VAR alternative trials

GM football fans. It’s Wednesday, Dec. 04, and we’re covering the 2034 World Cup schedule, trials of a VAR alternative and much more. First time reading? Sign up here.

TONIGHT’S EPL MW14 STATS

Newcastle vs Liverpool, 19:45 GMT / 14:45 ET. Newcastle have lost their last six Premier League games against Liverpool. In-form Mohamed Salah loves facing the Magpies, having netted eight goals and six assists in the top flight against them. Arsenal vs Manchester United, 20:15 GMT / 15:15 ET. Arsenal have won three league games in a row against United, giving them a chance to make it four against the Red Devils for the first time in club history. Aston Villa vs Brentford, 20:15 GMT / 15:15 ET. While Villa haven’t won at home in the league since 21 September, Brentford have won just one point from their six away games. See this week’s fixtures here.

Plus…

• EPL results: Ipswich Town 0 - 1 Crystal Palace | Leicester City 3 - 1 West Ham (Results in full)

• Amazon will air a documentary on Real Madrid’s 2023-24 season in the near future (More)

• FIFA confirm pots ahead of Thurday’s Club World Cup draw (More)

• Women’s Euro 2025 play-off results and format explained (More)

• Guehi avoids FA charge for ‘I love Jesus’ armband (More)

• Ashley Young could play against his son in the FA Cup (More)

2034 WORLD CUP

2034 World Cup ‘to be held in January’, impact on domestic leagues expected

The 2034 World Cup, which is set to be hosted by Saudi Arabia, could be held at the start of the year. A January start date is being discussed to avoid a clash with extreme summer temperatures and the Ramadan religious period.

Ramadan will fall between 11 November to 10 December in 2034, thereby ruling out a World Cup similar to Qatar in 2022. The only other option would be during the summer but temperatures can reach 40 degrees (104 F). And with the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City from February 10, an early January start date for the 2034 World Cup seems to be the only viable option.

A January World Cup would disrupt many domestic leagues and European competitions. Fixtures across Europe would be pushed back to the middle of summer, rather than late May. FIFA insists the international calendar has not been decided beyond 2030. There’s no indication of when a final schedule will be announced.

POLL

HEAD START

> Madrid only want TAA on a free contract. Real Madrid are willing to abandon a January pursuit of Trent Alexander-Arnold and wait to see if the Liverpool full-back will be available on a free transfer. The 26-year-old is one of three key players for the Reds who are out of contract in the summer. Reports in Spain suggest that Madrid have already made contact with Portuguese full-back Diogo Dalot. But they’ve been told that Manchester United would demand £41.5mn for him. Alexander-Arnold remains the Spanish champions’ priority.

> Nine men were arrested for tragedy chanting during Liverpool-City. The men, aged between 19 and 57, have been arrested for tragedy chanting during Liverpool’s 2-0 victory over Manchester City. Six of the nine arrested have been bailed, two have been discharged for voluntary attendance and one has been charged. Tragedy chanting has become more prevalent at games involving Liverpool and Manchester United – with supporters referencing Hillsborough, the Heysel disaster, and the Munich air disaster. Earlier this year, Liverpool and Manchester United announced that the club’s foundations launched a joint programme to tackle tragedy chanting in football.

> Former Reading chairman has takeover bid rejected. Owner Dai Yongge has rejected Roger Smee’s attempt to buy Reading FC. In a statement, the 76-year-old said he was disappointed news of his bid for the League One club had leaked to the media. Smee, who played for Reading in the 1960s and 1970s, became chairman of the club in 1983. During his tenure, Reading reached Wembley for the first time and achieved promotions from what was then the Fourth and Third Division. A seperate group, unnamed, are still in negotiations to take over the club. Reading are currently 7th in League One.

VAR ALTERNATIVE

VAR alternative trials extended, includes ‘coach’s challenge’

Trials have been expanded for Football Video Support (FVS), an alternative VAR system which gives coaches the chance to challenge decisions. FVS is billed as a “cost-effective alternative to VAR”. Trials in the U20 and U17 Women’s World Cup received a positive response.

Rather than reviews being controlled by an official acting as a VAR, FVS allows coaches to challenge two decisions if they feel an error has been made. It’s similar to the coach’s challenge system in the NFL, where coaches can throw a red flag onto the field if they want a decision to be reviewed.

At present, it’s being used in leagues with fewer resources – such as those with four cameras or less. Reports suggest that it could be used in a competition like the Women’s Super League, which has problems using VAR due to varying pitch sizes and types of stadiums used. While VAR is likely to remain in better resourced leagues, it does open the possibilities for the introduction of coach challenges.

AROUND THE FOOTBALL WORLD

Europe

> Real Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti says Aurelien Tchouameni, who has missed the last five matches, is ready to return from his ankle injury; Madrid travel to Athletic Club tonight at 20:00 GMT / 15:00 ET (More)

> AC Milan star midfielder Tijjani Reijnders confirms he is set to sign new deal at the club, extending his stay in Italy until 2030 (More)

> Hibernian have named Garvan Stewart, 38, as the club’s new head of recruitment (More)

Americas

> Former United States head coach Jill Ellis is leaving her role as San Diego Wave FC president to become chief of football at FIFA (More)

> LA Galaxy midfielder Riqui Puig suffered a torn ACL in his left knee during their MLS play-off semi-final win over Seattle Saunders. He picked up the injury in the second half but continued playing, even providing an assist in the 85th minute (More)

> All Liga MX playoffs semi-final matches will be played between Wednesday (Dec 4) and Sunday (Dec 8) (Match previews)

Rest of the World

> Barcelona are scouting 20-year-old winger Relebohile Mofokeng, who currently plays for South African Premiership side Orlando Pirates (More)

> A report on Saudi Arabia’s growing influence and spending ahead of being confirmed as the 2034 World Cup hosts has been released; it reveals 900 sponsorship deals and £925 billion spent across all sports (More)

ROUTER’S VOICE

Yesterday, we asked you: Do you think that sports broadcast blackouts are outdated?

🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 📺 Yes... (86%)

🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ 🙅 Nope... (13%)

⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ✍️ Other... (1%)

Your punditry takes:

• 📺 W.D: “Ticket costs have priced so many people out of the live event. Blackouts only cheat the fans.”

• 📺 J.M: “The blackout is utterly insane in an age when it is so easy for people to find illegal streams of matches anyway. Why not just offer it legitimately?”

• 🙅 P.B: “Midweek matches are significantly affected by TV matches. It would have the same impact on Sat games. The EFL are blind to reality!”

EXTRA TIME

The best international football shirts, ranked.

Jose Mourinho drags his assistant back to the bench. / via X

Why ‘The Godfather’ of PSR wants clubs to spend more money.

Trademark Pep Guardiola goals.

This is how commentators prepare ahead of a game. / via X

Antoine Griezmann’s beautiful goal vs Valladolid in slow mo.

Meet Wroxham, the club confused with Wrexham.

Who are the most ‘clutch’ Premier League players?

Why Man City are paying the price for poor recruitment.

GAME FACE ON

Question: How many players can you name in the top 10 most assists in Champions League history? Excluding qualifiers.

Scroll below for the answer.

ON TODAY

Premier League

• Everton vs Wolves (19:30)

• Manchester City vs Nottingham Forest (19:30)

• Newcastle vs Liverpool (19:30)

• Southampton vs Chelsea (19:30)

• Arsenal vs Manchester United (20:15)

• Aston Villa vs Brentford (20:15)

Scottish Premiership

• Dundee vs Motherwell (19:45)

• Rangers vs Kilmarnock (19:45)

• Aberdeen vs Celtic (20:00)

La Liga

• Athletic Club vs Real Madrid (20:00)

German DFB Pokal - Last 16

• Koln vs Hertha BSC (17:00)

• Wolfsburg vs Hoffenheim (17:00)

• Karlsruhe vs Augsburg (19:45)

• Leipzig vs Frankfurt (19:45)

Coppa Italia - Last 16

• Fiorentina vs Empoli (20:00)

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

Answer

Ryan Giggs – 41, Cristiano Ronaldo – 40, Lionel Messi – 39, Angel Di María – 38, David Beckham – 36, Luis Figo – 34, Xavi – 31, Neymar – 30, Raul – 27, Karim Benzema – 27