Welcome to The Briefing, every Monday during this season The athlete He discusses three of the biggest questions that arise from this weekend’s football.
This was the weekend when Arsenal stumbled, Manchester United avoided crisis for another week, Sheffield United recorded their first win of the season and Luis Diaz showed astonishing levels of determination to score Liverpool’s equalizer at Luton Town.
Here we’ll look at Mikel Arteta and Arsenal’s reaction to Newcastle’s win, how important it is for Emma Hayes to take the USWNT job, and why the phrase ‘always the victim…’ isn’t a harmless balcony joke…
What is the real embarrassment: arbitration or Arsenal’s support for Arteta’s complaints?
Maybe managers shouldn’t give interviews immediately after matches.
Frustration is high, emotions are running high, and the likelihood that they will say something unwise goes through the roof.
From this perspective, and in isolation, you can understand (if not agree with) Mikel Arteta’s comments about the officiating in Arsenal’s 1-0 defeat to Newcastle on Saturday. Anthony Gordon’s goal may have been disallowed on three counts, but there was no conclusive evidence that the ball went out, Gordon was not offside, and the question of whether Joelinton pushed Gabriel could have gone either way.
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He explained: ‘A disgrace’ – Gordon’s controversial winner for Newcastle against Arsenal
The irritation was understandable. While in an ideal world, every manager would be completely fair and calm about every decision that conflicts with them, it is unrealistic to expect this all the time.
But anyone who saw Arteta’s comments before witnessing the incident in question may have been confused when they finally saw them, anticipating a much greater injustice. Arteta said: “I feel embarrassed, but I have to be the one who comes here now to try to defend the club and please ask for help, because it is an absolute shame that this goal was allowed, an absolute shame.”
This was just a controversial call, not an overwhelming moment of incompetence that would cause major contemplations and resignations at PGMOL, the body that oversees referees in English football. Maybe it was a mistake, maybe it wasn’t: if nothing else, enough pundits and other neutrals seem to think the officials were right to point out that it wasn’t a catastrophic mistake. Oddly enough, Arteta’s reaction might have seemed a little more proportionate if it had been about the decision not to send off Bruno Guimarães for headbutting Jorginho, but his anger was particularly focused on the goal.
That’s where we are now, though. We have reached the point, with the constant, never-ending focus on refereeing decisions exacerbated by VAR and its loose promises of perfection, where a manager feels justified in declaring a decision like this as embarrassing and disgraceful. Negotiable governance is now no longer seen as just that, but as part of a broader narrative and sense of collective injustice.
Arteta’s reaction was disproportionate, and perhaps he should have known better – especially after just two weeks ago he said “we have to understand that mistakes happen” from referees – but again, you can understand that.
It probably stayed there…until Arsenal issued an official statement on Sunday afternoon that said:
“Arsenal Football Club wholeheartedly supports Mikel Arteta’s post-match comments following further unacceptable refereeing errors and VAR errors on Saturday evening.”
[VAR debate: Has it made football better or worse? How could it be improved? Have your say in our subscriber survey here]Presumably they wouldn’t care what anyone else thought, on the grounds that they supported their manager and reflected the feelings of many fans. But for a football club to make an “official statement”, something previously reserved for dismissals of managers etc., about a marginal arbitration decision with which they disagree, is unusual.
You would hope that the Football Club would be more sensible and constructive if its aim, as was later indicated in its statement, was to improve the standards of refereeing in the League. You would hope that even if we accept that it was a mistake and that Gordon’s goal should have been disallowed, some decisions will go against you and everyone has to be mature enough to accept that. But they did not do so, and instead formally endorsed their manager’s frustrated anger.
This is the embarrassing thing.
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How important is Hayes’ impending appointment as USWNT coach?
English football would feel very strange without Emma Hayes.
She joined Chelsea in 2012, when the Women’s Super League (WSL) was only in its second season. The WSL, along with the success of the England national team, have been the main drivers behind the increase in popularity and recognition of women’s football in the UK, and Hayes has been a big part of that.
She has won six WSL titles, including the past four in a row. They have won five FA Cups and two League Cups, and in 2020-21 won all three trophies in a single season, making Chelsea just the second team to win the domestic treble. Chelsea were Champions League runners-up that season as well, the second English team and first since 2007 to reach the final.
Two key members of England’s Euro 2022-winning squad, Millie Bright and Fran Kirby, have flourished under Hayes at Chelsea. Two others, Jess Carter and Lauren James, helped lead Sarina Wegman’s team to the Women’s World Cup final.
It has also played a role in shaping how the wider public thinks about the game as well, through its critics. She is often one of the most insightful and thoughtful television analysts and co-commentators, on both the men’s and women’s matches.
In short, it’s hard to think of a more influential English figure currently working in the game.
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The USWNT is hiring a serial winner in Emma Hayes – a coach with unfinished business in the United States
This is a massive deal for the US Women’s National Team if, as is highly expected, Hayes is confirmed as their new head coach in the coming days. This is a crucial time to rebuild after the World Cup, and they have got the best candidate they can attract to oversee this new era.
This was probably the only job Hayes would have left Chelsea for. Anyone else in England would have stepped down. Perhaps there was another European club, like Lyon or Barcelona, worthy of her talents, but the latter in particular would not suit Hayes’ sense of pragmatism. None of the US local parties have the required cache. The England job is probably the only other job he could have had, but Wegman won’t be going anywhere until 2025 at the earliest.
English football will miss her. The United States should not underestimate the major coup represented by her appointment.
It’s no joke: Why ‘Always the Victim’ should never be sung in front of Liverpool fans
Luton’s rise from non-league to the Premier League has been one of the most heartwarming tales of the past few years. The team has an unpleasant style to play against, but is often exciting to watch, and in Rob Edwards, they have a great coach. Kenilworth Road is a charming anachronism among a host of stately, gleaming Premier League grounds.
In short, the team’s rise last season was more interesting than the return of Norwich City, West Bromwich Albion or Watford to the Premier League.
However, with magic and modernity came some very unpleasant elements in its support. In their first home game, against West Ham United, some of their fans directed misogynistic chants towards Jarrod Bowen – and another highly objectionable example came in their 1-1 draw with Liverpool on Sunday.
It may have been just a vocal minority, but the chant of “always the victim, it’s never your fault” was evident from the home fans in the second half, followed by a different chant referring to English clubs being suspended from European football at the World Cup. The 1980s, brought on by the Heysel tragedy of 1985.
Fortunately, there has been less of this sort of thing lately. The chant was heard at Chelsea on the opening weekend, and several times at the end of last season, but as a general rule, “Always the victim…” was not quite as frequent as it had been in previous years.
This is partly because fans have become aware of the connotations of the chant, and Liverpool supporters group Spirit of Shankly have done valuable work in this area.
There will still be those who insist that it was just a joke and had nothing to do with the Hillsborough disaster and the 97 Liverpool fans who lost their lives as a result of what happened in 1989. But anyone with half a mind or appreciation for the history of modern football and culture will understand that, whether the person singing intends Consciously that way or not, it is a direct reference to Hillsborough, the most prominent example when Liverpool fans were victims but were repeatedly told that the disaster was their fault.
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Hillsboro – Remember the 97: Special Sports Project
She wonders whether the people who sing it know its true connotations, that they are repeating something they’ve heard in the name of a standard rivalry between opposing fans, and that they think it’s just like any other hymn. Maybe they’re just ignorant or naive kids who weren’t alive in 1989, let alone aware of the context.
But that’s all the more reason to deem chanting unacceptable when it happens, as Jamie Carragher did so well while commentating for Sky Sports.
Rivalry, hatred and even verbal aggression between different groups of fans should be encouraged. Some of the best atmospheres you will ever experience will be informed by the element of spite, which is that not only do we win but they lose too. It’s part of what makes football fun.
But those who join in this chant must realize that, in doing so, they are contributing to the continued demonization of Liverpool fans and the belittling of a 34-year-old struggle that continues to this day.
coming
- Arguably the biggest game of the weekend in the Premier League will come on Monday, as Ange Postecoglou’s Spurs set the Premier League’s only remaining unbeaten record to face Chelsea. They will return to the top with a win, while three points for Chelsea could push them into the top half of the table.
- Then comes the Champions League, where these fixtures will be the opposite of the round of fixtures we saw last week: Newcastle face a depleted side to face Borussia Dortmund, who beat them at Newcastle but have since been taken to the cleaners by Harry Kane, while Manchester City should theoretically To do a short stint with Young Boys.
- On Wednesday, a deeply aggrieved Arsenal host Sevilla, while Manchester United continue their (often unsuccessful) quest not to embarrass their supporters too much, as they travel to face FC Copenhagen.
- Thursday will see the Europa League return to our collective consciousness and Brighton will make the trip to Amsterdam, where they will face an Ajax side who have already managed to win two games since they last faced each other, while West Ham host Olympiacos at home. Liverpool travels to Toulouse. In the Conference League, Aston Villa hosts AZ Alkmaar.
- Thursday will also see Gareth Southgate announce his final England squad, for the Euro 2024 qualifiers against Malta and North Macedonia. Will Anthony Gordon get the nod? Will James Ward-Prowse continue to be ignored? Will people get bored of calling up Harry Maguire, Kalvin Phillips and Jordan Henderson again?
(Top image: Getty Images)
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