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EPL The aftermath of the Liverpool parade attack Paul Ellis/AFP via Getty Images The Athletic FC ⚽ is The Athletic’s daily football (or soccer, if you prefer) newsletter.  Sign up to receive it directly to your inbox. Hello. Today, we’re bringing you news of justice for the many people injured in Liverpool’s Premier League title parade. Plus:  FIFA’s World Cup ticket price climbdown, Mbappe wins PSG dispute, and Suarez set for Miami contract extension. Advertisement Liverpool’s Premier League title parade in May should have created happy memories for life. It was their 20th top-flight English championship, a joint record with Manchester United. It was a tour de force from Arne Slot, impeccable in his first year as head coach. Instead, the event on May 26 left physical and mental scars in its wake. A car driven into crowds in Liverpool city centre injured more than 130 people. Yesterday, the driver — Paul Doyle, 54, from Merseyside’s West Derby area — was jailed for 21 years and six months, in the face of evidence described by the judge as “overwhelming”. Doyle had originally denied wrongdoing but changed his plea and admitted 31 charges at the beginning of his trial last month. Liverpool Crown Court heard how his victims on the day of the parade ranged from a six-month-old baby to a woman aged 78. Fifty people were hospitalised and four were trapped under the wheels of the vehicle when it finally came to a halt. Doyle was accused of using his car “like a weapon” as he attempted to force his way through packed roads closed off to general traffic. The court was told that he claimed to have acted “in a blind panic and in fear of his life”, but that argument was rejected by the prosecution. Sentencing Doyle, Judge Andrew Menary told him: “It’s almost impossible to think how any right-thinking person could act as you did. The crowd did not cause this incident. They reacted to it, faced with a car driving directly at them and striking multiple people. ” The conclusion of the case brings some closure, but not an end to the suffering of those directly affected. Andy Jones attended yesterday’s sentencing hearing for The Athletic,  and his report has more extensive details (some of which are distressing). Doyle wept repeatedly in court and his solicitor, Simon Csoka KC, said he was “remorseful, ashamed and deeply sorry”. Advertisement Character references described him as “kind” and “selfless”, although it was revealed that he had previous military and civilian convictions dating back to his teens and early twenties. In one incident, in 1993, he bit off the ear of a sailor during a drunken fight. The court listened to 78 victim statements, each explaining the impact of Doyle’s offences. These are two of the testimonies: Some of the injured explained how the incident had affected their support of Liverpool and their passion for football. Some are continuing to receive medical treatment. The club’s 2024-25 title parade will stay with them all, for the worst of reasons. So, it turns out FIFA isn’t entirely tone-deaf or impervious to dissent. After an onslaught of criticism over the price of World Cup tickets for next summer’s tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico, soccer’s world governing body has backtracked and conceded ground on the issue (albeit, only ever so slightly). It announced yesterday that it will alter its ticket framework by creating an additional raft of cheaper seats: around 1, 000 per game, costing $60 (£45). It’s not exactly a full retreat — these represent a tiny 1. 6 per cent of all World Cup tickets — but it’s better than nothing and, in theory, these seats should be set aside for actual fans of the competing nations in the matches concerned, as opposed to whoever fancies occupying them. It also proves that pressure on FIFA can produce an effect, even if that effect is fairly minor. The discourse around its pricing model has been a PR disaster and, given the organisation wants to corner more of the North American market, perhaps it isn’t ideal for prospective new enthusiasts to be given the impression that soccer is a rip-off. This goes down as a small win but, all things considered, we’ll take it. Kylian Mbappe is on a roll — 17 goals in 17 La Liga outings for Real Madrid this season, including his latest effort against Alaves (above) — and his winning form extended to the courtroom yesterday. A labour dispute with his previous club Paris Saint-Germain went his way,  landing PSG with a bill of £52. 5m ($76m). Advertisement Mbappe and PSG were at odds over events before his free transfer to Madrid in 2024. The forward claimed the club had withheld wages and payments owed to him. The French and European champions insisted they were entitled to retain the cash on the strength of a “gentleman’s agreement” with Mbappe (an agreement he denied ever reaching). The quarrel rumbled for a while but Paris’ labour court has moved to settle it by ruling in Mbappe’s favour.  It was only a partial victory — the 26-year-old wanted higher damages and was unsuccessful in that regard — but PSG’s counter-claim for £385m was rejected in full. PSG said afterwards they retained the right of appeal but a statement from them read: “The club is now looking to the future, based on unity and collective success, and wishes the player the best for the rest of his career. ” That rather sounds like case closed, which can’t be a bad thing. Carabao Cup quarter-finals: Manchester City vs Brentford, 2. 30pm/7. 30pm – Paramount+/Sky Sports; Newcastle United vs Fulham, 3. 15pm/8. 15pm – CBS, Paramount+, Amazon Prime/ITV, Sky Sports. Women’s Champions League (both 3pm/8pm): Juventus vs Manchester United; Wolfsburg vs Chelsea – both DAZN/Disney+. Copa del Rey, round of 32: Talavera vs Real Madrid, 3pm/8pm – ESPN/Premier Sports. In May,  And Finally… cleared the decks for an outrageous finish by Santiago Montiel in an Argentine game between his club, Independiente, and Independiente Rivadavia. As we mentioned at the time, it was so spectacular (above) that broadcaster Fanatiz replayed it from no fewer than seven angles. Indeed, the brilliance was such that last night, it won FIFA’s Puskas Award for the best men’s goal of 2025 — the fourth straight year in which an overhead kick has come out on top. Football’s a bit of a sucker for them and TAFC’s not about to throw stones because in truth, so are we. Phil grew up near Edinburgh in Scotland and joined The Athletic in 2019 as its Leeds United writer. He is now lead writer of The Athletic FC newsletter. He previously worked for the Yorkshire Evening Post as its chief football writer. Follow Phil on Twitter @Phil Hay_