PFA flags FIFA concerns

GM football fans. Route One here, and we’re covering Haaland and Salah’s advantage over ‘tired rivals’, the Dutch FA scrapping offside, and much more. Enjoy Route One? Share us with a friend on WhatsApp with this link.

WEEKEND STATS

Nations League, France vs Italy (Today at 19:45 UK). This match-up will be the teams' first competitive meeting in 16 years since the Italians prevailed 2-0 in the Euro 2008 group stage. That said, Les Bleus have won all three friendlies since. Republic of Ireland vs England (Saturday at 17:00 UK). England have scored just 13 goals in eleven games in 2024, having netted 26 in ten games in 2023. But the Three Lions won their last meeting with the Republic of Ireland in November 2020.

Plus…

• UEFA Nations League fixtures this weekend (More)

• Cristiano Ronaldo scores his 900th career goal (Watch)

• Premier League August awards votes open till Monday (More)

• Madrid mayor says that Vinicius Junior should apologise for comments about his city (More)

• Jude Bellingham launches new YouTube account to document his journey (More) 

• Cole Palmer left out of Chelsea’s Europa Conference League squad to manage game time (More)

• Chelsea Women stop autographs at games over safety concerns (More)

PREMIER LEAGUE

Haaland and Salah ‘have advantage over tired rivals’, says PFA

Erling Haaland and Mohamed Salah have started this season strong because they have not been “shattered” by a summer tournament, PFA chief executive Maheta Molango has said.

After surveying Premier League players, the Union chief believes there’s a difference between players who have rested and those who haven’t. He even compares Haaland and Salah’s form with Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden, who sit on the sideline due to injuries.

Player workload report

This week, a new report by FIFPro highlights the burden placed on overworked players. It showed that 54% of the 1,500 players monitored faced excessive workload demands. It also found that:

• Bellingham, 21, has played twice as many senior minutes as David Beckham at the same age.

• Julian Alvarez was the busiest player in the world last season. He made 75 appearances and 83 matchday squad inclusions for club and country - that’s around 1.5 games per week.

The PFA doesn’t believe the domestic calendar is the issue. Instead, they want to tackle the expansion of European competitions, the World Cup and the new Club World Cup format. 

It’s no wonder FIFPro and the PFA have launched legal challenges against FIFA in the European courts. They argue FIFA abuse its position and that it expanded the Club World Cup without consultation.

POLL

HEAD START

👑 Morgan announces retirement. USWNT legend Alex Morgan, 35, announces her retirement on Instagram. She scored 123 goals in 223 games for the national side, won two World Cups and is one of the best women's players ever. In her retirement video, Morgan also announced that she is pregnant with her second child. The final game of her career will come with the San Diego Wave on Sunday as they take on the North Carolina Courage.

👋 Chelsea’s latest high-profile departure. American chief executive Chris Jurasek has left Chelsea. He was unpopular among some of the fans for removing a coach subsidy for away fans and increasing general admission season ticket prices. He also referred to Chelsea’s supporters as customers rather than fans. The Blues will now set up a new management committee to help run the commercial side of the club, as well as the football operations.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Newcastle aware of FA interest in Howe. Newcastle sporting director Paul Mitchell has refused to rule out the possibility of Eddie Howe succeeding Gareth Southgate as England manager. The club will fight to keep Howe as manager. And reports suggest the FA would have to pay a compensation package of £5mn to release him from his contract.

GRASSROOTS

Dutch FA considers scrapping offside rule in grassroots to curb violence

The Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) is considering scrapping the offside rule for amateur matches in response to a surge in violent incidents, per The Athletic.

A report by Reuters showed that last season, 1,864 matches were stopped because of violent incidents, an increase of 11% compared to the previous season and an increase of 58% over a five-year period.

KNVB director Jan Dirk van der Zee admits violence makes up a “relatively small number” compared to the almost 780,000 matches played annually. But the Dutch FA still believes there is a problem they must “eradicate” from the game.

A different approach

Rather than scrapping offside, the English FA took a less drastic change to curbing violence at grassroots. Two bodycam trials have proven successful, with no activations of the cameras by referees needed over 1400 matches tested.

Most importantly, the English FA has seen a 15% increase in registered match officials this season and retention levels have reached a record high as 78% of referees who refereed last season have re-registered this season.

Big picture: If the Dutch FA goes ahead with this proposal, expect to see a flurry of goal-hanging strikers coming out of the Netherlands.

MORE NEWS

Around the football world

• Leicester City have been fined £20,000 for Villa game incident (More)

• Basketball legend Magic Johnson invests in NWSL side The Washington Spirit (More)

• Portugal bids to host Euro 2029 women’s tournament (More)

• Canada coach Jesse Marsch criticises USMNT players (More)

• Juan Mata has signed for Western Sydney Wanderers in the Australian top flight (More)

• After 753 matches, 234 goals and 62 assists in the Turkish Super Lig, Umut Bulut retires from professional football (More) / in Turkish

WEEKDAY RESULTS ROUND-UP

Nations League

Portugal 2 - 1 Croatia. Cristiano Ronaldo scores his 900th career goal, scoring his first-ever goal for Sporting Lisbon in 2002. San Marino 1 - 0 Liechtenstein. San Marino end their 20-year, 140-game wait for victory with their only second-ever win against the same team, Liechtenstein. Scotland 2 - 3 Poland. Nicola Zalewski’s 97th-minute penalty kick means Poland took all three points in a five-goal thriller. Full Nations League results here.

ROUTER’S VOICE

Yesterday, we asked you: Who do you think will win the Ballon d'Or? and why?

🟨 🟨 🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ 🇧🇷 Vinicius Junior (20.9%)

🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🇪🇸 Rodri (38.7%)

🟨 🟨 🟨 🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Jude Bellingham (27.4%)

🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ✍️ Other (write it!)... (12.9%)

Your punditry takes:

• 🇧🇷 J.G votes Vinicius Jr: “Most dangerous and constant player on the top club in Europe. He was a threat even when facing two defenders on the ball. Vini has improved his finishing substantially. His goal sealed the 15th Champions League trophy for Real Madrid.”

• 🇪🇸 D.C votes Rodri: “Euro 2024 winner and also the most important player in Pep's Premier League-winning team.”

• 🇪🇸 M.B votes Rodri: “He’s shown time and time again that he is able to play the sport at a level above that of anyone else in his position and still manage to put in goals at a high level.”

• 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 T.S votes Bellingham: “We haven’t seen a strong start like Bellingham’s at Madrid in a long time. He’s a superstar - vital to Madrid’s success and England reaching the Euro final.”

EXTRA TIME

Adidas to bring back original Predator Mania boots.

Ballon d’Or power rankings with Yamal above Mbappe.

Premier League Goal of the Month nominations.

The most productive players in Premier League history. / graph

Carrying the FA Cup trophy on the London Underground in 1964.

A review of League Two teams in August.

What do managers look for in a perfect assistant?

Ronaldinho and Neymar are what football is all about.

What can the WSL learn from the NWSL?

GAME FACE ON

Question: Who is the only player to win the Super Ballon d’Or - the award for the best player over three decades - in 1989?

Clue: Not the Argentine you might be thinking.

Scroll below for the answer.

ON TODAY

UEFA Nations League

• Group 2

  • Lithuania vs Cyprus (17:00 BST)

  • Belgium vs Israel (19:45 BST)

  • France vs Italy (19:45 BST)

  • Kosovo vs Romania (19:45 BST)

• Group 3

  • Kazakhstan vs Norway (15:00 BST)

  • Slovenia vs Austria (19:45 BST)

• Group 4

  • Iceland vs Montenegro (19:45 BST)

  • Wales vs Turkey (19:45 BST)

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

Answer

Alfredo Di Stefano received the trophy, after previously winning the Ballon d'Or in 1957 and 1959. Only European players were in contention for the award - which was why the likes of Pele and Maradona were not eligible.

The trophy was among the items sold to an anonymous buyer for £187,500, and its current location is unknown. A possible second edition of the award could take place in 2029 with Lionel Messi considered to be the heavy favourite for the award.