VAR pastry protest

GM football fans. Route One here, and we’re covering VAR pastry protests, Amanda Staveley’s next project and much more.

Erling Haalnad has the chance to become the first Premier League player to score 2+ goals in three consecutive openers when Manchester City face Chelsea in their first game of the season. Ironically, Didier Drogba is the only other player to score 2+ goals on the opener in two consecutive campaigns.

STATS

Champions League qualifier: Fenerbahçe 2 - 1 Lugano

→ Fernerbahçe scored in the 93rd minute to cement their 6-4 aggregate win over Lugano.

→ Edin Dzeko scored four goals over the two legs for Fenerbahçe, while his teammate Dusan Tadic assisted twice.

Champions League qualifier: Sparta Prague 4 - 2 Shamrock Rovers

→ Sparta Praha are through to the third qualifying round after beating Shamrock Rovers 6-2 on aggregate.

→ Victor Olatunji netted his third goal in the first four games of the season for Sparta Praha.

Find the full list of results and how the qualifying rounds work here. 

VAR

Fan protest against VAR with pastries

With VAR receiving its fair share of criticism, an unlikely sweet treat is playing a key role in ousting the technology out of the Norweigan top flight.

Pastries.

Yet another game was stopped in Norway after fans threw Danish pastries onto the field on Monday as part of a wider campaign against how long it’s taking referees to make a decision using VAR.

The protests began on July 21 when the top-flight match between Rosenborg and Lillestorm was called off after play was stopped four times - only this time because of a barrage of fish cakes.

Apart from ruining a few diets or two, the buttery treats have been a harmless, yet effective, protest against video technology.

What’s next? 

Lise Klavensess, the FA president, has already admitted that Norweigan football has failed to consider the fans' perspective since VAR was introduced in the 2023 season. 

Now, Norwegian football will hold “open” talks over the use of VAR ahead of a vote on its future in March. And with even clubs in the second tier - where VAR isn’t used - urging for its removal, it’s likely the video assistant will be shelved by March.

VAR is also facing criticism in other European leagues:

• Sweden’s top leagues decided in April not to implement VAR due to opposition from clubs, which have a controlling interest from fans. 

• The Premier League is altering to semi-automated VAR mid-way through next season after facing heavy criticism.

Big picture: This might be the first time that we see VAR scrapped in a European league after being introduced, so it’s an interesting insight into whether going back to the good ‘ol days works better or worse. 

But don’t be surprised if you see a few croissants, cannolis or apple strudels flying about the Premier League next season.

POLL

HEAD START

🔵 Enzo Fernandez has apologised to Chelsea teammates. After joining the club for their U.S. pre-season tour, the Blues’ £106.8mn midfielder has apologised to his teammates after posting a video of himself and some Argentina teammates singing a derogatory song about French players of African origin. Fernandez has also pledged a “significant” contribution to a charity tackling discrimination. While Chelsea are not going to take action against the midfielder, FIFA is going to investigate and could issue a ban from domestic matches for Fernandez.

🇮🇪 Toffees sign Republic of Ireland defender Jack O’Brien. Everton have signed the 23-year-old centre-back on a four-year deal from Lyon for £17mn. The 6ft 6ins defender played 27 times in the French top flight after joining from Crystal Palace and scored four goals.

🤔 Julian Alvarez to decide future after Paris Olympics. The Manchester City forward signed a one-year contract extension to keep him at the club until 2028, but has since been linked with a move to Atletico Madrid. While he admits it’s “annoying to be out in big games”, he says that he hasn’t yet made a decision on his future - and will wait till after the Paris 2024 Games before he decides.

PREMIER LEAGUE

Amanda Staveley eyes Tottenham for next project

Amanda Staveley - responsible for orchestrating the PIF’s purchase of Newcastle United - has said she’s open to investing in another football club, as per The Athletic. 

While Steveley admits that she is “a Geordie now”, her recent exit from Newcastle means she’s exploring new opportunities in the English top-flight.

Tottenham Hotspur is the most likely suitor for Staveley… A recent report indicated that “initial discussions” with Rothschild & Co, an adviser to Spurs, has taken place with Staveley, as per Bloomberg.

Adding to this, Spurs made public that they’re in talks to sell a minority stake in the club at a valuation up to £3.75 billion.

Since leaving Newcastle, Staveley has raised £500mn which could come at the perfect time for Spurs who are:

• Looking for a fresh capital injection for new player signings.

• Developing an academy for its women’s team.

• Preparing to build a 30-storey hotel next to its north London stadium.

It will also be a good opportunity to pave the way for Joe Lewis to sever ties with Spurs after the British billionaire pleaded guilty to insider trading earlier this year.

What about any other clubs? It’s hard to see a better option for Staveley than Spurs, who are looking to sell a stake in their club and have increased revenue for the year by 24%.

The only other viable option in the English top-flight would be Everton after 777 Partners pulled out from buying the club last month. But a minority stake wouldn’t solve the problems that the Toffees are facing. 

A history of success

Staveley has helped to raise funds for two Premier League clubs - Manchester City and Newcastle United. And in both cases, she has left a positive mark.

It was reported this week that Newcastle is now valued at over £1 billion after its Saudi owners increased its holding by buying Staveley’s stake. And, on the pitch, Newcastle have finished in the top seven on all three occasions since the PIF takeover - a feat they achieved once in 14 years prior.

And we don’t have to tell you about City’s success since she brokered the £210mn sale of the club in 2008.

AROUND THE FOOTBALL WORLD

• 🇯🇲 Jamaica national team: 63-year-old Steve Bruce has held talks with Jamaica over a vacant managerial role (More)

• 🇩🇪 Bundesliga: A deal has been agreed for Brighton’s Pascal Groß to sign for Borussia Dortmund, with reported fees of around €7mn plus add-ons (More)

• 🇫🇷 Ligue 2: At 25, Kylian Mbappé has become the majority shareholder of Ligue 2 club SM Caen (More)

• 🇪🇸 La Liga: Barcelona president Joan Laporta told Manchester United’s fans in the U.S. to “throw that shirt away please” (More)

OFF THE PITCH

🍔 McDonald’s to ‘rethink’ menu and prices after global sales fall for the first time since the end of 2022 (More)

📱Apple releases first preview of its long-awaited iPhone AI (More)

🏃There’s just a ‘60%’ chance that the triathlon will take place today as tests of the River Seine show it’s not clean enough (More)

🏅Olympian reveals what’s in the medal box (More)

🥊 Boxers who failed gender tests at world championships have been cleared to compete at the Olympics (More)

PHOTO OF THE DAY

SoFi Stadium. The Los Angeles Stadium located in Inglewood, California is the most recently built stadium that will host the 2026 World Cup. It’s the home of NFL sides Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers. The stadium will also host the opening and closing ceremonies of the LA Olympic Games. The stadium has a capacity of 70,000 and is the inspiration for Manchester United’s plans to upgrade Old Trafford.

ROUTER’S VOICE

Yesterday, we asked you: Do you think elite players are overworked?

Routers were split down the middle on whether elite players are overworked or not.

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⛑️ Yes, they need protecting... (47.6%)

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 🙅 No, that's why they're paid the big bucks... (47.6%)

⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ ✍️ Other... (4.8%)

Your punditry takes:

• ⛑️ Gerry B voted ‘Yes, they need protecting’: “That's why the Euros were poor, most of the elite players were exhausted.”

• 🙅 Paul C voted ‘No, that's why they're paid the big bucks’: “They are athletes with big bank balances, just get on with it. Seems the elite in the Premier League struggle with the idea of what hard work is.”

• 🙅 M Nordemann voted ‘No, that's why they're paid the big bucks’: “They get paid in a year what other people get paid in 10, work for it and stop crying crocodile tears.”

• ✍️ M Crowan voted ‘Other’: “Absolutely not! If they were paid the living wage they would not be overworked. The big bucks are in recognition of exceptional talent not the 'huge' workload.”

Thank you for all the submissions.

EXTRA TIME

Liverpool’s 2024-25 away kit has been revealed.

Deadpool has made it onto Wrexham’s website.

18-year-old Endrick is already receiving the Rüdiger treatment in training.

Kobbie Mainoo shows off on Venice Beach.

Former Watford sporting director explains who the hardest clubs are to negotiate with for players and why.

Pepe Reina’s Como initiation song is pretty good.

One of the best Champions League goals in history but in slow motion.

Long read: Pre-season friendlies in the US are a harbinger of football’s gruelling future.

GAME FACE ON

Question: Which goalkeeper conceded just 13 goals in 35 games in the Premier League in 2004-05?

Scroll below for the answer.

ON TODAY

FOOTBALL

Club friendlies

• K-League All Stars vs Tottenham Hotspur (12:00 BST)

• Liverpool vs Arsenal (00:30 BST)

• Chelsea vs CF America (00:30 BST)

• Wolves vs Crystal Palace (01:00 BST)

• Real Madrid vs AC Milan (01:00 BST)

• Manchester United vs Real Betis (03:00 BST)

PARIS OLYMPICS

Full schedule for today’s events here.

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

Answer

Petr Cech

Hottest Take of the Day

The Hottest Take of the Day was submitted by Samuel F from Monaco: If Brighton do well next season, they might cement themselves as having the world’s best recruitment system. They have lost Mac Allister, Caicedo, Gross and potentially Gilmour since last summer. Which team has survived that level of lost talent?

Submit another Hot Take of the Day here.