Aggressive referees theory

GM football fans. Route One here, we’re covering England’s line-up for tonight’s game, theories about aggressive referees and much more. First time reading? Sign up here.

A new study found that people who take fantasy football seriously are more likely to have worse mental health than those who play it less. In response, there have been calls to have a warning sign added to highlight the effect it can have on players. After last season, this doesn’t surprise us one bit.

All feedback read at [email protected].

Head Start

Gallagher to start over TAA in England’s only change… 

Conor Gallagher is reportedly set to start over Trent Alexander-Arnold in midfield for England against Slovenia tonight.

On the surface, the decision has some grounding. Why? Because England’s biggest weakness has been their pressing ability.

The only team averaging more passes per defensive action than England (23.1) at the Euros is Albania (24), who have also faced arguably sterner tests in Italy and Croatia.

(Without rubbing salt into the wounds… in the opening two games, England have been the third-worst team at winning the ball within 40 metres of the opposition’s goal.)

Some articles have even questioned whether England’s players are too tired to press.

It’s safe to say… Gallagher offers lots of energy and pressing ability.

His pressing and ability to force turnovers was key to Chelsea last season. In fact, The Blues skipper was actively involved in the sequences that led to a shot attempt in the Premier League last season… 

… and he also led Chelsea’s squad in minutes played across all competitions last season.

But, of course, a one-man press doesn’t exist. So… England’s biggest issue won’t be resolved by simply swapping TAA for Gallagher. 

And without TAA, Gareth Southgate’s side lose a player that has a supreme ability to create chances. Against Denmark, TAA created three chances and played five line-breaking passes in the final third in just 54 minutes on the pitch… 

The short of it is… Southgate is sticking to his guns in England’s final group-stage match and it’s only a matter of time until we see if it pays off.

Plus…

England, France and Netherlands are through to the last 16 at the Euros after Albania were beaten 1-0 by Spain (More)

The Premier League is monitoring player transfers that are exploiting a loophole in its spending rules (More)

Manchester United are hoping to agree a new contract with Erik ten Hag before the start of their preseason tour in the U.S. on July 27 (More)

Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer have defended their criticism of Harry Kane and England (More)

Euros Stats Zone

England vs Slovenia (Today at 20:00 BST)

→ This will be only England and Slovenia’s second encounter at a major tournament, with the Three Lions winning 1-0 in the group stages of the 2010 World Cup.

→ Slovenia have failed to win any of their six matches against England across all competitions (D1 L5).

→ England are looking to go through a fourth consecutive Euros group stage unbeaten, having done so in 2012, 2016 and 2020.

Group B: Croatia 1 - 1 Italy (Highlights)

→ Mattia Zaccagni scored his first goal for Italy, while at 97 minutes and 19 seconds, it’s the second-latest goal scored in a game at the Euros (excl. extra time) behind Hungary’s Kevin Csoboth against Scotland.

→ At the age of 38 years and 289 days, Luka Modric is the oldest player to ever score at the UEFA European Championship finals.

Group B: Albania 0 - 1 Spain (Highlights)

→ For the first time, Spain have not conceded a goal during the group stage of a major international tournament.

→ Spain have become just the second side to win all three of their group stage games at a Euro finals without conceding after Italy also did so at Euro 2020.

Game in Numbers

Shorter referees show more cards, study finds

A new German study has found that the height of a referee plays a role in how strict they are on the pitch.

Researchers have analysed more than 2,000 Bundesliga games between 2014 and 2021. They found that referees are more likely to whistle for a foul and give a yellow card to players who are bigger than themselves. 

One of the authors said that a penalty is between “seven and ten per cent more likely” if the referee is ten to twenty-five centimetres shorter than the player.

It’s a theory that has been floating around since a study of 61 male referees in the Premier League, Championship, League One and League Two was published.

It found that referees who are less than 6ft show around 20 per cent more yellow cards than those who are taller. 

While it’s an interesting take, it’s easy to poke holes in both studies.

We nerded out and read the peer review of this study. It argues that the research doesn’t look at taller players’ behaviour, but only analyses the referee’s response…

… that’s like saying that ice cream leads to sunburn.

Both studies also ignore that taller players tend to play in defensive positions so they would get booked more often regardless of the referee's height…

… that’s probably why there are only two players below the average height of a German footballer (1.84 metres or 6 ft) in the top 30 most fouls committed in the top five European leagues last season.

(We admit that stat didn’t slip of the tongue!)

And, in general, more credible studies have shown that taller players tend to be judged as more aggressive.

Just like our readers, we love a good stats-based football story. Something that’s new and something novel… but we’re not sure this cuts it.

Off The Pitch

💰 Princess Diana’s Mayfair family home is on the market for £10.9 million (More)

🏠 Barcelona plan to ban Airbnb as hotspots turn against mass tourism (More)

🎤 Sabrina Carpenter becomes the youngest female artist to top two singles spots on the UK chart (More)

🍀 A man in Japan has broken a Guinness World Record by growing a 63-leaf clover (More)

🐶 Wild Thang is officially the world’s ugliest dog (More)

🧠 A UK teenager has become the first person to be fitted with a brain implant to help with his severe epilepsy (More)

Photo of the Day

Dubbed the next Ronaldo Nazario. Adriano is considered a cult hero by many football fans. While his 74 goals in 177 games at Inter Milan was respectable, he ultimately didn’t live up to the hype around his name. The Brazilian later told the story that the untimely death of his father, who was just 44, from a heart attack impacted him negatively on the pitch. Adriano may have failed to reach his full potential, but that won’t stop people from talking about how great he could’ve been.

Around The Football World

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 The fixtures for the 2024/25 Sky Bet Championship, League One and League Two seasons will be released at 9 AM on Wednesday (More)

🌎 Anti-discrimination group Kick it Out has announced that former NatWest executive director Samuel Okafor will take over as its chief executive next month (More)

🇭🇺 Dominik Szobozlai has criticised medical staff for their slow response to his teammate Barnabás Varga’s collision (More)

🇩🇪 Serhou Guirassy has decided to leave VfB Stuttgart as Arsenal, Borussia Dortmund, AC Milan are in the race to sign the striker (More) 

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Jack Harrison has joined Everton on another season-long loan from Leeds United (More)

Extra Time

Tottenham’s new away shirt is inspired by their shirt worn in the 1980s.

How Xavi and Casillas broke the feud between Barcelona and Real Madrid players in the Spanish national team.

Málaga fans show incredible support at 5 AM after their side is promoted to the second tier.

Brazil fans include Lucas Paqueta in their all-time Brazil XI.

The fastest goals in European Championship history.

The tense moment Georgia nearly won their first Euros game.

Game Face On

Question: Here’s some yes/no trivia: We’ll give you a list of players, and you have to determine whether they have scored at a European Championship tournament.

• Thomas Muller

• David Villa

• Alan Shearer

• Andres Iniesta

• David Beckham

• Kylian Mbappé

• Robert Lewandowski

Scroll below for the answer.

On Today

FOOTBALL

Euros: France vs Poland (17:00 BST)

Euros: Netherlands vs Austria (17:00 BST)

Euros: Denmark vs Serbia (20:00 BST)

Euros: England vs Slovenia (20:00 BST)

Copa America: Peru vs Canada (23:00 BST)

Copa America: Chila vs Argentina (02:00 BST)

TENNIS

Wimbledon: Wimbledon Qualifying (11:00 BST)

*EST -5. PST -8. CET +1. CST +8. JST +9.

Answer

• Thomas Muller - NO

• David Villa - YES

• Alan Shearer - YES

• Andres Iniesta - NO

• David Beckham - NO

• Kylian Mbappé - NO

• Robert Lewandowski - YES

Hottest Take of the Day

Today’s Hottest Take of the Day is: Rodrygo will be more pivotal to Brazil’s success at the Copa America than Vinicius Jr. Thanks to Michel from Los Angeles for the entry. Submit another Hot Take of the Day here.