VAR's First Obstacle

GM football fans. It’s Thursday, Jan. 16 - Chelsea’s secret payments, Norwegian clubs vote against VAR, and everything else you need to know. Forwarded this email? Sign up here.

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FIXTURES

Premier League MW21: Ipswich vs Brighton, 19:30 / 14:30. Brighton are winless in eight Premier League games, though six of those games have been draws. Ipswich are in good form, having picked up as many points (4) and scored as many times (4) in their last two games as they had in their previous seven. Manchester United vs Southampton, 20:00 / 15:00. Southampton are winless in their last 17 Premier League away games (D4 L13), the club’s second-worst run in top-flight history. Meanwhile, United are unbeaten in their last 15 games against Southampton in the league.

Results…

• Premier League: Everton 0-1 Aston Villa | Leicester 0-2 Crystal Palace | Newcastle 3-0 Wolves | Arsenal 2-1 Tottenham (League Table)

• Copa Del Rey RO16: Almeria 2-3 Leganes | Pontevedra 0-1 Getafe | Barcelona 5 - 1 Betis | Elche 0 - 4 Atletico (Remaining fixtures)

• Bundesliga: Bochum 1-0 St. Pauli | Bayern 5-0 Hoffenheim | Stuttgart 2-1 Leipzig | U Berlin 0-2 Augsburg | Bremen 3-3 Heidenheim (League Table)

• Serie A: Inter Milan 2-2 Bologna (League Table)

• Scottish Premiership: Rangers 3-0 Aberdeen (League Table)

TOP TALKING POINTS

Chelsea’s Secret Payments

Chelsea are negotiating (paywall) with the Premier League to agree a financial settlement for secret payments relating to transfers made during Roman Abramovich’s era. It’s understood that a financial settlement will override a sporting sanction, such as a points deduction. An outcome is expected by the end of March.

The Times revealed in 2023 that irregular payments relating to Willian, Samuel Eto’o and Eden Hazard were discovered during the May 2022 Chelsea takeover process. Secret payments are made to circumvent Financial Fair Play by artificially reducing costs that should have counted towards spending limits.

The new Chelsea ownership self-reported the payments to the Premier League and Uefa. Chelsea subsequently came to a financial settlement with Uefa of £8.6m for the same payments in July 2023. In the case of the Premier League, Chelsea are trying to avoid a points deduction by arguing that the rule breaches took place under a different ownership and, in some cases, over ten years ago.

Messi’s Potential Return

Reports from Spain suggest that Lionel Messi has moved closer to signing a new contract with MLS side Inter Miami. The development has sparked rumours that Messi could return to Barcelona on loan during the MLS off-season.

If Messi accepts the renewal at Miami, his new deal will automatically activate a clause in his contract that allows him to play abroad during the months when there is no competition. The clause requires Messi to play at least two seasons in the United States. The MLS season typically runs from February to December.

The theory is that, between December and March, Messi wants to continue playing so he can arrive in June 2026, when the World Cup begins, in peak condition. The practice of going on loan during the off-season is not uncommon, with Thierry Henry and David Beckham both taking the opportunity to do so.

Norway Votes Against VAR

The majority of clubs in Norwegian football’s top two divisions have voted to get rid of VAR. A Norweigan outlet has published a ‘VAR-ometer’ showing support for and against VAR from clubs in Norway after each annual meeting.

The votes do not guarantee that VAR will be removed from the Eliteserien, the Norwegian professional league. Norsk Toppfotball, Norway’s football organisation, says it will not indicate whether it will follow the clubs’ votes. Instead, an owners' meeting on January 22 will further discuss VAR, influencing recommendations to the Norwegian Football Federation for a final decision in March.

Norwegian fans have protested against VAR since its implementation at the start of 2023. Opposition to VAR inside stadiums has grown, including when fans threw fishcakes onto the field last season. Two days after the incident, the Norsk Supporters Alliance said “VAR was introduced after a weak democratic process where football club members were not involved”.

POLL

ON THE BALL

Europe

> Kelly Cates, Mark Chapman and Gabby Logan will be the new Match of the Day presenters from next season, the BBC has announced (More) | Celtic and Rangers have held exploratory talks to play in the Women’s Super League; it’s understood the Scottish Women’s Premier League would not back the plans (More)

> Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti met with club CEO Jose Angel Sanchez to discuss the state of the team and transfer options (More)

> Bayern Munich has signed 18-year-old American attacking midfielder Bajung Darboe from LAFC (More) | Sevilla defender Kike Salas is one of three who have been detained on suspicion of betting fraud (More)

> Serie A side Hellas Verona has been taken over by a Texas-based private equity firm (More) | Radja Nainggolan, 36, has received an offer to return to Roma to represent the futsal team; he was playing for Bhayangkara FC in Indonesia (More)

Americas

> MLS is set to allow cash transfers in player acquisitions for 2025 (More) | Bank of America is partnering with the US Soccer Federation as a long-term partner (More) | Charlotte FC are in talks to sign Wilfried Zaha (More)

> Defender Lauren "Lu" Barnes and the Seattle Reign agreed Tuesday on a one-year contract for her 13th season with the club (More)

> Vancouver Whitecaps FC announced the appointment of Jesper Sørensen as the club’s new head coach (More)

> Mexico friendlies in Brazil and Argentina against Internacional and River Plate take place this month (More)

Rest of the World

> Saudi Pro League CEO, Omar Mugharbel believes it’s only a matter of “time and negotiations” before Vinicius Junior moves to the Middle East (More)

> The Chinese Football Association establishes its first professional football league union (More)

ROUTERS’ VOICE

Yesterday’s Poll: Do you think clubs should be responsible for covering the cost of increased policing?

🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 👮 Absolutely... (87%)

🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ 👎 Nope... (12%)

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

Your punditry takes:

• 👮 C.S: “A cost on the part of the clubs will encourage them to discourage the acts that lead to the extra policing in the first place.”

• 👮 C.M: “Football is a private enterprise and any police expenses generated by it should not have to be met by taxpayers.”

• 👎 A.J: “The amount of money the football industry generates for local communities far outweighs any cost of policing… most countries/cities would pay to have a big football team in their jurisdiction.”

EXTRA TIME

Have any father-son combos scored against other father-son combos?

Klopp’s first press conference as Red Bull's head of global soccer.

Premier League’s Season Final Ball leaked with T90 remnants. (unconfirmed)

Is Saudi Pro League over-spending a myth?

PSG release ‘WINGS’ fourth kit for this season…

… and Koln’s 2025 retro shirt has been leaked.

Guardiola’s rant at Ortega after City gave up a two-goal lead.

How good is Liverpool’s 18-year-old forward target?

One of the best transfer announcements of 2025 so far. (via X)

GAME FACE ON

Question: Who scored the fastest goal in Champions League history?

Clue: 2007.

Scroll below for the answer.

ON TODAY

Premier League

• Ipswich vs Brighton (19:30)

• Man Utd vs Southampton (20:00)

Copa Del Rey

• Athletic Club vs Osasuna (18:30)

• Real Sociedad vs Vallecano (18:30)

• Real Madrid vs Celta Vigo (20:30)

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

Answer

Roy Makaay for Bayern Munich against Real Madrid after just 10.12 seconds in the Round of 16. See the goal here.