This case is not directly related to the hearing into Manchester City’s 115 charges for alleged breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules, which began last month.

City were charged and referred to an independent commission in February 2023 following a four-year investigation.

It is alleged City breached the Premier League’s financial rules between 2009 and 2018.

“I don’t think this will have too much of a direct impact but this will probably give Manchester City a slight bounce because they’ve been found to be correct in a couple of narrow areas,” said Leaf.

“But equally, I think the Premier League will be relieved, especially after the recent Leicester decision where their rulebook was heavily criticised by an esteemed panel.”

He was referring to Leicester’s successful appeal against an alleged breach of Premier League financial rules – which means they are set to avoid any punishment.

Leicester successfully argued that because their 2022-23 accounting period ended on 30 June, they were not longer bound by Premier League rules – because they had just been relegated to the Championship – and so could not be found in breach.

Leaf added: “The fact that the majority of the Premier League’s rules have been found to be lawful and OK will probably come as a relief to them.”

BBC Sport’s chief football news reporter Simon Stone said: “The fierce manner in which City have responded to the verdict, allied to the knowledge they are currently fighting the substantive issue of 115 financial breaches, suggests they have spotted a weakness in the Premier League’s regulations which they will look to exploit as far as they can.”

Manchester United winger Alejandro Garnacho has pulled out of Argentina’s World Cup qualifiers against Venezuela and Bolivia with a knee problem.

The 20-year-old, who played the full 90 minutes of United’s 0-0 Premier League draw at Aston Villa on Sunday with a strapping on his left knee, has been replaced in the Argentina squad by Leicester City’s Facundo Buonanotte.

The world champions are top of the South American qualifying standings – two points ahead of second-placed Colombia.

Lionel Scaloni’s Argentina travel to sixth-placed Venezuela on Thursday and host Bolivia, who are eighth, next Tuesday.

Garnacho has won seven caps for his country and helped Argentina clinch a record 16th Copa America title in the summer.

The verdict has been announced in Manchester City’s legal case against the Premier League over the league’s rules on commercial deals involving clubs’ owners.

City, who are owned by the Abu Dhabi-backed City Football Group, had some complaints upheld, with two aspects of the associated party transaction (APT) rules deemed unlawful by a tribunal.

But the Premier League says the tribunal rejected the majority of Manchester City’s challenges and “endorsed the overall objectives, framework and decision-making of the APT system”.

APTs are aimed at the value of sponsorship deals with companies linked to clubs’ owners.

This case is not directly related to the Premier League disciplinary commission which will hear 115 charges against City for allegedly breaching its financial regulations, some of which date back to 2009.

The tribunal – in a 175-page document – ruled that shareholder loans should not be excluded from the scope of APT rules and that some amendments made in February by the Premier League should not be retained.

In this arbitration process, Chelsea, Newcastle and Everton all acted as witnesses for City.

Witnesses for the Premier League included Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Tottenham, Brighton and West Ham.

Brentford, Bournemouth, Fulham and Wolves wrote letters in support of the rules.

The issue with yellow cards pre-dates Maresca’s appointment in June.

Former Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino spoke last season about how “silly” bookings were a problem and showed video clips to his players to try to rectify the issue.

The Blues were punished last season for not adapting to new Premier League rules for dissent.

Jackson picked up 10 bookings last season but only one was for a foul, the others were for dissent, not retreating quickly enough for a free-kick and entering the field of play when a substitute.

Other players fell foul in similar situations and captain Reece James received two red cards – including one for two yellows – despite playing just 421 minutes.

The immaturity of Chelsea’s young squad may be another factor and with centre-back Thiago Silva having departed in the summer the average age of the group has dropped further to 23.4, according to data from Transfermarkt.

The Blues also have the lowest average height in the league, according to Transfermarkt, averaging just over 5ft 8in, which was another issue Pochettino complained about when in charge.

It perhaps leads to a tendency for players to look at other ways to try and impart their physicality on matches.

And under both Pochettino and Maresca Chelsea are firmly a possession-based team, trying to implement various pressing styles. That pressing can lead to bookings in transition phases and there is a tendency for teams operating these tactics to produce tactical fouls to stop counter-attacks.

Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), the body which governs referees in England, has also changed the rules in recent years, with an automatic yellow card now expected to be brandished in several situations.

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers says Cameron Carter-Vickers will return to training this week and expressed hope the centre half will be available for the top-of-the-table meeting with Aberdeen on 19 October. (Herald), external

Ross County boss Don Cowie claims Celtic should never have been awarded a free-kick in the build-up to Nicolas Kuhn’s late winner in Dingwall. (Football Scotland), external

Interim Hearts manager Liam Fox insists the ball was still moving at a free-kick which led to Aberdeen’s second goal at Pittodrie, while revealing Jorge Grant has apologised for his sending off, having picked up his first booking for complaining about the incident. (Edinburgh Evening News), external

“The rules must have changed,” quipped Sky Sports pundit and ex-Rangers striker Kris Boyd as Nicolas Kuhn of Celtic avoided a second yellow card for joining the crowd in his goal celebrations. (Football Scotland), external

Responding to Boyd’s comments, former referee Bobby Madden used social media to point out such action was “removed as mandatory caution over a decade ago”, while sharing clips of similar celebrations. (Daily Record), external

James Tavernier insists Rangers are getting better and better as he brushed off criticism over his position following the Ibrox captain’s substitution in the Europa League defeat to Lyon. (Herald), external