Arsenal, Aston Villa, and Celtic close out title nights across Europe

Arsenal won the Premier League on May 19, a fourth Premier League title and a 14th English title, with one match to spare. The title arrived after Manchester City, sitting second, failed to beat AFC Bournemouth at Dean Court. The result ended a season in which the London club had stayed ahead late enough to celebrate before the final weekend.

The same week brought a disciplinary shock in the Championship. The English Football League's Independent Disciplinary Commission expelled Southampton from the 2026 play-offs after finding the club guilty of spying on a Middlesbrough training session before their semi-final on May 12, a match Southampton had won. Southampton was also found to have spied on Oxford United and Ipswich Town earlier in the season and was deducted four points for the following season.

With Southampton out, Hull City beat Middlesbrough 1-0 at Wembley Stadium on May 23 to win the Championship play-off final and secure promotion to the Premier League. The match was the last step of a play-off path reshaped by the spying case. Hull's win sent a newly promoted side into the top flight for the next season.

Aston Villa defeated SC Freiburg 3-0 at Besiktas Stadium in Istanbul to win a first UEFA Europa League title and a second European trophy after the 1982 European Cup final. Emiliano Buendia, who scored Villa's second goal, was named player of the match. The final gave Villa a major European night after three decades without one of this scale.

Celtic beat second-tier Dunfermline Athletic 3-1 to win a record-extending Scottish Cup and complete the double. In the women's game, Barcelona beat OL Lyonnes 4-0 at Ullevaal Stadium in Oslo to win a fourth Women's Champions League title. North Korea's Naegohyang beat Tokyo Verdy 1-0 to win the AFC Women's Champions League at the Suwon Sports Complex.

Rugby closed the same weekend with a treble. Union Bordeaux Begles beat Leinster 41-19 at San Mames Stadium in Bilbao to win the European Rugby Champions Cup. In Poland, Lech Poznan finished with a second consecutive Ekstraklasa title, a 10th for the club. The cluster of finals left several leagues with new champions before June.