The rule change is uneven because 'Big Six' - Liverpool, City, Chelsea, United, Arsenal, and Spurs - have high-quality bench power and can carry peer-to-peer alternatives.IFAB approved the FIFA proposal last month.As the Premier League prepares to restart on June 17, the authorities allowed five substitutions per match, instead of three, in the remaining nine rounds. However, there is a school of thought that changes will work for the great.Is the change in the mid-competition rule legal?Completely legal. Last month, the (IFAB) International Football Association Board approved the FIFA proposal and allowed for a temporary change to the remaining matches of the 2019-20 season. "IFAB agreed to make a temporary amendment to the laws of the game on the basis of a proposal received from FIFA seeking to protect the welfare of players," said the FIFA. Teams will have three chances to make these five replacements and will also be allowed to have nine players on the bench instead of seven. Some Bundesliga clubs used five substitutes after restarting.Why did FIFA suggest the change?FIFA has suggested this keeping in mind managing the player's workload during football after COVID-19. The three-month layoff period affects players' fitness. In addition, a tight schedule increases the risk of infection and there is a risk of excluding players if they become infected with the coronavirus. "The concern in this regard is that the frequency of matches is higher than normal, which may increase the risk of potential injury due to the player's overload," FIFA said in a statement.In the context of the Premier League, why is change so uneven?Simply because "Big Six" - Liverpool, Manchester City, Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur - have high classic bench strength and can withstand similar substitutes. Minor clubs, in terms of money, have no extra wealth. As reported by Telegraph Sport, Wolverhampton Wanderers only used 20 players in this period. Wolves are sixth on the table with 43 points and the change appears to be giving a clear advantage to their four main rivals such as United, Chelsea, Arsenal, and Spurs. Leicester City, currently third with 53 points, has used 21 players so far. United, on the other hand, used 25 in the Premier League, while Chelsea used 24.Has any club opposed change?Yes, Aston Villa, Bournemouth and West Ham United have reportedly voted against change. They are all caught in downhill scrap. For example, on July 1, West Ham is scheduled to play against Chelsea. Now, Chelsea manager Frank Lampard has the option of resorting to players such as Antonio Rudiger, Ross Barkley, Callum Hudson-Odoi, or Olivier Giroud if he wants to spin his players. On the other hand, Hammers manager David Moyes may have to resort to someone like Ben Johnson who has not yet played a minute in the Premier League this season.How did the change work in Bundesliga?The German Bundesliga has benefited from this in terms of workload management and intensity maintenance. "You can see in the first games that after 60 or 70 minutes, the players were really tired because there were no preparations or friendly matches." It was a really good thing. "We have avoided injuries," Simon Rolfs, sports director of Bayer Leverkusen, was quoted by the Telegraph Sport newspaper as saying.article source: indianexpressimg source: usa today postAlso Read: Premier League allows 5 substitutes when season restarts
Cristiano Ronaldo missed a penalty but nevertheless broke the men's international scoring record before scoring the second goal as Portugal's 2-1 World Cup qualifying win over Ireland on Wednesday. Ronaldo scored his 110th goal in the 89th minute to move ahead of former Iran striker Ali Daei. Six minutes into stoppage time, Ronaldo scored the 111th goal in 180 games to break the hearts of the Irish after defender John Egan gave his nation the lead in the 45th minute. "I'm very happy, not only because I beat the record but for the special moments that we had," Ronaldo said. "Two goals at the end of the game is so tough, but I have to appreciate what the team did. We believed until the end." But Ronaldo, who has rejoined Manchester United, is still 76 goals behind the most productive international scorer in the game. Christine Sinclair 38 years old, scored her 187th goal for Canada last month at the Tokyo Olympics. Ronaldo's night was frustrating until the late heroics. His 15th-minute spot kick was well saved by goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu, who was just two years old when Ronaldo scored his first goal for Portugal as a skinny winger at European championship in 2004. Ronaldo's only title came with Portugal at Euro 2016. Although he was the top scorer at this year's Euro Cup with five goals in four games, his team's title defense ended in the round of 16. On that note, here are the best Twitter reactions after Ronaldo's historic goalscoring feat. He's done it! @Cristiano (110) Ali Daei (109) A phenomenal run of 49 goals in his last 47 Portugal appearances makes the monster from Madeira the outright leading scorer in men's international history. Take a bow, legend pic.twitter.com/WFO7XbuKr8— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) September 1, 2021BREAKING: @cristiano scores twice for Portugal and becomes the greatest goalscorer in international football history. He is, indisputably, the pic.twitter.com/tLXXVHwApx— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) September 1, 2021Congratulations @Cristiano https://t.co/MYMvPPJiqO— Guinness World Records (@GWR) September 1, 2021Man Utd's @Cristiano Ronaldo makes history!He nets twice for Portugal to break the men's international goalscoring record pic.twitter.com/ZSqfptGXWJ— Premier League (@premierleague) September 1, 2021Also Read- Taliban will never change, they treat women like zeroes: Former Afghanistan footballer Fanoos Basir
Cristiano Ronaldo headed in an 81st-minute winner as Manchester United came from two goals down to beat Atalanta 3-2 in a pulsating Champions League Group F match at Old Trafford on Wednesday. After a poor performance in the first half, with Atalanta leading 2-0 in at the break, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's team turned the game and possibly their season around with a thunderous performance. The pressure was on Solskjaer after Saturday's 4-2 Premier League loss to Leicester Cit and he opted to drop Paul Pogba to the bench but there was little sign of improvement from that switch. Manchester United were disjointed and dispirited in the opening 45 minutes but raised their tempo and the volume from the Stretford End with a relentless push to victory that culminated in the Champions League's record scorer demonstrating his brilliance in front of goal yet again. Mario Pasalic put Atalanta ahead in the 15th minute, turning in Davide Zappacosta's low ball from close range and United, with just one win in their last five games in all competitions, looked drained of belief. It was no great surprise when the Italian team doubled their lead in the 29th minute with Merih Demiral rising at the near post to glance in an angled header from a Teun Koopmeiners corner. Fred and Marcus Rashford missed good chances for United before the break but the home side returned to the game in the 53rd minute. A clever ball from Bruno Fernandes allowed Rashford to cut in from the left and he picked his spot with a shot into the far corner. Scott McTominay struck the post after connecting with Christian Ronaldo cross but although United were pushing for a leveller, the Italians were still a threat and the hosts were thankful to keeper David De Gea for a superb double save to keep out a drive from Duvan Zapata and follow-up from Ruslan Malinovskyi. Cristiano Ronaldo in one word?#UCL pic.twitter.com/APwQcItPuh— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) October 20, 2021However, the pressure paid off for United when they drew level with Harry Maguire drilling the ball home at the back post after the static Atalanta defence failed to intercept a Fernandes ball across the box. Then came the winner as Luke Shaw whipped in a superb cross from the left and Ronaldo rose superbly, timing his jump and his header perfectly to power the ball past Musso. "I was right behind him. His leap, his timing, it was perfect right in the corner," Maguire said. "We see it day in, day out in training and in the goals he has scored throughout his career. He has come up with a massive goal for us again in the Champions League," he added. "We got the goals we needed and deserved and I think we deserved the win in the end. Yes, we made it difficult but it is a tremendous victory in the end." United leads the group after three games on six points with Atalanta and Villarreal two points behind.Also Read- Australia pacer James Pattinson retires from international cricket
The Indian Premier League (IPL) could soon see some Manchester United flavour as the Red Devil owners' Glazer family are reportedly interested in buying one of the two new teams IPL teams that will take part in the tournament in 2022. According to a report by Times of India, the Glazer family has picked up the Invitation to Tender (ITT) document from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for the purchase of the two new teams for the upcoming season of the cash-rich league. The ITT does allow foreign companies to own a team however they will have to set up a company in India if their bid is successful. It is not known yet whether the US-based Glazers will make a formal bid to own a franchise. “A lot of people usually pick these tender documents to study and gather information that tends to be otherwise very useful from a larger industry perspective. For instance, buying a bid document will tell me more about what the BCCI is planning next, in terms of the league expansion, etc. For instance, if Disney has bought the tender document to buy the franchise, it doesn't mean Disney is interested in owning a franchise. It will study the document because it has to plan its own media rights landscape,” said those tracking developments to Times of India. In addition to Manchester United, the Glazers also own the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the US-based National Football League (NFL). Amongst others to have picked up the document are Adani Group, Torrent Pharma, Aurobindo Pharma, RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group, Hindustan Times Media, Jindal Steel (led by Naveen Jindal), entrepreneur Ronnie Screwvala and three private equity players. The deadline to purchase the ITT document was 20th October and teams are bid submissions are said to be made on the 25h October with an announcement expected on the following day. Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Guwahati, Cuttack, Indore, and Dharamsala are in contention to home to the new teams.Also Read- UEFA Champions League: Messi scores twice to rescue PSG in 3-2 win over Leipzig
If reports are to be believed Bollywood superstars Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone are set to bid for one of the two new IPL teams for the upcoming season. Manchester United, a popular Premier League club for whom Cristiano Ronaldo plays, has been a deemed a dark-horse ahead of the bidding process, scheduled to take place on October 25 in Dubai. Cricket IPL has already seen the presence of stars from the Indian film industry. Preity Zinta and Shah Rukh Khan are associated with the Punjab Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders since the inception of the IPL back in 2008. Deepika has a sports background with his father Prakash Padukone being a former All England badminton champion. On the other hand, Ranveer is the brand ambassador of the NBA, a popular basketball league. He has also been involved with EPL teams. Several companies around the world are said to be involved in the star-studded bidding process. Earlier, the Board of Control for Cricket in India, extended the deadline for bidders to Wednesday, October 20.Results to IPL bidding will be declared after India-Pakistan gameAs per reports, a corporate giant in India has backed the Manchester United, whose et debt increased to 455 million GBP during the COVID-19 pandemic. “The BCCI is not keen to give the rights to an off-shore company and will prefer Indian buyers but power equations can change the script dramatically,” the source was quoted as saying, Outlook reported. The results of the tender will be announced a day after the T20 World Cup 2021 match between India and Pakistan at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. “Although it is a closed bid, we are expecting a fair and transparent process. The only hodgepodge could happen in the verification/elimination stage but it is unlikely BCCI will adopt unfair means to favour particular companies,” a bidder said on conditions of anonymity. It has also been learned that Ahmedabad and Lucknow are the frontrunners to become the two new IPL teams for the next seasons. Previously, the BCCI shortlisted six cities- Ranchi, Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Guwahati, Ranchi and Cuttack for the same. The 2021 IPL ended on October 15 and since then, the BCCI has been scratching its head for the next edition.Also Read- Yuvraj Singh Arrested, Released on Bail Over Casteist Remark on Yuzvendra Chahal
Portuguese football legend Cristiano Ronaldo confirmed on social media on Thursday that his girlfriend Georgina Rodriguez is pregnant with twins. The Manchester United winger took to Instagram to share the sports news for today with his fans and also posted pictures of their twins' ultrasounds. Ronaldo will become a father for the sixth time after the birth of twins. He already shared a three-year-old daughter Alana Martina with Argentine model Rodriguez. 36-year-old Ronaldo's first son, Cristiano Junior, was born in 2010 but the identity of the mother is unknown. A surrogate mother then gave birth to a pair of Ronaldo’s twins, daughter Eva and son Mateo, in 2017. "Delighted to announce we are expecting twins. Our hearts are full of love - we can’t wait to meet you," Ronaldo and Rodriguez wrote in similar posts on their Instagram accounts.View this post on InstagramA post shared by Cristiano Ronaldo (@cristiano)Notably, Ronaldo's oldest son Cristiano Jr is also aspiring to be a footballer like his superstar father and joined the Manchester United academy alongside Wayne Rooney's son Kai in September this year. Ronaldo had admitted in 2017 that he wanted seven children while Rodriguez last year said: "My desire for motherhood is stronger than anything. I hope to have more children." christian ronaldo and Rodriguez have been dating since 2016 after they met at a Gucci store in Madrid, where she used to work as a shop assistant for £10 an hour. The Portugal captain was playing for Real Madrid at the time.Also Read- Neeraj Chopra, Ravi Dahiya, Lovlina Borgohain among 11 recommended for Khel Ratnas
Both Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have produced some unforgettable moments on the football pitch and surprisingly they have been doing that consistently for more than 15 years now. The duo have won a combined total of 11 Ballon d'Or's, which is an award of high prestige, while numerous star footballers have missed out on the prestigious award because of the domination from Messi and Ronaldo. Interestingly, year 2021 has proved out to be full of surprises for both the footballing greats. Lionel Messi has left FC Barcelona and now plays for Paris Saint-Germain due to Barcelona's financial problems. The 33-year-old Argentine is currently struggling in his new club with injuries coming into play and a change of role in terms of positioning. No one deserved the 2021 Ballon d'Or more than Lionel Messi pic.twitter.com/1ZGJGsbVg0— Ishan (@LionelFutbol) November 5, 2021However, 2021 is not that bad season for Lionel Messi as before joining PSG, the little magician won Copa America with Argentina and scored 30 goals in 35 matches in La Liga for his former club FC Barcelona. However, Messi is yet to score a league goal for PSG, but has scored 3 goals for the French club in the Champions League. Messi won 34 club career trophies with FC Barcelona, including 10 La Liga titles and 4 Champions League titles. In addition, he has won the Ballon d'Or for a record six times which is the most by any player ever to play football. On the other hand, Cristiano Ronaldo once again impressed with his return to Manchester United new now, as the striker has time and again saved the Red Devils' blushes by scoring crucial goals. Cristiano Ronaldo ~ The Most Clutch Player this sport has ever witnessed pic.twitter.com/EYaSks49N4— Paarth (@paarthblanco) November 2, 2021Ronaldo took no time to get off the mark and after returning to England, the 36-year-old has so far scored 9 goals from the 11 matches he has played. In the process, he even became the top scorer in three different big leagues England, Spain and Italy, thus creating a new record. Christian Ronaldo scored 29 goals for Juventus in Serie A and also become Portugal's top scorer with 111 goals for his country in 2021. The rivalry between these two can define a whole era and decade of football. Who's better? It's an endless debate with too many opinions from too many people but one thing is for sure that Ronaldo and Messi will go down as two of the greatest footballers that the world has ever witnessed.Also Read- Rohit Sharma named India T20I captain for New Zealand series
The Super League project received a massive boost from the European Court of Justice and could have a huge impact on the future of football.The European Court of Justice (ECJ) on Thursday gave a huge boost to the Super League project, by passing a landmark ruling that UEFA and FIFA contravened EU laws by preventing the formation for Florentino Perez' pet project.This ruling could change the future of football and will be good news for European clubs that proposed forming the breakaway league. When the news first developed, it received widespread protests from angry fans and UEFA even threatened sanctions if the clubs went ahead with the plan, and nine sides pulled out.In their ruling, the EFJ stated that FIFA and UEFA abused their dominant position by preventing clubs from competing in a European Super League. Despite the ruling, it is still not confirmed if the Super League project will be approved as the court did not rule on it specifically.Real Madrid, BArcelona, Juventus and nine other top European clubs announced the ESL in April 2021. But the move collapsed within 48 hours after massive outcry from fans, governments and players. The clubs also included Manchester United, Manchester United,Liverpool,Manchester City, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, AC Milan, Inter Milan and Atletico Madrid.Meanwhile, A22, a sports development company, which was made to assist the ESL, had stated that FIFA was holding a monopoly position with UEFA, which breached the EU's Competition and Free Movement Law.UEFA stated that the ruling didn't validate the ESL. It further added that its new rules would comply with all relevant European laws and regulations.The court said that FIFA and UEFA must 'comply with the competition rules and respect the freedoms of movement', adding that their rules on approval, control and sanctions amounted to 'unjustified restrictions on the freedom to provide services.'"That does not mean that a competition such as the Super League project must necessarily be approved. The Court, having been asked generally about the FIFA and UEFA rules, does not rule on that specific project in its judgment," the court further added.Meanwhile, only two clubs are left from the original ESL plan, and they haven't pulled out; Real Madrid and Barcelona. Both clubs took the ase to a Spanish court. After the ruling, Real Madrid president Perez said, "The present and future of European football are finally in the hands of the clubs, the players and their fans."Also Read: 'Rohit Sharma Is A Question Mark...': Ex-India Star's Stunning Claim Amid MI Captaincy Row
