of millions; verdict remains pending yet.
The Premier League has incurred substantial legal costs in its dispute with Manchester City over at least 115 charges of alleged financial breaches. The club has denied any wrongdoing and engaged legal teams, producing a prolonged and expensive battle that has weighed on both parties.
According to the Premier League’s latest accounts and reporting in The Times, legal expenditure is understood to have passed £200 million ($272 million). The accounts show annual legal bills falling slightly, from around $65 million in 2023–24 to approximately $60 million for 2024–25. Separately, the total cost of managing the case from both sides is reported to sit at over a quarter-of-a-million dollars.
The formal hearing ran for three months and concluded in early December 2024. Despite the lengthy proceedings, no official verdict has been published, and the Premier League’s accounts offer no timetable for when a decision might be delivered. The duration of the process has generated widespread fury and frustration, although observers note the case’s complexity as a factor in the slow progress.
Premier League chief Richard Masters saw his pay rise by 30% to $3.6 million in salary and bonuses for 2024–25. When asked about the timeline for resolution, he refused to offer a definitive timeline when discussing the matter back in February 2026.
The financial figures in the accounts and the scale of the legal work underline the resource implications for the governing body and the club. For the Premier League, the outlay is presented alongside routine legal spending in its published accounts. For Manchester City, mounting legal fees and a drawn-out hearing have contributed to a long-running dispute that remains unresolved at the time of the accounts’ release.
With the case closed in terms of evidence hearings but without a public ruling, stakeholders on both sides continue to face uncertainty over timing and potential outcomes. The accounts do not indicate when the matter will be concluded.
