GM football fans. It’s Thursday, August. 14 - the independent football regulator is being fast-tracked, La Liga clubs are under pressure to register players ahead of the new season, and everything else you need to know. Forwarded this email? Sign up here.
KEY RESULT
UEFA Super Cup Final: Paris Saint-Germain 2-2 Tottenham Hotspur (PSG win 4-3 on penalties). Spurs led 2-0 after 84 minutes and were minutes away from clinching the trophy, but were denied by PSG’s late recovery and a penalty shootout. It was the fourth Super Cup decided via a shootout in seven years. The French side’s success means that 12 of the last 13 editions of the Super Cup have seen the reigning Champions League winners end victorious. Read the full match report here.
Results…
English League Cup, 1st Round (See Results)
Conmebol Libertadores last 16 fixtures, Flamengo vs. Internacional & Botafogo vs. LDU Quito, will conclude shortly after publication (Live Results)
TOP TALKING POINTS
Football Regulator Fast-Tracked
The Labour Party is fast-tracking secondary legislation to ensure the powers of the new independent football regulator (IFR) will be in place by November as two English clubs face collapse. The government has increased the urgency to implement the new law due to the financial problems at Sheffield Wednesday and Morecambe–dive deeper into their situations here.
Once the regulator is legally operational, it can strip owners of their right to run clubs, and the IFR can sanction takeovers at a price of its choosing. This could force Sheffield Wednesday’s owner Dejphon Chansiri to sell the club after criticism that he is setting an unrealistic asking price that has discouraged potential buyers.
In recent years, several football clubs have fallen into administration under the weight of financial pressures, including Bury and Macclesfield Town. The regulator aims to make the game more sustainable, though it has been criticised for potentially reducing competitiveness.
Spanish Football’s Registration Issues
With just a day to go before La Liga kicks off, 158 new signings remain unregistered across Spain’s first and second divisions. More than half are still not listed on the official La Liga website, with the restrictive salary cap hampering clubs’ room for manoeuvre.
Barcelona is among the clubs yet to register many of their players. At the time of writing, Inaki Pena is the only goalkeeper registered for Matchday 1, and seven other players—including Marcus Rashford—remain without La Liga licences. In an attempt to ease the situation, Barca executives have prepared to put their personal wealth at risk as part of a bank guarantee worth €7m to increase the club’s salary cap and register players.
Meanwhile, Levante are in the worst situation, with just three players registered on the La Liga website, while Sevilla could start the season with only 12 players available due to salary restrictions.
Ref Cams Debut in Prem
The Premier League will test referee cameras in selected matches during the opening Matchday this weekend after the clubs approved the trial. If the test proves successful, the new technology will become a permanent feature of live TV games for the rest of the season.
The Premier League and broadcasters believe Ref Cams will enrich the viewer’s TV experience with a unique view of the action. The referees’ body PGMOL also believes it will give an extra insight into the difficulty of refereeing top-flight matches. Fifa trialled Ref Cams at this summer’s Club World Cup in the United States, with the chair of their refereeing committee, Pierluigi Collina, saying the experiment had gone “beyond expectations”. See an example of Ref Cam being used in the Club World Cup here.
Other changes this season include a crackdown on goalkeepers holding the ball for more than eight seconds, which will now result in a corner for the opposition; only captains being allowed to approach referees; and players being permitted to retake a penalty if they accidentally touch the ball twice while kicking.
POLL
Who’s your pick to win the Premier League this season? (four based on last season's top four)
ON THE BALL
Europe
> Manchester United will visit League Two Grimsby Town in the second round of the Carabao Cup; see full draw (More)
> Premier League matches will have a moment of silence for Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva in the opening set of fixtures (More) | Cristian Romero has been named as the new Tottenham captain following Son’s exit (More)
> UEFA have approved Serie A’s request for AC Milan and Como to play a competitive league match in Australia in February (More)
> Bundesliga games will take longer this season as Germany joins a drive to calculate added time more precisely (More)
Americas
> Canadian Championship semi-finals first leg ties between Forge FC vs. Vancouver Whitecaps & Vancouver FC vs. Ottawa to conclude shortly after publication (See Results)
> U.S. Open Cup quarter-final tie between Philadelphia Union and New York Red Bulls will conclude shortly after publication (See Result)
> South American football governing body Conmebol has introduced a system to detect racism, hate speech and abuse on social media directed at players (More)
Rest of the World
> Chinese Super League side Chengdu Rongcheng defeated Bangkok United 3-0 to qualify for the league phase of the Asian Champions League Elite, while Qatar's Al Duhail beat Sepahan from Iran 3-2 to also advance (More)
ROUTERS’ VOICE
Yesterday’s Poll: Do you think it's best for clubs to let players go if they want to leave?
🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 👍 Yes (72%)
🟨 🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ 🙅♂️ Nope (25%)
🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ✍️ Other (3%)
Your punditry takes:
👍 J.P.L: “In general, yes. It's not good to have an ongoing saga as it casts a cloud over everything. As long as the player has been generally reasonable with their requests, it does a team no favours to have an ongoing dispute.”
👍 D.W: “Yes, but only at the market price. Clubs invest in players, as do fans with the purchase of named merchandise, consequently it is only right that clubs receive the due transfer fee. On the other hand, if the player refuses to play for his employer, it is only correct that his wages should be forfeited and the player should be fined accordingly for breach of contract.”
🙅♂️ J.E: “It’s called honouring your commitment and dedication. You signed a contract, now man up and play for the team that brought you into the league. Put your head down and continue to grind.”
✍️ J.M: “In general, yes, clubs should let players leave if they want to go; however, they are not obliged to let them leave for free or for less than their market value, and players should not be trying to force their way out by refusing to play or anything. They have signed a contract (and generally they are pretty lucrative contracts!), so they should be willing to see it out.”
EXTRA TIME
How Ousmane Dembele set a new standard last season. (analysis)
Uefa has updated its European club rankings.
Footballers whose names are also song titles.
Opta releases Ligue 1 projections.
How fans of each Prem team feel about their prospects.
Lineker and Richards speak with Rashford.
21 Premier League players to watch.
GAME FACE ON
Question: Who was the last player to score a hat-trick on Matchday 1 of a Premier League season?
Scroll below for the answer.
ON TODAY
Europa League, 3rd Qualifying Round
See every fixture here.
*All times in UK. ET -5. CDT -6. PDT -8. MDT -7. CET +1.
Answer
Bruno Fernandes vs. Leeds United in 2021-22.
Daily Wordle: Guess the football-related word, from player names to classic phrases, in six tries or fewer. Play it here.
At the football club we’ve got this thing called a phone. I don't know if they've got them at other football clubs to be honest.
