Football

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An amendment to Law 12.2 will see goalkeepers given eight seconds to release the ball from their hands or be punished with a corner being awarded to the opposing team.
The new eight-second rule will come into place at all levels of the game from July 1 and follows a trial period at this year’s Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana, the South American equivalents to UEFA’s Champions League and Europa League.

Match officials will have to think differently over the coming weeks but their appearance is also going to look a little out of the ordinary.
FIFA, with the blessing of IFAB, stresses this is only a trial but the motivation is primarily to “offer TV viewers a new experience” during matches. The camera feed’s footage will be transmitted via a private 5G connection to production teams, who will be able to then show replays of key moments. Only the six NFL stadiums being used at the Club World Cup, though, have the technological capabilities to use footage live, such as at the coin toss.

Semi-automated offside technology has been around since 2022 as a support tool for assistants, but FIFA’s advanced system, previously trialled at the Intercontinental Cup in December, provides “real-time alerts to match officials in the event of clear offsides”.

An audio signal will be sent to the assistants informing them that an offside flag can be raised but FIFA stresses this is not diminishing the touchline role. What it considers “challenging offside scenarios” will still need the VAR to clear the decision.

Real Madrid have signed Franco Mastantuono, the youngest player to ever feature in a competitive match for Argentina, from River Plate.

River Plate will receive 45m euros (£38.5m) after the 17-year-old's release clause was triggered, which sets a new record for the Argentine club.

The attacking midfielder has regularly played for River Plate's first team over the past two seasons and is the youngest player to have scored in their derby with Boca Juniors.

He can still appeal.

The Scottish FA can now ban clubs from the Scottish Cup if fans throw pyrotechnics - but chief executive Ian Maxwell insists it wants to avoid that outcome.

Punishments could range from fines and ticket allocation restrictions to the ultimate sanction of expulsion from the national cup competition.

And, earlier this year, Celtic and Rangers - as well as Motherwell - were charged by the SPFL after fans disrupted both League Cup semi-finals with flares and had 500 tickets removed from their allocation for the final.

Oviedo in the playoff final now. Against Mirandes or Racing Santander. Likely Mirandes imo.

Weird spot to be in for Almeria. A lot of top division talents in the squad now stuck in the second division. Hopefully a few of them can manage transfers away.

Funny that Almeria had an insane summer in 23 with one of the richest men in Spain as the owner and this is where they are now.

Dion Lopy, Arribas, Pubill, Luis Suarez, even. Nico Ribaudo should be in the top tier.

🏆 La Liga Player of the Season

⚽ UEFA Champions League Top Scorer

🎯 UEFA Champions League Top Assist Provider

🔝 Most goal contributions in Europe (62)

🔝 Most goal contributions in a single UEFA Champions League season record (tied)

🥇 Most assists in Europe (24)

⚡ 7 goal contributions vs Real Madrid

⚡ 6 goal contributions vs Benfica

⚡ 4 goal contributions vs Borussia Dortmund

⚽ Hat-trick vs Bayern Munich

⚡ 3 goal contributions vs Atlético Madrid

⚡ 2 goal contributions vs Inter Milan

[Voetbalzone] Marco van Basten: “It’s a shame that Yamal plays there, because he doesn’t get the ball enough. He surely is a constant threat on the right. But if he plays in the centre, he has much more influence on the game and he can mean even more to the team. And I think that is the next step.”

Non-paywalled link: https://archive.is/sfyf6

Milan are waiting for an Atletico Madrid bid for Theo Hernandez, while Chelsea did not offer the right conditions for the signing of Mike Maignan.

The Rossoneri have received an important Napoli offer for Yunus Musah, between €22m and €25m and have informed Bayern Munich that Rafael Leao won’t leave for at least €90m-€100m.