GM football fans. It’s Monday, June. 23 - Fifa urges U.S. soccer to embrace promotion and relegation, Italy criminalises referee assaults, and everything else you need to know. Forwarded this email? Sign up here.
Get more than one referral by Friday using your unique referral link, and we’ll send you a $5 DoorDash gift card—US readers only; we are working on a tasty European equivalent. Thank you to everyone who’s already shared R1 using their link–it means the world to us!
KEY FIXTURES
Club World Cup: Atletico Madrid vs. Botafogo, 20:00 / 15:00. Botafogo pulled off a remarkable victory against European champions PSG last week, and have now won 10 of their last 13 games–only a three-goal loss would stop the Brazilian side from qualifying for the last-16. Seattle Sounders vs. Paris Saint-Germain, 20:00 / 15:00. While PSG can’t top their group, they can advance to the round of 16 simply by bettering Atletico’s result against Botafogo. Sounders have lost four straight matches and each of their last three on home soil. See the current Club World Cup group standings here.
TV Channels: Channel 5 or DAZN (UK) | DAZN (US) | DAZN (Canada)
Results…
Club World Cup, Group Stage: Real Madrid 3-1 Pachuca (Report) | Juventus 4-1 Wydad Casablanca | Man City vs Al Ain to be determined shortly after publication (See Results)
Gold Cup, Group Stage: UMSNT vs Haiti | Saudi Arabia vs Trinidad and Tobago | Mexico vs Costa Rica | Dominican Republic vs Suriname all to be determined shortly after publication (See Results)
TOP TALKING POINTS
FIFA Urges Pro-Rel
Fifa president Gianni Infantino urged the United States to explore the introduction of promotion and relegation in American football during a fireside chat with Fox Sport. He cited Wrexham’s rise to the Championship as something absent in American football due to the lack of promotion and relegation.
A 2016 study of over 1,000 U.S. football fans found that 88% supported the idea, believing the “introduction of promotion and relegation would be beneficial” for clubs across the country. Earlier this year, the United Soccer League (USL)—a rival to Major League Soccer—voted to implement a promotion and relegation system by 2027.
Infantino also claimed that within “three or four, maximum five years,” football will become the top sport in the U.S. This is ambitious, as a 2025 poll of 2,501 Americans showed just 14% watched association football, ranking it seventh behind the traditional "big four" sports and the Winter and Summer Olympics.
Italy Criminalises Ref Assaults
Referees in Italy will receive the same legal protection as police officers and other public officials, in a world-first move aimed at curbing a rise in assaults on officials. It means that those who commit acts of violence against match officials in Italy could now be sentenced to time in prison.
The Italian government has been in talks with the Italian Soccer Referees Association (ISRA) since December. That month, Serie A referees wore black smudges on their cheeks during matches to protest rising abuse.
In England, reports of assaults on match officials in grassroots football last season increased by 32% from 2022-23. Rule changes to tackle referee abuse, such as deducting points from clubs, failed to deliver the impact the FA hoped for.
S Korea Lifts Goalkeeper Ban
South Korea has lifted a 26-year ban on foreign goalkeepers in the top flight, effective from the 2026-27 K League season. The league, Asia’s oldest professional domestic competition, had restricted the position to Korean nationals since 1999.
The rule was introduced as a way of protecting homegrown talent when there were only 10 professional clubs. There are now 26 professional clubs across South Korea’s top two divisions, opening room for international goalkeepers.
The restrictions on a specialised position led to a disproportionate rise in wages for domestic goalkeepers. Reports also suggest that concerns about modern squad sizes, which require three or four goalkeepers, led to a shortage of quality under the current restrictions.
POLL
Do you think a non-European team can win the Club World Cup?
ON THE BALL
Europe
> Liverpool sign Florian Wirtz for a club record £116m from Bayer Leverkusen on a five-year contract (More); dive deeper into Wirtz’s play style (More) | Bayer Leverkusen will sign Liverpool defender Jarell Quansah in a £35m deal, but the Reds will have a buy-back clause (More)
> NBA’s Kevin Durant becomes a minority stakeholder of Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain (More)
> Santi Cazorla, 40, scores in playoff to help Real Oviedo achieve promotion to the Spanish top flight for the first time in 24 years (More)
> Former Ajax winger sent to prison - Quincy Promes has been extradited to the Netherlands and will serve a seven-and-a-half-year sentence for drug trafficking and aggravated assault (More)
Americas
> Fifa sold out its first stadium at the Club World Cup when Bayern Munich beat Boca Juniors on Saturday, with a crowd of 63,587 (More)
> Brazil has expressed interest in hosting the 2029 men’s Club World Cup (More)
> Kansas City Current retains top position in the NWSL following a 1-0 victory over Angel City FC, making it their eleventh win in 13 matches (More); see standings (More)
> Louisville City and Charleston Battery are now level on points in USL Championship’s Eastern Conference after Louisville lost 2-1 to North Carolina (More) | New Mexico are USL Championship Western Confernece leaders following a 4-2 win over San Antonio FC, though El Paso Locomotive are two points behind with a game spare (More); see standings (More)
Rest of the World
> A supporter died after falling from the upper stand in Algeria after MC Alger won the league title (More)
ROUTERS’ VOICE
Friday’s Poll: Should domestic league broadcast revenue be evenly distributed amongst clubs?
🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 📺 Yes... (86%)
🟨 🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ 🙅♂️ Nope... (10%)
🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ✍️ Other... (4%)
Your punditry takes:
📺 K.P: “Definitely, without these ‘not so fashionable or smaller clubs’ there would be no football. Financial fairness is paramount for the longevity of our game, we must not see clubs going into liquidation and disappearing forever.”
📺 J.S: “If a club plays in the Premier League, any club, that club should get an equal share of the broadcast and prize revenue. This will help to level the field and make the league even more competitive. The only differentiator in investment money should come from the investors and the club's ability to market the club through promotional items, events, etc.”
🙅♂️ J.L: “Getting a larger share of the revenue for winning is fair. Pay the teams based on where they finish.”
✍️ J.M.C: “I would favour a hybrid system, weighted by league but distributed equally within that league. There should also be a way to support lower-tier leagues. These teams can become EFL teams in the future, so they need to be professionalised in both infrastructure and administrative processes. I recognise that EPL money is the main source, but the game needs trickle-down funding.”
EXTRA TIME
Every transfer in Europe’s top five leagues. (live tracker)
Will a South American team win the Club World Cup?
How football match-fixing actually works. (video)
The best number nines on the transfer market.
How every team can qualify for Gold Cup’s quarterfinals.
Jobe Bellingham’s first Dortmund goal.
Puma’s Premier League high-vis winter ball leaked.
GAME FACE ON
Question: Who scored the most direct free-kicks in the Premier League in the 2024-25 season?
Scroll below for the answer.
ON TODAY
Club World Cup
Atletico Madrid vs Botafogo (20:00)
Seattle Sounders vs PSG (20:00)
*All times in UK. ET -5. CDT -6. PDT -8. MDT -7. CET +1.
Answer
Bruno Fernandes (2). He was the only player to score more than one in England’s top flight.
Daily Wordle: Guess the football-related word, from player names to classic phrases, in six tries or fewer. Play it here.
Botafogo has been the team that has defended against us the best all season.
