Robertson initially ruled out Celtic’s second goal in their 6-0 win at McDiarmid Park after an offside flag, but the panel agreed that VAR was right to intervene while noting that it was “a very tight decision and would have been difficult for the assistant referee” to see.

The panel made the same observation when concluding that VAR was correct to intervene after Rangers’ winning goal at home to Hibs, scored by midfielder Tom Lawrence, was initially ruled out for offside.

VAR later intervened to advise referee Nick Walsh that Hibs should have been awarded a penalty when John Souttar blocked striker Mykola Kuharevich’s shot from within the six-yard box with his arm.

In deciding that VAR was right to intervene, the panel also noted that Walsh was correct not to show a red card to Rangers’ centre-half because he was not denying an obvious goal due to the position of goalkeeper Jack Butland, who would go on to save Kuharevich’s spot kick.

Dundee United midfielder Craig Sibbald’s 79th-minute long-range strike, which pulled his side to within a goal of Kilmarnock at Ruby Park, was initially ruled out by referee Craig Napier for a foul in the build-up.

However, the SFA panel agreed that VAR had been correct to intervene and award the goal, with United adding a late equaliser as the game finished 3-3.

A statement from global players’ union Fifpro called the judgement “a major ruling” which it said “will change the landscape of football”, but added it would communicate further after “analysing the ruling in depth”.

Diarra’s lawyers called it a “total victory” and claimed any players impacted by a similar situation could claim compensation. They said the ruling would “speed up the modernisation of governance” at Fifa.

Fifa said it would “analyse the decision in co-ordination with other stakeholders before commenting further”.

Emilio Garcia, Fifa’s chief legal and compliance officer, later said: “It is important to clarify that today’s decision does not change the core principles of the transfer system at all.

“Fifa has been continuously improving that system for many years – not for its own benefit, but for the benefit of players, clubs, leagues and member associations, to ensure that players can train, be developed and have stability, while safeguarding the integrity of competitions by implementing a robust regulatory framework for the international transfer system.”

In essence, the court has determined that players should have more power to move and work where they wish, and that Fifa rules should be less restrictive.

The court’s view is that a player whose contract has been terminated, as in Diarra’s case, should be able to go and play in a different country without either the player or the new club being automatically required to pay significant compensation to the former club.

This gives greater power to players and their agents in the transfer market.

“The result could mean far-reaching consequences for the transfer system, similar to how the Bosman Ruling affected transfers in 1995,” sports barrister Yasin Patel told BBC Sport.

“Players may now be able to move more freely to other clubs by breaking with a contract as opposed to being tied to the club and contract. In addition, buying clubs may not have to pay compensation or claims.”

Sports finance expert Kieran Maguire warned that could lead to “unscrupulous people” effectively “gaming the system” by downing tools to seek a move.

“This could be something which could be exploited in the future,” he told Radio 5 Live.

“What’s prevented players from doing it in the past is if they move on elsewhere, the club that they join would have to pay a compensation fee as a form of transfer fee. This ruling says that I can now move to another club and no compensation is due.

“It has to be said the vast majority of footballers don’t want this to be the case – we all know people that push things at work in terms of dismissals and so on – but as far as the players are concerned this is a broader issue that he wasn’t able to be a professional footballer when he should have been earning money.

Maheta Molango, chief executive officer of the Professional Footballers’ Association, said it was an “important ruling which could have potentially far-reaching ramifications for the rights of players within the current transfer system”.

He added: “More widely, it demonstrates again that football cannot behave like it does not have to work within the same employment laws that apply to any other industry.”

The exact ramifications of the judgement will be made clear once Fifa puts forward its new regulations.

Paul Pogba’s four-year ban for a doping offence has been reduced to 18 months after winning his appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas).

Sources close to the 31-year-old Juventus midfielder told BBC Sport he can resume training in January 2025 and will be eligible to play again from March.

France international Pogba was suspended by Italy’s national anti-doping tribunal (Nado) in February after a drugs test found elevated levels of testosterone – a hormone that increases endurance – in his system.

Cas director general Matthieu Reeb confirmed to Reuters the ban had been reduced to 18 months from 11 September, 2023.

Former Manchester United midfielder Pogba took his case to Cas and gave evidence in person at a hearing earlier this summer.

He previously said he would “never knowingly or deliberately” dope and believed the verdict was “incorrect”.

Had the original ban stood, 2018 World Cup winner Pogba would have been unable to play until 2027, when he will be 34.

Arsenal boss Jonas Eidevall has criticised the “amateurish behaviour” in handling fixture scheduling after a Women’s Super League match was postponed at a week’s notice.

Chelsea’s WSL game against Manchester United has been called off because of a conflict with the Blues’ European schedule.

The new company which now runs the Women’s Super League, The Women’s Professional Leagues Limited (WPLL), said the cancellation was in order to prioritise player welfare.

The Women’s Champions League draw was made last Friday and Chelsea’s opening group game at home to Real Madrid was scheduled for just two days after the United game – on Tuesday, 8 October.

Before the Champions League draw was made, WPLL had asked Uefa not to schedule any of the three English teams to play on 8 October, but were unsuccessful.

Eidevall said the situation could have been avoided if Women’s Super League games involving teams in the Champions League were scheduled for Friday or Saturday to avoid a potential 48-hour turnaround, but all three English clubs involved are believed to have requested to play on the Sunday.

“Out of the 16 teams, 13 were scheduled to play on the Friday or Saturday and the three English teams were all scheduled to play on the Sunday,” he said.

“We have a league organisation that doesn’t act proactively on these matters. It is damaging for the fans. It is simply not good enough from the league.

“Do the league want English teams to be successful at European level? I would hope the answer to that would be yes, but the actions show differently. It shows that this is not one of their priorities.”

Amandine Miquel is used to developing young talent and she is eager to do the same with Leicester City.

The Frenchwoman was appointed the club’s manager in July after seven seasons with Reims in her native France.

A 1-1 draw with Bristol City in the Women’s League Cup on Wednesday gave her an opportunity to test the club’s brightest young talent and it is clear she is pleased with what she saw.

Among them was 19-year-old winger Shana Chossenotte, who got on the scoresheet, as well as highly rated England youth international Ruby Mace, 21.

“Four or five from the academy could definitely start for the first team,” said Miquel, when asked on Friday about the squad depth she has available at Leicester.

On the same day, four of the club’s youngsters were called up to England’s Under-17 Women’s World Cup squad, with the tournament taking place this month.

Miquel will be without goalkeeper Rebekah Dowsett, defenders Nelly Las and Simone Sherwood, as well as forward Denny Draper.

But while Miquel is sad to lose them for a month, she is excited to see the talent pool being created within the club’s academy.

“It’s very good. I’m happy to share with England and wish that they go as far as they can in that competition,” added Miquel.

“For me, [developing young players is] the most important thing. I was a bit surprised when I saw the age of my team here, but I saw that I still have the youngest squad out of the 12 [WSL] clubs.

“I think that bigger teams, or ones higher up the table, tend to forget that they need to play. If you want to have a very good player at 18 or 19, she has to start playing at this level at 16. She should be around the team much more.

“We have four or five that can be in this group. When there are opportunities like this [in the League Cup], we will use them.”

“You can’t just turn the tap off and say, ‘right, you become super defensive’. It’s not how we play. What do we do? Sit back, have 15% of the ball and probably lose 3-0, 4-0?”

Rodgers would prefer to “play as you play” and learn from mistakes rather than “play five at the back”.

“I’d much rather do that and go down with my own vision,” he said. “I respect the opinion, but I don’t listen to it. Never have.”

Rodgers does not consider himself “a dreamer” regarding Celtic’s chances of being competitive in the Champions League, with games still to come against Atalanta, Leipzig, Bruges, Dinamo Zagreb, Young Boys and Aston Villa.

“We will be judged in January when the eight games are finished and we’ll see where the points total takes us,” he added.

“I believe in the group of players, how they’ve been working. It was a sore one the other night. I know we will bounce back to a stronger position, because we will learn from it.

“I’m not daft. I hear all the words. ‘Pragmatism’ and all this stuff, whatever else gets thrown at teams that want to play. We don’t play that way to lose, we play it to win, and we also know there are certain games and opponents you have to adjust.”

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“I really don’t think that because we are not ready. The reason is that City has worked with the same manager for nine years and Arsenal for five years. If you want to compete for big things you need that time.

“After Arsenal beat PSG they asked Luis Enrique and he said the same thing that Arsenal have had the same manager for five years and them only a year and a half.

“Imagine us, only three months… so it’s a huge difference. So I am really convinced we cannot compete with those clubs.”

Chelsea are home to Nottingham Forest in the Premier League on Sunday (14:00 BST).

They have spent £1.5bn across the last five transfer windows, albeit with significant player sales, and currently only have Carney Chukwuemeka (ill) and Reece James (hamstring) on the sidelines.

Maresca wants time and patience in his first year of management at Stamford Bridge, with the Blues entering the third year of their ownership under Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital.

He added: “The target is to improve and slowly, slowly to get closer to those clubs but at the moment we are not ready for that,” he added.

“There is no timeframe because you can continue to improve and add solutions to things always.”

Wales boss Rhian Wilkinson says she feels James leads by example.

“Angharad has been a consistent performer for this team for so many years, which is summed up by the number of appearances she’s made,” she said.

“Her passion and commitment to her country is evident and while she’s not necessarily the most vocal leader, she’s always demanding and offering advice to her team-mates when she steps out on the field.

“I love the way she embraces the younger players in the squad with her leadership too, which is important for the future of the team and the direction we’re heading.

“Angharad understands the responsibility that comes with being a captain, both on and off the pitch, and I know this is a proud moment for her and her family.

“I have no doubt she will lead the team as impressively as Sophie Ingle and the former captains of our nation.”

James lands the role as Wales prepare to face Slovakia in the first round of play-offs for the Euro 2025 finals in Switzerland, with the first leg on Friday, 25 October, before the return game at the Cardiff City Stadium on Tuesday, 29 October.

Wales could face the Republic of Ireland, who take on Georgia, in the final of the play-offs if both nations progress.