| In partnership with |
|
GM football fans. It’s Thursday, Oct. 30 - Football’s lawmakers are expected to expand VAR’s reach, the first free World Cup Fan Fest has been announced, and everything else you need to know. Forwarded this email? Sign up here.
KEY RESULTS
English League Cup: Arsenal 2-0 Brighton. Arsenal now have eight wins in a row and six consecutive clean sheets. Max Dowman, aged 15 years and 302 days old, was named as Arsenal’s youngest ever player to start a competitive match. Liverpool 0-3 Crystal Palace. This is Liverpool’s sixth defeat in seven games, and it was the first time they have lost a domestic cup match at Anfield by three goals without scoring since 1934. Wolves 3-4 Chelsea. Chelsea became the first Premier League side of all time with four different scorers aged 21 or younger in a match in all competitions. See the League Cup quarter-final draw here.
More results…
English League Cup: Swansea 1-3 Man City | Newcastle 2-0 Tottenham Hotspur
Scottish Premiership: Celtic 4-0 Falkirk | Hibernian 0-1 Rangers | St Mirren 2-2 Hearts (Table)
German DFB Pokal: Paderborn 2-4 Bayer Leverkusen | Koln 1-4 Bayern Munich (All Results)
TOP TALKING POINTS
VAR Extension Supported
Football’s lawmakers have discussed the possibility of extending VAR’s reach to step in when an incorrect yellow card is given. Currently, VAR can only review straight red cards, not second yellow cards that lead to a dismissal.
The proposal reportedly has broad support, allowing VAR to rescind a wrongful second yellow card, but not to review potential second yellow-card offences, due to the delays it may cause. Following a meeting of Ifab’s Technical Panel this week, a formal proposal will be submitted to the Ifab board at its January AGM, with the rule change expected to be ratified before next season.
During the same meeting, Ifab decided against introducing VAR reviews for incorrectly awarded corners which lead to goals. It also discussed placing a countdown on throw-ins and goal-kicks to stop time-wasting, following the same logic as the eight-second limit on goalkeepers holding the ball in open play. Referees would likely give players a visual countdown to warn them against time-wasting.
See the average delay time before throw-ins in the Premier League this season here.
Premier League Hall of Fame
Eden Hazard has been inducted into the Premier League Hall of Fame, becoming its 26th member. His inclusion follows Gary Neville’s induction last week, which was decided by the 24 existing Hall of Fame members. See the full list of Hall of Famers here.
Hazard, who signed for Chelsea from Lille in 2012, made 245 appearances across seven seasons, scoring 85 times and providing 54 assists. He played every match in Chelsea’s 2014–15 title-winning season, contributing 14 goals and nine assists, and won a second Premier League title in 2016–17, adding 16 goals and five assists.
The inductees are selected after results of a fan poll are presented to the existing Premier League Hall of Fame members, who then cast their votes to decide who is inducted in 2025. The Premier League nominates a shortlist each year, though some notable omissions, including 13-time champion and all-time assist leader Ryan Giggs, have drawn criticism.
First Free Fan Fest
Kansas City’s 2026 World Cup host committee will offer free general admission to its 25,000-capacity Fan Festival, becoming the first host city to do so, despite Fifa granting the option to charge for entry. See the latest rendering of Kansas’ Fan Festival here (incl. video).
Host committee chief executive Pam Kramer told The Athletic that security will be a top priority of the Fan Fests. “We’re approaching the fan fest much like a stadium environment,” Kramer said. The city has also sent safety experts to major global tournaments to study best practices for crowd management.
Some World Cup host cities in the United States are expected to limit the duration of fan fests due to cost concerns. N.Y./N.J. plans to keep its Fan Fest at Liberty State Park open for all 39 days of the tournament, while Dallas is expected to follow suit. Other cities, however, are still deciding how many days to run their Fan Fests, with a key factor being how much public funding they can raise. Fifa initially required full-tournament operation, but has since relaxed the rule due to financial strain.
POLL
Should VAR step in if a wrongly awarded corner leads to a goal?
PRESENTED BY SUPERHUMAN AI
The Gold standard for AI news
AI will eliminate 300 million jobs in the next 5 years.
Yours doesn't have to be one of them.
Here's how to future-proof your career:
Join the Superhuman AI newsletter - read by 1M+ professionals
Learn AI skills in 3 mins a day
Become the AI expert on your team
ON THE BALL
Europe
> Vinicius Junior has issued a public apology to Real Madrid for his reaction after being substituted in the 2-1 win over Barcelona at the weekend (More) | Barcelona midfielder Pedri has been diagnosed with a muscle tear in his left leg, and will be sidelined for at least four weeks (More)
> UEFA has banned fans of Red Star Belgrade from attending the team’s next away game in the Europa League because of racist and offensive incidents (More)
> Juventus have chosen former Napoli coach Luciano Spalletti as their new head coach following Igor Tudor’s sacking (More)
Americas
> CONMEBOL Libertadores semi-final between Racing and Flamengo (Agg 1-0) to conclude shortly after publication (Live Result)
> New York City FC beat Charlotte 1-0 in the MLS Cup play-offs to begin a best-of-three series with a victory (More) | Game 1 between LAFC vs. Austin to conclude shortly after publication (Live Result)
> International friendly United States Women vs. New Zealand will conclude shortly after publication (Live Result)
Rest of the World
> Australia coach Joe Montemurro has strongly endorsed Sam Kerr as the nation’s captain, ending a drawn-out debate (More)
Tens of thousands of fans around the world start their day with Route One. If you’re in a position to do so, please consider supporting our team with a one-off donation to help us reach even more fans and keep global football news free for everyone. Support Route One here.
ROUTERS’ VOICE
Yesterday’s Poll: Have Arsenal been brilliant this season, or have others underperformed?
🟨 🟨 🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ 🤩 Brilliant Arsenal (38%)
🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 😬 Others underperformed (60%)
🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ✍️ Other (2%)
Your punditry takes:
🤩 S.G: “Arsenal have been doing much better than last season, and although there was some underperformance from other title competitors, especially Liverpool, I still believe that can't take away the incredible improvement this team has had over the last few months.”
🤩 N.M: “There's always a bit of both, of course, but Arsenal's defence especially, have been performing phenomenally. The number of goals and even shots on target conceded across all competitions is incredible. Considering these teams are scoring elsewhere, I think it's safe to say Arsenal have been brilliant so far.”
😬 P.D: “Arsenal's defence and set-pieces have been undeniably brilliant, but they're definitely lacking something as an attacking force outside the set-pieces. If teams start to find a way through their defence, they may fall away. But they're certainly favourites at this point because Salah has fallen off a cliff, and City are too reliant on Haaland. It does feel like this is the best opportunity for years for a smaller club to ‘do a Leicester’ though.”
✍️ V: “I think it is a little bit of both. Arsenal has been incredibly efficient and consistent. They deserve and have earned the right to be where they are at the top of the table. Man City seems to be struggling again, but at least Haaland is doing what he does best. Liverpool seemed to have started great, but with all the late goal wins early on, it masked a deeper problem that needs to be addressed. There is too much talent up front not to be scoring more. Also, where is Mo this season?”
EXTRA TIME
When will Ronaldo reach 1,000 goals?
… and a visual of every team he has scored against.
Why are teams making subs in the first minute?
Understand the tactics teams are using against Liverpool.
Freiburg players show their sign language names.
A masked PL player appeared in Baller League—is that allowed?
English football’s best fixtures, that haven’t been played yet.
Inside a Premier League training session. (video)
GAME FACE ON
Question: Eberechi Eze became the second player with the initials EE to score for Arsenal in the Premier League on Sunday, after who?
Scroll below for the answer.
Daily Wordle: Guess the football-related word, from player names to classic phrases, in six tries or fewer. Play it here.
I was seen as a dinosaur, but not many managers moan about set-pieces now.
Answer
Emmanuel Eboue.
