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Ex-PL Ref Demands PGMOL Take Action After Farcical Scenes in Everton v Man Utd

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Manchester United narrowly overcame Everton in their Premier League clash at the Hill Dickinson Stadium on Monday evening.

Man United have looked rejuvenated since Michael Carrick replaced Ruben Amorim at the start of January. The Red Devils went into the match looking to extend their unbeaten streak to six matches and they did just as they picked up all three points.

Benjamin Sesko broke the deadlock in the 71st minute as he coolly rolled the ball past Jordan Pickford after United hit the hosts on the break. That proved to be the difference between the two sides as United held on to clinch another valuable win.

Keith Hackett Wants Corner Madness To Stop

Man Utd goalkeeper Senne Lammens punches an Everton corner clear

There has been a huge emphasis on set-pieces this season. Teams have been stacking the box with a plethora of players to try and make it as difficult as possible for opposition goalkeepers to deal with balls swung into the danger area.

That was a tactic adopted by Everton on Monday evening as they tried everything in their power to cause chaos from corners.

Following the match, ex-Premier League referee Keith Hackett has now called on PGMOL to take action to stop teams from using such tactics.

He told Football Insider: “Football really does have to take action against this mauling that is taking place inside the penalty area.

“The number of occasions in the Everton vs Man Utd game where players were being blocked, pulled, pushed… and it went unpunished, until the 83rd minute when two players were finally yellow carded.

“I don’t necessarily blame referee Darren England. I think this is a PGMOL/Premier League matter.

“It’s tarnishing the image of the game. It’s not football that spectators want to see. I just think that action needs to be taken sooner rather than later to stop this nonsense that is happening inside the area.”

Kobbie Mainoo made light of the matter after the match. Taking to social media, he compared an image of all the players inside the six-yard box to the Royal Rumble.

Edwin van der Sar Praises Senne Lammens

senne lammens manchester united

Edwin van der Sar was covering the game as a pundit for Sky Sports, and he praised Lammens for how he dealt with the corners, which he called ‘horrible’.

The Dutchman, who also named his greatest Man Utd teammates XI in the evening, told him, per UnitedinFocus: “Congratulations on the win, extremely important of course, and I think your role from the corners, they were horrible.

“There were eight, nine, 12 people around you, so it was a big fight. But with your age, first year in the Premier League, you’re really doing incredibly well. And you have a good save, good hands, so compliments on your all-around game.

“In the past [at corners], you would have only two players around you, so you had some space to come out. But with this, you don’t have a run-up, you have to stand there on the line with eight, nine, 12 people in front of you, so he had some great punches to clear it and good catches. Well done for your first year in the Premier League.”

Lammens admitted that Everton’s tactics from corners were ‘a bit over the top’. He said, per the Mirror:

“Everton are a physical team, their defenders are really big. We knew the corners and set pieces would be difficult. It’s a strength of mine (dealing with crosses), but today it was a bit over the top! I had to be behind the line in order to come out. It was too much, but it can be difficult for the referee to see it.

“Sometimes you can’t be thinking too much about players around you, because then you aren’t thinking about the ball. My defenders can create space for me, so I have opportunity to come and punch the ball away. But it is getting more and more difficult.”

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Arsenal Table ‘Stratospheric’ Bid to Hijack Liverpool Move for Gilberto Mora

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Arsenal have tabled a bid to hijack Liverpool’s move to sign Mexico sensation Gilberto Mora this summer, according to Azteca Puebla.

The Gunners are looking to strengthen their squad in the current window after winning the Premier League for the first time in 22 years last time out, while they also reached the Champions League final but suffered defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in a penalty shootout.

Mikel Arteta has made a forward and a midfielder a priority ahead of the new season, and it has now emerged that they have been mightily impressed by the teenage sensation’s form during the World Cup.

Arsenal Table Bid for Gilberto Mora

Gilberto Mora Mexico World Cup 2026 REUTERS/Pedro Nunes

Mora, who has been described as the next Pedri and ‘absolutely fearless’, has shone during the summer tournament, starting regularly in central midfielder under Javier Aguirre, despite being just 17 years old.

It’s now expected that he will be on the move during the window following Mexico’s elimination from the tournament, with his agent Rafaela Pimenta admitting that she expects a deal to happen.

Liverpool made the first move by tabling a $20m (£14.9m) offer for the teenager, but it has now emerged that Arsenal have gazumped them and made a $25m (£18.6m) bid to take him to north London instead.

The Gunners have made it clear that their top target for the midfield is Newcastle captain Bruno Guimaraes, but a deal for him looks difficult due to the Magpies’ demands.

However, it’s unclear if Mora is seen as an alternative or if the deal is one they want to do alongside the Brazilian. Their offer has been described as ‘stratospheric’, but no final decision on his next destination has been made yet.

Fees correct prior to summer 2026

All 10 found — excellent!

Arsenal Can Overcome Monga Hangover

Gilberto Mora (Mexico) IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Arsenal have been relatively quiet in the transfer window so far, with the strongest links coming to Guimaraes, Morgan Rogers and Bradley Barcola, although nothing is believed to be advanced at this stage.

The closest they have come to getting a deal done was with Jeremy Monga, before they were hijacked by Man City after opting against raising their offer. Now, Mora could be the perfect antidote to that flop, considering his first-team experience level.

Despite being 17, it’s clear that Mora is capable of making the step up to the top level and making an immediate imapct, and with Christian Norgaard expected to depart, replacing him with a younger player could be the perfect remedy.


Mikel Arteta


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Tottenham Prepare £85m Bid For Striker Perfect For De Zerbi

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Tottenham are preparing to make a move to improve their forward line this summer, having already reinforced their goalkeeping department, defence and midfield.

Spurs have been by far the busiest side in the summer transfer window so far, completing six new signings for head coach Roberto De Zerbi.

Martin Dubravka, Marcos Senesi, Andy Robertson, Jan Paul van Hecke, Mateus Fernandes and Sandro Tonali have all arrived at the club, with the Lilywhites splashing out more than £237million in the process.

But despite all those new signings there has so far been an absence of new forward players coming into the club.

Forward players linked with a move to Spurs

Rafael Leao in action for AC Milan

GIVEMESPORT understands that at the start of the window Spurs were looking at the potential of adding a new No.9 to their ranks, while a left forward was also on the cards.

Tottenham have been in talks with Manchester City over a move for Savinho, while Rafael Leao has reportedly been offered to the club, with the Portuguese set to leave AC Milan this summer.

One player Spurs have started to be heavily linked with a move to sign is Eli Kroupi Junior from Bournemouth.

The 20-year-old became the new Premier League record holder for the most goals scored in a season by a teenager last year, notching 13 in his first campaign in the top flight. And that has led to plenty of speculation around his future, with Spurs not the only club interested in signing him this summer.

A bid in the region of £75million was reported, with Bournemouth not keen on selling the player, but now it is being reported that Spurs are readying a bid of around £85million to try and tempt the Cherries into sanctioning a deal.

The philosophy from Tottenham this summer has been to sign readymade Premier League players, with experience in England’s top flight, after a number of transfer windows where the emphasis has seemed to be on bring in young talent.

Kroupi would actually tick both boxes, in terms of being young and a player for the future, but a player for the hear and now too given his impressive first season in the Premier League.

World Cup History Quiz

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Talksport reporter Alex Crooks said: “Tottenham are preparing a potential £85million bid for Junior Kroupi to try and test Bournemouth’s resolve that he is not for sale this summer.

“We know Bournemouth are in contract negotiations with [Alex] Scott having received an enquiry from Arsenal, but Tottenham and Kroupi seems to be bubbling under.”

Kroupi has been described as being capable of playing in an ‘elite system’ and signing him would take Spurs’ spending over the £300million and it is clear the forward line is the last piece of the jigsaw for De Zerbi. He would certainly fit in more with the new strategy at Spurs over the likes of Rafael Leao and the fact he can play off the wide left or through the middle is a plus point. Whether he is yet worth £85million remains to be seen, but Tottenham have identified targets quickly and paid what they have been asked already this summer so why stop now?

Kroupi Junior could be the perfect De Zerbi signing

eli kroupi

He has also been coached to do what De Zerbi might ask of him in his Tottenham team.

Speaking last season, then Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola said: “Junior has been a big challenge for me this season, one of the biggest challenges because we noticed straightaway that he has special things.

“His finishing is top for me. But we had to work a lot with him and, especially, he has had to do a lot of work that he wasn’t used to win his minutes.

“I have tried to make him focus on other parts and he has improved a lot. In the past month, he has allowed us to put out a very offensive line-up because he is giving us the work rate so we can keep it all together and not suffer defensively too much.”

De Zerbi expects everyone in his team to work hard, press high and demand the ball, something Kroupi clearly has now after working under Iraola.


Roberto De Zerbi


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USA Fans Beg Donald Trump to Get Involved After Belgium Defeat

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After several days of noise surrounding the availability of Folarin Balogun, and Donald Trump’s involvement, the United States of America crashed out of the 2026 World Cup.

A defeat against Belgium on home soil ensured none of the three host nations (USA, Canada and Mexico) progressed beyond the Round of 16. Charles De Ketelaere scored a first-half brace before Hans Vanaken and Romelu Lukaku took advantage of mistakes to seal a 4-1 win.

Malik Tillman scored a free-kick, which turned out to be irrelevant, and Mauricio Pochettino’s side failed to put up much of a fight against the Belgians. Despite Balogun’s one-game ban being suspended, allowing him to play, the striker didn’t really get a sniff.

USA Fans Make World Cup Demand to Donald Trump

Donald Trump reveals the USA name at the World Cup 2026 draw REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

Donald Trump, the American President, to those unaware, has been suspiciously absent from every single World Cup fixture to date. Before the competition started, the 80-year-old was very involved and caused a lot of complications as the leader of a host nation.

However, concerns over chants directed at the President have kept him away from matches, even those involving the USMNT. That doesn’t mean he hasn’t got involved, however.


Christian Pulisic of the U.S. walks out before the start of the match vs Belgium


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They did not hold back at all.

Trump has admitted he gave Gianni Infantino and FIFA a nudge in the right direction when it came to Balogun’s harsh suspension. Now, he’s being urged to do the same and use his relationship with Infantino to the USA’s benefit again.

Fans have quickly jumped on social media to plead with the country’s leader to get involved again. One suggested they could be given a second chance at the World Cup, saying: “The US can still win the World Cup if Donald Trump has the courage.”

“Do you think Trump will make another phone call to ask them to overturn Belgium’s win? I wouldn’t put it past him,” another supporter added.

It was suggested that a phone call between Trump and Infantino was the solution as others added: “Trump’s on the phone now asking FIFA to reverse the score” and: “The officials were totally corrupt. Trump needs to call Gianni.”

The general sentiment was summed up perfectly by one fan, who said: “Overturn the result, please Donald Trump.”

Ultimately, there’s nothing the President can do about the result on the pitch. After beating Paraguay and Australia in the group stage, before dispatching Bosnia in the knockouts, the USMNT cam unstuck against stronger opposition (Turkey and Belgium).

Trump Made ‘Rigged’ Claim Before Belgium Loss

Donald Trump
REUTERS/Mandel Ngan

Trump has so far, uncharacteristically, been silent since the USA’s exit from the competition. However, he did make a comment before the match which now looks open to ridicule.

Speaking at the White House, he addressed several issues, including the Balogun saga. But one comment which stuck out to many was when he said Americans could claim the game vs Belgium was ‘rigged’ if they lost.

He said: “If they beat us, then they can be really proud. The other way, if they beat us, I say it was rigged, just like the election was rigged in 2020.”

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