In a laudable move, the French top divisions, Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 have decided that there will be a special shirt to mark International Women’s Day, March 8.
It is an important statement from the league, yet is it enough to challenge the status quo?
Image info: the photo in this post originates from the official PSG WhatsApp channel and was clipped as a screenshot.
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Mention anything rising in the east and many people may get scared. In the East of London something remarkable has happened and has just come to an end.
February 1, 2025 and a remarkable run for Leyton Orient has come to an end. Their unbeaten run in the league and two cup competitions came up to 9 league games unbeaten since 26 November 2024, two FA Cup games against Oldham and Derby as well as one match in the EFL Trophy against Charlton. Before embarking on this journey their season was complicated; not once did they string two victories together: a win was followed by defeat or a draw. The position in the table was accordingly low; they were hovering over the relegation zone.
Anyone looking at the table now will see them sitting in sixth place, which equals a playoff spot. A 1-0 defeat at home to Stockport brought this run to an end. Just as to state that this may come to an end, Orient beat Exeter away, 6-2. This win came at a price: with Omar Beckles the centre back and Sean Clare, the captain, two key players had to be substituted due to injury. This may have far reaching implications for Orient since they provided stability during matches.
The run may be over they are far from safety as there still 14 games to be played and a lot can happen between now and May.
The German Football Association looks back at 125 years of existence. It is a rich history with many highs and lows, triumphs and tragedies. Many observers would rather the past quarter of a century to be deleted.
The little Paris derby: Paris FC vs Red Star surely has its attention as a record crowd of 17750 made their way to the Stade Charléty on the southern edges of Paris, defying the weather of rain and 10 degrees. This was never an open encounter as the home team took the lead within 10 minutes as Alimami Gory finished a 5-pass move. He added two more to his tally today; all three of them from inside the penalty area, i.e. a goal poacher’s home turf.
It was no open encounter nor was it an easy game to watch. Both sides had players tumbling down and rolling around during the first half which made for difficult viewing. Paris FC were the better team but appeared to be sitting back after taking the lead – as if to let Red Star back into the game voluntarily. Alas, this never happened. Red Star were simply not good enough, motivated perhaps but by far inferior to their hosts on this grey afternoon. There were no actions that would force Paris into errors, and if there was space they slowed the game down and allowed PFC to recompose their back four and more importantly, initiate a new attack.
If things stay as they are after this match, it may have been the last little Parisian derby for a while. Paris made it clear why they are in the top three and Red Star never found a way to get behind them to score at least to level the game, let alone win it. Their goal came after 85 minutes and thus, too late. Worse, Paris were not even finished and added another to complete the misery for Red Star.
On the stands it was an away victory for Red Star, though. Their support continued throughout the ninety minutes plus added time and stopped only when Paris made it four, minutes before the final whistle. The Paris FC Ultras are still split; the are the “Old Clan” which consists of about 50 people, while a far larger group further up in the stand were noisier and bigger in numbers yet no real competition for the away fans.
It is no secret that the French are no organisation world champions: access to grounds is still a mess made worse by people also arriving late. Worse though, demand for beer far exceeded provisions and at halftime there was simply no beer available. That’s simply not acceptable. This is a club on the cusp of being promoted to the top flight. They will host teams with an away support and these people may fancy a drink at half-time. Additionally, access to public transport after the match is also problematic as the entrance to the RER station Cité Universitaire had to be blocked to avoid a crush at the turnstiles. Admittedly, this station needs an overhaul. Moreover, the frequency of the tram is just insufficient.
This may have been the last derby between these two teams as they are on very different trajectories. Red Star have been taken over by 777 Partners in 2022 but the group are in severe difficulties. The company faces allegations of fraud. This has plonged the club into incertainty; the results of which are visible on the pitch. Paris FC meanwhile have been taken over by the Arnaud family, one of the richest globally. This brings enormous resources to this corner of French football and may alter the landscape of the football map significantly.
The current societal climate is dire, racists are becoming ever more confident that they have nothing to fear from the majority because this majority is simply too quiet; it has been too quiet for too long.
Jean-Marie le Pen has been a figurehead of the right in France for a long time. His passing in January led to celebrations in some quarters. However, some hooligan groups of Paris Saint-Germain and Reims FC went as far as to honour le Pen.
The second term of the 47th president of the United States has begun and as if to indicate in which direction politics are heading, the head of a tech giant has raised his right arm in a salute to a crowd that not only resembled the salute of the national socialists in Germany but was easily identified as such by observers.
In an attempt of hurried obedience, the sports apparels manufacturer Nike have issued the new shirt for the Madrid team Atlético. The design leaves little room for speculation.
https://x.com/hooliganscz1999/status/1879114990164291608?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1879114990164291608%7Ctwgr%5Eb5c4e5db223e7b702f23832e0d1f584b4310fd75%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fhooligans.cz%2Findex.php%2Freports%2Fforeign%2Fspan%2Fatletico-madrid-2025-26-home-kit
It is 2025, 80 years after the end of the Second World War and we appear to have not learnt a single lesson from history. The eye witnesses are getting fewer and soon we have to rely on secondary sources for memorial work in schools and elsewhere.
The cooperation of men and animal has been fruitful for millennia. Mostly mankind has benefited from this symbiosis – and sport is no exception.
Great pass from the Seagull number 6 #gtfc #pvfc pic.twitter.com/oX2nFqP2a2
— Simon Stephenson (@SimarinerGY) December 30, 2024
The year is almost over and it was a difficult one to get through, particularly since the events in Magdeburg last Friday. However, sometimes it is the little things that provide you with hope and a sense that not all is lost or negative.
This gesture by Alex Iwobi is one of those moments that demonstrate that professional football players are capable of giving something back to the community. Footballers have the reputation of being disconnected from their fan base and their communities. This example proves that we should not judge all players by the same token.
Alex Iwobi has been spreading festive cheer in east London by opening up his own temporary shop.
The Fulham and Nigeria star has been giving out free food, including turkeys, to local residents struggling to pay for their Christmas dinner. pic.twitter.com/qiKDsZdTXI— BBC News Africa (@BBCAfrica) December 23, 2024
Thanks to Jerome Pugmire for the inspiration.
Christmas is a difficult time in general as its imposed happiness feels false and hollow. This year, however, it feels even worse. The attack on the Christmas Market in Magdeburg, back home!, has made it impossible to enjoy this time of year. Thoughts are with the victims and their families and those who are injured.
Football is less important in these moments.
2024 has been difficult and it got worse at the worst possible time. Looking forward and already the incoming year looks doomed. The United States have re-elected a criminal and Germany goes to the polls in late February with the attack in Magdeburg very much on people’s minds.
“Sport and time can be great healers”, is how Geoffrey Green – somewhat naively – closed his pre-match report in The Times ahead of the first encounter between England and Germany in December 1954. The question that many asked themselves was whether or not the English would show their emotions at a football match. Memories of the war were still fresh, and those fears were not entirely unjustified.
Germany, the world champions, had their own worries: the team that won them the World Cup in July 1954 never played again in this formation; in fact only three of the team were available for the trip to England: Kohlmeyer, Liebrich and Posipal. They were not at full strength, and Green noted that “England to be sure would have had it rather otherwise.” A more aggressive tone was used in the middle market papers, Daily Mirror and Daily Express. In particular, in the latter, its main writer, Desmond Hackett, accused Germany of having their excuses ready beforehand, by stating the reasons “sickness, injuries and all that.” However, he was sure that “England will beat the World Soccer champions.” Bob Ferrier, his colleague at the Daily Mirror, added that England were in an unfortunate position, for if they beat Germany, they only beat the b-team; if they fail to beat them, they could not even beat Germany’s reserves.
Things got worse for Germany as Desmond Hackett had picked up a story according to which the German players were unavailable because of jaundice which they picked up as a consequence of taking performance-enhancing substances during the World Cup, using the same syringe. This is a hotly debated topic as it blemishes the hitherto spotless image of the players from Berne. Already, perceptions of Germany had formed and they were not positive. This was exacerbated when Hackett reported that Germany would try substitutes, something that in England was not yet used. Since it was something unknown and came from the continent, the English football establishment was highly suspicious; worse, the Germans were to try it which made them cheats in the eyes of the English.
England took this game seriously. Since autumn 1953 their performances were not convincing: the 6-3 defeat at Wembley against Hungary, the 7-1 in Budapest and an early World Cup exit had left the country longing for footballing success.
All this pre-match talk was soon forgotten as England beat Germany convincingly 3-1. The goals came from Roy Bentley, Ronnie Allen and Len Shackleton while Alfred Beck scored for Germany. The line-up for England had the highest average age: 31.24 years. Bob Pennington described this as “form before future promise” and it underlined how important this game was for England. It meant that Stanley Matthews, already 38 years of age as well as Tom Finney and Bert Williams would be brought back into the squad. It was Len Shackleton’s first goal for England in his last game for his country.
On the day after the match, the Daily Express headlined, “England win 3-1 but should have won 9-1.” Desmond Hackett praised Stanley Matthews for his “one-man Blitzkrieg” against Germany and added that England should have beaten Germany by a much higher margin. The Daily Mirror asked why “England did not finish off the Germans?” Were England too gentlemanly? A somewhat more measured assessment was provided by Geoffrey Green in The Times. For him, England’s performance had been impressive, yet they failed to reap their fair reward, i.e. more goals. However, the Germans were not bad as he observed some “cleverly angled and quick triangular movement in midfield”, and they displayed “youthful determination, speed and spirit”. He concluded that England had only beaten an under-strength German team which “does not by any means elevate England to the topmost heights among the nations.”
Some years later, the captain on the day, Billy Wright criticized the English papers by stating that beating Germany for them meant that England were world champions. This is interesting since the match reports were not overly aggressive or chauvinistic towards Germany. The autobiographies and their own accounts of events past must be regarded with care.
The first match since 1938 and since the end of the Second World War was a rather amicable affair compared to later coverage for this fixture. However, it would be interesting to see the press reactions had England lost the match.
Note: This is an extract from my book, “Crossing the Line? The Press and Anglo-German Football Rivalry” which was published 2023 by Peter Lang.
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Standards I’d kept, in the back of my mind
Are now just rules to break from time to time
As the singer of The Lemonheads, Evan Dando possesses the magic of turning scenes taken from our daily lives into little pop gems. This applies to the song “No Backbone,” quoted above. We have all been there: We intend to approach the problems we’re facing with confidence and backbone, both in the literal and metaphorical sense. However, this is difficult to achieve and more often than not, we are not able to show our backbone. This may be for many reasons.
Taking this quote into football however, it is astonishing to see national football associations crumble to pieces when faced with moral decisions that may prove to be a difficult path to go along.
The World Cup 2034 is about to be awarded in December. Already there are little to no hopes that the only candidate, Saudi Arabia, and FIFA will get their will. The critcism FIFA is receiving for this process does go unnoticed. Its president is an apt example of having no backbone since the decisive congress will be held online. Gianni Infantino gets away unharmed and unscrutinised.
By simply saying “No”, many national football associations the world over could make it clear that they have serious issues about FIFA’s and Saudi Arabia’s behaviour. Both wield power that is unprecedented and the power reaches beyond football. Yet, so do the national associations. If the leading nations decide to flex their muscles and simply not partake in the World Cup, this will leave the competition void of any excitement. Who wants to see a World Cup without Argentina, Brazil, Italy or Spain?
If a group of major associations can vow others to follow, this could force FIFA to change their minds. Yet, corrupted as they are by greed, next to nothing will happen.
Without running the risk of anything real
Ever being given, ever being shown.
Back in the back[sic]room
No backbone.
image credit: screenshot of © backbone journal
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