Prem blackout under threat

GM football fans. It’s Tuesday, Dec. 3, and we’re covering changes to the Premier League broadcast, a deadly stadium crush and much more. First time reading? Sign up here.

TONIGHT’S EPL MW14 STATS

Ipswich vs Crystal Palace, 19:30 GMT / 14:30 ET. Both sides are on nine points but Palace fare well against promoted opponents. They’ve won six, drawn four and lost just one of their last 11 such Premier League games. Leicester City vs West Ham, 20:15 GMT / 15:15 ET. Leicester have failed to win in their last six matches in all competitions and have conceded three goals in four of these matches. Meanwhile, West Ham have been inconsistent in the league, winning twice, losing three times and drawing once in their last six games. See this week’s fixtures here.

Plus…

• FA Cup third round draw announced (played 11 Jan); Arsenal to host United, Villa to host West Ham and more (Full draw)

• Opta’s Premier League relegation predictions (More)

• Report finds FA takeover of women’s football was damaging (More)

• Romanian legend Helmut Duckadam dies aged 65 (More)

• Salah prepared to sign 1-year contract extension (More)

• Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea and Spurs are monitoring Jamie Gittens (More)

EPL BROADCAST CHANGES

3PM blackout ‘under threat’ in TV rights deal, and clubs expect £1.75bn windfall

The Saturday 3 PM blackout – where live football cannot be broadcast in the UK – is set to come under scrutiny (paywall) in the Premier League’s next domestic broadcasting deal. If the blackout isn’t removed in the next broadcast cycle (2025/26), sources suggest it’s unlikely to survive beyond 2028/29.

The blackout was originally bought in to protect attendance and grassroots participation. However, the EFL’s analysis has shown that attendance levels have not been impacted since they’ve increased the number of matches shown live on TV.

What’s more, the Premier League has told clubs (paywall) that new lucrative global deals mean their central income for the next three-year cycle is up by 17%, or £1.75bn. Overseas agreements are worth more than the league’s domestic ones. Broadcasters in the UK are not competing as aggressively as they previously were but the same can’t be said for worldwide broadcasters.

POLL

HEAD START

> Club plans legal action against FIFA for breaking its own rules. Club Liga Deportiva Alajuelense have complained to FIFA over allegedly breaching (paywall) multi-club ownership rules. The Costa Rican club argue that two Mexican teams, Club de Fútbol Pachuca and Club León - who are owned by the same conglomerate - should not be allowed to compete in the Club World Cup. Alajuelense launched the complaint in the belief that either Pachuca or León should be removed from the competition, with Alajuelense taking their place among the 32 teams in the US next summer based on their continental ranking. If both Pachuca or León are involved in Thursday’s Club World Cup draw, sources have indicated that Alajuelense will continue their legal battle.

> Ipswich captain chooses not to wear rainbow armband for religious reasons. Ipswich Town captain Sam Morsy chose not to wear a rainbow armband during Saturday’s defeat to Nottingham Forest due to his religious beliefs. The rainbow armband was part of the Premier League’s Rainbow Laces weekend, a partnership with LGBTQ+ charity Stonewall. His club has released a statement that said, “Ipswich Town Football Club is committing to being a fully inclusive club that welcomes everyone.” It added: “At the same time, we respect the decision of our captain Sam Morsy, who has chosen not to wear the rainbow captain’s armband, due to his religious beliefs.” The Premier League has more than halved its annual funding for Stonewall in its most recent contract with the charity.

> Women’s Championship to be streamed live on YouTube. Every Women’s Championship match will be streamed live on the league’s YouTube channel from next season onwards. The move will see roughly a six-fold increase in the number of live second-tier fixtures being shown. The broadcast will also use two cameras, a move away from the current single-camera coverage. So far this season, the most-watched YouTube livestream of the Women’s Championship was between Sunderland and Newcastle with a total of 81,313 total live views. Viewership for the Women’s Super League has tripled since the switch to games being streamed online.

DEADLY STADIUM CRUSH

56 killed in pitch raid after referee’s ‘controversial’ decision

A controversial refereeing decision sparked violence and a stadium crush in Guinea’s second-largest city, Nzerekore. The incident killed 56 people, according to a provisional toll. A video shows fans climbing the walls of the stadium to escape the crush.

The match between Labe and Nzerekore on Sunday was the final of a tournament in honour of the country’s military leader Mamdy, who seized power in a coup in September 2021. A witness who had attended the match said a disputed red card in the 82nd minute kicked off the violence.

Recent decades have seen a number of deadly disasters in football stadiums. The Confederation of African Football has been working with Fifa to tackle dangerous overcrowding and other safety issues in African stadiums. 

See more on stadium disasters over recent decades here.

AROUND THE FOOTBALL WORLD

Europe

> Lyon say George Mikautadze has suffered no physical harm after reports of an armed robbery at his home this week (More)

> Scottish Premiership top scorer, Callum McGregor of Celtic leads with six goals, all from outside the box (More) / via X

Americas

> The US Soccer Federation will not implement a nationwide break up of youth teams based on birth year. Instead, leagues and organisers will be allowed to make their own decisions on how to separate teams (More)

> German multinational Henkel signs multiyear sponsorship deal with U.S. Soccer. The agreement promotes 30 Henkel brands including Dial, Persil, and Schwarzkopf; the value of the deal remains undisclosed (More)

Rest of the World

> The AFC Champions League group stages will conclude on December 4 for the West region and December 5 for the East region (Current standings)

> Nigerian team El-Kanemi Warriors FC stopped by armed robbers on the way to a Nigeria Premier Football League clash on Sunday; the game still went ahead (More)

ROUTER’S VOICE

Yesterday, we asked you: Do you think Manchester City are at risk of missing out on a Champions League position?

🟨 🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ 😬 Yes... (26%)

🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 😴 Nope... (73%)

⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ✍️ Other (write in!)... (1%)

Your punditry takes:

• 😴 P.O: “Even with our current woes, there aren't 4 teams who are better than us in this league. (Yes I'm aware we're 5th, but it's a long season).”

• 😴 B.S: “City regularly falter before the Christmas break. Let’s all hold judgment until the new year.”

• 😬 M.J.W: “They look 'goosed', out of ideas and scared with a manager going Full Ross Geller (stolen from F365!). Arsenal and Chelsea are in a better place than them and they're in a battle with Brighton and others for the final spot. So they are definitely at risk of missing out - not the same as they will miss out!”

EXTRA TIME

The best 100 female footballers ranked...

… and FIFPro shortlists their 2024 Women’s World XI.

BBC Premier League team of the week.

Seven Champions League winners currently playing in the MLS.

Why Nicolas Jackson is rewarding xG enthusiasts.

The best penalty takers in Premier League history.

Top 10 free agent coaches in the world.

League One and Two teams of the season so far.

Chiellini explains his thought process behind dragging Saka back. / via X

Expert level Football Tennis.

A history of USMNT players in the Premier League.

GAME FACE ON

Question: Aside from Cole Palmer, who’s the only other Premier League player to have a 100% record from the penalty spot?

Clue: They’ve played for the same team.

Scroll below for the answer.

ON TODAY

Premier League

• Ipswich vs Crystal Palace (19:30)

• Leicester vs West Ham (20:15)

La Liga

• Mallorca vs Barcelona (18:00)

German DFB Pokal - Last 16

• Bielefeld vs Freiburg (17:00)

• Regensburg vs Stuttgart (17:00)

• Bayern Munich vs Bayer Leverkusen (19:45)

• Bremen vs Darmstadt 98 (19:45)

Copa Italia - Last 16

• Bologna vs Monza (17:30)

• AC Milan vs Sassuolo (20:00)

*All time in UK. ET -5. CST -6. PST -8. MST -7. CET +1.

Answer

Yaya Toure scored 11 penalties from 11 attempts.