thesis play meaning

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thesis play

• a play that develops or defends a particular thesis.

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thesis-play noun

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What does the noun thesis-play mean?

There is one meaning in OED's entry for the noun thesis-play . See ‘Meaning & use’ for definition, usage, and quotation evidence.

Entry status

OED is undergoing a continuous programme of revision to modernize and improve definitions. This entry has not yet been fully revised.

How common is the noun thesis-play ?

Where does the noun thesis-play come from.

Earliest known use

The earliest known use of the noun thesis-play is in the 1900s.

OED's earliest evidence for thesis-play is from 1902, in Edinburgh Review .

thesis-play is formed within English, by compounding.

Etymons: thesis n. , play n.

Nearby entries

• these, n. a1600–48
• these, pron. & adj. Old English–
• Thesean, adj. 1815–
• Theseid, n. 1725–
• Theseium, n. 1819–
• these-like, adj. 1644–
• thesial, adj. 1654
• thesicle, n. 1863–
• thesis, n. a1398–
• thesis-novel, n. 1934–
• thesis-play, n. 1902–
• thesmophilist, n. 1644–
• Thesmophorian, adj. 1891–
• Thesmophoric, adj. 1788–
• thesmothete, n. 1603–
• thesocyte, n. 1887–
• thesp, n. 1962–
• Thespian, adj. & n. 1675–
• Thespianism, n. 1914–
• Thessalian, adj. & n. 1594–
• thester, n. Old English–1540

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Meaning & use

Entry history for thesis-play, n..

Originally published as part of the entry for thesis, n.

thesis, n. was first published in 1912; not yet revised.

Revision of the OED is a long-term project. Entries in oed.com which have not been revised may include:

• corrections and revisions to definitions, pronunciation, etymology, headwords, variant spellings, quotations, and dates;
• new senses, phrases, and quotations which have been added in subsequent print and online updates.

Earlier versions of this entry were published in:

OED First Edition (1912)

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OED Second Edition (1989)

• View thesis in OED Second Edition

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Citation details

Factsheet for thesis-play, n., browse entry.

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Quick Reference

An argument or proposition, which may be opposed by an antithesis; or a scholarly essay defending some proposition, usually a dissertation submitted for an academic degree. The thesis of a literary work is its abstract doctrinal content, that is, a proposition for which it argues. For ‘thesis novel’, see roman à thèse; for ‘thesis play’, see problem play.

From:   thesis   in  The Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms »

Subjects: Linguistics

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Reference entries, thesis and antithesis.

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While Sandel argues that pursuing perfection through genetic engineering would decrease our sense of humility, he claims that the sense of solidarity we would lose is also important.

This thesis summarizes several points in Sandel’s argument, but it does not make a claim about how we should understand his argument. A reader who read Sandel’s argument would not also need to read an essay based on this descriptive thesis.  

Broad thesis (arguable, but difficult to support with evidence) 

Michael Sandel’s arguments about genetic engineering do not take into consideration all the relevant issues.

This is an arguable claim because it would be possible to argue against it by saying that Michael Sandel’s arguments do take all of the relevant issues into consideration. But the claim is too broad. Because the thesis does not specify which “issues” it is focused on—or why it matters if they are considered—readers won’t know what the rest of the essay will argue, and the writer won’t know what to focus on. If there is a particular issue that Sandel does not address, then a more specific version of the thesis would include that issue—hand an explanation of why it is important.  

Arguable thesis with analytical claim 

While Sandel argues persuasively that our instinct to “remake” (54) ourselves into something ever more perfect is a problem, his belief that we can always draw a line between what is medically necessary and what makes us simply “better than well” (51) is less convincing.

This is an arguable analytical claim. To argue for this claim, the essay writer will need to show how evidence from the article itself points to this interpretation. It’s also a reasonable scope for a thesis because it can be supported with evidence available in the text and is neither too broad nor too narrow.  

Arguable thesis with normative claim 

Given Sandel’s argument against genetic enhancement, we should not allow parents to decide on using Human Growth Hormone for their children.

This thesis tells us what we should do about a particular issue discussed in Sandel’s article, but it does not tell us how we should understand Sandel’s argument.  

Questions to ask about your thesis 

• Is the thesis truly arguable? Does it speak to a genuine dilemma in the source, or would most readers automatically agree with it?  
• Is the thesis too obvious? Again, would most or all readers agree with it without needing to see your argument?  
• Is the thesis complex enough to require a whole essay's worth of argument?  
• Is the thesis supportable with evidence from the text rather than with generalizations or outside research?  
• Would anyone want to read a paper in which this thesis was developed? That is, can you explain what this paper is adding to our understanding of a problem, question, or topic?
• picture_as_pdf Thesis

Thesis Statements

What this handout is about.

This handout describes what a thesis statement is, how thesis statements work in your writing, and how you can craft or refine one for your draft.

Introduction

Writing in college often takes the form of persuasion—convincing others that you have an interesting, logical point of view on the subject you are studying. Persuasion is a skill you practice regularly in your daily life. You persuade your roommate to clean up, your parents to let you borrow the car, your friend to vote for your favorite candidate or policy. In college, course assignments often ask you to make a persuasive case in writing. You are asked to convince your reader of your point of view. This form of persuasion, often called academic argument, follows a predictable pattern in writing. After a brief introduction of your topic, you state your point of view on the topic directly and often in one sentence. This sentence is the thesis statement, and it serves as a summary of the argument you’ll make in the rest of your paper.

What is a thesis statement?

A thesis statement:

• tells the reader how you will interpret the significance of the subject matter under discussion.
• is a road map for the paper; in other words, it tells the reader what to expect from the rest of the paper.
• directly answers the question asked of you. A thesis is an interpretation of a question or subject, not the subject itself. The subject, or topic, of an essay might be World War II or Moby Dick; a thesis must then offer a way to understand the war or the novel.
• makes a claim that others might dispute.
• is usually a single sentence near the beginning of your paper (most often, at the end of the first paragraph) that presents your argument to the reader. The rest of the paper, the body of the essay, gathers and organizes evidence that will persuade the reader of the logic of your interpretation.

If your assignment asks you to take a position or develop a claim about a subject, you may need to convey that position or claim in a thesis statement near the beginning of your draft. The assignment may not explicitly state that you need a thesis statement because your instructor may assume you will include one. When in doubt, ask your instructor if the assignment requires a thesis statement. When an assignment asks you to analyze, to interpret, to compare and contrast, to demonstrate cause and effect, or to take a stand on an issue, it is likely that you are being asked to develop a thesis and to support it persuasively. (Check out our handout on understanding assignments for more information.)

How do I create a thesis?

A thesis is the result of a lengthy thinking process. Formulating a thesis is not the first thing you do after reading an essay assignment. Before you develop an argument on any topic, you have to collect and organize evidence, look for possible relationships between known facts (such as surprising contrasts or similarities), and think about the significance of these relationships. Once you do this thinking, you will probably have a “working thesis” that presents a basic or main idea and an argument that you think you can support with evidence. Both the argument and your thesis are likely to need adjustment along the way.

Writers use all kinds of techniques to stimulate their thinking and to help them clarify relationships or comprehend the broader significance of a topic and arrive at a thesis statement. For more ideas on how to get started, see our handout on brainstorming .

How do I know if my thesis is strong?

If there’s time, run it by your instructor or make an appointment at the Writing Center to get some feedback. Even if you do not have time to get advice elsewhere, you can do some thesis evaluation of your own. When reviewing your first draft and its working thesis, ask yourself the following :

• Do I answer the question? Re-reading the question prompt after constructing a working thesis can help you fix an argument that misses the focus of the question. If the prompt isn’t phrased as a question, try to rephrase it. For example, “Discuss the effect of X on Y” can be rephrased as “What is the effect of X on Y?”
• Have I taken a position that others might challenge or oppose? If your thesis simply states facts that no one would, or even could, disagree with, it’s possible that you are simply providing a summary, rather than making an argument.
• Is my thesis statement specific enough? Thesis statements that are too vague often do not have a strong argument. If your thesis contains words like “good” or “successful,” see if you could be more specific: why is something “good”; what specifically makes something “successful”?
• Does my thesis pass the “So what?” test? If a reader’s first response is likely to  be “So what?” then you need to clarify, to forge a relationship, or to connect to a larger issue.
• Does my essay support my thesis specifically and without wandering? If your thesis and the body of your essay do not seem to go together, one of them has to change. It’s okay to change your working thesis to reflect things you have figured out in the course of writing your paper. Remember, always reassess and revise your writing as necessary.
• Does my thesis pass the “how and why?” test? If a reader’s first response is “how?” or “why?” your thesis may be too open-ended and lack guidance for the reader. See what you can add to give the reader a better take on your position right from the beginning.

Suppose you are taking a course on contemporary communication, and the instructor hands out the following essay assignment: “Discuss the impact of social media on public awareness.” Looking back at your notes, you might start with this working thesis:

Social media impacts public awareness in both positive and negative ways.

You can use the questions above to help you revise this general statement into a stronger thesis.

• Do I answer the question? You can analyze this if you rephrase “discuss the impact” as “what is the impact?” This way, you can see that you’ve answered the question only very generally with the vague “positive and negative ways.”
• Have I taken a position that others might challenge or oppose? Not likely. Only people who maintain that social media has a solely positive or solely negative impact could disagree.
• Is my thesis statement specific enough? No. What are the positive effects? What are the negative effects?
• Does my thesis pass the “how and why?” test? No. Why are they positive? How are they positive? What are their causes? Why are they negative? How are they negative? What are their causes?
• Does my thesis pass the “So what?” test? No. Why should anyone care about the positive and/or negative impact of social media?

After thinking about your answers to these questions, you decide to focus on the one impact you feel strongly about and have strong evidence for:

Because not every voice on social media is reliable, people have become much more critical consumers of information, and thus, more informed voters.

This version is a much stronger thesis! It answers the question, takes a specific position that others can challenge, and it gives a sense of why it matters.

Let’s try another. Suppose your literature professor hands out the following assignment in a class on the American novel: Write an analysis of some aspect of Mark Twain’s novel Huckleberry Finn. “This will be easy,” you think. “I loved Huckleberry Finn!” You grab a pad of paper and write:

Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn is a great American novel.

You begin to analyze your thesis:

• Do I answer the question? No. The prompt asks you to analyze some aspect of the novel. Your working thesis is a statement of general appreciation for the entire novel.

Think about aspects of the novel that are important to its structure or meaning—for example, the role of storytelling, the contrasting scenes between the shore and the river, or the relationships between adults and children. Now you write:

In Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain develops a contrast between life on the river and life on the shore.

• Do I answer the question? Yes!
• Have I taken a position that others might challenge or oppose? Not really. This contrast is well-known and accepted.
• Is my thesis statement specific enough? It’s getting there–you have highlighted an important aspect of the novel for investigation. However, it’s still not clear what your analysis will reveal.
• Does my thesis pass the “how and why?” test? Not yet. Compare scenes from the book and see what you discover. Free write, make lists, jot down Huck’s actions and reactions and anything else that seems interesting.
• Does my thesis pass the “So what?” test? What’s the point of this contrast? What does it signify?”

After examining the evidence and considering your own insights, you write:

Through its contrasting river and shore scenes, Twain’s Huckleberry Finn suggests that to find the true expression of American democratic ideals, one must leave “civilized” society and go back to nature.

This final thesis statement presents an interpretation of a literary work based on an analysis of its content. Of course, for the essay itself to be successful, you must now present evidence from the novel that will convince the reader of your interpretation.

Works consulted

We consulted these works while writing this handout. This is not a comprehensive list of resources on the handout’s topic, and we encourage you to do your own research to find additional publications. Please do not use this list as a model for the format of your own reference list, as it may not match the citation style you are using. For guidance on formatting citations, please see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial . We revise these tips periodically and welcome feedback.

Anson, Chris M., and Robert A. Schwegler. 2010. The Longman Handbook for Writers and Readers , 6th ed. New York: Longman.

Lunsford, Andrea A. 2015. The St. Martin’s Handbook , 8th ed. Boston: Bedford/St Martin’s.

Ramage, John D., John C. Bean, and June Johnson. 2018. The Allyn & Bacon Guide to Writing , 8th ed. New York: Pearson.

Ruszkiewicz, John J., Christy Friend, Daniel Seward, and Maxine Hairston. 2010. The Scott, Foresman Handbook for Writers , 9th ed. Boston: Pearson Education.

You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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• Literary Terms
• Definition & Examples
• When & How to Write a Thesis

I. What is a Thesis?

The thesis (pronounced thee -seez), also known as a thesis statement, is the sentence that introduces the main argument or point of view of a composition (formal essay, nonfiction piece, or narrative). It is the main claim that the author is making about that topic and serves to summarize and introduce that writing that will be discussed throughout the entire piece. For this reason, the thesis is typically found within the first introduction paragraph.

II. Examples of Theses

Here are a few examples of theses which may be found in the introductions of a variety of essays :

In “The Mending Wall,” Robert Frost uses imagery, metaphor, and dialogue to argue against the use of fences between neighbors.

In this example, the thesis introduces the main subject (Frost’s poem “The Mending Wall”), aspects of the subject which will be examined (imagery, metaphor, and dialogue) and the writer’s argument (fences should not be used).

While Facebook connects some, overall, the social networking site is negative in that it isolates users, causes jealousy, and becomes an addiction.

This thesis introduces an argumentative essay which argues against the use of Facebook due to three of its negative effects.

During the college application process, I discovered my willingness to work hard to achieve my dreams and just what those dreams were.

In this more personal example, the thesis statement introduces a narrative essay which will focus on personal development in realizing one’s goals and how to achieve them.

III. The Importance of Using a Thesis

Theses are absolutely necessary components in essays because they introduce what an essay will be about. Without a thesis, the essay lacks clear organization and direction. Theses allow writers to organize their ideas by clearly stating them, and they allow readers to be aware from the beginning of a composition’s subject, argument, and course. Thesis statements must precisely express an argument within the introductory paragraph of the piece in order to guide the reader from the very beginning.

IV. Examples of Theses in Literature

For examples of theses in literature, consider these thesis statements from essays about topics in literature:

In William Shakespeare’s “ Sonnet 46,” both physicality and emotion together form powerful romantic love.

This thesis statement clearly states the work and its author as well as the main argument: physicality and emotion create romantic love.

In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne symbolically shows Hester Prynne’s developing identity through the use of the letter A: she moves from adulteress to able community member to angel.

In this example, the work and author are introduced as well as the main argument and supporting points: Prynne’s identity is shown through the letter A in three ways: adulteress, able community member, and angel.

John Keats’ poem “To Autumn” utilizes rhythm, rhyme, and imagery to examine autumn’s simultaneous birth and decay.

This thesis statement introduces the poem and its author along with an argument about the nature of autumn. This argument will be supported by an examination of rhythm, rhyme, and imagery.

V. Examples of Theses in Pop Culture

Sometimes, pop culture attempts to make arguments similar to those of research papers and essays. Here are a few examples of theses in pop culture:

America’s food industry is making a killing and it’s making us sick, but you have the power to turn the tables.

The documentary Food Inc. examines this thesis with evidence throughout the film including video evidence, interviews with experts, and scientific research.

Orca whales should not be kept in captivity, as it is psychologically traumatizing and has caused them to kill their own trainers.

Blackfish uses footage, interviews, and history to argue for the thesis that orca whales should not be held in captivity.

VI. Related Terms

Just as a thesis is introduced in the beginning of a composition, the hypothesis is considered a starting point as well. Whereas a thesis introduces the main point of an essay, the hypothesis introduces a proposed explanation which is being investigated through scientific or mathematical research. Thesis statements present arguments based on evidence which is presented throughout the paper, whereas hypotheses are being tested by scientists and mathematicians who may disprove or prove them through experimentation. Here is an example of a hypothesis versus a thesis:

Hypothesis:

Students skip school more often as summer vacation approaches.

This hypothesis could be tested by examining attendance records and interviewing students. It may or may not be true.

Students skip school due to sickness, boredom with classes, and the urge to rebel.

This thesis presents an argument which will be examined and supported in the paper with detailed evidence and research.

Introduction

A paper’s introduction is its first paragraph which is used to introduce the paper’s main aim and points used to support that aim throughout the paper. The thesis statement is the most important part of the introduction which states all of this information in one concise statement. Typically, introduction paragraphs require a thesis statement which ties together the entire introduction and introduces the rest of the paper.

VII. Conclusion

Theses are necessary components of well-organized and convincing essays, nonfiction pieces, narratives , and documentaries. They allow writers to organize and support arguments to be developed throughout a composition, and they allow readers to understand from the beginning what the aim of the composition is.

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thesis play: Meaning and Definition of

The'sis play".

• a play that develops or defends a particular thesis.

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Meaning of thesis in English

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• I wrote my thesis on literacy strategies for boys .
• Her main thesis is that children need a lot of verbal stimulation .
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How to write a PhD thesis: a step-by-step guide

A draft isn’t a perfect, finished product; it is your opportunity to start getting words down on paper, writes Kelly Louise Preece

Kelly Louise Preece

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Congratulations; you’ve finished your research! Time to write your PhD thesis. This resource will take you through an eight-step plan for drafting your chapters and your thesis as a whole. 

Organise your material

Before you start, it’s important to get organised. Take a step back and look at the data you have, then reorganise your research. Which parts of it are central to your thesis and which bits need putting to one side? Label and organise everything using logical folders – make it easy for yourself! Academic and blogger Pat Thomson calls this  “Clean up to get clearer” . Thomson suggests these questions to ask yourself before you start writing:

• What data do you have? You might find it useful to write out a list of types of data (your supervisor will find this list useful too.) This list is also an audit document that can go in your thesis. Do you have any for the “cutting room floor”? Take a deep breath and put it in a separate non-thesis file. You can easily retrieve it if it turns out you need it.
• What do you have already written? What chunks of material have you written so far that could form the basis of pieces of the thesis text? They will most likely need to be revised but they are useful starting points. Do you have any holding text? That is material you already know has to be rewritten but contains information that will be the basis of a new piece of text.
• What have you read and what do you still need to read? Are there new texts that you need to consult now after your analysis? What readings can you now put to one side, knowing that they aren’t useful for this thesis – although they might be useful at another time?
• What goes with what? Can you create chunks or themes of materials that are going to form the basis of some chunks of your text, perhaps even chapters?

Once you have assessed and sorted what you have collected and generated you will be in much better shape to approach the big task of composing the dissertation. 

Decide on a key message

A key message is a summary of new information communicated in your thesis. You should have started to map this out already in the section on argument and contribution – an overarching argument with building blocks that you will flesh out in individual chapters.

You have already mapped your argument visually, now you need to begin writing it in prose. Following another of Pat Thomson’s exercises, write a “tiny text” thesis abstract. This doesn’t have to be elegant, or indeed the finished product, but it will help you articulate the argument you want your thesis to make. You create a tiny text using a five-paragraph structure:

• The first sentence addresses the broad context. This locates the study in a policy, practice or research field.
• The second sentence establishes a problem related to the broad context you have set out. It often starts with “But”, “Yet” or “However”.
• The third sentence says what specific research has been done. This often starts with “This research” or “I report…”
• The fourth sentence reports the results. Don’t try to be too tricky here, just start with something like: “This study shows,” or “Analysis of the data suggests that…”
• The fifth and final sentence addresses the “So What?” question and makes clear the claim to contribution.

Here’s an example that Thomson provides:

Secondary school arts are in trouble, as the fall in enrolments in arts subjects dramatically attests. However, there is patchy evidence about the benefits of studying arts subjects at school and this makes it hard to argue why the drop in arts enrolments matters. This thesis reports on research which attempts to provide some answers to this problem – a longitudinal study which followed two groups of senior secondary students, one group enrolled in arts subjects and the other not, for three years. The results of the study demonstrate the benefits of young people’s engagement in arts activities, both in and out of school, as well as the connections between the two. The study not only adds to what is known about the benefits of both formal and informal arts education but also provides robust evidence for policymakers and practitioners arguing for the benefits of the arts. You can  find out more about tiny texts and thesis abstracts on Thomson’s blog.

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Write a plan

You might not be a planner when it comes to writing. You might prefer to sit, type and think through ideas as you go. That’s OK. Everybody works differently. But one of the benefits of planning your writing is that your plan can help you when you get stuck. It can help with writer’s block (more on this shortly!) but also maintain clarity of intention and purpose in your writing.

You can do this by creating a  thesis skeleton or storyboard , planning the order of your chapters, thinking of potential titles (which may change at a later stage), noting down what each chapter/section will cover and considering how many words you will dedicate to each chapter (make sure the total doesn’t exceed the maximum word limit allowed).

Use your plan to help prompt your writing when you get stuck and to develop clarity in your writing.

Some starting points include:

• This chapter will argue that…
• This section illustrates that…
• This paragraph provides evidence that…

Of course, we wish it werethat easy. But you need to approach your first draft as exactly that: a draft. It isn’t a perfect, finished product; it is your opportunity to start getting words down on paper. Start with whichever chapter you feel you want to write first; you don’t necessarily have to write the introduction first. Depending on your research, you may find it easier to begin with your empirical/data chapters.

Vitae advocates for the “three draft approach” to help with this and to stop you from focusing on finding exactly the right word or transition as part of your first draft.

This resource originally appeared on Researcher Development .

Kelly Louse Preece is head of educator development at the University of Exeter.

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Comprehensibility and the acoustic contrast between tense and lax vowels in the Mandarin-accented English speech

Comprehensibility refers to the degree of effort that a listener requires to understand a speaker’s utterance (Derwing & Munro, 1997; Munro & Derwing, 1995; Derwing & Munro, 2005). Previous studies on L2 pronunciation have found that segmental errors could affect comprehensibility (Derwing et al., 1998; Derwing & Munro, 1997; Isaacs & Thomson, 2020; Saito et al., 2017). However, this finding only indicates a correlation between the number of segmental errors and lower comprehensibility. It is still unclear what aspects of pronunciation L2 learners need to practice in order to improve the comprehensibility of their speech. This thesis proposes that the degree of acoustic contrast may play a role in determining comprehensibility. More specifically, it investigates the relation between Mandarin speakers’ acoustic contrast between tense and lax vowels in English (i.e., [i] and [ɪ], [u] and [ʊ]) and the perceived comprehensibility of their speech.

A sentence production task and a comprehensibility rating task were conducted. In the sentence production task, 20 Mandarin speakers and 10 English speakers read aloud English sentences containing tense and lax vowels and were audio-recorded. The acoustic measurements of the vowels were taken in order to compare Mandarin speakers’ acoustic realization of the tense and lax vowels with English speakers’ productions. In the comprehensibility rating task, 48 English speakers transcribed the sentences recorded during the sentence production task and rated the comprehensibility of the sentences. The comprehensibility ratings were tested for correlation with the number of transcription errors, the degree of spectral and durational contrasts between vowels, and the speakers’ US residency length, in order to investigate the relation between intelligibility errors and comprehensibility, between acoustic contrast and comprehensibility, and between US residency length and comprehensibility.

The results of the linear-mixed effect model indicated that spectral contrast between [u] - [ʊ], but not [i] - [ɪ], was significantly reduced in Mandarin speakers’ productions compared to the English speakers, suggesting that Mandarin speakers under-differentiated the back vowel pair. A correlation test using Kendall’s tau indicated a significant negative correlation between number of intelligibility errors and comprehensibility, suggesting that intelligibility errors decreased comprehensibility. A correlation test using Kendall’s tau indicated a significant positive correlation between the degree of spectral contrast and comprehensibility rating for sentences with semantically meaningful context, suggesting that increasing the contrast between tense and lax vowels could help increase the comprehensibility of speech. Finally, a correlation test using Kendall’s tau indicated no significant correlation between US residency length and comprehensibility, meaning that the relation between residency length and comprehensibility was not confirmed.

To sum up, acoustic contrast could be one of the contributors to speech comprehensibility. Therefore, directing English L2 learners to focus on increasing the acoustic distance between contrasting vowels could prove a fruitful strategy for improving the comprehensibility of L2 speech.

Degree Type

• Master of Arts
• Linguistics

Campus location

• West Lafayette

Advisor/Supervisor/Committee Chair

Additional committee member 2, additional committee member 3, usage metrics.

• Phonetics and speech science

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‘La Presidenta’: Claudia Sheinbaum wins historic Mexico election mandate

The country’s first female president faces a raft of challenges, from crime to a fractured polity.

Mexico has elected Claudia Sheinbaum, a former mayor of the capital, as the country’s first female president after a heated election on Sunday, with the nation’s top election authority projecting a comfortable win for the 61-year-old physicist-turned-politician.

Sheinbaum, a protege of Mexico’s outgoing President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, is expected to win more than 58 percent of the national vote, the National Electoral Institute of Mexico (INE) said, in what is known as a “quick count” of the vote.

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Her win entrenches the governing Morena party’s hold over power in Mexico, six years after Lopez Obrador, also known by his initials AMLO, ran an anti-establishment campaign against the country’s traditionally mainstream parties to win the 2018 election.

“I commit to you that I will not let you down,” Sheinbaum said, in a victory statement on X. “There is history, there is homeland, there is people, and there is commitment.”

Late on Sunday night in Mexico, the principal opposition candidate, Xochitl Galvez, conceded defeat. A trained engineer with Indigenous roots, Galvez rose from poverty to become a tech entrepreneur.

“A few minutes ago, I contacted … Sheinbaum to acknowledge the election result. I told her that I saw a Mexico with a lot of pain and violence and that I hope she can resolve the serious problems of our people,” she was quoted as saying by local media.

During her campaign, Sheinbaum faced questions over her close ties to AMLO — a president who enjoys vast popularity in Mexico, despite critics accusing him of authoritarian tendencies — including whether she would be able to lead independently.

However, Sheinbaum and Lopez Obrador have insisted that he would hold no influence over her government.

“I am going to retire completely,” he said last year. “I will never again appear at any public event.”

“I do not want to be anybody’s adviser … I will not have any relationship with politicians,” the president said, adding, “I am not going to talk about politics.”

Sheinbaum struggled to establish her identity in this campaign while under AMLO’s influence.

While trying to convince Mexicans to vote for her, she has adhered closely to his policies, while also trying to assert her individuality. To many, Mexico’s first female president remains somewhat a mystery.

“It’s complicated,” Juan Pablo Micozzi, an associate professor of political science at Mexico’s Autonomous Institute of Technology (ITAM), told Al Jazeera.

“Her [political] trajectory has been practically an unconditional alignment with AMLO … So, it’s really hard for me to understand what Claudia is going to do on day one without AMLO in charge,” Micozzi added.

However, there may be some clues in her early life, suggest other analysts.

Sheinbaum grew up in a family deeply engaged in activism, and her involvement began from a young age. At 15, she volunteered to assist groups of mothers searching for their missing children, while in the 1980s she also joined protests against state intervention in education policies.

She earned her PhD in energy engineering at the age of 33, and as she prepared her thesis, she spent time at the University of California, Berkeley in the United States.

Her political journey started in 2000 when Lopez Obrador, then the newly elected mayor of Mexico City, selected her to serve as the leader of his environmental team.

In the years that followed, she actively campaigned for AMLO and developed her own academic and political career, including serving as the mayor of Tlalpan and then Mexico City.

“I believe we can anticipate a presidency under Sheinbaum that is more disciplined than Lopez Obrador’s,” Carlos Ramirez, a political analyst at Integralia, a Mexico City-based consultancy, told Al Jazeera. “A more orderly presidency, a presidency with more planning, with a more technical profile among the officials who will surely accompany and surround her in her cabinet.”

Ramirez said he expects Sheinbaum to be a “president who better understands the world, unlike Lopez Obrador, whose vision has always been very provincial, very local”.

Nevertheless, she assumes leadership of a nation confronting a range of challenges — with security issues at the forefront.

‘It’s a matter of state capacity’

In recent years, Mexico has seen more than 30,000 murders a year , and some 100,000 people are still unaccounted for.

The lead-up to the June 2 election was exceptionally violent, with 37 candidates killed and hundreds forced to withdraw from the race.

According to the annual public survey conducted by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI), six out of 10 Mexican citizens rate insecurity as their primary concern.

However, during Sheinbaum’s time as Mexico’s City mayor,  according to a Reuters report, the homicide rate fell 50 percent between December 2018 and June 2023. She credited this to successful security measures which enhanced police operations and collaboration with prosecutors.

At the federal level, Sheinbaum has expressed her intention to continue AMLO’s strategy of avoiding confrontation with crime groups, while also relying on the National Guard, which is operated by the military, for security operations.

“They will have to continue using the army because … [no other] institution has the strength to face the potential problems associated with the cartels and organised crime groups,” Miguel Angel Toro Rios, dean of the School of Social Sciences and Government at Tecnologico de Monterrey, a Monterrey-based university, told Al Jazeera.

“It’s a matter of state capacity, and Mexico does not have the state capacity without the army to face these kinds of problems,” he added.

How will Donald Trump's guilty verdict hit his reelection bid? Is his political fallout here?

NEW YORK – Former President Donald Trump's 2024 White House campaign now enters unknown territory: Voter reaction to the first major party nominee to be convicted of crimes .

Trump must now convince Americans he deserves a second term even after a New York jury found him guilty of all 34 felony counts tied to falsifying business records as part of a plan to influence the 2016 presidential election.

While the challenge is unprecedented, Trump’s approach is very familiar: Attack the legal system.

"This was a rigged decision, right from day one," Trump told reporters at the courthouse on Thursday less than an hour after being found guilty and echoing past comments the Republican has made designed to brace voters for the possibility of a guilty verdict .

Expect that effort to continue now that a jury has found the former president guilty, while supporters of President Joe Biden will likely argue that the unprecedented verdict proves Trump is unfit for another four-year term.

Prep for the polls: See who is running for president and compare where they stand on key issues in our Voter Guide

On point, the Trump campaign sent out a series of fundraising solicitations within minutes of the verdict. “I am a political prisoner!” he told potential donors.

More rallies, more fundraisers

So what comes after Trump's historic conviction?

Sentencing will come on July 11, just four days before the start of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee where Trump is set to accept the GOP presidential nomination.

Don't expect that looming decision to stop the former president and his campaign from holding rallies and fundraisers, giving him more chances to argue that the judge and prosecutors played politics in pursuing the hush money case against him.

Trump will also be preparing for a couple of important events. There's a June 27 debate with Biden hosted by CNN in Atlanta, as well as the decision on selecting a running mate . The former president has said he will probably announce his pick at the Republican convention, scheduled for July 15-18 in Milwaukee.

In the meantime, pollsters associated with Trump and Biden will pore over data to assess how voters react to the first-ever conviction of a former president and current presidential candidate.

One thing Trump likely won't have to worry about anytime soon: Prison. He plans to appeal the verdict, and that process could drag out for years.

Target: Independents

The coming campaign will be directed at a relatively small number of voters: Independents who are on the fence between Trump and Biden.

Campaign officials and independent pollsters have said for months that the verdict will have no impact on Trump partisans; nor will it affect solid Biden voters.

Everybody else? No one really knows how they will react to a convicted felon running for president. After all, it's never happened.

But even a small percentage turning away from Trump could make a difference in tightly contested battleground states like Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

At the same time, Trump has suggested that even a guilty verdict could help him because "the people of the country see this as a rigged deal."

It's a pitch that still has to play out, but the trial itself does not seem to have hurt Trump much. The former president is  leading Biden slightly  in many polls nationwide and in battleground states, although most of those leads are within margins of error.

During the six-week trial, Trump was able to campaign and do fundraisers on Wednesday, the court's off-day, and on weekends. Now look for him to work on the campaign just about every day of the week. That starts with a press conference Trump is planning for Friday at his namesake tower in midtown Manhattan.

The Biden campaign also enters a new phase

Trump will also have to contend with a more aggressive Biden campaign, which is relishing the idea of running against the former president following a conviction.

During the trial, Biden officials said they don't plan to focus exclusively on the guilty verdict, but the full panoply of allegations against Trump.

The former president has been indicted in three other criminal cases, including two accusing him of trying to steal the 2020 race for the White House. In civil court actions, Trump has been found liable for bank fraud and sexual abuse .

Michael Tyler, the Biden campaign's communications director, said the Trump guilty verdict proves that “no one is above the law,” but the election will be decided on issues like the former president's threat to be a “dictator on day one” and his willingness to promote authoritarianism and violence.

“There is still only one way to keep Donald Trump out of the Oval Office: at the ballot box,” Tyler said. “Convicted felon or not, Trump will be the Republican nominee for president. The threat Trump poses to our democracy has never been greater.”

One thing is clear: Trump and Biden's post-conviction playbooks will be put to the test this summer as the candidates both seek a second term.

Sarah Longwell, who as founder of the organization Republican Voters Against Trump has conducted many focus groups, predicted that the verdict “won’t be a public opinion earthquake.” But she said it could still be significant.

“In an election where inches will matter,” she said, “this just created a new barrier for undecided swing voters: voting for a convicted felon.”

More trials? Who knows?

Another unknown is whether Trump will face another trial before Election Day on Nov. 5.

The former president is facing federal criminal charges in Washington accusing him of trying to steal the 2020 election from Biden. But that trial was delayed when the Supreme Court agreed to hear Trump's claim that he should be immune from prosecution for presidential actions.

The court is expected to rule around the start of July, and a decision against Trump could mean a trial before Election Day – perhaps in the middle of the fall campaign season.

A favorable Trump ruling would almost certainly push the trial past Election Day.

There are also no trial dates scheduled for Trump in the South Florida federal case over allegations the former president mishandled classified information and obstructed justice and the one in Georgia over his attempts targeting the 2020 election results in the Peach State.

What each possible Trump verdict might mean for 2024

Here’s a run-through the possible outcomes, and how they could play politically.

Closing arguments are underway in the Manhattan criminal trial of Donald Trump . That means a jury will soon be asked for the first time in history whether to convict a former president of the United States.

Trump stands charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to cover up a hush money payment to adult-film actress Stormy Daniels on the eve of the 2016 election. Prosecutors say this amounted to illegally seeking to influence the election.

It’s the first of Trump’s four criminal indictments to go to trial, with the other three trials increasingly unlikely to happen before Election Day 2024. A verdict could come quickly or could take days or weeks.

So what could the potential outcomes of this trial mean, politically? Let’s run through four of them.

A conviction on all counts

This is the easiest one, because it’s the one on which we have the most polling data. But it’s not that easy.

The polls have shown an often small but potentially decisive drop in Trump’s support if he is convicted of a crime. As of late 2023, they showed that a conviction would shift the margins by between five and 14 points in President Biden’s favor.

Trump guilty verdict

But recent polling suggests a more muted impact. A Reuters-Ipsos poll last month showed just a two -point shift toward Biden if Trump is convicted, with a larger six-point shift if Trump is incarcerated as a result.

These polls, though, tested Trump’s conviction for any crime; Americans have long viewed the Manhattan charges as less serious.

As for a conviction in that trial, specifically? We have basically one good poll. An ABC News-Ipsos poll last month showed that a conviction there would cause 20 percent of Trump supporters to at least “reconsider” voting for him, but just 4 percent say they would abandon him.

In other words, given that Trump is just shy of 50 percent in most polls, it would shave about two points off his vote share. That’s a slight shift, but it could matter in a country in which the past two elections have been decided by about one percentage point in the decisive states.

More voters — especially the ones who said they’d “reconsider” — could theoretically abandon him as they process what it would mean to vote for a felon. But the fact that they don’t automatically do so would suggest this is something they could look past.

The big question from there would seem to be whether a conviction comes with prison time, which seems to be relevant to voters — potentially because it would point to the severity of the crime. But we don’t know whether a Manhattan conviction would yield that .

And there’s always the prospect that conviction-wary voters decide it’s just not important to them or that Trump has been persecuted by a blue-leaning jurisdiction. Trump supporters, after all, have stuck with him so far even though he was held liable for hundreds of millions of dollars in civil court for defamation — about a sexual assault — and business fraud.

Maybe a criminal conviction would be different, and maybe casual voters just haven’t tuned in to all of this. But it seems safe to start with the assumption that a conviction would cause a small shift toward Biden that might — or might not — flip the race.

A split decision

Another possibility is that Trump is convicted on some counts but not others.

Each of the 34 counts against him represents one business record he is accused of falsifying. But some are more easily connected to Trump. For example, the jury could convict Trump for the checks or other entries from his trust and personal account, which allegedly were used to reimburse former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen for the $130,000 Daniels hush money payment, but not for the invoices for Cohen from the Trump Organization.

So, what if Trump is convicted on half or a handful of the counts, but the jury is hung (can’t agree) or acquits him on the others?

Perhaps voters more inclined toward Trump would view the failure to convict Trump on some or many counts as evidence of an overzealous prosecution. And perhaps a split verdict would be less decisive in the minds of some potential swing voters, especially if it significantly reduces the sentence or helps spare Trump prison time.

But it would still be the first time that a former president was convicted of crimes, and it would seem unlikely that many more casual voters would view this as a major distinction. In addition, the fact that jurors would appear discerning by not just convicting or acquitting Trump on all counts could instill some confidence in the process, because it won’t have looked like the system was just out to get Trump. (A CNN poll last month showed 56 percent of Americans said they were “not too confident” or “not at all confident” that the jury’s verdict would be fair.)

An acquittal on all counts

This is the one polls haven’t really wrestled with thus far. But imagine a scenario in which the jurors decide the evidence simply isn’t there.

Trump’s claims to persecution would surely be injected with more venom, and voters would have new reason to buy into them.

And that’s something that he could use, because even though Trump is doing well in 2024 polls, right now Americans don’t take the view that he has been persecuted.

Americans are much more likely to think Trump did falsify business records and commit a crime in the case than to say the opposite. They also approve of the trial by double digits . And just 4 in 10 or fewer Americans align with Trump’s claims to political targeting. That suggests Trump’s persecution is something Trump’s base buys into, but not swing voters.

Perhaps voters could still be concerned about his three other indictments, which they regard as more serious and substantiated. But given that we’re unlikely to see those trials before Election Day, this could be the only case that gets resolved.

And if it’s resolved in his favor, it’s hard to see how that doesn’t help him — at least on the margins, and in a race in which he already leads.

A hung jury

This is probably the most ominous scenario for our body politic: the idea that we wouldn’t have a decisive verdict one way or the other.

All it takes is one juror to stop a conviction (or an acquittal). The case could be retried, but perhaps not before Election Day, and prosecutors might well decide against it because of the cost and threat of another failed prosecution.

Trump, of course, would claim that even this outcome would be a “total exoneration,” as he is apt to do . And perhaps voters would come to internalize that message, given that prosecutors would have come at the king and missed .

Or, perhaps more likely, the vast majority of voters who were rather uninterested in this case to begin with would move on, and a race that hasn’t shifted much for months would proceed apace.

Lucas Paqueta betting charge: What are West Ham legal options? Could he be banned for life?

West Ham United midfielder Lucas Paqueta has been charged with misconduct by the Football Association (FA) for allegedly getting booked deliberately “for the improper purpose of affecting the betting market”.

He categorically denies any wrongdoing and “will continue to robustly defend his position”, according to West Ham.

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An FA statement said: “It’s alleged that he (Paqueta) directly sought to influence the progress, conduct, or any other aspect of, or occurrence in these matches by intentionally seeking to receive a card from the referee for the improper purpose of affecting the betting market in order for one or more persons to profit from betting.”

“I am extremely surprised and upset that the FA has decided to charge me,” said Paqueta on social media. “For nine months, I have cooperated with every step of their investigation and provided all the information I can. I deny the charges in their entirety and will fight with every breath to clear my name.”

Could Paqueta be banned for life? Could West Ham sue the midfielder? How will this impact his involvement in the Copa America ?

The Athletic has consulted experts and here is what they have to say about Paqueta’s legal options.

What is Paqueta accused of?

The four alleged breaches relate to his conduct in West Ham’s Premier League fixtures against Leicester City on November 12, 2022, Aston Villa on March 12, 2023, Leeds United on May 21, 2023, and Bournemouth on August 12, 2023.

In each of these games, Paqueta is accused of seeking to receive a yellow card on purpose. The Athletic has looked back at the four yellow cards in question .

It first emerged that Paqueta was being investigated for possible betting breaches in August last year following suspicious betting patterns surrounding a yellow card he received in West Ham’s 1-1 draw against Bournemouth.

He was interviewed by the FA last September and gave them access to his phone the following month.

Why is spot-fixing potentially a more serious issue than the other gambling cases we’ve seen in the Premier League recently?

“I’m not sure we’d say that it is a more serious issue per se,” says Sam Cuthbert, sports barrister at 4 New Square Chambers. “Rule E5 of the FA Rules is drafted to encompass broad prohibition against directly or indirectly seeking to influence the result for an improper purpose. The severity of the breach is a factual matter and will typically be exacerbated by things like the level of harm caused and compliance with the prosecuting authority. Paqueta has also been charged under Rule F3, which imports a misconduct provision for offending the FA’s powers of inquiry under rule F2, and so the FA are presumably of the view that Paqueta has not complied with their investigations.”

Brentford striker Ivan Toney was banned for eight months from football for 232 breaches of the Football Association’s betting rules. Sandro Tonali is already serving a 10-month ban running to August for offences during his time in Italy. He has also admitted placing between 40 and 50 football bets after joining Newcastle from AC Milan last July, including four on Newcastle’s results. Harry Toffolo , the Nottingham Forest defender, was given a suspended five-month ban in September for 375 breaches of betting rules.

“The difference is that here, the allegation involves doing something to affect the way in which the game plays out, says Michael Beloff KC, a sports lawyer who arbitrated in the 2010 Pakistani cricketing spot-fixing case — where three cricketers were sentenced to prison for deliberately bowling no-balls. “Just betting on your own team, or some other team, may not be intended to influence the game in any way.

“As I understand it, what’s happened here is that he is alleged to have done various actions during the game itself to facilitate other people who are betting. That was the essence of the Pakistani cricketing spot-fixing case, which was the major case I’ve been involved in. They deliberately bowled these no-balls at a particular time to facilitate what they believed to be a betting coup, by feeding them information about what they intended to do, and then creating a situation in which the gamblers were bound to win.

“Although it’s not identical to the more serious offence of match-fixing, it can actually influence a result simply by deliberately doing something that can affect play, in a way which would not otherwise have occurred apart from the spot-fixers’ actions.”

What footballing punishment could Paqueta face?

Paqueta could be facing a lengthy ban if a breach is proven. In 2022, non-League defender Kynan Isaac was banned for 10 years for spot-fixing during an FA Cup tie in which it was alleged he deliberately got booked as part of a betting scheme with friends. In 2018, Lincoln City’s Bradley Wood was banned for six years after he deliberately got booked in two matches, with two close friends betting on that happening.

However, a former  Arsenal midfielder, whom we cannot name for legal reasons, was cleared of any involvement in a possible betting scam following a yellow card he received in December 2021 following a 16-month wait.

What would be considered aggravation or mitigation?

If Paqueta is found guilty, any potential punishment is likely to be heavily influenced by either aggravating or mitigating factors. For example, Tonali’s FA ban was heavily mitigated by his compliance with authorities, his gambling addiction, and the fact he was already serving a ban levied by the Italian FA.

“The amount of occasions in which you assist gamblers, or the extent to which you yourself were profiting from it are among potential aggravating factors,” says Beloff. “Mitigation can be of the sort that one might have in a criminal case — a desperate need for money in order to pay for an operation for a very sick child, or pressure from third parties.

“In the Pakistani cricketer case, one of the factors as to sanction that affected the International Cricket Council Panel which I chaired was that the youngest of the trio involved had been influenced by the other two, his seniors.”

Another potential aggravating factor, which could come into play given Paqueta’s alleged breach of Rule F3, is the willingness to comply with authorities.

Could this become a criminal matter?

In the case of Toffolo, Tonali and Toney, the three players had broken no criminal law — it is not illegal to bet on football matches in the United Kingdom. Their punishment was because they broke sporting regulations. The allegations levied at Paqueta have the potential to be different — manipulating markets in order to generate money could bring the possibility of more serious criminal charges.

“The Fraud Act 2006 brings the offence of fraud within the Gambling Act 2005,” says Cuthbert. “There’s a clear route then for prosecuting spot-fixing in sport as a criminal fraud. That said, finding a balance so that criminal proceedings and regulatory proceedings can run concurrently and harmoniously can be difficult.

“The timetables for bringing those proceedings are usually very different, as are the standards of proof. Where a regulatory prosecution runs parallel to a criminal prosecution, the respective prosecuting authorities need to be careful so as not to prejudice the other cases.”

In the Pakistani spot-fixing case, the three cricketers were found guilty of the criminal charge of ‘conspiracy to cheat at gambling and conspiracy to accept corrupt payments’. Captain Salman Butt, the most senior player to stand trial, was sentenced to two years and six months in prison.

What would West Ham’s rights be if they wished to sack Paqueta? Would Paqueta’s contract typically have clauses covering this?

“His contract will likely contain misconduct provisions which would encompass a prohibition on match-fixing, spot-fixing,” says Cuthbert. “His contract will likely also make clear that he is subject to the FA rules, and therefore the associated prohibitions on betting and integrity offences.”

If West Ham wanted to sack Paqueta, his actions would have to be regarded as a gross breach of contract. This does not even necessarily change if Paqueta subsequently becomes the focus of a criminal investigation.

If a player pleads guilty, or is convicted of a crime, a club can justifiably call it a ‘gross breach of contract’. However, if a player pleads not guilty throughout, and is then cleared of charges, they could theoretically take action against their employer for sacking them, or even for unlawful wage deductions while suspended. For example, Manchester City suspended Benjamin Mendy and allegedly docked his wages after he was charged with six counts of rape — but after he was cleared last year, the player announced he was taking legal action to recoup what he claims was between £9million and £10m of lost salary.

This is why Premier League clubs have only rarely sacked players under contract. In 2002, Dennis Wise was sacked by  Leicester City  following a pre-season fight with a team-mate, and Nicolas Anelka by  West Bromwich Albion for performing a quenelle (an action with antisemitic connotations) after scoring in 2014.

Chelsea striker Adrian Mutu was sacked after testing positive for cocaine in 2004, with the club subsequently seeking £14.4million in compensation from the player.

In the Championship, English football’s second tier, club captain  Richard Keogh  was sacked by  Derby County  for gross misconduct in 2019 over his role in a car accident on a night out with team-mates. Keogh subsequently brought an action for breach of contract, securing a payout of £2.3million in 2021.

What does this mean for West Ham?

It is a major blow for the east London club on two fronts. Firstly, they had hoped to sell Paqueta this summer in order to fund the squad rebuild they want to carry out under Julen Lopetegui, their new head coach.

Lopetegui was appointed on Thursday, the same day that the FA charges against Paqueta emerged.

Selling Paqueta would allow the club to reinvest in the squad, similar to  Declan Rice ’s £105million departure to Arsenal last summer. Forwards  Youssef En-Nesyri , of  Sevilla , and Wesley Gassova, of Brazilian side Corinthians, were two of the summer targets identified by technical director Tim Steidten and Lopetegui.

The other issue is that Paqueta is widely regarded as West Ham’s most talented player, even if his form tailed off towards the end of the season. He scored four goals this season and helped West Ham finish ninth. He was also part of the side that won the Europa Conference League in 2022-23.

Paqueta can still play until after the FA case against him is heard and he is either sentenced or not. Given the complexity of any case like this, it means he might be able to play for a while yet.

Could West Ham sue Paqueta to recoup the loss of transfer earnings or other money?

Last summer, West Ham rejected Manchester City’s £70million offer for Lucas Paqueta. City were expected to revive their interest, with Paqueta’s £85m release clause becoming active in June. But now the Premier League champions are expected to pursue other targets.

Mutu is the most prominent example of a player being sacked and sued by his club. The striker received a seven-month ban from football, but Chelsea sacked him and then sued him to recover the money they paid to sign him (£15.8million). In a legal battle lasting five years, the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland rejected Mutu’s appeal in 2010 and he was ordered to pay his former club a record £14.3m in compensation. Mutu lost a further appeal as recently as 2018.

“In order to sue Paqueta, West Ham would have to identify that his contractual breaches led to the losses they’re seeking to recover. Whilst the regulatory prosecution would be separate to any contractual dispute between Paqueta and the club, its outcome may still be referred to in the contractual proceedings,” says Cuthbert.

“Without seeing his contract, it’s difficult to know the specific breaches pursuant to which West Ham may bring an action. The other point is that whilst it’s theoretically possible for West Ham to sue Paqueta, there is not a host of authorities on the point and it would be an unusual step.”

Can he still play at the Copa America?

Paqueta plays international football for Brazil, who will compete at the Copa America in the United States between June 20 and July 14 — after the June 3 deadline by which Paqueta has to respond to the charges from the FA.

The forward has rejoined the set-up under Dorival Junior, having been left out by previous manager Fernando Diniz because of the possibility of the charges.

Paqueta is a very important player for Brazil — and comfortably the main creative force with Neymar absent with injury. Brazil missed him when he was left out of their recent squads and he impressed against  England  in March when they won 1-0 at Wembley.

It is unclear whether he will make the squad for the competition.

When will the hearing take place?

A date has not yet been set for a hearing. Paqueta has until June 3 to respond to the charges, which the FA say can be extended.

(Top photo: Ian Kington/AFP via Getty Images)

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