City's £830m, England's seven, and Portugal through first: 28 September–4 October in Europe

No Premier League, Champions League or LaLiga football was played between 28 September and 4 October 2026. All three competitions sat inside the international window that ends on 6 October, so the week belonged to the Nations League's middle matchdays and to the Premier League's case against Manchester City, which moved from verdict to appeal. 1 The Premier League returns on 10 October, LaLiga on 9 October and the Champions League on 13 October. 234

The week in three lines. The Premier League published the independent commission's findings against Manchester City — £830.69m of disguised funding through "sham" sponsorship deals — and City lodged their appeal on 1 October. 56 England won 7-0 in Croatia, and Portugal became the first side into the Nations League quarter-finals. 78 Nothing in the Premier League, LaLiga or Champions League tables has moved since 20 September.

On Tuesday 29 September the Premier League published a redacted version of the commission's report and confirmed that Manchester City had been found guilty of all charges relating to breaches of its financial rules across the 2009-10 to 2017-18 seasons. 5 The verdict itself had been reported the previous Friday; publication put the commission's reasoning on the record.

The commission found that City arranged "sham contracts" with a number of commercial partners as part of a "disguised funding scheme" to the scale of £830.69m. 5 City recorded £360m in sponsor fees across the three seasons they won the Premier League — 2011-12, 2013-14 and 2017-18 — and only £43m of it was legitimate, the report says. 5 It also found that "a number of important club witnesses gave false evidence in key respects and that some knowingly gave untrue and dishonest evidence", and that the scheme spared City what would otherwise have been the largest single-season loss in Premier League history, in 2009-10. 5 The index to the evidence alone ran to more than 750 pages. 5

The Premier League's chief executive, Richard Masters, said the decision "details how the club systematically broke Premier League Rules for nearly a decade". 5 The league said City's sanction "will be addressed separately in a further hearing with the independent commission", and Lisa Nandy, the culture, media and sport secretary, called the report "incredibly stark". 5

City said the commission's opinion contained "clear material errors, of law, principle and fact, and is unsafe", and that the club would be "relentless, and where necessary proactive, in any and all appropriate regulatory and legal forums". 5 Chief executive Ferran Soriano declined to comment to BBC Sport, then told club staff in a video message that City would be vindicated. 5 On the Wednesday, City's main sponsor Etihad Airways said it was considering legal action against the Premier League, which it said had created "damaging implications" for the airline "despite the airline not being named in the redacted published findings". 9

City lodged their appeal at 7pm on Thursday 1 October, inside the 2 October deadline. 6 The Football Association said the verdict had "significant implications for the integrity of the game" and that it was considering what action to take; the Independent Football Regulator said the decision raised "serious issues". 6 The Treasury Committee wrote to HMRC asking whether it had requested the report's documents, after the consultancy Tax Policy Associates claimed City may have failed to pay as much as £12m in tax, and possibly £24m with penalties, on a contract with the former manager Roberto Mancini. 6

What happens next. The appeal will be heard in private by a new three-person panel. 10 League rules say an appeal should conclude within 12 weeks of being filed and a decision follow within 30 days — 12 weeks from 1 October is 24 December — though that deadline can be disapplied. 10 Sanctions are expected to follow the appeal rather than precede it, and City could then appeal against any punishment as well. 10 Senior football figures have told BBC Sport they see no reason the case cannot be finished by the end of the season; one club official said it "benefits everyone for this to be resolved as quickly as possible", and other club chiefs want any punishment applied this season. 9 City remain top of the Premier League on 15 points from five matches, and play at Liverpool on 11 October. 210

The fallout has also turned attention to the other Manchester club. Manchester United's accounts to 30 June 2026, filed to the New York Stock Exchange, carried £37m in interest payments, the finance blogger Swiss Ramble estimates United's net interest since the 2005 takeover at £852m, and the club's overall debt has reached £1.15bn. 11

Matchday 2 finished on 29 September, Matchday 3 ran from 1 to 3 October, and Matchday 4 began on 4 October. In League A:

England's seven in Rijeka. England had already won 2-0 in Czechia on 29 September, through an Anthony Gordon header and a Harry Kane finish after Pavel Šulc's dismissal. 12 Four days later they inflicted a record 7-0 defeat on Croatia in Rijeka. Kane and Bukayo Saka scored twice each, with Jude Bellingham, Gordon and the substitute Morgan Rogers adding one apiece. 7 Croatia were 5-0 down by the time their captain, Luka Modrić, was substituted in the 57th minute. 13 Modrić, 41 and winning his 205th cap, said he felt "ashamed" and called it a "catastrophic night". "I've been here for 20 years, but for the first time I feel ashamed after a game," he said. 13

Croatia have now lost twice in five days. They began Slaven Bilić's second spell with a 2-1 win in Czechia, then lost 4-1 in Spain on 29 September, when Lamine Yamal scored twice and Marc Pubill and Nico Williams added the others, before the defeat in Rijeka. 1213 Bellingham's two assists in Rijeka took him to four in the competition, level with Norway's Martin Ødegaard at the top. 14

Spain make it ten. Spain's 3-1 win over Czechia on 3 October was a tenth successive victory and the first time they have opened a Nations League campaign with three straight wins. 7 Yamal scored in a third game running — an early curling effort — with captain Rodri and the substitute Mikel Merino also on target and Czechia's Ladislav Krejčí sent off late. 7 Yamal's four goals put him level with Kane, Ireland's Troy Parrott and Finland's Leo Walta at the top of the scoring chart. 14 Spain lead Group A3 on nine points, with England second on six.

Portugal go through without Ronaldo. Portugal won 4-2 in Denmark on 1 October and then beat Norway 2-1 in Porto on 4 October to reach 12 points and become the first side into March's quarter-finals. 78 Gonçalo Ramos scored the winner after João Cancelo had equalised Kristoffer Ajer's half-volley, and Francisco Conceição was sent off late for a second booking. 8 Portugal played both games around Cristiano Ronaldo's exit from the squad in Copenhagen, and coach Jorge Jesus said afterwards that Ronaldo could return: "If he wants to, he'll return to the national team." 15

Germany's first win, Greece still unbeaten. Jürgen Klopp's first win as Germany coach came on 1 October, 2-0 against Serbia in Munich, with Florian Wirtz setting up Tom Bischof and then scoring the second. 7 Three days later Germany were held 0-0 in Thessaloniki. 8 Greece, who had beaten Germany in Augsburg in September, drew 2-2 with the Netherlands on 1 October after leading 2-0, Tijjani Reijnders equalising in the 89th minute, and stayed unbeaten at the top of Group A2 alongside the Netherlands on eight points. 7 The Netherlands beat Serbia 2-1 on Sunday through Teun Koopmeiners and Joshua Zirkzee, on the night Virgil van Dijk won his 100th cap. 8

Wales' first win in League A. Wales came from behind to beat Norway 2-1 in Cardiff on 1 October, their first victory in League A at the ninth attempt, with Dan James and Neco Williams scoring after Oscar Bobb's early goal. 7 They could not follow it up, losing 1-0 at home to Denmark on Sunday to Rasmus Højlund's penalty. 8 Norway, who beat Denmark on the opening night, have now lost three of their four matches. 8

The rest of the groups. Northern Ireland have not conceded a goal in the competition, and lead Group B2 on seven points after a 0-0 draw with Hungary and a 3-0 win in Ukraine. 7 Scotland's first win under Sébastian Pocognoli came 2-0 in North Macedonia, with Kieron Bowie scoring his first international goal on the night Andy Robertson won his 100th cap. 7 Switzerland lead Group B1 on nine points after beating Slovenia 2-1. 7 Poland's 6-0 win over ten-man Romania included a Robert Lewandowski hat-trick, and Edin Džeko made his 152nd and final Bosnia and Herzegovina appearance in a 1-1 draw with Sweden. 7 Kevin De Bruyne scored twice in Belgium's 3-0 win over Türkiye, and Michael Olise's late solo goal gave France a 1-0 win in Brussels. 712

The Republic of Ireland drew 2-2 with Austria in Dublin on 1 October, Troy Parrott scoring twice in the first half, and then drew 1-1 with Israel behind closed doors in Bačka Topola, Serbia, on 4 October. 78 The teams clashed at half-time, and Ireland's head coach Heimir Hallgrímsson said afterwards that he felt Israel were "trying to intimidate" his team. 16 Parrott's goal in that match took him to four, level with Kane, Yamal and Walta. 14 On r/soccer, Portugal's qualification was the most-discussed Nations League post of the week, and Jesse Marsch's call for City to "have to go down" was among the most shared. 1718

Erling Haaland beckoned to the Norway bench to be substituted in the 67th minute of the 2-1 defeat in Porto and limped off. 19

Alex Scott made his full England debut in the win over Croatia, felt a quadriceps problem before the match and played 70 minutes, then withdrew from the squad for Tuesday's game against Czechia. Bournemouth expect him to be out for six to eight weeks. Arsenal's Ezri Konsa also left the camp as a precaution. 20

The Nations League finishes these matchdays on Monday and Tuesday. On 5 October France play Belgium and Italy play Türkiye in Group A1, with Northern Ireland against Georgia and Ukraine against Hungary in B2, and Bosnia and Herzegovina against Poland and Romania against Sweden in B4. 1 On 6 October England host Czechia and Croatia host Spain in A3, while Scotland host Slovenia and Switzerland host North Macedonia in B1. 1

Barcelona lead LaLiga on 21 points from seven matches, ahead of Atlético de Madrid and Real Betis on 16; Manchester City lead the Premier League on 15 points from five, and the Champions League's 36-team table is unchanged since the opening round. 3410

The Premier League's Matchweek 6 opens on Saturday with Arsenal against Leeds United, Chelsea against Bournemouth and Manchester United against Tottenham Hotspur. Liverpool host Manchester City on the Sunday, and Coventry City play Newcastle United on the Monday. 2

LaLiga's Matchday 8 opens on Friday with Málaga against Espanyol; Barcelona host Getafe and Real Madrid host Villarreal on the Saturday, and Levante against Sevilla closes the round on the Monday. 3 The Champions League returns on 13 and 14 October, when Manchester City host Paris Saint-Germain. 421 The Nations League league phase ends on 17 November, after its next matchdays on 12 to 17 November. 1