by Manchester City achieved their holy grail of winning the Champions League in 2023, but did so against the backdrop of being hit with an unprecedented number of charges for alleged breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules.
It was that kind of year in many ways. Spain made history by winning the Women’s World Cup but was immediately embroiled in a sexism scandal, while the unexpected success of the England rugby team brought major setbacks for cricketers.
Here, the PA news agency looks at 10 things we learned in 2023.
Manchester City gets what it wanted
Despite all the Premier League titles won and records set, Pep Guardiola had openly acknowledged that he needed to bring the Champions League trophy to Manchester City for their stay at the Etihad Stadium to be considered a success.
And in June they did just that, as Rodri’s second-half goal was enough to secure a 1-0 win over Inter Milan in Istanbul and see City emulate neighbors United by securing a treble, adding the Champions League to Premier League and FA Cup trophies. They had already lifted it.
It was the trophy City had wanted more than any other during their more than decade-long reshuffle under Sheikh Mansour’s ownership, and it was finally theirs.
Governance battles
City’s success came just months after the Premier League slapped a staggering 115 charges on them for alleged breaches of financial regulations, a case that is expected to continue into next year and beyond.
But when the Premier League imposed a 10-point penalty on Everton for a much minor infringement, many in football were shocked and there are now serious questions about how the Premier League is handling not only the City case but also the potential charges against Chelsea. , which was self-authorized. They reported their own infractions.
At a time when the Premier League is trying to show it does not need an independent regulator, the ramifications of how these cases play out could be enormous.
LIV continues to triumph in golf
Jon Rahm’s announcement in December that he would be joining the LIV circuit showed that golf has yet to figure out how to deal with the new Saudi-backed venture.
The joint announcement in June in which the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and LIV announced a framework for a merger to form a unified business entity was far from the end of the dispute and, as some players have said, could even make things easier. things. make players feel like they can abandon ship.
Rahm has been a critic of LIV in the past, but after his triumph at the Masters and the European Ryder Cup, the time was right for him. It is unclear where he leaves the rest of golf as we expect further progress in talks between the rival tours.
World Cup problems leave questions for the ECB
England’s defense of their Cricket World Cup title could hardly have been much worse as they only won three of nine matches in India, prompting even more soul-searching.
The ECB’s decision to drop its national over-50s competition in favor of The Hundred doesn’t look good in this context, although it’s unclear how much impact it could actually have.
Perhaps the most attention is focused on the ever-scrutinized calendar. England played half as many ODIs in the build-up to this World Cup as they did before winning in 2019, and most were against weak opposition.
Bitter disappointment for England Women
After the best of their victory in the European Championship, England went to the Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand among the favorites, but it was not to be.
Sarina Wiegman’s team overcame Lauren James’ red card and beat Nigeria on penalties before beating Colombia and hosts Australia, but despite Mary Earps’ heroics in goal, Spain proved too strong in the final, with Olga Carmona scoring the only goal.
This month, a 6-0 thrashing of Scotland was not enough for England to top their Nations League group, as the Netherlands scored late to beat Belgium 4-0, denying Team GB a place in the Olympics. next summer in Paris.
A shadowed World Cup final
Spain made history by beating England in the Sydney final, lifting the World Cup trophy for the first time.
But their big moment became mired in controversy after Luis Rubiales, then president of the Spanish federation, kissed Jennifer Hermoso on the lips during the celebrations despite her obvious discomfort, and was also seen making obscene gestures.
Rubiales then refused to resign for several weeks as controversy engulfed Spanish football, showing how much still needs to be done to change attitudes.
Red Bull’s dominance is unprecedented
Red Bull completed the most dominant season ever in Formula One history in 2023, as Max Verstappen won 19 of the 22 races to leave everyone else in a separate competition.
While there is hope that a new season will offer new opportunities to their rivals, the magnitude of their dominance brings its own problems.
With the titles effectively secured long ago, Red Bull has already been able to work on developing next year’s car, leaving everyone else to play catch-up once again.
Bright points for Borthwick
England went to the Rugby World Cup amid relatively low expectations following home defeats to Scotland, France and Fiji over the course of 2023.
It was therefore a pleasant surprise to see them not only get out of their group, but also defeat Fiji in the quarter-finals before putting the pressure on eventual champions South Africa all the way, losing the semi-final 16-15.
While some experienced players will retire, it was a performance that offered hope for the future as exciting youngsters like Henry Arundell emerged.
Sport continues fighting war
The International Olympic Committee has announced that Russian and Belarusian athletes who qualify for Paris 2024 will be able to compete individually next summer.
The IOC said the decision, quickly condemned by Ukraine following Russia’s invasion of the country, had to do with “respect for human rights”.
However, although the IOC has given the green light, many individual sports governing bodies – including World Athletics – have not changed their positions, meaning athletes in those events will remain ineligible.
The glacial pace of change at Old Trafford
It has been more than a year since the Glazer family announced they would consider a sale or minority investment in Manchester United, offering fans hope that years of neglect will soon come to an end.
The agreement for Sir Jim Ratcliffe to take a 25 per cent stake (which would imply considerable control) is not the clean break they most wanted, but at least it offers hope for change, although it is taking longer than expected on the issues discussed. completion schedules have come and gone.
Meanwhile, the team continues to go from mini-crisis to mini-crisis on the field, and Erik ten Hag’s team was unable to take advantage of last season’s stimulus. Will 2024 be the year real change finally comes to Old Trafford?
