@MichelleDewbs They said things would change after Victoria Climbie in 2000! They said things would change after baby P! They said things would change after Arthur Labinjo-Hughes! They said it would change after Sara Sharif! They now say it would change after baby Preston!
🚨🗣️ New: Gareth Bale reacts to the Argentina vs Algeria match and the Messi incident:
“I’ve been around this game long enough to know when something doesn’t feel right. Argentina against Algeria wasn’t just another group game. Messi scored a hat-trick, Argentina won comfortably, and the headlines will focus on that. But what happened around the 30th minute told a bigger story about where football is heading.
Messi went in on Algeria’s captain. Studs up, right across the calf and down toward the Achilles. In real time it looked bad. In slow motion it looked worse. That’s a red card on most days, against most players, in most competitions. The referee and VAR had a clear look. They chose not to act.
I’m not here to pile on the officials. I wouldn’t want to be the man who shows Messi a red card in a World Cup and potentially derails Argentina’s group stage. The heat that would come with that decision is something no referee signs up for lightly. But that’s exactly the problem. When the fear of the consequences starts influencing what happens on the pitch, the game stops being decided by the players and the laws.
This World Cup is already the most commercialised version we’ve seen. Games paused for television breaks, extra stoppages dressed up as player welfare when everyone knows it’s about fitting in more ads. Now we’re seeing officiating decisions that protect the biggest names and the biggest storylines because knocking Argentina out early in the groups would hurt the narrative FIFA and the broadcasters have built.
What happens to the ‘script’ then? The defending champions gone before the knockout stage. Messi missing matches. Sponsors and rights holders suddenly watching their investment lose momentum. The product they’ve spent billions packaging suddenly looks very different.
I’ve played in big tournaments. I know how much money and pressure sit behind every decision now. But football used to have a rhythm and a soul that came from uncertainty. You never knew what was coming next. When protecting commercial interests and keeping the stars on the pitch starts overriding clear red-card incidents, that soul gets chipped away a little more.
The game deserves better than this. Players deserve rules applied the same way every time. Fans deserve to watch a sport that isn’t afraid of its own outcomes. If we keep letting money and narratives dictate what we see on the pitch, we’re not watching football anymore. We’re watching a show that happens to have a ball on it.”
@BootsieBlanche@sufferingspurs Year one; Spurs CR was just over six times that of Villa
Year five; Spurs CR was just over three times that of Villa
So is this saying that Villa are catching up with Spurs if you look only at commercial revenue as a % over those five years?
Hello @SoilAssociation
Why is folic acid permitted in flour labelled Organic?
It's synthetic, anyone who isn't or won't be pregnant doesn't need it, and it can be harmful to people with certain MTHFR gene mutations (and probably other people too).
Can you tell the government to sod off, and change your rules please?
@BassieLets@Callme_BigV It's alright with special moments like that, but he soon becomes irritating over a full 90 minutes waxing lyrical about nothing burgers.