Manchester City’s guilty verdict brings football’s big sell-off crashing down to earth.

@font-face {
font-family: ‘Guardian Headline Full’;
src: url(https:@font-face {
font-family: ‘Guardian Headline Full’;
src: url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Bold.woff2) format(‘woff2’),
url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Bold.woff) format(‘woff’),
url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Bold.ttf) format(‘truetype’);
font-weight: 700;
font-style: normal;
}

@font-face {
font-family: ‘Guardian Titlepiece’;
src: url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-titlepiece/noalts-not-hinted/GTGuardianTitlepiece-Bold.woff2) format(‘woff2’),
url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-titlepiece/noalts-not-hinted/GTGuardianTitlepiece-Bold.woff) format(‘woff’),
url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-titlepiece/noalts-not-hinted/GTGuardianTitlepiece-Bold.ttf) format(‘truetype’);
font-weight: 700;
font-style: normal;
}

@font-face { font-family: ‘Guardian Headline Full’; src: url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BlackItalic.woff2) format(‘woff2′), url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/foThe text you’ve provided is CSS code, not prose, so there’s no natural English to rewrite. It defines font faces for Guardian Headline and Guardian Titlepiece, along with responsive grid layouts for interactive content across various screen sizes. If you’d like, I can explain what this code does in plain English.For interactive-grid figures with immersive captions, add 4px of top padding. In interactive-grid layouts, place the lines and meta elements in the second row, first column, spanning rows 2 through 4. The lines element should size to its content and have a 5px top margin, while the meta element gets an 18px top margin. On screens at least 81.25em wide, the interactive grid uses five columns sized 219px, 1px, 620px, 80px, and 300px. On iOS and Android, standfirst paragraphs use Guardian Headline at weight 500. The article kicker section displays as a block, with its first letter capitalized. The keyline-4 element gets 12px of top padding. Byline authors use Guardian Headline at weight 700, including any links within them. Image figure inner containers are set to auto height, and paragraphs following atom figures have no top margin. The Guardian Headline Full font family is defined with a light weight (300) and normal style, loading woff2, woff, and truetype formats, plus a light italic variant.@font-face{font-family:Guardian Headline Full;src:url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Regular.woff2) format(“woff2”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Regular.woff) format(“woff”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Regular.ttf) format(“truetype”);font-weight:400;font-style:normal}@font-face{font-family:Guardian Headline Full;src:url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-RegularItalic.woff2) format(“woff2”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-RegularItalic.woff) format(“woff”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-RegularItalic.ttf) format(“truetype”);font-weight:400;font-style:italic}@font-face{font-family:Guardian Headline Full;src:url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Medium.woff2) format(“woff2”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Medium.woff) format(“woff”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Medium.ttf) format(“truetype”);font-weight:500;font-style:normal}@font-face{font-family:Guardian Headline Full;src:url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-MediumItalic.woff2) format(“woff2”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-MediumItalic.woff) format(“woff”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-MediumItalic.ttf) format(“truetype”);font-weight:500;font-style:italic}@font-face{font-family:Guardian Headline Full;src:url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Semibold.woff2) format(“woff2”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Semibold.woff) format(“woff”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Semibold.ttf) format(“truetype”);font-weight:600;font-style:normal}@font-face{font-family:Guardian Headline Full;src:url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-SemiboldItalic.woff2) format(“woff2”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-SemiboldItalic.woff) format(“woff”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-SemiboldItalic.ttf) format(“truetype”);font-weight:600;font-style:italic}@font-face{font-family:Guardian Headline Full;src:url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Bold.woff2) format(“woff2”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Bold.woff) format(“woff”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Bold.ttf) format(“truetype”);font-weight:700;font-style:normal}@font-face{font-family:Guardian Headline Full;src:url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BoldItalic.woff2) format(“woff2”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BoldItalic.woff) format(“woff”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BoldItalic.ttf) format(“truetype”);font-weight:700;font-style:italic}@font-face{font-family:Guardian Headline Ful@font-face{font-family:Guardian Headline Full;src:url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Black.woff2) format(“woff2”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Black.woff) format(“woff”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Black.ttf) format(“truetype”);font-weight:900;font-style:normal}@font-face{font-family:Guardian Headline Full;src:url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BlackItalic.woff2) format(“woff2”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BlackItalic.woff) format(“woff”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BlackItalic.ttf) format(“truetype”);font-weight:900;font-style:italic}@font-face{font-family:Guardian Titlepiece;src:url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-titlepiece/noalts-not-hinted/GTGuardianTitlepiece-Bold.woff2) format(“woff2”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-titlepiece/noalts-not-hinted/GTGuardianTitlepiece-Bold.woff) format(“woff”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-titlepiece/noalts-not-hinted/GTGuardianTitlepiece-Bold.ttf) format(“truetype”);font-weight:700;font-style:normal}@media (min-width: 71.25em){.content__main-column–interactive{margin-left:160px}}@media (min-width: 81.25em){.content__main-column–interactive{margin-left:240px}}.content__main-column–interactive .element-atom{max-width:620px}@media (max-width: 46.24em){.content__main-column–interactive .element-atom{max-width:100%}}.content__main-column–interactive .element-showcase{margin-left:0}@media (min-width: 46.25em){.content__main-column–interactive .element-showcase{max-width:620px}}@media (min-width: 71.25em){.content__main-column–interactive .element-showcase{max-width:860px}}.content__main-column–interactive .element-immersive{max-width:1100px}@media (max-width: 46.24em){.content__main-column–interactive .element-immersive{width:calc(100vw – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px));position:relative;left:50%;right:50%;margin-left:calc(-50vw + var(–half-scrollbar-width, 0px))!important;margin-right:calc(-50vw + var(–half-scrollbar-width, 0px))!important}}@media (min-width: 46.25em){.content__main-column–interactive .element-immersive{transform:translate(-20px);width:calc(100% + 60px)}}@media (max-width: 71.24em){.content__main-column–interactive .element-immersive{margin-left:0;margin-right:0}}@media (min-width: 71.25em){.content__main-column–interactive .element-immersive{transform:translate(0);width:auto}}@media (min-width: 81.25em){.content__main-column–interactive .element-immersive{max-width:1260px}}.content__main-column–interactive p,.content__main-column–interactive ul{max-width:620px}.content__main-column–interactive:before{position:absolute;top:0;height:calc(100% + 15px);min-height:100px;content:””}@media (min-width: 71.25em){.content__main-column–interactive:before{border-left:1px solid #dcdcdc;z-index:-1;left:-10px}}@media (min-width: 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gu-island[name=SelfHostedVideo]:has(figure.loop.element-video-immersive){width:1140px;margin-left:-180px}[data-gu-name=body] gu-island[name=SelfHostedVideo]:has(figure.loop.element-video-immersive) figure figcaption{margin-left:20px}}@media (min-width: 81.25em){[data-gu-name=body] gu-island[name=SelfHostedVideo]:has(figure.loop.element-video-immersive){width:1300px;margin-left:-260px}}:root{–dateline: #606060;–headerBorder: #dcdcdc;–captionText: #999;–captionBackground: hsla(0, 0%, 7%, .72);–feature: #c70000;–new-pillar-colour: var(–primary-pillar, var(–feature))}:root:root{–subheading-text: var(–secondary-pillar);–pullquote-text: var(–secondary-pillar);–pullquote-icon: var(–secondary-pillar);–block-quote-text: var(–article-text)}:root:root blockquote{–block-quote-fill: var(–secondary-pillar)}@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark){:root:root:not([data-color-scheme=light]){–subheading-text: var(–darkmode-pillar);–pullquote-text: var(–darkmode-pillar);–pullquote-icon: var(–darkmode-pillar)}:root:root:not([data-color-scheme=light]) blockquote{–block-quote-fill: var(–darkmode-pillar)}}.content__main-column–interactive .element.element-atom,.element.element-atom{padding:0}#article-body>div .element-atom:first-of-type+p:first-of-type,#article-body>div .element-atom:first-of-type+.sign-in-gate+p:first-of-type,#article-body>div .element-atom:first-of-type+#sign-in-gate+p:first-of-type,#article-body>div hr:not(.last-horizontal-rule)+p,.content–interactive>div .element-atom:first-of-type+p:first-of-type,.content–interactive>div .element-atom:first-of-type+.sign-in-gate+p:first-of-type,.content–interactive>div .element-atom:first-of-type+#sign-in-gate+p:first-of-type,.content–interactive>div hr:not(.last-horizontal-rule)+p,#comment-body .element-atom:first-of-type+p:first-of-type,#comment-body .element-atom:first-of-type+.sign-in-gate+p:first-of-type,#comment-body .element-atom:first-of-type+#sign-in-gate+p:first-of-type,#comment-body hr:not(.last-horizontal-rule)+p,[data-gu-name=body] .element-atom:first-of-type+p:first-of-type,[data-gu-name=body] .element-atom:first-of-type+.sign-in-gate+p:first-of-type,[data-gu-name=body] .element-atom:first-of-type+#sign-in-gate+p:first-of-type,[data-gu-name=body] hr:not(.last-horizontal-rule)+p,#feature-body .element-atom:first-of-type+p:first-of-type,#feature-body .element-atom:first-of-type+.sign-in-gate+p:first-of-type,#feature-body .element-atom:first-of-type+#sign-in-gate+p:first-of-type,#feature-body hr:not(.last-horizontal-rule)+p{padding-top:14px}#article-body>div .element-atom:first-of-type+p:first-of-type:first-letter,#article-body>div .element-atom:first-of-type+.sign-in-gate+p:first-of-type:first-letter,#article-body>div .element-atom:first-of-type+#sign-in-gate+p:first-of-type:first-letter,#article-body>div hr:not(.last-horizontal-rule)+p:first-letter,.content–interactive>div .element-atom:first-of-type+p:first-of-type:first-letter,.content–interactive>div .element-atom:first-of-type+.The first letter of the first paragraph following a sign-in gate, an element atom, or a horizontal rule (excluding the last one) in various content areas—such as interactive content, comment bodies, main body sections, and feature bodies—is styled with the Guardian Headline font (or Georgia as a fallback), bold weight, 111px size, 92px line height, floated left, uppercase, with an 8px right margin, aligned to the top of the text, and colored using the drop-cap or new pillar color variable.

Horizontal rules followed by paragraphs in article bodies, interactive content, comment bodies, main body sections, and feature bodies have no top padding.

Pullquotes in article bodies, interactive content, comment bodies, main body sections, and feature bodies are limited to a maximum width of 620px.

Figcaptions for showcase elements in the main content, feature article container, standard article container, and comment article container are set to static positioning with full width up to 620px. On screens at least 71.25em wide, they become absolutely positioned with a maximum width of 140px. On screens at least 81.25em wide, the maximum width increases to 220px.

Immersive elements span the full viewport width minus any scrollbar width. On screens up to 71.24em wide, they are capped at 978px, and their figcaptions have 10px inline padding. Between 30em and 71.24em, the figcaption padding increases to 20px. Between 46.25em and 61.24em, the maximum width is 738px. On screens up to 46.24em wide, they are shifted left by 10px with no right margin. Between 30em and 46.24em, the left shift becomes 20px and figcaptions get 20px inline padding.

On screens at least 71.25em wide, showcase figures within the main body or interactive main column are shifted left by 160px. On screens at least 81.25em wide, the same applies to feature bodies.figure.element.element–showcase.element-showcase,[data-gu-name=body] .content__main-column–interactive figure.element.element–showcase.element-showcase{margin-left:-240px!important}}@media (min-width: 61.25em){.furniture-wrapper{display:grid;grid-column-gap:20px;grid-row-gap:0px;grid-template-columns:[title-start headline-start meta-start standfirst-start] repeat(5,1fr) [title-end headline-end meta-end standfirst-end portrait-start] repeat(5,1fr) [portrait-end];grid-template-rows:[title-start portrait-start] .25fr [title-end headline-start] 1fr [headline-end standfirst-start] .75fr [standfirst-end meta-start] auto [meta-end portrait-end]}.furniture-wrapper #headline>div:first-child,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=headline]>div:first-child,.furniture-wrapper .headline>div:first-child{border-top:1px solid var(–headerBorder)}.furniture-wrapper #meta,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=meta]{position:relative;padding-top:2px;margin-right:0}.furniture-wrapper .standfirst .content__standfirst,.furniture-wrapper #standfirst .content__standfirst,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=standfirst] .content__standfirst{margin-bottom:4px}.furniture-wrapper .standfirst ul li,.furniture-wrapper #standfirst ul li,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=standfirst] ul li{font-size:20px}.furniture-wrapper .standfirst li a,.furniture-wrapper .standfirst a,.furniture-wrapper #standfirst li a,.furniture-wrapper #standfirst a,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=standfirst] li a,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=standfirst] a{border-bottom:none;background-image:none!important;text-decoration:underline;text-underline-offset:6px;text-decoration-color:var(–headerBorder, #dcdcdc)}.furniture-wrapper .standfirst li a:hover,.furniture-wrapper .standfirst a:hover,.furniture-wrapper #standfirst li a:hover,.furniture-wrapper #standfirst a:hover,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=standfirst] li a:hover,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=standfirst] a:hover{text-decoration-color:var(–new-pillar-colour)}.furniture-wrapper .standfirst p:first-of-type,.furniture-wrapper #standfirst p:first-of-type,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=standfirst] p:first-of-type{border-top:1px solid var(–headerBorder);padding-bottom:0}}@media (min-width: 61.25em) and (min-width: 71.25em){.furniture-wrapper .standfirst p:first-of-type,.furniture-wrapper #standfirst p:first-of-type,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=standfirst] p:first-of-type{border-top:unset}}@media (min-width: 61.25em){.furniture-wrapper figure{margin:0 0 0 -10px}.furniture-wrapper figure[data-spacefinder-role=inline].element{max-width:630px}}@media (min-width: 71.25em){.furniture-wrapper{grid-template-columns:[title-start headline-start meta-start] repeat(2,1fr) [meta-end standfirst-start] repeat(5,1fr) [title-end headline-end standfirst-end portrait-start] repeat(7,1fr) [portrait-end];grid-template-rows:[title-start portrait-start] 80px [title-end headline-start] auto [headline-end standfirst-start meta-start] auto [standfirst-end meta-end portrait-end]}.furniture-wrapper #meta:before,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=meta]:before{content:””;width:540px;position:absolute;top:0;background-color:var(–headerBorder);height:1px}.furniture-wrapper .standfirst p,.furniture-wrapper #standfirst p,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=standfirst] p{border-top:unset}.furniture-wrapper .standfirst:before,.furniture-wrapper #standfirst:before,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=standfirst]:before{content:””;width:1px;background-color:var(–headerBorder);height:100%;position:absolute;top:0;left:.5px}}@media (min-width: 81.25em){.furniture-wrapper{grid-template-columns:[title-start headline-start meta-start] repeat(3,1fr) [meta-end standfirst-start] repeat(5,1fr) [title-end headline-end standfirst-end portrait-start] repeat(8,1fr) [portrait-end];grid-template-rows:[title-start portrait-start] .25fr [title-end headline-start] 1fr [headline-end standfirst-start meta-start] .75fr [standfirst-end meta-end portrait-end]}.furniture-wrapper #meta:before,.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=meta]:before{width:620px}.furniture-wrapper .standfirst:before,.furniturThe styles define how article headers, standfirsts, media, and captions are displayed. Headlines use a bold weight, with a maximum width of 620px and a font size of 32px, increasing to 540px wide and 50px on larger screens. Keylines and meta sections adjust their margins and borders at different breakpoints, and some elements are hidden on wider screens. The standfirst has a slight left offset and padding, with paragraph text at 20px and regular weight. Main media sits in a portrait grid area with responsive margins, and on small screens it stretches to the viewport width. Figcaptions are positioned at the bottom with a background and text color, and a caption button appears in the bottom-right corner. Interactive main columns get adjusted positioning on large screens, and h2 elements are capped at 620px wide. Dark mode variables are set for iOS and Android, with different feature colors depending on the color scheme.For iOS and Android devices, the first letter of the first paragraph in feature, standard, and comment article containers—whether or not it follows a sign-in gate—will be colored using the secondary pillar color, defaulting to black.

On iOS and Android, the article header in feature, standard, and comment containers will have zero height.

On iOS and Android, the furniture wrapper in feature, standard, and comment containers will have padding of 4px top, 10px left and right, and 0 bottom.

On iOS and Android, the content labels inside the furniture wrapper in feature, standard, and comment containers will use bold weight, the Guardian Headline font family with Georgia and serif fallbacks, the new pillar color, and capitalized text.

On iOS and Android, the h1 headline inside the furniture wrapper in feature, standard, and comment containers will have a font size of 32px, bold weight, 12px bottom padding, and a color of #121212 with important priority.

On iOS and Android, the figure element-image inside the furniture wrapper in feature, standard, and comment containers will have the following styles:figure.element-image{position:relative;margin:14px 0 0 -10px;width:calc(100vw – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px));height:auto}body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper figure.element-image .figure__inner,body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper figure.element-image img,body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper figure.element-image a,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper figure.element-image .figure__inner,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper figure.element-image img,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper figure.element-image a,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper figure.element-image .figure__inner,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper figure.element-image img,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper figure.element-image a,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper figure.element-image .figure__inner,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper figure.element-image img,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper figure.element-image a,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper figure.element-image .figure__inner,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper figure.element-image img,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper figure.element-image a,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper figure.element-image .figure__inner,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper figure.element-image img,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper figure.element-image a{background-color:transparent;width:calc(100vw – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px));height:auto!important}body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst{padding-top:4px;padding-bottom:24px;margin-right:-10px}body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst__inner p,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst__inner p,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst__inner p,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst__inner p,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst__inner p,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst__inner p{font-family:Guardian Headline,Guardian Egyptian Web,Guardian Headline Full,Georgia,serif}body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst__inner li a,body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst__inner a,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst__inner li a,body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst__inner a,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst__inner li a,body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst__inner a,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst__inner li a,body.android #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst__inner a,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst__inner li a,body.android #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst__inner a,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst__inner li a,body.android #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst__inner a{color:var(–new-pillar-colour)!important;background-image:none!important;text-decoration:underline;text-underline-offset:6px;text-decoration-color:var(–headerBorder, #dcdcdc);border-bottom:none}body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst__inner li a:hover,body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .standfirst__inneOn iOS and Android devices, when you hover over links in the standfirst section of feature, standard, or comment article containers, the underline color changes to the new pillar colour. The meta section in these article containers has no margin. The byline, byline author, author links, and byline spans within the meta section are all colored with the new pillar colour. The meta misc section has no padding.For .meta__misc svg, set the stroke to var(–new-pillar-colour). On iOS and Android, for the feature, standard, and comment article containers, make the caption button inside the furniture wrapper’s showcase element use flexbox with 5px padding, centered both horizontally and vertically, 28px wide and tall, and positioned 14px from the right. Also on iOS and Android, give the article body 12px left and right padding in those containers. For image figures in the article body that are not thumbnails or immersive, set margin to 0, width to calc(100vw – 24px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)), and height to auto; their figcaptions should have no padding. For immersive image figures, set width to calc(100vw – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)). In the prose section of the article body, make the before pseudo-element of quoted blockquotes use var(–new-pillar-colour), and style links in the prose section.In the article body of the feature, standard, and comment article containers on iOS and Android, links are colored with the primary pillar color, have no background image, are underlined, and the underline is offset by 6px with the header border color. On iOS and Android, when you hover over links in the article body of the feature, standard, and comment article containers, the underline color changes to the new pillar color. In dark mode, on iOS and Android, the furniture wrapper in the feature, standard, and comment article containers has a background color of #1a1a1a. The content labels inside the furniture wrapper use the new pillar color. The main headline inside the furniture wrapper has no background color and uses the header border color with important priority. The standfirst paragraphs inside the furniture wrapper use the header border color. Links in the standfirst, the byline author in the meta section, and the byline author link inside the meta section all use the new pillar color. The SVG icons in the meta miscellaneous section inside the furniture wrapper are also affected.On iOS and Android, for the feature, standard, and comment article containers, SVG icons inside the furniture wrapper’s meta section use the new pillar colour for their stroke. Figcaptions inside showcase image figures in the furniture wrapper use the dateline colour. Quoted blockquotes in the article body’s prose use the new pillar colour. The article body, interactive content, feature body, body data element, and comment body all have the dark background colour applied with !important. Additionally, the first letter of the first paragraph following an atom element, sign-in gate, or sign-in gate ID within these body sections is styled.This CSS selector targets the first letter of paragraphs that follow specific elements (like `.element-atom`, `.sign-in-gate`, or `#sign-in-gate`) within various article and comment containers, applying different styles depending on whether the device is iOS or Android.On Android devices, the first letter of paragraphs following certain elements—such as `.element-atom`, `.sign-in-gate`, or `#sign-in-gate`—within various article containers (including `#feature-article-container`, `#standard-article-container`, and `#comment-article-container`) and their sub-sections (`#article-body`, `.content–interactive`, `#feature-body`, `[data-gu-name=body]`, `#comment-body`) will be colored using the `–new-pillar-colour` variable, defaulting to white.

For comment-type articles on iOS and Android, the `.standfirst` inside `.furniture-wrapper` within `#comment-article-container` has a top padding of 24px and no top margin.

Headings (`h2`) within `.prose` have a font size of 24px.

On iOS, the `#caption-button` inside `#feature-article-container`, `#standard-article-container`, or `#comment-article-container` has padding of 6px top, 5px left and right, and 0 bottom.The text you provided is CSS code, not prose, so there’s no natural English to rewrite. If you meant to send a different passage, please share it and I’ll rewrite it for you..furniture-wrapper .headline > div > div { padding-bottom: 0; }

.furniture-wrapper #headline .portrait-mainmedia__headline-wrapper,
.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=”headline”] .portrait-mainmedia__headline-wrapper,
.furniture-wrapper .headline .portrait-mainmedia__headline-wrapper {
height: 100%;
position: relative;
overflow: hidden;
padding-bottom: 24px;
}

.furniture-wrapper #headline .portrait-mainmedia__headline-wrapper h1:hover,
.furniture-wrapper #headline .portrait-mainmedia__headline-wrapper a:hover,
.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=”headline”] .portrait-mainmedia__headline-wrapper h1:hover,
.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=”headline”] .portrait-mainmedia__headline-wrapper a:hover,
.furniture-wrapper .headline .portrait-mainmedia__headline-wrapper h1:hover,
.furniture-wrapper .headline .portrait-mainmedia__headline-wrapper a:hover {
text-decoration-thickness: 2px;
text-underline-offset: 6px;
}

.furniture-wrapper #headline .portrait-mainmedia__headline-wrapper h1,
.furniture-wrapper #headline .portrait-mainmedia__headline-wrapper a,
.furniture-wrapper #headline .portrait-mainmedia__headline-wrapper .byline span,
.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=”headline”] .portrait-mainmedia__headline-wrapper h1,
.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=”headline”] .portrait-mainmedia__headline-wrapper a,
.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=”headline”] .portrait-mainmedia__headline-wrapper .byline span,
.furniture-wrapper .headline .portrait-mainmedia__headline-wrapper h1,
.furniture-wrapper .headline .portrait-mainmedia__headline-wrapper a,
.furniture-wrapper .headline .portrait-mainmedia__headline-wrapper .byline span {
line-height: 115%;
font-weight: 500;
font-size: 36px;
}

@media (min-width: 71.25em) {
.furniture-wrapper #headline .portrait-mainmedia__headline-wrapper h1,
.furniture-wrapper #headline .portrait-mainmedia__headline-wrapper a,
.furniture-wrapper #headline .portrait-mainmedia__headline-wrapper .byline span,
.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=”headline”] .portrait-mainmedia__headline-wrapper h1,
.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=”headline”] .portrait-mainmedia__headline-wrapper a,
.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=”headline”] .portrait-mainmedia__headline-wrapper .byline span,
.furniture-wrapper .headline .portrait-mainmedia__headline-wrapper h1,
.furniture-wrapper .headline .portrait-mainmedia__headline-wrapper a,
.furniture-wrapper .headline .portrait-mainmedia__headline-wrapper .byline span {
font-size: 50px;
}
}

.furniture-wrapper .standfirst,
.furniture-wrapper #standfirst,
.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=”standfirst”] {
position: relative;
padding-top: 4px;
}

@media (min-width: 61.25em) {
.furniture-wrapper .standfirst,
.furniture-wrapper #standfirst,
.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=”standfirst”] {
padding-top: 0;
}
}

@media (min-width: 71.25em) {
.furniture-wrapper .standfirst,
.furniture-wrapper #standfirst,
.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=”standfirst”] {
padding-top: 2px;
}
}

.furniture-wrapper #meta .content__meta-container_dcr gu-island[name=”Branding”],
.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=”meta”] .content__meta-container_dcr gu-island[name=”Branding”] {
display: block;
}

.furniture-wrapper #main-media,
.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=”media”] {
position: relative;
}

@media (min-width: 61.25em) {
.furniture-wrapper #main-media,
.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=”media”] {
grid-area: portrait;
}
}

.furniture-wrapper #main-media > div,
.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=”media”] > div {
position: relative;
}

.furniture-wrapper #main-media div + span,
.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=”media”] div + span {
display: block;
}

.furniture-wrapper #main-media figure,
.furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=”media”] figure {
height: 100%;
margin-left: 10px;
}

.furniture-wrapper #main-media figure picture img,
.furniture-wrapper #main-media figure figcaption,
.furniture-In the media wrapper, the figure, picture, and image elements, along with the figure caption, are set to a width calculated from the viewport width minus 40 pixels and any scrollbar width, with automatic height, a 10-pixel left margin, and 10 pixels of vertical padding. The figure caption inside the main media and media wrapper has a 10-pixel bottom margin and 10 pixels of padding. The figure has a pseudo-element before it that displays a centered, non-repeating background image scaled to fit, positioned absolutely at the top and 10 pixels from the left, with inherited height. For cinemagraph figures, the first div has a transparent background, and the video is set to 92% width with a 16-pixel top margin and 8-pixel side margins. The cinemagraph caption has a 12-pixel bottom margin, 93% width, and a 2-pixel left margin. At a minimum width of 23.4375em, the cinemagraph video becomes 94% wide, and the caption becomes 91% wide with a 9-pixel left margin and the same bottom margin. At a minimum width of 46.25em, the figure loses its left margin. The picture image becomes 670 pixels wide with automatic height, a 5-pixel left margin, and 15-pixel top and bottom padding with 10-pixel side padding. The pseudo-element becomes 700 pixels wide and shifts 10 pixels to the left. The figure caption becomes 650 pixels wide with a 15-pixel left margin, 15-pixel bottom margin, and 15-pixel top and bottom padding with 10-pixel side padding. The cinemagraph video becomes 96% wide with an 18-pixel top margin and 6-pixel side margins, and its caption becomes 96% wide with a 6-pixel left margin and 17-pixel bottom margin. At a minimum width of 61.25em, the pseudo-element becomes 470 pixels wide. The picture image and figure caption both become 450 pixels wide with no left margin. The picture image has 10-pixel top and bottom padding with no side padding. The figure caption has a 10-pixel bottom margin. The cinemagraph video has a 10-pixel top margin and 6-pixel side margins, and its caption has a 6-pixel left margin and 12-pixel bottom margin. At a minimum width of 71.25em, the pseudo-element becomes 550 pixels wide. The picture image becomes 520 pixels wide with a 5-pixel left margin and 10-pixel top and bottom padding with 5-pixel side padding. The figure caption becomes 510 pixels wide with a 10-pixel left margin and 10-pixel bottom margin. The cinemagraph video has a 12-pixel top margin and 6-pixel side margins, and its caption is cut off.The caption for the furniture wrapper’s media figure has a left margin of 6px and a bottom margin of 15px. On screens at least 81.25em wide, the main media figure and the media figure get a width of 630px. Their images are 600px wide with 15px of vertical padding. Their captions are 600px wide with a 5px left margin and a 15px bottom margin. For cinemagraph videos, the margin is 16px top, 8px right, and 0 bottom. Cinemagraph captions have an 8px left margin.

The caption button sits 15px from the right and 20px from the bottom. At 46.25em and wider, it moves to 45px from the right and 30px from the bottom. At 61.25em and wider, it goes back to 15px from the right and 20px from the bottom. At 71.25em and wider, it sits 20px from the right. At 81.25em and wider, it sits 30px from the bottom.

When a cinemagraph is present, the caption button sits 20px from the right. At 46.25em and wider, it moves to 35px from the right and 25px from the bottom. At 61.25em and wider, it moves to 25px from the right and 20px from the bottom. At 71.25em and wider, it sits 25px from the bottom.

The no-media div is centered with flexbox and takes full width. Its paragraph text is 24px, bold, underlined, and uses the byline anchor color.

On screens at least 71.25em wide, the interactive main column has no left margin, and its before element is hidden. A supporting aside containing a blockquote gets a light background color. The first paragraph’s first letter is light in weight. The first letter of a paragraph following an hr, a progress bar wrapper, or a drop-cap paragraph uses a serif font at 111px size, 92px line height, uppercase, floated left with an 8px right margin, and colored with the drop-cap or new pillar color.

H2 headings in the interactive main column are dark red, 28px, normal style, light weight, with normal line height and an 8px bottom margin. At 71.25em and wider, they become 32px. If an h2 contains strong text, it becomes medium weight. A figure containing an iframe gets a light background color. At 71.25em and wider, the figcaption of an element showcase figure is absolutely positioned.[data-rendering-target=apps] .meta__byline gu-island[name=FollowWrapper], [data-rendering-target=apps] [data-component=meta-byline] gu-island[name=FollowWrapper], [data-app-os=ios] .meta__byline gu-island[name=FollowWrapper], [data-app-os=ios] [data-component=meta-byline] gu-island[name=FollowWrapper], [data-app-os=android] .meta__byline gu-island[name=FollowWrapper], [data-app-os=android] [data-component=meta-byline] gu-island[name=FollowWrapper] { display: block; margin-top: 10px; }

[data-rendering-target=apps] .meta__byline gu-island[name=FollowWrapper] span, [data-rendering-target=apps] [data-component=meta-byline] gu-island[name=FollowWrapper] span, [data-app-os=ios] .meta__byline gu-island[name=FollowWrapper] span, [data-app-os=ios] [data-component=meta-byline] gu-island[name=FollowWrapper] span, [data-app-os=android] .meta__byline gu-island[name=FollowWrapper] span, [data-app-os=android] [data-component=meta-byline] gu-island[name=FollowWrapper] span { font-size: 14px !important; }

[data-rendering-target=apps] #main-media div, [data-rendering-target=apps] #main-media figure, [data-rendering-target=apps] #main-media picture, [data-rendering-target=apps] [data-gu-name=media] div, [data-rendering-target=apps] [data-gu-name=media] figure, [data-rendering-target=apps] [data-gu-name=media] picture, [data-app-os=ios] #main-media div, [data-app-os=ios] #main-media figure, [data-app-os=ios] #main-media picture, [data-app-os=ios] [data-gu-name=media] div, [data-app-os=ios] [data-gu-name=media] figure, [data-app-os=ios] [data-gu-name=media] picture, [data-app-os=android] #main-media div, [data-app-os=android] #main-media figure, [data-app-os=android] #main-media picture, [data-app-os=android] [data-gu-name=media] div, [data-app-os=android] [data-gu-name=media] figure, [data-app-os=android] [data-gu-name=media] picture { width: -moz-fit-content; width: fit-content; }

@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
[data-rendering-target=apps] body, [data-app-os=ios] body, [data-app-os=android] body {
–article-section-background: #1a1a1a;
–weekend-essay-bg: #1a1a1a;
}

[data-rendering-target=apps] .furniture-wrapper .article-header:after, [data-rendering-target=apps] .furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=title] .content__labels:after, [data-app-os=ios] .furniture-wrapper .article-header:after, [data-app-os=ios] .furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=title] .content__labels:after, [data-app-os=android] .furniture-wrapper .article-header:after, [data-app-os=android] .furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=title] .content__labels:after {
background-image: url(https://interactive.guim.co.uk/atoms/2025/04/2025-weekend-essay-test/assets/v/1784045269/book-white.gif);
}

[data-rendering-target=apps] .furniture-wrapper .meta__byline gu-island[name=FollowWrapper] svg path, [data-rendering-target=apps] .furniture-wrapper [data-component=meta-byline] gu-island[name=FollowWrapper] svg path, [data-app-os=ios] .furniture-wrapper .meta__byline gu-island[name=FollowWrapper] svg path, [data-app-os=ios] .furniture-wrapper [data-component=meta-byline] gu-island[name=FollowWrapper] svg path, [data-app-os=android] .furniture-wrapper .meta__byline gu-island[name=FollowWrapper] svg path, [data-app-os=android] .furniture-wrapper [data-component=meta-byline] gu-island[name=FollowWrapper] svg path {
fill: var(–byline-anchor, #ffffff) !important;
}

[data-rendering-target=apps] .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure:before, [data-rendering-target=apps] .furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=media] figure:before, [data-app-os=ios] .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure:before, [data-app-os=ios] .furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=media] figure:before, [data-app-os=android] .furniture-wrapper #main-media figure:before, [data-app-os=android] .furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=media] figure:before {
background-image: url(https://interactive.guim.co.uk/atoms/2025/04/2025-weekend-essay-test/assets/v/1784045269/frame-white.png) !important;
}
}

body.ios, body.android {
background-color: #fff;
}

body.ios #feature-article-container .furniture-wrapper .content__labels, body.ios #standard-article-container .furniture-wrapper .content__labels, body.ios #comment-article-container .furniture-wrapper .content__labels, body.andThe labels in the furniture wrapper of the feature, standard, and comment article containers on iOS and Android should use a font weight of 500. On iOS and Android, the headline in the same containers should also use a font weight of 500.

When the color scheme is light, the background color for iOS and Android devices should be the weekend essay background color, defaulting to #fff4f2. For iOS and Android, the opinion primary color should be #c74600, with the byline anchor and primary pillar using the same color. In light mode, the background color for iOS and Android should again be the weekend essay background color, defaulting to #fff4f2.

In dark mode, the weekend essay background color should be #1a1a1a, and the opinion primary color should be #ff7f0f. Also in dark mode, for opinion pillar articles that are not media type on iOS, the article body and tags should have no background color.

The feature, standard, and comment article containers on iOS and Android should have a background color of the weekend essay background color, defaulting to #fff4f2.

On screens at least 61.25em wide, the furniture wrapper in these containers on iOS and Android should use a grid layout with a 20px column gap and no row gap. The grid template columns should define areas for title, headline, meta, standfirst, and portrait, each spanning five equal columns. The grid template rows should define areas for title and portrait, title and headline, headline and standfirst, standfirst and meta, and meta and portrait, with specified fractions and auto sizing.

The title-and-gif-wrapper inside the furniture wrapper on iOS and Android should be a flex container with a row direction, no wrapping, space-between justification, and relative positioning.

The content labels inside the title-and-gif-wrapper on iOS and Android should have a font size of 17px, normal style, bold weight, and 115% line height. Links inside these content labels on iOS and Android should follow the same styling.On Android, links in the content labels of the feature, standard, and comment article containers use the new pillar color (default #c74600) and are not forced to uppercase.

On iOS and Android, GIF containers and their images in the title-and-gif wrapper of the feature, standard, and comment article containers are 70 by 70 pixels.

On iOS and Android, GIF containers with the class book-gif-white and their images are hidden.

When the device is set to dark mode, the book-gif GIF containers and their images in the title-and-gif wrapper of the feature, standard, and comment article containers on iOS and Android are affected.On iOS and Android, hide the book GIF in the title-and-GIF wrapper of the furniture section across feature, standard, and comment article containers. On iOS and Android, show the white book GIF in the same location across those article containers. On iOS and Android, add a divider line after the title-and-GIF wrapper in the furniture section of feature, standard, and comment article containers: a full-width, 1-pixel line in light gray, positioned at the bottom and shifted 10 pixels to the left. On screens at least 61.25em wide, set the title-and-GIF wrapper in the furniture section of those article containers to the title grid area, and make the divider line half the viewport width. In dark mode, change the divider line color to dark gray. On screens at least 61.25em wide, adjust the portrait main media headline wrapper in the furniture section of those article containers on iOS and Android.On Android devices, the headline wrapper for the feature, standard, and comment article containers is placed in the headline grid area. On both iOS and Android, the headline, byline, and byline links in these article containers use a font size of 36px, normal style, medium weight, and 115% line height. The byline and its links are colored with the new pillar colour, defaulting to #c70000. In dark mode, these byline styles also apply on iOS.On iOS and Android devices, the byline text and links in the feature, standard, and comment article containers use the color defined by the new pillar colour variable, falling back to #c74600, and this is applied with priority. On these devices, the avatar in the byline is hidden. The main headline in these article containers has no bottom margin or padding. The byline text is italicized, but the author name within the byline remains normal. The main media area has automatic height with a 4:5 aspect ratio and a transparent background. Any figure element inside the main media is set to full height with no left margin.In the main media section of feature, standard, and comment article containers, on both iOS and Android, the inner figure element is positioned at the top left. Its background is transparent, content can overflow, and padding is removed. Images inside these figures are sized to the viewport width minus 40 pixels, with a 20-pixel left margin and a 25-pixel top margin. On iOS and Android, images within the inner element have a 13-pixel top margin. Figure captions have automatic height, and their paragraph and span text is styled accordingly.On iOS and Android devices, within the feature, standard, and comment article containers, the caption text inside the main media figure is displayed as a block element with no maximum height, positioned relatively, and colored using the caption text variable (defaulting to #999).

On screens at least 46.25em wide, the main media figure in these article containers is allowed to exceed its normal maximum width. A pseudo-element before the figure is positioned 10px from the left with a width calculated as the full viewport width minus 20px. Images inside the figure are sized to the viewport width minus 60px, with a 30px left margin and a 40px top margin.

On screens at least 61.25em wide, the pseudo-element before the figure is instead sized to half the viewport width minus 20px and any scrollbar width.The image inside the main media figure within the furniture wrapper of the feature, standard, or comment article containers on iOS and Android devices should be sized to half the viewport width minus 40 pixels and any scrollbar width, with an 18-pixel left margin, automatic height, no padding, and a 10-pixel top margin.

On screens at least 71.25em wide, the same figure’s pseudo-element should be shifted up by 4 pixels.

On screens at least 81.25em wide, that pseudo-element should move 20 pixels to the left, and the image should be sized to half the viewport width minus 90 pixels and any scrollbar width, with a 12-pixel left margin, automatic height, a -10-pixel top margin, and 21 pixels of top padding.

In dark mode, the pseudo-element should use a white frame background image.

When the figure is the first image, its pseudo-element should span the full viewport width minus 20 pixels and any scrollbar width, positioned at the left edge.This CSS code styles the first image in an article’s main media section for iOS and Android devices. On smaller screens, the image takes up nearly the full viewport width with some padding. On wider screens (at least 61.25em), the image is set to half the viewport width with adjusted margins and padding. On even wider screens (at least 81.25em), the width is reduced further with additional margin adjustments. The figure element containing the image is also styled with a maximum width and a pseudo-element that adjusts its position based on screen size.For iOS and Android devices, the caption button inside the main media section of the furniture wrapper is positioned 45px from the bottom.

On screens at least 61.25em wide, the main media section in the furniture wrapper for iOS and Android is placed in the portrait grid area, with a maximum width of 620px and automatic height.

For iOS and Android, the figure element inside the furniture wrapper is positioned relatively with no top margin. Its inner container is absolutely positioned 15px from the top and 20px from the left, with a width equal to the viewport width minus 40px and automatic height. Images inside this inner container fill the space using object-fit: cover. The caption button is placed 24px from the right and 20px from the bottom.

On screens at least 46.25em wide, the inner container for iOS and Android is 680px wide with automatic height, positioned 10px from the top and 10px from the left. The caption button positioning remains the same.At the bottom: 25px. For screens at least 61.25em wide, on iOS and Android devices, figures inside the furniture wrapper of the feature, standard, and comment article containers are set to a width of 50vw minus 20px minus the scrollbar width (defaulting to 0px). On those same devices and containers, the standfirst has no top margin, 8px top padding, and 10px right padding. Its before pseudo-element is hidden. Text inside the standfirst—paragraphs, links, and list items—is 20px, normal style, medium weight, 115% line height, with no bottom padding. On screens at least 61.25em wide, the standfirst is placed in the standfirst grid area. The meta section has no top padding.For iOS and Android devices, the published metadata within the furniture wrapper of the feature, standard, and comment article containers is set to a relative position. On iOS and Android, this published metadata has an after element that is a full-width, 1-pixel high line in light gray, positioned at the bottom and shifted 10 pixels to the left. On screens at least 61.25em wide, the metadata block in these containers is displayed as a block within the meta grid area, and the after element’s width is reduced to 50vw. On screens at least 81.25em wide, the miscellaneous metadata within the meta section has no left margin. In dark mode, the after element’s background color changes to a darker gray. Additionally, on iOS and Android, the before pseudo-elements for the meta and keyline sections in these containers are hidden.On iOS and Android, hide the furniture-wrapper aside.element-rich-link inside the feature, standard, and comment article containers. Also hide the cutout-container inside the comment-header for those same containers, using `display: none !important`.

For iOS and Android, set the article-body and feature-body background color to `var(–weekend-essay-bg, #fff4f2)` and add a top margin of 6px.

For horizontal rules inside article-body and feature-body on iOS and Android, use a height of 1px, no border, a bottom margin of 3px, a background color of #dcdcdc, a width of 150px, no left margin, and a top margin of 48px.

For the first letter of the first paragraph that has no span, or the first letter of the paragraph immediately after a horizontal rule, inside article-body and feature-body on iOS and Android, use the Guardian Headline, Guardian Egyptian Web, Guardian Headline Full, Georgia, serif font stack. Set font-weight to 300 !important, font-size to 111px, line-height to 92px, float left, text-transform uppercase, box-sizing border-box, right margin 8px, vertical-align text-top, and color `var(–drop-cap, var(–secondary-pillar))`.

For h2 elements that contain strong, or strong/b inside .prose h2, within article-body and feature-body on iOS and Android, set font-weight to 500 !important.

In dark mode, for iOS and Android, set the horizontal rule background color inside article-body and feature-body to #606060. For the first letter of the paragraph immediately after a horizontal rule inside article-body and feature-body, set the color to `var(–new-pillar-colour, #ff5943)`. For links inside paragraphs in article-body and feature-body, remove text-decoration with `none !important`.

For the first letter of the first paragraph immediately after the first element-atom inside a div in article-body or feature-body on iOS and Android, set font-weight to 500.

For the first letter of the first paragraph immediately after an element-atom, or after an element-atom plus .sign-in-gate, or after an element-atom plus #sign-in-gate, inside comment-body or `[data-gu-name=body]` on iOS and Android, apply the same drop-cap styling.It was somehow fitting that Tuesday’s damning ruling against Manchester City landed in the middle of the Labour party conference, just after Andy Burnham’s rapturously received prime minister’s speech. I was there, reading the astonishing 40 pages of findings on my phone during a long meeting of the Socialist Campaign Group—that City had created “sham” contracts to artificially boost income by £900m—while people celebrated Keir Starmer’s ousting and Burnham’s more leftwing direction.

At the heart of Burnham’s speech was the wrong turn he says Britain took under Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s: selling off and privatising council housing, water, energy, transport and care. “We built the common good,” he said, but “the common wealth … created for the many was seen as an opportunity for the few.”

He could have been talking about football, too. Where Manchester City have ended up, after being bought by Sheikh Mansour of the Abu Dhabi ruling family in 2008, is the culmination of decades in which “the people’s game” has been carved up for profit. Clubs like City—formed in the Victorian smog of industry by churches, schools and workplaces, then built by generations of supporters into powerful homes of belonging—were sold off just when football finally had enough wealth to go round.

I investigated and reported on that financial carve-up in my early years of journalism, and Burnham worked on it too, at the start of his political career, as the administrator of New Labour’s football taskforce. My 1997 book, The Football Business, in which I likened football’s commercialisation to Thatcher’s privatisations, resonated with many supporters’ groups campaigning against rocketing ticket prices, exclusive pay-TV deals, and the drawbridge the newly mega-rich Premier League had pulled up behind it.

My moment of clarity had come at Manchester City, reporting on an earlier takeover, in 1994 by a beloved former player, Francis “Franny” Lee. I grew up in Manchester and from as early as I could answer the challenge—“which club do you support?”—it was always City for me. My dad took me, fast-walking, hand-in-hand, to big matches in the 1970s, floodlit glory nights of my boyhood. I have always loved the colour blue, especially sky blue, and have never really worn anything red in my life.

View image in fullscreen
Dennis Tueart of Manchester City scores the winning goscored against Newcastle United with an overhead kick, 1976. Photograph: Granger/Historical Picture Archive/Alamy. For fans of my generation, the only trophy City won was the 1976 League Cup, won with a wonderful overhead “bicycle” kick goal by our winger, Dennis Tueart. I like art as much as anyone, but the photo of Tueart’s goal must be the picture I’ve looked at more than any other: its perfection, Tueart’s straight back in mid-air, curling the ball behind him into the Wembley net, Newcastle’s defenders frozen in time forever. But unlike Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal, City never had a long period of success. They squeezed a golden age into two years, 1968-70, and soon after that League Cup win, they were relegated, in 1983. For years, while City fans became known for their loyalty and their “sod-it” humour – taking bananas and other inflatables to matches – there was always a sad longing for success to return. When Lee finally took over City, praised by all the fans, it felt like a rescue. As a fan in the old Maine Road stadium, I cheered him on Saturday, then as a journalist on Monday I kept asking for an interview. They agreed, and I was led behind the scenes, along some worn corridors into the chairman’s office, where Franny sat glowing behind the desk. View image in fullscreen. A plane flies over Maine Road during a game against Liverpool with a banner urging chairman Peter Swales to leave and be replaced by Francis Lee, October 1993. Photograph: David Davies/Offside/Getty Images. Everyone involved was so happy to have pulled it off that they shared details quite cheerfully. And that was when I first understood that Manchester City wasn’t a club at all. It was a company, with “owners”, and this had been a corporate takeover. Franny was one of many other business people, a consortium, who had bought the shares. Later, one of the lawyers proudly showed me some corporate work they had done. They had formed a holding company, Manchester City plc, that would own the old football club company. The new millions from Rupert Murdoch’s Sky TV had poured into the Premier League, a breakaway in 1992 by the top clubs from sharing TV money with the clubs in the other three divisions of the Football League. This increased the value of the top club-companies, and the new consortium planned to float City on the stock exchange, like Manchester United and others, where their shares could ultimately be sold at a profit. I learned that holding companies were formed to bypass the longstanding rules of the Football Association – the game’s governing body – that restricted shareholders from being paid dividends, and directors from receiving a salary. The FA imposed those at the start of professional football in 1892, allowing clubs to form limited liability companies, but limiting the personal money shareholders could make. This was to keep the collective, service ethos of a club. A century later, the rules were still in the FA’s handbook, at No 34. To the relatively small but formidable core of people who really care about these principles, “rule 34” became a symbol of football’s sell-off, surrendered to enable huge personal gains by investors. That was now seen as outdated, blazers’ bureaucracy that must not hold back football’s new business energy. To me, it was all a punch in the gut. This criticism was put forcefully to Labour’s football taskforce, with calls by the Football Supporters’ Association for strong regulation to harness the benefits of the new era. Fans understood that German football’s response to the pay TV transformation was to allow corporate reorganisations, but require clubs to be controlled “50% plus one” by mutual supporters associations. New Labour was never going to introduce a football regulator or major reforms, but Burnham worked hard for concrete improvements. The Premier League agreed to distribute 5% of its TV deal to iImproving run-down grassroots playing facilities through a new grant-giving body, the Football Foundation, has been transformative. Burnham also championed mutual fan ownership of clubs, helping to establish an organisation, Supporters Direct, to promote it. But the impossible cost for fans of buying and sustaining their clubs has meant over the years that few are mutually owned. The Premier League roared on, and the sell-offs became more corporate. Some original shareholders made fortunes selling, mostly to US investors: about £90m by Martin Edwards at Manchester United; £90m by the Littlewoods pools heir David Moores for selling his Liverpool shares.

Manchester City fans after watching their team win at Stoke but still get relegated in May 1998. Photograph: Alex Livesey/Allsport/Getty Images

Lee and his consortium never managed it, though, and City were relegated to football’s third tier in 1998. Famously he said City would have won a room full of trophies “if cups were awarded for cock-ups”.

Mansour’s acquisition of Manchester City 10 years later can be seen as the pure essence of “Manchesterism” – spending public money on cultural assets and infrastructure to attract business investors – long before Burnham became mayor of Greater Manchester in 2017 and coined that word this year. The splendid new stadium was built for the 2002 Commonwealth Games with £127m from Manchester city council and the national lottery, the council spending £22m on removing the athletics track and conversion for City to move in. The plan was part of the regeneration of east Manchester, where industry had cranked and smoked, then died in the 1980s.

The council leaders could hardly have imagined that cups-for-cock-ups Manchester City would then attract one of the world’s richest buyers, and the oil wealth of the Gulf. But the Premier League’s global ubiquity, the new stadium and the loyal City crowd all added up for Abu Dhabi.

If you set aside the glaring concerns about the ruler of a country taking over a local heritage football club, the human rights and geopolitical complications that introduces, and the central dissonance of clubs being owned by investors at all, Mansour has been a dream for Manchester. He has poured billions into the club, to attract, buy and pay the world’s best players and the best manager, Pep Guardiola.

Boys dressed in head scarves before the first game after the club was bought by the Abu Dhabi United group. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian

His new corporate regime expanded the stadium – named Etihad under a sponsorship deal with the Abu Dhabi state airline, which has now complained that the Premier League’s communication of the commission’s findings has created “damaging implications” for it.

As Burnham acknowledged this week when he described the Abu Dhabi ownership as “a huge partner in the building of modern Manchester”, and gave thanks for the money put in, they have also invested in property development, converting long-derelict mills into apartments for young professionals Manchester was seeking to attract.

The dizzying findings of financial cheating were finally delivered this week from a Premier League investigation process that took eight years, which City repeatedly tried to block. City will appeal, and claim, as they have throughout, that they have “irrefutable evidence” disproving the findings of the three-person commission, which took almost two years.

Manchester City’s Vincent Kompany lifts the Premier League trophy after their victory over West Ham at the Etihad Stadium on 11 May 2014. Photograph: Andrew Yates/AFP/Getty Images

At the core of Mansour’s ownership has been a ruthless determination not just to make his Premier League acquisition competitive, but to attain total domination. Before 2008, in 116 years of professional football, City only won the old First Division championship twice.

Mansour’s regime has sThey have won the Premier League eight times so far, the FA Cup four times, and reached the pinnacle by winning the Champions League in 2023. The League Cup, so rare and special to my generation, has been brought back from Wembley seven times. Burnham has boldly broken with accepting Thatcher’s great sell-offs, saying they produced today’s fractures. As he left the stage to applause and acclaim, football’s great sell-off was crashing to earth.

Frequently Asked Questions
Here is a list of FAQs regarding Manchester Citys guilty verdict and its impact on footballs financial landscape

Beginner Questions

What exactly is Manchester City guilty of
They were found guilty of breaking financial rulesspecifically failing to provide accurate financial information and not cooperating with the Premier Leagues investigation into their spending

What are the financial rules everyone keeps talking about
These are the Premier Leagues Profit and Sustainability Rules They are designed to stop clubs from spending more money than they earn ensuring teams dont go bankrupt

What does the big selloff mean in this context
It refers to the panic selling of shares in football clubs or related media companies Investors got scared that if Man Citythe biggest spendercould be punished other clubs might be next so they sold their stocks

Why does this verdict matter to fans of other teams
It changes the game If City is punished severely it opens the door for other teams to win trophies It also means your team might have to follow stricter spending rules in the future

What is the immediate punishment for Man City
As of now the verdict is the finding of guilt The actual punishment will be decided at a separate hearing which could take months

Advanced Questions

How does this verdict impact the Premier Leagues Associated Party rules
It weakens them significantly City challenged the rules regarding sponsors linked to club owners The verdict suggests the Premier League cannot easily block these deals meaning clubs with rich owners can pump in more money via sponsorships

What is the 115 charges figure I keep hearing
That is the number of specific alleged breaches the Premier League brought against City The recent verdict found them guilty of some of these but the full list covers a decade of financial activity

Does this verdict set a precedent for Newcastle or Chelsea
Yes It tells clubs like Newcastle and Chelsea that the Premier League is willing to go after big names However it also shows that the legal process is messy and takes years

What is the big selloff in financial terms
It refers to a drop in the valuation of football clubs on the stock market like

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