- Route One Daily Brief
- Posts
- Vote divides EPL
Vote divides EPL
✍️ Pep agrees new contract | Semi-automated VAR delayed | Leaked letter reveals player exemption
GM football fans. It’s Wednesday, Nov. 20, and we’re covering Pep’s new contract, the Premier League’s APT vote, and much more. First time reading? Sign up here.
TONIGHT’S WOMEN’S UCL STATS
Twente vs Real Madrid Femenino (17:45 GMT / 12:45 ET). After losing 3-2 to Chelsea on matchday one, Real Madrid have secured two commanding home victories including a 5-0 win against Twente in the reverse fixture. Chelsea vs Celtic (20:00 GMT / 15:00 ET). Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor has won all 10 of her competitive matches in charge. Celtic have failed to take anything from their opening three matches in their first-ever appearances in the UWCL group stage. Lyon vs Roma (20:00 GMT / 15:00 ET). The hosts are coming off an 11-0 thrashing of St Etienne Women in the French Premiere Ligue. Lyon also won the reverse fixture against Roma 3-0.
Plus…
Nations League results: Hungary 1 - 1 Germany | Wales 4 - 1 Iceland | Bosnia and Herzegovina 1 - 1 Netherlands | Sweden 6 - 0 Azerbaijan (Full results here)
Opta predicts who will be relegated from the Premier League (More)
Match officials for Premier League Matchweek 12 (More)
Morgan Rogers has signed a new long-term contract with Aston Villa (More)
Angel Di Maria is studying to be a coach after retirement (More)
EPL DIVISIVE VOTE
Aston Villa back Man City, urging Premier League to postpone Friday’s APT vote
Aston Villa are the first club to back Manchester City’s case in trying to postpone Friday’s vote on the Associated Party Transaction (APT) rules. Premier League clubs will vote on changes to the rules after a tribunal deemed some parts “unlawful” (dive deeper). APT rules aim to stop clubs from inflating sponsorships with owner-linked companies.
Last Thursday, the Premier League told City it rejects its “repeated and baseless assertions" over the case. The following day, City wrote to the other 19 top-flight clubs. They expressed concerns over what they claim are “unlawful” amendments that it believes the league are proposing.
Some reports say Villa’s ownership has grown sympathetic to Abu Dhabi-owned clubs. The club’s billionaire owner, Nassef Sawiris, announced his “long-term commitment” to the UAE when he transferred his family office to the country last December. Whether or not this has influenced Villa’s stance is unknown.
The league will go ahead with a vote on Friday.
POLL
Do you think it's ever OK to book a player for their celebration? (Take off shirt, 'political' gestures, crowd surfacing, etc.)Leave your initials if you'd like to feature in tomorrow's edition. |
HEAD START
✍️ Pep Guardiola agrees to a one-year extension. Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has agreed to a new one-year contract extension with the option of an additional year. An official announcement from the club is expected in the coming days. The 53-year-old’s new deal would take him over a decade in charge of the club, having joined City in the summer of 2016. City are not commenting on the reports of Guardiola agreeing a new contract yet.
🔒 Leaked letter reveals Wrexham’s McClean special safety measures. Wrexham captain James McClean will be allowed to leave the pitch using the shortest route to the tunnel in a bid to improve his safety due to the supporter abuse he receives. Substituted players have been required to leave the field via the nearest touchline or goal line to prevent timewasting. But the EFL has written to all 72 clubs to inform them of McClean’s exemption. The Republic of Ireland international has received abuse from fans since declining to wear a poppy on Remembrance Sunday in 2012. He previously explained that he felt it would be disrespectful to the people who died during The Troubles in his native Ireland. His recent statement here.
👶 Chelsea condemns ‘hateful’ abuse aimed at Sam Kerr after baby announcement. Chelsea striker Sam Kerr and West Ham midfielder Kristie Mewis announced they were expecting a baby earlier this week. The Blues have responded to the abusive comments the pair have received online. In a statement, a Chelsea spokesperson said: “There is no place in society for any form of discrimination and we will not accept any abuse directed towards our players, staff or supporters.” Chelsea Pride have also condemned the “hateful comments” online via social media platform X.
SEMI-AUTOMATED VAR DELAYED
Premier League faces semi-automated offsides delay until next season, reports suggest
The introduction of semi-automated offside technology (SAOT) in the Premier League may be delayed again. One source says the chances are it will not be implemented this season. This is yet to be substantiated by other sources.
Clubs have been told that failures in the system being 100 per cent accurate have caused the delays. The technology reportedly struggles when lots of bodies are around the ball. While SAOT is meant to replace the current system of manually drawn lines on a screen, the technology received criticism for disallowing Robert Lewandowski’s goal in their 1-0 defeat to Real Sociedad this month.
Premier League clubs voted unanimously in April to introduce the technology. The plan was to have it in place after one of the international breaks in September or October. But it was delayed till early next year. Clubs are expected to be updated on the timeline at a meeting on Friday.
AROUND THE FOOTBALL WORLD
Top Five European Leagues
> Atletico Madrid are preparing the succession of Diego Simone, with their former striker Fernando Torres as an ideal candidate. Torres is currently in charge of the club’s B team (More)
> Patrick Vieira will take charge of Genora as their new head coach, replacing Alberto Gilardino (More)
Rest of the World
> Inter Miami’s head coach Tata Martino has left the club for personal reasons after leading Miami to a league-record 74 points (More)
> A criminal prosecution against Nottingham Forest owner Vangelis Marinakis for a case involving a murdered police officer in a PAE Olympiacos game is underway. The offences prosecuted involve financing of a criminal organisation and the incitement of sporting violence (More)
Women’s Football
> Businesswomen Michele Kang pledges $30mn to women’s football in the United States. United States head coach Emma Hayes said the donation "will change the trajectory of the sport" (More)
ROUTER’S VOICE
Question: Do you think Manchester United's problems can be solved by Ruben Amorim?
🟨 🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ 📈 Absolutely... (16%)
🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 👎 Nope... (78%)
🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ✍️ Other (write in!)... (6%)
Your punditry takes:
📈 J.B: “I believe he will use the youth if the so called stars don't perform. Plus I think he has his own players in who tow his line.”
👎 P.M: “He has inherited a culture of defeat and paycheck comfort!”
✍️ R.G: “I believe Amorim is a humble person, not as ruthless as, say, Mourinho. This might make it less likely to solve rooted problems at a club like United.”
EXTRA TIME
The science of half-time team talks from those who coached Carlo Ancelotti.
Could Haaland catch Ronaldo’s international goals record?
A look at terrible footballer statues.
Trent announcement expected after being spotted with Liverpool’s camera crew. / via X
The Premier League owners who have invested the most.
Why Mbappe needs time to shine at Real Madrid.
Denmark’s coach left the press conference after 20 seconds. / via X
How is the attendance at the women’s game changing?
Who are the worst shooters in the Premier League?
GAME FACE ON
Question: Who Am I…
I’m the only player to have ever won three Champions League titles with three different clubs.
I made 87 appearances for the Netherlands.
I started my career at Ajax and ended it at Botafogo.
Scroll below for the answer.
ON TODAY
Women’s Champions League
Wolfsburg vs Galatasaray (17:45)
Twente vs Real Madrid (17:45)
Chelsea vs Celtic (20:00)
Lyon vs Roma (20:00)
CONMEBOL World Cup Qualifiers
Argentina vs Peru (00:00)
Chile vs Venezuela (00:00)
Brazil vs Uruguay (00:45)
Women’s League Cup
Everton vs Manchester United (19:00)
*All time in UK. ET -5. CST -6. PST -8. MST -7. CET +1.
Answer
Clarence Seedorf.
I've seen Mikel Arteta tell injured players to come on the team bus and walk into the dressing room with their wash bag, to put the other manager off the scent.