UEFA announced on Tuesday that it would provide a full refund to all Liverpool fans who purchased tickets for the 2022 Champions League final.

The decision was made after a review of the event highlighted a series of organorganisationalures that nearly resulted in a disaster outside the Stade de France.

The refund scheme will cover all 19,618 Liverpool tickets, with fans receiving the full ticket cost back from the European football governing body. Ticket prices for the final in Paris last May ranged from £59.40 to £585.70.

Liverpool was involved in the decision-making process from the start and influenced discussions. This refund comes after Liverpool fans were subjected to indiscriminate tear gas spraying, which led to crushing around the stadium before the game but were initially blamed by UEFA and the French government for causing the disturbances.

Both later rowed back on those claims with a UEFA-commissioned report praising their conduct and saying the organisational failures from the two governing bodies could have had catastrophic consequences.

Chelsea midfielder Andrey Santos will rejoin former club Vasco de Gama on loan after failing to secure a work permit.

Last month he helped Brazil win the South American Under-20 Championship.

Santos scored the opener in the final against Uruguay and finished as the tournament's joint-top scorer with six goals.

In a statement Chelsea said Santos now has "the opportunity to develop further" in Brazil's Serie A.

BBC Sport

The format of the 2026 World Cup, which was planned to have 16 groups of three teams due to the expanded 48-team competition across the United States, Mexico, and Canada, may revert to the traditional four-team groups following the success of the 2022 tournament in Qatar, where some groups produced thrilling final matches.

The decision is expected to be announced during the council meeting of Fifa, the governing body of world football, in Rwanda on March 16.

There are reports that there is an agreement among all parties that the four-team format should be retained, providing it does not extend the 'footprint' of the competition - which includes preparation time as well as the tournament itself.

"Groups of three sounded great but there are some issues," Concacaf president Victor Montagliani told the FT Business of Football Summit.

"Is it right that you qualify for a World Cup and a third of teams go home after two games?

"We do have to be responsible. There was a footprint of days for 2014 and 2018 and we can't go over that. We can't have a three-month World Cup."

The family of Just Fontaine has announced his demise at 89, according to a statement made to AFP on Wednesday.

Fontaine, who holds the record for the most goals scored in a single World Cup finals with 13 goals, achieved this feat during the 1958 finals in Sweden, where France made it to the semi-finals for the first time in their history before losing to Pele's Brazil.

Fontaine was part of a formidable attacking trio at the World Cup, playing alongside Roger Piantoni and Raymond Kopa.

His inclusion in the squad and starting line-up may not have been possible, but for the injuries sustained by fellow forwards Thadee Cisowski and his Reims teammate Rene Bliard.

Despite the circumstances that led to his selection, Fontaine's impressive performance at the 1958 World Cup has left an indelible mark in football history.

Fontaine also won four French league titles, one with Nice and three with the great Reims side of the post-war era.

He played in the Reims team that lost to the Real Madrid of Alfredo di Stefano, Ferenc Puskas and Raymond Kopa in the 1959 European Cup final.

Fontaine was then forced to retire in 1962 at just 28 after he suffered a double leg fracture.

He later moved into management, lasting just two matches in charge of France in 1967 before leading Paris Saint-Germain to promotion to the top division in 1974 and then coaching Morocco to third place at the 1980 Africa Cup of Nations.

AFP