#Premier League controversy

[anakeb]

Explore the weekend's football action with controversial VAR decisions, Mikel Arteta's critique, and Newcastle United's win. Discover Iago Aspas' VAR incident, condemnations of racist abuse, Nottingham Forest's surprise victory, Marcelo's Copa Libertadores win, and the Women's Super League results.

VAR decisions in football

Mikel Arteta's criticism

Premier League controversy

Newcastle United win

Iago Aspas VAR incident

Racist abuse condemnation

Nottingham Forest victory

Marcelo and Copa Libertadores

Women's Super League result

Weekend football matches roundup

[a2zsportsnews]

A Premier League scandal: Should David Coote referee again after controversial video involvement?

There has never been so much talk about officiating as there has been in the Premier League over the last couple of seasons, has there? Despite the introduction of technology that’s supposed to help referees make correct decisions, which came later in the English top flight than in other top leagues in Europe, there are still too many mistakes, too huge to ignore, sometimes too weird to…

[ur-mag]

Gary Neville slams Arsenal statement on VAR controversy as ‘poor and dangerous’ and calls on Premier League to act | In Trend Today

Gary Neville slams Arsenal statement on VAR controversy as ‘poor and dangerous’ and calls on Premier League to act Read Full Text or Full Article on MAG NEWS

[coochiequeens]

Women’s safety is more important than men's gender feelz

By Genevieve Gluck April 2, 2024

Recent landslide victories secured by a women’s football team with five trans-identified male players have sparked controversy, leading one club manager to reveal that at least 20 female players have excluded themselves from the sport in recent weeks in order to avoid competing against the men.

Frank Parisi, president of St. Patrick’s Football Club, spoke with Reduxx and revealed a range of problems that had arisen as a result of men playing in women’s football matches, as well as an incident in which a female player’s leg was broken in two places.

The Flying Bats Football Club in North West Sydney, Australia, has on its team five males who identify as transgender. The team was awarded a $1,000 prize after winning the North West Sydney League pre-season Beryl Ackroyd Cup on March 24, following a season of winning every game they played in the Women’s Premier League matches, 10-0.

As previously revealed by Reduxx, one of the five men on the women’s football team is trans activist Riley Dennis, who was previously accused of severely injuring women while participating on another women’s team. However, the problems created by the male players on The Flying Bats team aren’t limited to safety risks and fair sport for women. Female players have been self-excluding from the sport by the dozens, says Parisi, in order to avoid competing against the trans-identified men.

The information first came to light when an audio recording of Parisi speaking during a meeting on the evening of March 20 was leaked on social media.

The meeting, held at Christie Park, was organized by the Northwest Sydney Football Association in response to an informal discussion among football club presidents that had taken place three days prior. That initial gathering was convened on March 17 in order to address “concerns around how implausible it has become for any team to win against the Flying Bats as well as physical safety concerns.”

In the audio clip, Parisi can be heard describing an incident that took place “a couple of years” prior in which a female player was so severely injured by a trans-identified male player that she was no longer able to participate in the sport.

“A couple of year ago, one of the Flying Bats players broke one of our players’ legs in a game. It was a clumsy tackle from behind. Our player had her leg broken in two places and she’s no longer playing football. It was a direct result of a real bad, tall player… he didn’t get a red card. Accidents happen, but this could have been avoided,” Parisi said at the meeting.

“One of our players rushed over to try to help her, she was screaming in so much pain. At that time, she made a derogatory remark to the Bats player, which we apologized for. [She was] suspended. The Bats player, nothing happened to [him].” Parisi clarified that following this incident, the player was suspended from matches for a total of eight weeks. Parisi further revealed that 24 women had recently withdrawn their registration with his football club as a “direct result” of the possibility of competing in a match against the males on the Flying Bats team. “They’ve all said to me, ‘Frank, we do not want to play against the Bats players.’ I’m going to say it straight, there’s men playing in a women’s competition. And that’s wrong.”

Speaking with Reduxx, the president of St. Patrick’s Football Club confirmed that the player who had broken the female player’s leg was a male playing on a Flying Bats team in the 2022 season, but was unable to provide the personal identities of those involved. He emphasized that the male player could not have been Dennis, despite his history of injuring female opponents, as at the time he had not yet transferred to the Flying Bats from Inter Lions, and that the injury occurred in a different division.

Parisi also explained that of the total of 24 women who deregistered from the St. Patrick’s Football Club within the past several weeks, at least 20 stated that they had done so in response to becoming aware that they would be expected to play against The Flying Bats’ male team members.

“There’s a massive impact. I’m a very small club, we’ve only got seven teams in my club, and now I’ve lost both my women’s teams, and it was a direct result of members of The Flying Bats who were male playing in a female competition,” Parisi told Reduxx, though emphasizing that he was hopeful for an eventual resolution.

There are a total of at least nine trans-identified males playing football within the women’s leagues, “not just the five” in The Flying Bats Women’s Premier League, Parisi added, citing a comment made by another of the club presidents in attendance at the March 20 meeting.

According to regulations put forward by the North West Sydney Football Association (NWSFA), “players may register and participate on the basis of their gender identification.”

“This is not about the sexuality of the players, because I have had a lot of players on my team who are lesbians. So it’s got nothing to do with that. It’s the fact that there is a number of males… It’s more than five. And everyone is just remaining silent on this, and it’s just so wrong in so many ways.”

Last year, after winning a title, one of Parisi’s women’s teams turned down the opportunity to be promoted to the Women’s Premier League, the highest level before players can enter state-based competitions.

A Flying Bats Club Committee Member accepting a Fair Play award following the severe injury of a female player in 2022.

“Our girls played in Women’s All Age One, where there were no Flying Bats players. We then by winning that competition should have been promoted up to Women’s Premier League, and our girls rejected that. They didn’t want to play up in the women’s Premier League, because there was that Flying Bats team stacked full of male players.”

He continued: “I told the association, no, that I’ve lost a lot of players, and we can’t do that. They said, Okay, we’ll put you into All Age One, which is the next level down, a competition that we won last year.”

In 2022, the year in which a female player for St. Patrick’s FC had her leg broken by a trans-identified male associated with The Flying Bats, club president for the latter group, Jen Peden, was honored with a Fair Play award presented by the NWSFA – a fact announced to the club’s Facebook page with the comment, “We play nice.”

Last week, massive public outcry ensued after news broke of the five trans-identified players on the WPL Flying Bats team. In response, LGBTI Rights Australia, a Facebook community with over 250,000 followers, made a public statement mocking “TERF Nazis.”

“Congratulations to The Flying Bats Women’s Soccer Club who recently won the Beryl Ackroyd Cup! Transgender women have been proudly part of the Bats for 20 years, yet it took TERF Nazis up until this week to take notice,” reads the post. An image accompanying the statement is captioned, “To all the transphobes complaining, we suggest you train a bit harder.”

Flying Bats president Jen Peden told Daily Mail Australia last week: “As a club, the Flying Bats FC stand strongly for inclusion, and pride ourselves on safe, respectful and fair play, the promotion of a supportive community for LGBTQIA+ players, officials and supporters, and the significant physical, social and mental health benefits that participation in sport brings, especially to marginalized members of the LGBTQIA+ community. We are a club that values our cisgender and transgender players equally.”

She continued: “We strongly support the Australian Human Rights Commission’s guidelines for the inclusion of transgender and gender diverse people in sport.”

During the March 20 meeting, which was attended by CEO of Football NSW John Tsatsimas and convened by CEO of NWSF, Matthew Geracitano, attendees were told that a decision to boycott participation by forfeiting matches against The Flying Bats would result in “disciplinary action” being issued.

“If there was a concerted effort by teams to forfeit games against a particular opposition that would be viewed as an act of discrimination,” said Chris Salmon, Chair of the Board of Directors for NWSF. While incidents of discrimination are weighed on a case-by-case basis, possible penalties include suspensions, from as little as two months to two years.

Football Australia’s Anti-Discrimination Policy defines “excluding people on the basis of their sex and / or gender identity status from participation in a competitive sporting activity” as a prohibited form of discrimination.

[7yearsofdele]

And yet, you didn’t score a goal. You do know that’s how you win matches right? Whether or not Newcastle’s goal should have stood, you actually need to score yourself in order to win matches.

Arsenal were terrible and Arteta is still going to blame VAR.

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By: Helen Pluckrose

Published: Dec 6, 2024

In the last two rounds of Premier League football, players have been wearing rainbow armbands in support of the Rainbow Laces Campaign which, in conjunction with Stonewall, seeks to advance LGBTQ+ acceptance in sport. Crystal Palace defender, Marc Guehi, caused controversy over the last few days for having written “Jesus loves you” on his armband one day and “I love Jesus” on another. The Football Association (FA) has kit regulations against religious messaging so there has been considerable discussion about whether he should be disciplined for this in the news and on social media. It has been decided by the FA that he should not but that he and his club should be reminded of the rules.

Most of the discussion, however, has centred around two related issues, both of which, I would suggest, are largely irrelevant from a liberal freedom of expression perspective. The first was what Guehi’s messaging meant and whether it was positive or negative towards LGBTQ acceptance. That is, was he saying “I, as a Christian, support Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Queer people’s right to be Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Queer and believe that Jesus does too?” Or was he indicating that he qualified his acceptance of LGBTQ people with the teachings of his Christian faith and saying something more like, “Homosexuality is a sin but Jesus loves everyone including LGBTQ people. I wish they would turn from their sin and embrace Christ.” This second interpretation is often referred to as “Love the sinner. Hate the sin.” Guehi’s own explanation of the meaning did not entirely clear this up although it ruled out hostility and a wish to discriminate against LGBTQ people in football,

I think the message was pretty clear to be honest. It was a message of love and truth as well, and a message of inclusivity so I think it speaks for itself.

The second point of contention on both mainstream media and social media was to do with Ipswich’s Sam Morsy who simply declined to wear an armband supporting LGBTQ acceptance at all on the grounds of his Muslim faith. If there is talk of the FA disciplining Mr. Guehi for signalling his religious commitments by writing on his armband but not of disciplining Mr. Morsy for signalling his by not wearing an armband at all, would this constitute a double standard that privileged Muslim beliefs over Christian ones?

From a pure ‘freedom of belief and speech’ perspective in the abstract, both men have the absolute right to express their religious views either by actively stating them or declining to state anything in contravention of them. This is the case whether Guehi was conveying that acceptance of homosexuality, bisexuality and trans identity is compatible with his Christian faith or that it is not. People also have the right to express positive or negative views on this subject or refrain from affirming any views on it due to beliefs that are not religious.

However, this did not occur in the abstract or in a neutral public space. It happened when the men were at work. There is not an expectation of absolute free expression in places of work. Employees are quite reasonably expected to address work-related issues during working hours. However, people do, of course, naturally speak about or reference beliefs they hold at work and so policies exist which do more or less well at upholding the principle of freedom of belief and speech in the workplace. The best ones aim to remain neutral on issues of politics, philosophy and religion, make reasonable accommodations for employees’ deeply held beliefs where needed, mind their own business about what those beliefs are and refrain from interfering with the expression of them outside the workplace except in cases where an employee has said something that causes reasonable concern about their suitability to do their job. Many employers or regulating bodies require employees not to engage in political, religious or philosophical messaging while performing a public facing job and the FA is one of them. In this case, Guehi broke the kit rule about religious messaging while Morsy did not.

This is unsatisfactory, however, because the context in which both players were acting was one of pre-existing political messaging. Both Guehi’s decision to add to or qualify the message with his own beliefs and Morsy’s decision not to participate in it because of his beliefs should be understood as responses to beliefs they were being presented with. Guehi is conveying “Yes, and…” or “Yes, but…” while Morsy is conveying “No.” From a liberal perspective, if an organisation is going to engage in any form of political or religious or otherwise ideological messaging, it should have policies which allow individuals to adapt them to accommodate their own beliefs or opt out.

The basic template that I help employers customise when writing their own antidiscrimination policies to ensure that freedom of belief and speech are protected looks like this and is to be found in The Counterweight Handbook:

“1. Make a general statement of adherence to relevant antidiscrimination law. Such laws typically involve straightforward opposition to discrimination on the grounds of characteristics like race, sex, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or genetic information, pregnancy, and marital status. 2. Make a commitment to treat all employees with equal courtesy and consideration and to refrain from any prejudice or hostility on the grounds of the above and ask all employees to do the same. 3. Take care to specifically state that employees are free to oppose discrimination on the grounds of their own political, philosophical, or religious beliefs, which they need not share publicly. 4. Make a commitment to not impose any religious, philosophical, or political beliefs on others at work and require employees to do the same. 5. Make a commitment to not tell employees that their particular religious, philosophical, or political beliefs are false or immoral and ask employees to do the same when at work. 6. Make clear that any demands that the company adopt any particular religious, philosophical, or political belief that goes beyond existing antidiscrimination law or company policy and that is contradictory to other lawful religious, philosophical, or political beliefs will be rejected. 7. Make clear that these statements and commitments are taken very seriously and that any contravention of them will lead to appropriate disciplinary action.”

Both Christianity and Islam are lawful religious beliefs and both can highly plausibly be interpreted as holding that homosexuality is a sin although not all Christians or Muslims interpret their faith this way. Christians and Muslims have the same obligation as everybody else not to be abusive towards or discriminate against same-sex attracted people, but no obligation to endorse messaging that they believe will harm them and to be untrue. I strongly suspect that this is what Guehi’s reference to ‘love’, ‘truth’ and ‘inclusion’ meant. Morsy’s non-messaging gives no indication of his feelings towards LGB or TQ people and we don’t actually have any right to know what they are. We only have the right to expect certain standards of behaviour and there is no indication that his has given any cause for concern. I very much wish that nobody believed homosexuality to be morally wrong, but a lot of Christians and a greater proportion of Muslims do and they must have the right to both hold and express this belief. Equally, those of us who disagree with them must have the right to both believe and say that this belief of theirs is morally wrong.

In a liberal society, we seek to co-exist, not to compromise. That is, we aim for a society in which there is a consensus that people can believe and say that others are factually and/or morally wrong and commit to not harming them or denying their freedom to believe, speak and live according to their beliefs. This principle should be enacted on a number of levels - legal, institutional and personal - and it should apply to all kinds of beliefs and ideas. The law should protect freedom of belief and speech. Institutions and organisations should commit to not institutionalising any religious, philosophical or political ideology (except religious, philosophical or political ones, obviously). Individuals who value the principles underlying our liberal democracies should commit to limiting their attempts to get others to adopt their worldview to trying to convince those who have agreed to engage with them of the truth and value of it. There should be no prioritisation of one kind of idea over another. Deeply held religious views should merit no more accommodation than any other kind of deeply held views, but nor should they merit any less.

The FA is not a religious, philosophical or political organisation. It is a sporting organisation. The rules under which Marc Guehi could have been penalised state that religious, political and personal slogans, statements and images are prohibited. It notes that ‘political’ is harder to define than ‘religious’ or ‘personal’ but includes “any organisation whose aims/actions are likely to offend a notable number of people.” This is unsatisfactory phrasing. A notable number of people can be offended by almost anything. Photos of my cooking once led to a lengthy Reddit thread discussing whether the English are even human. Certainly, a notable number of people are opposed to specific aims and actions of Stonewall especially when it comes to its stance on the inclusion of trans women in women’s sports, an issue that a significant majority of Britons (including me) oppose for reasons of safety and fairness. However, rather than considering whether people are likely to be offended, I would suggest it is better to think in terms of the policy statement 6. above, “any particular religious, philosophical, or political belief…that is contradictory to other lawful religious, philosophical, or political beliefs.” If the slogan, statement or image which you are trying to get everybody to wear would require anybody to convey something they don’t think is true or ethical, don’t try to get everybody to convey it.

Manchester United’s LGBTQ+ supporters’ group, ”Rainbow Devils” (not a name likely to inspire Christians or Muslims with trust) got things precisely backwards when speaking of the decision not to wear a jacket in support of the campaign after one player said he did not want to,

"We respect the right of this player to have his own views, whilst also feeling disappointed that he put the rest of the squad into a position where they felt that they couldn't wear their jackets.

It is extremely unlikely that one person could put everybody else into that position but much more likely that everybody else could dissuade one person who wished to abstain. It is very difficult to be the lone dissenting voice in a group and liberals should work consistently against the establishment of norms which make this harder, even when we believe the dissenting voice is wrong. By protecting the lone voices in the majority whom we believe to be wrong, we protect our own when the majority thinks we are wrong. Supporters of the rights of sexual minorities should know this better than anyone.

==

Organizations should not be engaging in any of this in the first place, unless it's part of their core business, such as Walmart asking staff to wear Christmas paraphernalia.

As Helen says, none of this has anything to do with the FA's business. It's pure virtue signalling.

Companies like Disney are up to their armpits in this stuff, actively destroying their business by making movies and TV shows to signal to a tiny minority of people - who aren't even interested in those franchises - alienating everyone else in the process. Rather than making movies and TV shows for the broadest audience (i.e. paying customers) possible.

[roamwithahungryheart]

Having a cry over Klopp's last match so I'm posting this again:

BBC SPORT - May 31st 2023

Lasso leaves Richmond, tells fans ‘don’t stop believing’

By Clive Ingram

Chief football writer

AFC Richmond fans are in a state of mourning after coach Ted Lasso announced his shock departure today. It comes at a tumultuous time for the club, hot on the heels of their dramatic face-off against West Ham that saw them finish second overall in the Premier League. However, Lasso’s infectious optimism shone through in his final press conference.

When pressed for the name of his successor, he replied “I don’t know who’s going to take over the team, but I do know this - he’s one lucky son of a gun.”

Since their promotion in 2021, AFC Richmond have had their fair share of controversies - from the fallout of Rupert Mannion’s bitter divorce battle with ex-wife and current owner Rebecca Welton (who recently sold 49% of the club’s shares to the fans), to the unfortunate death of their canine mascot, Earl Greyhound - but under Lasso’s leadership, they have learned to make the best of a bad situation.

Over the course of his tenure, a close friendship with Liverpool’s Jürgen Klopp led many to notice the similarities in their heart-on-their-sleeve approach. In one of his earliest press conferences, Lasso recalled Klopp’s advice after a rocky reception to his initiation: “it is not what people think of you when you arrive, it is what people think of you when they leave.”

The Lasso Way will undoubtedly go down in football history as one of its most pleasant surprises. Ted Lasso transformed the game into something even more beautiful—not only one full of grit and determination, but also a game with heart.

Read the statement in full below:

“First off, I’d like to address the rumour that I decided to quit this job. That’s false. I don’t quit things. There’s a difference between leaving and quitting. You don’t ‘decide’ to quit - that’s a choice. It means you’re giving up on something, and I’m not giving up on this team.

I love these guys. I love this city. Taking this job was one of the craziest, greatest decisions of my life. Do I feel good about leaving? Heck no. But sometimes there ain’t no such thing as a good answer. Only the right answer.

I may not know who’s about to take over, but I do know this - he’s one lucky son of a gun. This right here is the hardest-working bunch of fellas in the league. Now, I know you’re probably going to try and give me all the credit for that, but I’m not going to take it, because it’s not about me. It never was. Success is about teamwork. That’s what makes the dream work, right?

The way I see it, if two people can choose a movie to watch in less than two minutes, anything is possible. Don't stop believing.”

Richmond’s joyful celebration on the pitch after their final match of the season is all the more bittersweet in hindsight, and if the outpouring of love on social media is anything to go by, Ted Lasso’s legacy will leave a mustache-shaped hole in the sport that’s going to be difficult, if not impossible to fill.

Keep your eyes peeled folks I'm crawling back to this story in a pool of tears (read the story so far here)

[nelliesnellie]

Dear Tetris Journal. Season 3 of the Game Boy Tetris League is underway. I somehow managed to wriggle into the premiere division so it’s much harder this time around.

Just had my first match of the season - against the community’s resident roller. In layman’s terms, the guy plays on a computer which allows for more effective techniques than the rest of us (who use gameboys as god intended) can. Which is somewhat controversial but he would be a top tier player anyway.

So of course I got my ass handed to me.

But also I was achingly tired and trying to manage the restream at the same time and I was against a much better player so I don’t mind. Just got the inevitable out of the way.

I’m gonna train up. The rest of the division is either better than me, or equally matched. And I do -not- wanna be bumped back to challengers. I need my moment of moderate competitive success before more nestris players decide to try GB out.

[gurutrends]

Howard Webb WAS listening to William Saliba VAR audio before Arsenal star's red card against Bournemouth - but PGMOL insist he had no involvement in controversial decision

WHAT HAPPENED? The Gunners were left incensed after seeing their France international sent off during the first half of the Premier League clash with Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium. Saliba was initially shown a yellow card, before referee Rob Jones was encouraged to review the incident on a pitch-side monitor. Getty THE BIGGER PICTURE Sky Sports cameras showed PGMOL chief Webb sat in the…

[thishadoscarbuzz]

232 - Waitress

We decided to bring you a slice of joy this week with 2007′s Waitress. Starring Keri Russell as a small town waitress and inventive pie master stuck in a harmful marriage, the heartwarming film would eventually be adapted to the megabit musical with songs from Sara Bareilles. Its beginnings, however, were marked by sadness: in the months before its Sundance premiere, the film’s writer/director/costar Adrienne Shelly was tragically murdered. Waitress won over Sundance, becoming a summer hit for Fox Searchlight and generating praise for both Russell’s performance and Shelly’s delicate tone. However, the film lingered in the shadow of the previous year’s Sundance/Searchlight Oscar success of Little Miss Sunshine despite earning fans.

This episode, we talk about Keri Russell’s career and how Waitress falls between her two definitive television success: Felicity and The Americans. We also discuss the Mickey Mouse Club, the era of movies where characters don’t have abortions, and Celine Dion’s upcoming screen debut.

Topics also include various types of pie, the Sundance Houndog controversy, and the power of Felicity cutting her hair.

Links:

The 2007 Oscar nominations

Vulture Movies Fantasy League

Subscribe:

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Stitcher

[armchairfootballer]

Why the time still might not be right for England

With the exception of my homelands and my childhood favorites (Brazil), I'm basically a neutral when it comes to international soccer. That is to say, there's no team I routinely support over others, though there are some teams for which I typically have a stronger affinity. The sources of these sympathies are sometimes deeply rooted in childhood memories, familial ties, or simply due to specific players I admire.

But I say I'm a neutral because these allegiances can be fleeting. For example, I had always been a fan of France (I am a francophile in just about all aspects of my life), but after they defeated Brazil in the 1998 World Cup final, my mood toward them soured. I have, at times, cheered on Italy (I had several family members who were fans of Italian football growing up), but in recent years have not found much to enjoy in their performances. I grew up not supporting Argentina because they were great rivals to Brazil, but I can't help but admire and support the play of Messi, Di Maria, and others. All this underscores the fickle nature of these faux-bonds to national identities that aren't my own.

For example, in the 2020 (well... 2021...) Euro finals, I was rooting for England. Although Italy were in the midst of a historic undefeated streak, I was swept up in the narrative of "football coming home." It did, after all, seem long overdue. A chance to win a trophy on home soil again seemed most apt, and ending Italy's unprecedented run would have been just the way to do it. But, alas, it was not to be.

My support for England would have likely come as a surprise to many in my family. My mother's generation grew up in the colonies and still harbor much ill will toward the former empire. And while my mother taught in England and has close, lifelong English friends, she would never cheer for them on the pitch. She still has negative memories of English hooliganism in the 1980s when she lived there. Those were the stories I grew up with as a child.

But as an adult, I've buried my face in English football most weekends, studying the ins and outs of the Premier League. I've followed English players as they move through the academies to clubs across Europe. In short, I feel more invested in English football than I do in any other European country's. And free of the colonial shackles that pester my forebears, my Canadian citizenship adds some validity to any rationale of support.

So RA RA for England! Let's go Three Lions! Football's coming home!

Except, this Sunday, I won't find myself rooting for England. Yes, I'll be cheering on La Roja, despite my typical support for England and despite the myriad reasons why an English victory would be so meaningful. Let's revisit a few of them...

The Perennial Underperformers

England may be either the worst best team in football or the best worst team. By whatever metrics you choose, their record of success pales when compared to their historical expectations. Their only World Cup victory came in 1966 on home ground. Heavy favorites Brazil were eliminated in the group stage largely due to heavy fouling on Pelé, which led to injury. England's quarterfinal win over Argentina that year is mired in controversy. And home field advantage was probably a large factor in their wins over Eusébio's Portugal in the semis and the West Germans in the final. While the event remains a national moment of pride for Britons, not everyone views it fondly, especially South Americans who believed that the officiating in the tournament was biased toward Europeans.

Sticking to Europe, England have never won the Euros. In fact, their appearance in the 2020 final was the first time they had ever made it to the final. In the first 15 iterations of the tournament (1960-2016), England had reached the semifinals only twice. Now they've reached the finals twice in a row. As the nation that developed the game, and where the world's most esteemed league is stationed, it only makes sense that all roads lead to an England victory.

Garreth Southgate

A lot's been said about Garreth Southgate's performance as England manager, but that's all par for the course. You can't take the helm of the Three Lions without being subject to intense scrutiny and near universal disapproval by literally millions of people who don't know nearly as much about football as you do. Still, Southgate has manned the ship for the past eight years, producing some of England's best and most consistent results.

In his first tournament as gaffer, he took England to the World Cup semifinals. While they finished 4th, it was their best showing since 1990, and only the third time in the country's history that they had reached the World Cup semifinals. (Let that sink in.)

Taking them to their first ever Euro final in 2021 was another monument. Losing in a penalty shootout was utter heartbreak. Southgate had missed the decisive penalty in the 1996 Euro semifinal versus Germany. A Euro victory in penalties would have been sweet poetry, but instead, the curse endured.

Harry Kane

No one can deny that the England captain is one of the best footballers in the world. Not only is he an exquisite striker, but he excels at aspects of the game that other prolific strikers like Haaland and Lewandowski don't. The fact that he has never won a trophy for club or country to accompany the litany of individual awards and records he has accumulated is utterly unfair.

We all though that drought would come to an end in 2023-24 when Kane abandoned perennial flunks Tottenham Hotspur in favor of the one sure bet for a trophy every season — the mighty Bayern Munich. And despite another incredible individual season, Kane managed to find himself on a team that underwhelmed, finishing third in the Bundesliga, getting knocked out by a third-tier team in the Pokal, and losing the DFL-Supercup in a big way. Like Southgate, Kane must be cursed.

A win for England at the Euros, with Kane as captain, would mean redemption, validation, and immortality.

Spain doesn't need it

Another strong emotional rationale for rooting for England has nothing to do with them, but rather that this Spanish team doesn't really need this trophy. There are no legends on the Spanish team who have so far been deprived of deserved silverware. Sure, Rodri has not won the Euros or World Cup, but he has won the Champions League and just about every other trophy in Europe. And the likes of Yamal, Williams, and Pedri will be superstars for years to come and have several other chances to win a major trophy.

But England doesn't deserve it

And yet, I'm still going to be rooting for Spain this Sunday. Why? It's simple.

Spain has been the best team of the tournament. I'm not just talking results — I'm talking performances. They have played consistently well. Most of the pundits were sleeping on this team prior to the start of the tournament, with some even suggesting they may finish third in their group. But the writing had been on the wall. This team had been performing extremely well for the past two years, including winning the Nations League and (excluding a 2-0 defeat to Scotland) breezing through Euro qualifying.

Not only has their record at Euro 2024 has been impressive, they've managed their victories against some of the world's best sides. They're the only team to have won all of their games, including wins against Germany (tournament hosts, ranked #16 in the world), Italy (#10), Croatia (#9), and France (#2). More than their victories, their play has been inspiring and invigorating. The consistently exceptional play of Lamine Yamal is no surprise to those of us who watched him in La Liga last season. The breakout play of Nico Williams at this tournament has been another great Spanish highlight, and the contributions of Dani Olmo have been extraordinary.

In contrast, England has played poorly all tournament. They've looked a shadow of what this collection of players should be. Their performances have drawn condemnation from pundits, fans, and former players and coaches. Their play has lacked creativity and fluidity. And these poor performances have not come at the hands of esteemed opposition. Their semifinal against the Netherlands (#7) was the first time they had played a team ranked higher than #19 in the entire tournament. Were it not for a few timely moments of brilliance by some of the world's footballing superstars, England would not have made it this far.

You could argue that England has spent their tournament building up to the final and can now give it their all. I suppose that is a valid argument, but it doesn't hold enough water for me. I will not be surprised if England wins on Sunday, nor will I be disappointed. In fact, I would probably be very happy for them. English football deserves a win for all the strides it has made these past few years.

But you simply can't argue that England deserves to win this tournament over Spain. La Roja have been the undisputed standouts of Euro 2024. Were England to emerge victorious, you'd have to think that all the valid criticisms about their play in the early rounds would merely fall to the wayside, and would that be okay? Maybe. But if I were to look back on an England Euro 2024 victory years later, I would only remember that it was undeserved and serendipitous, and it will be somewhat spoiled for me. I want an England victory that feels deserved. I'm not saying easy — just deserved — hard-fought, well-played, spirited, and memorable. That can't happen this year.

But if not this year, then when?

[dascarecrow]

Multiversus Wishlist

You know the drill here people. I'm making a list of the characters that I want to see join the roster of Multiversus. This will be influenced by various leaks, hints and datamines for the game.

Here we go.

-Green Lantern (has been hinted at in the trailers and could be interesting gameplay wise)

-The Flash (my favorite DC superhero and would give us a speedster in the game)

-Aquaman (he's been hinted at and voice lines were datamined)

-Martian Manhunter (I just want him in because I want to see the Big Seven of the Justice League in the game)

-Hawkgirl (I'm fascinated by the Hawk mythos in DC and she would diversify the roster a bit)

-Lex Luthor (we need more villains in the game and his rivalry with Superman is legendary)

-The core Teen Titans (Robin, Raven, Cyborg, Starfire and Beast Boy. All of them would bring something unique to the table of a platform fighter. Plus Raven has been hinted at through voice lines.)

-Deathstroke (If any of the Titans get in then we definitely need their premier enemy in there.)

-Green Arrow (He's a big deal for DC and his archer based moveset could be fun)

-Beetlejuice (Voice lines were datamined and plus he's the Ghost with the Most.)

-Harry Potter (I know there's been controversy with the creator of the series but the Wizarding World is still a huge IP for Warner Bros. so I expect they'll include someone as a playable character and who better than the main character.)

-Gandalf (Was datamined and Lord of the Rings is still a big property for Warner Bros. Plus he's a wizard and that's always cool)

-The Powerpuff Girls (Voice lines were datamined for all three)

-Ed, Edd, and Eddy (Despite being one of the original Cartoon Cartoons they haven't really gotten representation in a platform fighter before so this would be a chance to fix that)

-Samurai Jack (Voice lines were datamined and besides it's freaking Samurai Jack. Why wouldn't they include him?)

-Johnny Bravo (I just want him in because he was one of the original Cartoon Cartoons)

-Numbuh One (I want to see some representation from Codename Kids Next Door and he's the most likely to get in)

-Daffy Duck (Was datamined and could be funny to see)

-The Road Runner (Mostly want them because of nostalgia for the Road Runner SNES game)

-One of the following Dexter's Lab characters

-Dexter (Main character with numerous inventions, duh.)

-Monkey (Was a superhero in the show and could be fun)

-Major Glory (Same deal as Monkey above)

-Val Halen (His magic guitar would give him a unique moveset)

-One of the following Thundercats (Because I grew up on that show)

-Lion-O, Panthro, Cheetara, Tygra

-Space Ghost (His powers are incredibly varied and we need some representation for the Hanna-Barbera superheroes)

-Secret Squirrel (I want one of the Hanna-Barbera "funny animal" characters to make it into game and Secret has numerous gadgets that would make for a good moveset)

-One of the following Mortal Kombat characters (to give Warner Bros. video games some love)

-Scorpion (Most popular MK character and has fire powers)

-Sub-Zero (Second most popular MK character and has ice powers)

-Reptile (A fan favorite and wouldn't be expected plus his reptilian powers would be fun in the game)

-Raiden (Typically the "Big Good" of MK and a good pick for a hero character)

-Liu Kang (He is supposed to be the hero of the series, which MK1 has made more clear than ever so he might have a chance)

-The Animaniacs (Yakko, Wakko and Dot could be a three-in-one fighter much like how the PPG are predicted to be and it would be just fun to have them in the game)

-Ruby Rose (I love the RWBY series and it is owned by Warner Bros so the main character making it in is a distinct possibility)

-A Bionicle character (I loved the Bionicle series, it would give Multiversus a Lego rep and I would ideally prefer Takanuva with his light powers or Mata Nui with the Kanohi Ignika giving him life powers)

[egyptiankingg]

Second chances

Sergio Ramos & Mo Salah

summary: After the controversial incident in the 2018 Champions League final between Sergio Ramos and Mo Salah, Ramos is plagued by guilt over what happened. He reaches out to Salah's agent to apologize, but it doesn't feel like enough. In a bold move, Ramos decides to join Liverpool, Salah's team, to prove to Salah and the world that he is truly sorry. Klopp is receptive to the idea and welcomes Ramos to the team. Ramos and Salah form a strong partnership on the pitch, and Liverpool wins game after game. As the season comes to a close, Ramos and Salah lift the Premier League trophy together, and Ramos feels a sense of redemption and gratitude towards his teammate. The fic explores themes of forgiveness, second chances, and the power of admitting one's mistakes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sergio Ramos sat alone in his Madrid apartment, scrolling through Mo Salah's Instagram feed. As he looked at the Liverpool star's photos, he felt a pang of guilt wash over him.

He had never been one to apologize easily, but he knew he had to make things right with Salah. The incident in the Champions League final had been a mistake, a moment of rashness that had cost Salah his chance to play in the biggest game of his career.

Ramos had already reached out to Salah's agent and apologised, but it didn't feel like enough. He knew he had to do something more, something that would show Salah just how sorry he was.

And then he had an idea.

He would join Liverpool.

Ramos knew it was a drastic move, but he felt it was necessary. He wanted to prove to Salah and the rest of the world that he was truly sorry for what had happened. And what better way to do that than to play alongside Salah on the same team?

The next day, Ramos made a call to Liverpool's manager, Jurgen Klopp. He explained his situation and his desire to join the team, and to his surprise, Klopp was receptive to the idea.

Within a week, Ramos was on a flight to Liverpool. He arrived at the club's training ground, ready to begin a new chapter in his career.

As he walked onto the field for his first training session, he saw Salah in the distance, shooting at the goal. Ramos felt a lump rising in his throat as he approached the Egyptian striker.

"Mo, I just wanted to say that I'm so sorry for what happened in the final," Ramos said, his voice barely above a whisper. "I know I messed up, and I want to make it right. That's why I'm here."

Salah looked up at him, surprised. He had never expected Ramos to go to such lengths to apologize.

"It's okay, Sergio," Salah said, a small smile forming on his face. "I appreciate the gesture. Let's move on and focus on playing together."

And that's exactly what they did. Ramos and Salah quickly formed a formidable partnership on the pitch, helping Liverpool to win game after game. The fans welcomed Ramos with open arms, impressed by his willingness to admit his mistakes and make amends.

As the season came to a close, Ramos and Salah lifted the Premier League trophy together, arms around each other's shoulders. It was a moment of redemption for Ramos, a chance to show that he had learned from his mistakes and that he was capable of putting his ego aside for the good of the team.

As the celebrations died down, Ramos looked over at Salah, a sense of gratitude washing over him. He knew that without Salah's forgiveness and willingness to play alongside him, he wouldn't have had this opportunity to make things right.

"Thank you, Mo," Ramos said, his voice filled with emotion. "You gave me a second chance, and I'll never forget it."

Salah smiled back at him, the two of them sharing a moment of mutual respect and admiration.

It had been a long road to get to this point, but for Ramos, it was all worth it. He had learned that sometimes, the hardest thing to do was to admit your mistakes and make amends. But when you did, the rewards were immeasurable.

And as he looked out over the cheering crowd, he knew that he had truly found his place in Liverpool. A place where he could be himself, make a difference on the pitch, and, most importantly, be part of a team that was more than just a group of players.

--------

hey I hope you guys all enjoyed this!! I might be doing a mamma mia series based on footballers ofc !

[pwrestlingxpress]

AEW Has a Problem

Everything that I type here is all in my opinion and it's something I didn't want to discuss at first but feel like it's time to say it. AEW has a problem and that problem is CM Punk.

How did this problem start, you ask? Go back to the post-media event of "All Out 2022" where just minutes after regaining the AEW World Heavyweight Championship, CM Punk lashed out at the media instead of talking about his reaction to the return of MJF (aka Maxwell Jacob Friedman) from earlier that day.

His words caused a backstage brawl that resulted into suspensions of himself and all around him including Matt Jackson, Nick Jackson, Kenny Omega, Brandon Cutler, Michael Nakazawa, etc. Also, due to that brawl, both the AEW World Heavyweight Championship and the AEW Trios Championship were vacated.

The Trios title ended up being help by PAC, Rey Fenix, and Pentagon until January 2023 while the AEW World Heavyweight Championship would be returned to Jon Moxley who regained the title and held onto it until November where he lost in what many can considered controversial fashion to Max Friedman.

Many people including myself were under the impression that a deal was reached where CM Punk would be let go by the company for his actions. Not the case as we learned that this Saturday (June 17, 2023) a new AEW show will premiere called "AEW Collision" and the show will heavily involve CM Punk.

Now...how did people react to his imminent return. Not very good. From everything I heard and read, the reaction was very negative with boos almost all over arenas and on social media. AEW tried to cover it up by finding those who'll cheer his return. It didn't work. Worse than that...the announcement of his return caused slow ticket sales so what happens next...let's announce his return match.

CM Punk, Dax Harwood, and Cash Wheeler vs. Jay White, Juice Robinson, and Samoa Joe. If you're a Jay White fan, you'd be like "yay, Jay's on AEW Collision" in an exciting way but when you read he has to face Punk in 6-man tag action you like "yay, Jay's on AEW Collision" but your excitement meter goes down.

To make matter worse for AEW, they aired a VTR of Punk last night on AEW Dynamite that got the crowd booing even more. And from the people I follow on social media, all were furious that AEW keeps on showing Punk. Some even ask "why has he not been punished yet for his actions" "why is he getting awarded when everyone got punished"

These questions I cannot answer but I can say that AEW has a problem (CM Punk). They've tried almost everything to cover up the problem and instead have made it worse. And now...I read something in which this problem AEW has with Punk is so bad, I don't know how they're going to solve it at this point. That something...an interview that apparently and/or reportedly went out of control. Read some details on it and...it's not good.

The last time I watched AEW was the week before "All Out 2022" in which I was starting to question Punk's booking at the time but was somewhat proud to see Kenny Omega back in the ring. Haven't watched AEW since then and until they release CM Punk, have no intention to watch AEW again though there'll be times I'll watch certain highlights but not a full show.

One more thing I've been reading since they've been announcing his return was a proposed match against KENTA at "Forbidden Door 2023" taking place June 25th in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. From what I read, many are thrilled about the proposed match because this could solve the one issue many have, who really owns the "GTS'. Instead, I read that Punk was "not interested". Reading that really boils me up because how in the world can you not be interested in facing a former GHC Heavyweight Champion, a 3-time GHC Junior Heavyweight Champion, a 3-time GHC Junior Tag Team Champion, a former GHC Tag Team Champion, a former Global League winner, a former IWGP United States Champion, a former NEVER Openweight Champion, and a 2-time (and reigning) Strong Openweight Champion. Why in the world do you say "not interested" to someone is regarded by many to be the best the world has to offer. Read KENTA's response to the proposed match and...it's a interesting one because he'll only do it if it requires the money provided but if Punk is saying "not interested" then why bother.

Again, AEW has a problem that they've yet to solve and based on all I've read, based on all I've heard, and based on almost everything I've said here...are not even going to attempt to solve the problem and it's a shame that this is happening. None of this would have happened if they had just fired Punk. Instead, look where we're at right now. This (AEW Collision with Punk) is going to blow up in their face.

With that...done talking about Punk here. Again, everything I just typed right here on my Pro Wrestling Express is all in my opinion. Feel free to comment on your opinion in this ongoing problem that AEW has no attempt to solve at this time.

[tartt9]

unsolicited headcanon questions - What is Jamie's social media presence like? What's he like for controversies or hot takes? Has he ever done anything/said anything that went viral or got meme'd?

i love an unsolicited headcanon question so thank you for sending me this !! :')

so jamie's very active on social media. like to the point that he needs to shut the fuck up sometimes. his twitter is his most frequently used platform - he's just @ jamietartt he'll respond to all of richmond's tweets - he's got their post notifications on - and all of the premier league's tweets about him and his teammates. he also responds regularly to the three lions twitter account. but outside of football and #coygh and richmond til we die!s, it's seriously nonsense. he runs polls to see his followers' takes on things, and he's always like there is a right answer. he overuses emojis. at 2 am he'll tweet like @ PaddyOGara if you were a dog what type of dog would you be and @ IsaacMcAdoo how many eggs do you think you could eat in one sitting maximum not on average absolute maximum number of eggs pls respond quickly this is important his instagram (also @ jamietartt) is.... what you think his instagram would be. lots of pictures of him on match days, in richmond reds, blues, and yellows. lots of pictures of him hanging off of his teammates. lots of instagram stories during celebrations in the dressing room and afterwards when they're out clubbing. but it's also full of ego-stroking shirtless pictures and gym selfies where his shirts are matted to his body with sweat. he does amas more frequently than he should. keeley has to work overtime with him sometimes tbh. his tiktok (also.... @ jamietartt) is all behind the scenes with richmond/the three lions content. colin sleeping on the bus. moe having a very intense conversation with the new greyhound mascot. them actually seeing how many eggs isaac could eat in one sitting. and occasionally he just shows off his footwork on there because he likes to brag and he likes praise (canonically lmao)

his biggest controversy is, obviously, fucking off from city two weeks into their season to do lust conquers all. he still gets questions about that, still gets people who don't take him seriously as a footballer because of that. but, aside from lust, the next biggest controversy was that one time he was pictured outside of a club in london with a cigarette between his fingers. it was keeley's, and he was just holding it for her - he's never actually smoked in his life, because he takes his health seriously - but it was on a bunch of tabloids front pages the next day. he didn't make a statement. he doesn't get asked about that as much anymore, but it wouldn't surprise me if opposing team's players ask him if he want one as a cruel sort of joke if they run across each other out clubbing or something

his hot takes are mostly just like. "i think kent was a better player than beckham ever was" and he likes to start fights about that but he does fully 100% believe his own opinion when he says stuff like that. there are loads of comments on our irl tiktok that's like "he (jamie) thinks he's ronaldo" and when jamie's drunk he needs someone to stop him from replying on his main account like "no. i think i'm better than him."

as for going viral i like to think the moment he said that he and beard aren't having sex definitely still circulates on richmond twt, plus him and roy headbutting and hugging after their promotion, plus there's discussion about whatever roy said when he hugged jamie after jamie left the pitch in mom city. usfw mention in this paragraph don't read this if you don't want that // there's also the canon fact that he gets half-hard when he does particularly well on the pitch..... people Are Looking that's all im gonna say

he also just. like. says silly things if any of the lads catch him on camera saying something ridiculous it'll probably go viral on richmond twt if not further internet spheres than just richmond ygm?

tldr he's an absolute menace on the internet and somebody should probably change his passwords half the time but he's super good at fan engagement and he's doing his best to stop starting fights with strangers about himself/his teammates

[pirate-in-daps]

beware controversial uk football opinions below i don't watch football or follow football so don't come for my jugular please and thanks

i'm not a man city fan but the bare hatred people have for them is wild like

all footie teams but esp premier league teams are the same babes join us lot in league 1 if you're saying your team isn't "like that" and you'll see how "like that" they are