Standards
How we report, source, attribute and correct. These rules apply to every story on the site.
We do not publish rumours as fact. Speculation is attributed to the outlet or reporter who originated it, in the text and in the Sources block at the end of the article. If we cannot say where a claim came from, we do not run it.
When a story originates elsewhere, we name and link the original reporting. We aggregate openly and we do not present other people's work as our own.
Every article carries the name of the person accountable for it, linked to a page with their role and background. We do not publish anonymous or pseudonymous journalism.
We publish images we have the right to use. Image rights and attribution are part of the check an article passes before it goes live, and where a source or licence requires attribution, the credit is shown with the image. We do not knowingly present anyone else's work as our own, and where we find a credit is wrong or missing, we correct it.
Every factual claim is checked against a primary or otherwise authoritative source before it runs: club and league statements, official competition data, verified match reporting, or the reporter who broke the story. Where a fixture or tournament recurs, we verify the date on the source page itself, because last season's coverage from the same official source reads identically to this season's. A claim we cannot stand up does not go in.
Quotations are reproduced accurately and attributed to the person who said them and the setting they said it in. Post-match reaction is never presented as anything else, and a pre-match or programme quote is never dressed up as reaction to a result. A quote may be shortened by closing and reopening the quotation marks around the part we keep. We never drop a sentence from inside a continuous quote.
Fast-moving stories are published with what is confirmed at the time and updated as more is confirmed. We say plainly what is established and what is not, rather than filling the gap with inference, and an update that materially changes the story is dated on the article.
Every article is read before it publishes by the editor accountable for it, against a fixed check covering facts, sources, quotes, attribution, image rights and whether the headline matches the story underneath it. Nothing publishes automatically.
We do not copy other outlets' work. Where reporting originates elsewhere we say so, name the outlet and link to it. Passing off another person's reporting, writing or images as ours is not a matter of degree, and it ends a contributor's involvement with the site.
A material factual error is corrected on the article with a visible, dated note, and the updated date is set. Minor spelling and formatting fixes are made without a note, because they do not change what the article says. Our corrections policy sets out what qualifies and how to report one.
Advertising and sponsorship never influence what we cover or how we cover it. We are not affiliated with any club, league or governing body we report on, and no outside party has editorial approval over our coverage. Where a commercial relationship is connected to a story, it is disclosed in that story.
If you think we have something wrong, or you want to tell us about a story, the editorial team can be reached through the contact page. Reports of factual errors are read first, and we would rather hear about a mistake than leave it standing.