FIFA vs Google

GM football fans. Route One here, and we’re covering FIFA suing Google, an update on the football regulator and much more. Enjoy Route One? Share us with a friend on WhatsApp with this link.

STATS

La Liga, Las Palmas vs Real Madrid. Los Blancos fare well when they go toe-to-toe with Las Palmas, having won 51 of their 74 matches against the team from Gran Canaria. Europa League play-off, Hearts vs Viktoria Plzen (Agg 0-1). Hearts have a deficit to overturn, but they’ve taken just one point from three league games and have scored only twice across all competitions so far. Conference League play-off, Servette vs Chelsea (0-2). Positive results are hard to come by for Servette, who have won only one of their last six competitive matches this month, including a 6-0 top-flight thumping by Basel.

Plus…

• The Champions League draw is tonight; a reminder of the draw procedure (More)

• Carabao Cup third-round draw fixtures announced (More)

• Lee Carsley will announce his first England squad today (More)

• Andros Townsend doesn’t know which club owns him due to club’s transfer ban (More)

• Jermaine Jenas to return to punditry with TNT Sports after BBC sacking (More)

• Liverpool agree a deal to sign Federico Chiesa from Juventus for £10mn (More)

WORLD FOOTBALL

FIFA vs Google in defamation case

FIFA, world football’s governing body, is suing Google in a commercial court in Zurich, per Swiss outlet SRF.

According to SRF, FIFA is demanding that the search engine remove certain pages and articles in its search results that paint the organisation in a bad light.

The main culprit

FIFA is referring mainly to a niche African football website that appears in Google search results when people search for the world football association. The website spreads lies about FIFA and portrays it “as a corrupt organisation riddled with mafia structures”. 

While FIFA’s president Gianni Infantino is known for his thin skin, the straw that broke the camel’s back was a piece about someone further down the hierarchy.

Google’s case

To be fair, Swiss law takes defamation more seriously than most other countries. Not only does it crack down on those who actively spread content, but also those who aid and abet it - in this case, apparently Google.

But the American tech giant has a good case against FIFA’s claim:

• Google says the website in question does not appear within the first ten pages of a Google search - and who really goes beyond the first page anyway?

• Plus, if FIFA gets its way, then Google would have to remove many other websites from its results in future - and that’s impossible for a company that indexes hundreds of millions of web pages every day.

Other than drawing more attention to the not-so-easy-to-find website, we’re not sure what FIFA is achieving much by highlighting the website.

POLL

HEAD START

❌ Nunez banned for five international games. Liverpool forward Darwin Nunez has been banned for five international games after physically confronting Colombia fans in July. The video from the Copa America semi-final shows Nunez - and his teammates - in the stands after violence broke out in the players’ family section. At the time, captain Jose Gimenez said the players were trying to defend their families.

🔁 Proposed changes to the transfer window structure. Transfer windows across Europe could be shut before the season kicks off in future amid growing discontent on the continent, per i News. Across Europe, there are concerns that the transfer window remaining open into the new season leaves clubs and players in a state of flux. The Italian Football Federation president has said that he will raise the issue with other national associations at a UEFA meeting to see if there’s enough support.

💰 Clubs to earn an extra £23mn a year from Champions League. Earnings for this year’s tournament are going up by 20%, with UEFA claiming that broadcasters are showing extra interest in the expanded 36-team format. The average earnings for each club across Europe last season was €65mn (£54mn) and €95mn (£80mn) for English clubs. Premier League clubs competing in the Champions League can expect an extra £23mn in their pockets.

ENGLISH FOOTBALL

A timeline for the independent football regulator

England’s first football regulator failed to pass through parliament before the general election in July, but Keir Starmer’s government reintroduced the Football Governance Bill last month.

The legislation will grant powers to a body independent from government and football authorities to oversee clubs in England’s top five tiers.

As the baton has been passed to a Labour government, there is going to be a difference in focus compared to the Conservative’s original bill.

A difference in approach

Compared to the Conservative’s bill, the new bill will have tighter regulations around diversity and equality in boardrooms, as well as more emphasis on “fan engagement” - including issues around ticket pricing and kick-off times.

Most notable change: The most important difference will come with how the new government handles parachute payments - the solidarity payments Premier League clubs give to relegated clubs.

According to The Athletic, the new bill will place parachute payments in the regulator’s remit, something that the original bill refused to do. These payments have been steeped in controversy as critics argue they distort competition - especially after research found that clubs in receipt of parachute payments were three times more likely to be promoted to the top flight.

Timeline: The bill is on the horizon as Labour’s majority means that it’s unlikely to fail. Some reports say it could become law by the end of the year or early 2025, with the regulator being fully operational by the end of the season in May.

AROUND THE FOOTBALL WORLD

🌎 Copa Libertadores: Uruguayan footballer Juan Izquierdo has died at the age of 27, five days after collapsing during a Copa Libertadores game in Sao Paulo (More)

🇮🇹 Serie A: AS Roma have signed Saud Abdulhamid from Al-Hilal, who becomes the first player in history from Saudi Arabia to play in Serie A (More); Juventus have completed the signing of Dutch midfielder Teun Koopmeiners from Atalanta for a fee of €54.7mn (More)

🇪🇸 La Liga: Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti admits that his side are still adapting to life with Kylian Mbappe, but has no concerns after the striker failed to score in their opening two league games (More)

🇩🇪 Bundesliga: Harry Kane received the Golden Shoe award as the highest goalscorer in Europe’s football league with 36 goals in his debut season for Bayern Munich; this is the first time Kane has won the award (More)

🇬🇧 Nothern Ireland: Northern Ireland captain Jonny Evans, 36, announces his retirement from international football after 107 senior caps (More)

MIDWEEK RESULTS ROUND-UP

Carabao Cup, Wolves, AFC Wimbledon, Southampton, Brentford, Wycombe, West Ham and Newcastle through to the third round. Ipswich were knocked out of the Cup by Wimbledon on penalties (4-2), while Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest also don’t advance. Full Carabao Cup results here. Champions League, the seven teams to qualify for the 36-man league phase have been confirmed. Lille, Slovan Bratislava, Crvena zvezda, Dinamo Zagreb, Young Boys, Salzburg and Sparta Praha all made it past the play-offs. La Liga, Atletico Madrid draw 0-0 with Espanyol. Atletico have now missed out on four points in their opening three games, having also drawn to Villarreal in their opener; they currently sit fourth in the league. Full La Liga results here.

ROUTER’S VOICE

Yesterday, we asked you: Should the Carabao Cup be treasured or scrapped?

🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🏆 Treasured, keep it going... (49.45%)

🟨 🟨 🟨 🟨 🟨 ⬜️ ❌ Scrapped, get it gone... (43.95%)

⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ✍️ Other (write in!)... (6.5%)

Your punditry takes:

• ✍️ Phillip B: “Kept and reformed. First, end the sponsorship. Revert to the proper name. Second, end the two-match semifinal, but play semi-finals on neutral ground.”

• ✍️ J.M: “I think it should be kept, but any teams in European competition should not take part in it. The last time a club outside of the Premier League top 6 won it was over a decade ago when Swansea won it, so excluding those teams would make it far more competitive and much more exciting with the possibility of lower league teams going further or eventually winning it.”

• 🏆 G.H: “The League Cup has been a stepping stone for younger players to get game time and develop themselves. Beckham is a great example coming off the bench in the early 90s against Brighton. It’s essential for player development.”

• ❌ C.J: “Between the FA Cup and European football, it feels like it's a competition too many, and just another bit of silverware that ends up going to the top 6 teams.”

EXTRA TIME

Adidas unveils official 2024-25 Champions League ball.

Muslera received a red card for tripping up his opponent whilst celebrating.

Burnley academy boss quits after slamming players in the wrong WhatsApp group.

Is Marc Guéhi worth £70mn to Newcastle?

Micah Richards as a goalkeeper.

Did Ilkay Gundogan bring back Oasis?

Cardiff City’s Runin Colwill might have scored the goal of last night against Southampton.

Interview: Cristiano Ronaldo’s thoughts on the 2023-24 season and his future.

GAME FACE ON

Question: Last season, Sheffield United only accumulated 16 points, the second-worst tally in Premier League history. Can you name the team that achieved the worst tally and their points?

Clue: 2007-08

Scroll below for the answer.

ON TODAY

La Liga

• Girona vs Osasuna (18:00 BST)

• Las Palmas vs Real Madrid (20:30 BST)

Europa League - Play-offs

• Full fixture list can be found here. 

Conference League - Play-offs

• Full fixture list can be found here.

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

Answer

Derby County. In the Ram’s 109th season in the Football League in 2007-08, they only managed to secure 11 points across the season with 1 win and 8 losses. They finished the season with a -69 goal difference.