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GM football fans. It’s Thursday, August. 28 - The Premier League reminds clubs of its stance on politics, the Bundesliga ‘handshake’ policy has been criticised, and everything else you need to know. Forwarded this email? Sign up here.

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KEY RESULTS

EFL Cup, 2nd Round: Grimsby Town 2-2 Manchester United (Grimsby win 12-11 on pens). Fourth division Grimsby Town, with a squad value of £3.1m, have eliminated Manchester United (£769m) in the second round of the EFL Cup on penalties. Bryan Mbeumo and Harry Maguire scored late goals for Man United after they trailed by two up until the 75th minute. The penalty shootout lasted 18 minutes as new signings Matheus Cunha and Mbeumo missed critical kicks. Read the full match report here.

See the EFL Cup 3rd Round draw, which includes all eligible Premier League teams, here.

Results…

EFL Cup: Everton 2-0 Mansfield Town | Fulham 2-0 Bristol City | Oxford 0-6 Brighton
Champions League Play-offs: Benfica 1-0 Fenerbahce (Agg 1-0) | Club Brugge 6-0 Rangers (Agg 9-1) | Kobenhavn 2-0 Basel (Agg 3-1) | Qarabag 2-3 Ferencvaros (Agg 5-4)
German DFB Pokal: Wiesbaden 2-3 Bayern Munich

TOP TALKING POINTS

Prem’s Political Stance

Premier League clubs have been reminded by the league that they are responsible for preventing politically motivated signs from being displayed at their stadiums. The guidance, which is also shared with the EFL and FA, is enforced at the discretion of each club.

The policy is designed to target “potentially inflammatory content” that could be considered discriminatory or offensive. Clubs are encouraged to consider “tangible football reasons” for the appearance of national symbolism, such as when the nationality is represented on the pitch.

A Brighton fan, who was wearing a football shirt deemed to be in breach of the policy, was banned from attending the club’s next five home Premier League matches. Brighton said the supporter refused to comply with several requests to follow stewards to the club’s reception.

Bundesliga Handshake Criticised

The Bundesliga’s new “handshake dialogue” rule, which requires referees, captains, and managers to meet 70 minutes before kick-off, has been met with criticism. The rule came into effect at the start of the season and was intended to promote respect and reduce arguments with referees, deliberate fouls, and time-wasting.

Former Bayern Munich midfielder Toni Kroos said the rule “has absolutely no effect,” while Cologne coach Lukas Kwasniok argued that “by the fifth minute there is no handshake anymore” and called for it to be scrapped. Heidenheim coach Frank Schmidt added that it “gets in the way” of pre-match routines and “adds nothing to the intensity” of a live game.

So far, only Freiburg coach Julian Schuster has come out in support of the new rule, praising it as a gesture of respect. The Deutsche Fußball Liga (DFL), the body responsible for organising Germany’s top two divisions, has no intention of removing the rule despite the criticism.

Madrid Top Wage List

Real Madrid currently have the highest average annual salary per player among all European leagues at €11.2m ($13m). Kylian Mbappe, who joined Real Madrid last summer from Paris Saint-Germain, is the club’s top earner, with an annual salary of $31.25m.

It’s thought that Madrid’s strategy of signing top free agents, such as Mbappe and Antonio Rudiger, rather than paying massive transfer fees, has allowed them to sustain a high payroll. Read more on the historic ruling that enabled clubs to sign free agents here. Real’s average annual salary is by far the highest among its rivals, with the second-highest being Barcelona, whose average salary sits at €7.9m.

Of the top 10 teams in the ranking, six are Premier League clubs. Manchester City ($7.43m) and Arsenal ($7m) have the third and fifth-highest average salary per player, respectively. Further down the list are Liverpool (€6m), Manchester United (€6 million), Chelsea (€4.5m), and Tottenham (€4.5m).

POLL

Do you think that Ruben Amorim should be sacked after Manchester United's EFL Cup exit?

Leave your initials in your response if you'd like to be featured in tomorrow's edition.

ON THE BALL

Europe

> The 36 clubs participating in the Champions League league phase have been confirmed following the conclusion of the qualifying rounds; the league phase draw will take place on Thursday (Aug 28) at 17:00 BST / 12:00 ET (More)

> Chelsea are close to agreeing a deal with Manchester United over the signing of Alejandro Garnacho for around £40m (More) | Jared Bowen apologises after confronting West Ham fans following his side’s 3-2 defeat to Wolves in the second round of the EFL Cup (More)

> John Textor has registered his interest in the troubled Championship club Sheffield Wednesday with the owner Dejphon Chansiri (More)

> The Uefa Women’s Champions League second qualifying round is played on Wednesday (Aug 28) and Saturday (Aug 30) (More)

Americas

> The Leagues Cup semi-finals between Inter Miami vs. Orlando City & LA Galaxy vs. Seattle Sounders will conclude shortly after publication (Live Results)

> USMNT head coach Mauricio Pochettino has named his 22-player roster for the upcoming friendlies against South Korea and Japan (More); here’s a deeper analysis of his selection (More)

Rest of the World

> The new Saudi Pro League season starts on Thursday (Aug 28) as Al Ittihad look to defend their title; see all the fixtures (More)

> A-League club Perth Glory are attempting to convince former Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli to join the club (More)

ROUTERS’ VOICE

Yesterday’s Poll: The Premier League transfer record has been broken this summer. Do you think this has been the best transfer window in Premier League history?

🟨 🟨 🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ 👍 Yes (36%)

🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🙅‍♂️ Nope (61%)

🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ✍️ Other (3%)

Your punditry takes:

👍 L.F “The Prem has taken so much talent from every other league this window, I can’t think of another time this has happened: Gittens, Estevao, Wirtz, Frimpong, Ekitike, Reijnders, Cherki, Sesko, Gyokeres - all of these were the best players in their team or league.”
🙅‍♂️ D.W: “It may be the best transfer window for the supposedly 'top six' clubs. However, this is creating an ever-increasing gulf between them and the chasing pack, who are striving to compete on an already uneven playing field. How the PSR and FFP regulations have not come into effect for the likes of Manchester City and Chelsea is absurd and beyond belief, which does strengthen the claims that maybe all is not as it should be behind the scenes with certain participating parties.”
🙅‍♂️ R.B: “Lots of average players going for inflated prices. Academy graduates are being sold for millions with little experience. The money merry-go-round so clubs can work within the PSR. It's crazy and hard to get excited about.”
✍️ S.L: “The future holds the answer, it can't be seen now. It certainly has potential.”