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- šØ Chelsea point deduction incoming
šØ Chelsea point deduction incoming
Plus: Grealish wants to be a DJ
Gm football fans. Route One here, the football newsletter that gets you through international break boredom.
Todayās briefing is a ~5 min read:
Chelsea point deduction incoming š¬
Extra time: a must-watch Paul Merson clip š
The Becks of the Decksā¦ Grealish takes up DJāing š¶
Morning Brief šļø
Mikel Arteta has been charged with misconduct after brandishing VAR deicsion as ādisgracefulā.
Newcastle United are interested in Barcelona and former Manchester City forward Ferran Torres.
Newcastle United striker Callum Wilson will be out for at least six weeks with a hamstring injury. Defender Sven Botman could be sidelined for longer because of a knee issue.
Chelsea could face a points deduction over allegations of hidden payments made during Roman Abramovichās time as owner.
West Ham are targetting Bayer Leverkusen centre-back Jonathan Tah in a Ā£20m deal. Newcastle and Manchester United are also intersted in the German defender.
CHELSEA POINT DEDUCTION INCOMING š¬
Ahhhā¦ international break.
A boring period for every football fan. But a nice time for club managers to recoup and take a break.
With Chelsea finally picking up form, Pochettino will be looking for some well-deserved rest after a difficult start.
Perhaps a few walks in the park. Or even a romantic weekend away with the Missus.
Wellā¦ not really.
His side could be facing the ultimate Premier League sanction: a points deduction for hidden payments during the Roman Abramovich era.
Not so relaxing after allā¦ but whatās actually happening?
1/ The claim against Chelsea
The allegation is that offshore companies linked to the Russian billionaire made off-the-book payments.
These unrecorded payments allegedly helped Chelsea signā¦ Eden Hazard, Willian, and Samuel Etoāo.
It may have also helped with signing managers like Antonio Conte.
The Guadian reports the files reveal a series of payments worth tens of millions of pounds over the decade.
2/ But itās not what you might think
Chelsea isnāt getting a telling-off because they were doing dodgy deals.
Rather, the lawmakers are concerned about a potential financial fair play breach.
Why? Because under FFP rules, clubs must provide full and transparent financial reports.
Soā¦ if Chelsea werenāt disclosing these payments, that wouldnāt be full or transparent. Got it?
And The Blues could, in theory, gain an unfair advantage.
3/ Whatās next?
Well, Chelsea self-reported themselves.
This cooperation might dampen the damage done, and the Premier League is yet to charge the club with any potential breaches.
Theyāve also got Manchester City and Everton ahead of them in the queue. Both of which have been charged by the League.
Whatās more, the most recent example of a points deduction comes from Portsmouth. They were deducted nine points in March 2010 after becoming the first Premier League club to go into administration.
A points deduction is possibleā¦ but that was 13 years ago. Yes, 2010 was 13 years ago.
Soā¦ itās rare. But that wonāt mean Poch & co wonāt be breaking a sweat.
EXTRA-TIME ā±ļø
Paul Merson shouting at Mike Dean in the Sky Sports studio is box office. When we say box office, we mean hilarious. Merson concludes his rant with an impression of all the āscaredā referees.
Throwback to when Jurgen Klopp enjoyed a translatorās erotic voice. Klopp becomes confused and aroused before asking the translator for an encore. A light-hearted clip which should fight off the international break blues.
To celebrate Paul Scholes's 49th birthday yesterday, hereās a two-minute passing compilation. Sit back and enjoy.
Do you remember when Nani ruined one of Cristiano Ronaldoās best-ever goals? Cristiano gave Gerard Pique the Ronaldo chop, ball-rolled Xavi Alonso then chipped Iker Casillas. The Route One office thinks Ronaldoās tantrum is justified.
Charlie Unwin of Sunday League team Chells Rovers scores a PuskƔs Award contender. The goal was the winner in a 5-4 thriller. Charlie told TalkSport Radio he is considering retirement following the worldie.
THE BECKS OF THE DECKS šµ
We have another feel-good story to take your mind off the international break.
Jack Grealish is learning how to DJ.
Jack has not chosen a stage name yet but is currently favouring āDJ Grealo.ā Like Diplo but from Birmingham.
The English winger knows a thing or two about partying. Following Manchester Cityās treble-winning campaign, the City boys racked up a Ā£47,000 bar bill.
In the past, Jack has said he fancies himself as a club promoter somewhere like Tenerife or Ibiza.
In fact, he was spotted going to Ibiza with fellow Brummie DJ Russke during the summer of 2022. Maybe this trip sparked Jackās interest in getting behind the decksā¦?
Hmmmā¦ probably not.
Jack reveals the main motivation for learning to mix the decks is more mundane.
āI just want to learn some stuff outside of football, have a hobby and stuff.ā Spiritual stuff.
He doesnāt do much outside football and is looking for a hobby to replace his TV binging.
Jackās eclectic music taste suggests he will have a musical offering that will have broad appeal.
"I'm awful but everything takes time. I want to do a bit of everything, 80s and 90s - a bit of everything I reckon.ā
Interstingly, football and music have overlapped throughout history. Electronic music has had close ties with the football world in particular.
āThe rise of rave culture in the UK, and ecstasy use, are sometimes even cited as contributing to a reduction in hooliganism and violence between rival teams,ā said Martin Guttridge-Hewitt at DJ Mag.
With so much spare time, footballers are always looking to keep themselves busy.
Butā¦ some footballers have weirder hobbies than others.
Lionel Messi has an antique collection.
Neymar Jr loves high-stakes poker.
Best of all, Joe Allen, former Liverpool midfielder looks after chickensā¦
Fortunately, Jackās DJāing is a hobby we football fans can get more excited about.