Afternoon all.

The week kicked off with good news, the best of which was that neither Bukayo Saka or Declan Rice are gone off on international duty with England and Martin Odegaard has withdrawn from the Norway squad too meaning all three will have the next two weeks of being pampered and prepared for the visit of Nottingham Forest after this break. As of course will Riccardo Calafiori, Kieran Tierney and Takehiro Tomiyasu.

Gary Linekar is leaving Match Of The Day which is certainly something to be pleased about but is Alex Scott the person to replace him as reports suggest could be the case? I’m not sure but if she is, at least the anti Arsenal agenda might lessen. Gabby Logan is another name doing the rounds which kind of suggests the BBC are set to tick another box with their selection.

Lastly on the news front, David Coote has been suspended after a historical video of him insulting Jurgen Klopp went viral on social media. The video shows him calling the old Liverpool manager a ‘German C*** and ‘f***ing arrogant’. Apparently, this rant from Coote came after Klopp moaned about him allowing too many challenges on his players go unpunished after they drew 1-1 with Burnley. According to the back pages, Coote has confirmed it’s him in the video although his comments have been taken out of context.

Could this be the can of worms which have needed opening for a while, being opened? Probably not as the PGMOL will possibly try and brush the whole incident under the carpet. We’ll see.

I’ve nicked this from the BBC, it’s from their chief football writer Phil McNulty.

The video has been widely shared around social media. It has not been verified by the BBC, but a source has said the PGMOL investigation is treating it as genuine. There has been no denial nor apology yet from Coote. If this proves to be legitimate, the fall-out will land on every official throughout football’s pyramid. In the current climate of social media debate, 24/7 punditry and tribal fandom, it will provide fuel for the conspiracy theorists who believe that any decision made against their team is provoked by a grudge, personal bias or dislike of their particular club.

The notion is misguided as any mistakes made by those who take charge of games, as with players, are because of honest human error, not ill-feeling towards – or bias against – a particular manager, player of club.

The problem for the head of PGMOL, Howard Webb, is that Coote’s words, should they be confirmed as genuine, will fly in the face of that belief to many, going to the heart of what should be every official’s personal code. Referees will inevitably have clashes with teams and individuals given the high-stakes nature of professional football, but there must be a belief that any lingering antipathy is put aside the moment they take change of their next game.

The rise in dissent towards officials was reflected in the £1m of fines for surrounding referees and mass confrontations in 2022-23. That resulted in a clampdown on player and manager behaviour at the start of 2023-24 and by Christmas 2023, bookings for dissent had doubled to 1,813 from 966 at the same stage the season before. The figure trebled in the Premier League from 24 to 80, with referees’ chief Webb saying the “culture change” to try to “reset behaviours” towards officials was “early days” but “moving in the right direction”. As Webb has been at pains to point out, referees are human – but they must also be impartial and professional. The slate must be cleaned of any previous confrontations next time paths cross.

It is stretching reality to breaking point to suggest all is sweetness and light between officials, players and managers but what has to be real is the principle that none of this goes through any official’s mind when it comes to the decision-making process.

In other words they, as in the time-honoured adage about Caesar’s wife, must be above suspicion.

Finally, good luck to Arsenal’s women who have just kicked off against Juventus in the Champions League. Interim manager Slegers is expecting something very different to what players are used to in England. Juventus are apparently very strong defensively so it’ll be tough, especially as Juve are unbeaten in their last four in this competition.

Catch up in the comments.

 

 

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