Non QPR football thread

Swap Juve for Notts County and it’s still funny.

 

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Crystal Palace fan's banner aimed at Newcastle Utd. Police are investigating, but who can argue with it?

 

Looks spot on to me, can't see why Old Bill are 'investigating'. Perhaps if other clubs gave them the same 'welcome' they'd get the message...

 

I suspect and hope that other clubs will give them very much the same message

 

I was reading today that the other PL clubs will refuse to sell them players as part of a 'protest' against the Saudi takeover, seems the only one not against it are Man City...

 

No surprise there. I may be wrong, but I don't think all this is going to blow over because I don't think Saudi Arabia has changed its spots

 

Can anyone please explain to me the point of not putting the offside flag up immediately? I’m watching the Spam/Sperm derby and Rice plays the ball forward and Antonionionionio is clearly offside, but they wait until the attack breaks down and the ball goes out for a GK before putting the flag up. I don’t get it.

 

Nope I feel the same & it’s so ****ing stupid & that was obviously offside so flag should go up immediately

 

I think it's so, if a goal is scored, VAR can review the offside. I guess it adds a failsafe to human decision.

 

I wonder whether this is going to end very badly for Newcastle? Bin Salman makes Flavio look like a boy scout. Apart from his wealth, he's just a crook and not a small one either.

 

In the US, Bin Salman is being described as a psychopath. Psychopaths don't change their behaviour if they think they can get away with it. Newcastle could become wealthy pariahs.

 

Flavio displayed minor psychopathic traits eg 'tell who was booing me or I will sell the club'. However, if Mohammad bin Salman bin Abdulaziz bin Abdul Rahman bin Faisal bin Turki bin Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Saud (to give him his full name!!), were ever to visit a game, I wonder how he'd cope with the 'welcome' from opposition teams? In his own place, he's surrounded by sycophants who assure him the sun shines out of his various orifices and would never say a contrary word for fear of execution. Such individuals end up believing the false narrative built around them based on pecuniary interest and fear. A reality check might do him some good.

 

No wonder they just call him MBS! I doubt he'd come to Newcastle. I don't know if he's a football fan, but I think you're right, if he did come, he'd get a lot of stuff figuratively thrown at him by opposition fans. Look at the trouble the Palace fans went to, with their banner.

Looking beyond Newcastle and football generally, MBS is increasingly a headache for the likes of the US and UK for which Saudi Arabia is obviously an important ally. The murder of Khashoggi got people sweating in Washington. How long before the next psychopathic act from MBS? Newcastle fans should be asking themselves that, but at the moment, they're focused on behaving like they've just won the Euro Lottery.

 

After Bernie and Flav were announced I rushed home and my neighbour was in the garden. I started chanting 'we've been bought by billionaires'. I have deja vu watching the Toon fans atm. Their fall, if it does come, will be ten times worse than ours!

 

Joshua Kimmich: German footballer's vaccine hesitancy dismays experts
By Joshua Nevett
BBC News

Published
3 hours ago
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IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES
Image caption,Joshua Kimmich denied he was an "anti-vaxxer" after expressing unease about long-term side effects
He's one of Germany's superstar football players, a role model who's supported charities that help people struggling during the coronavirus pandemic.

But in recent days, Joshua Kimmich's comments about the safety of Covid-19 vaccinations have threatened to take the shine off his image.

Over the weekend, the Bayern Munich midfielder, 26, confirmed reports he had not yet had a vaccine over concerns about long-term studies.

"I am of course aware of my responsibility," Kimmich told broadcaster Sky Sport after a match on Saturday.

"I follow all hygiene measures and get tested every two to three days. Everyone should make the decision for themselves."

Still, Kimmich insisted he was not a "Covid denier or an anti-vaxxer".

"There is a very good chance that I will still get vaccinated," he said. "It's simply that I still have some concerns."

Those concerns have been addressed by prominent German health experts and scientists who have criticised Kimmich for not setting a good example and misunderstanding how vaccines work.

They say decades of research shows that long-term health problems are highly unlikely after receiving a vaccination of any kind. Given this, one leading medical ethicist suggested Kimmich had been the victim of Covid disinformation online.

With coronavirus infections on the rise and jab uptake slowing down, there are fears that Kimmich's comments could encourage vaccine hesitancy in Germany.

'That's not how it works'
Because Covid vaccines are relatively new, scientists have not had time to study them over a long period - but that doesn't mean they're not safe.

Covid jabs have been given to millions of people, as well as being tested robustly in clinical trials.


That's why experts stress the benefits of vaccination against Covid outweigh the risks for the vast majority of people.

While Covid jabs will continue to be monitored for safety by regulators, the chance of them causing serious side effects in the short or long term is considered low.

Carsten Watzl, a professor of immunology at Technical University Dortmund, said the belief that vaccines could have long-term side effects was a common "misunderstanding".

"Say: I let myself get vaccinated and perhaps next year I will have some grave side-effects. That's not how it works," Mr Watzl told the public broadcaster ARD. "The side-effects of a vaccine always appear directly after the vaccination, within a few weeks."

Health authorities worldwide have come to the same conclusion. For example, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says "serious side effects that could cause a long-term health problem are extremely unlikely following any vaccination".

"Millions of people have received Covid-19 vaccines, and no long-term side effects have been detected," the CDC says.

 

Hollywood star and new Wrexham owner Ryan Reynolds has caught the football bug. Here's his reaction after watching his first Wrexham game, in which they came back from 2-0 down to level at 2-2 before finally losing 3-2.....

“Football is a beautiful, heartbreaking, soul-deadening, evil and gorgeous game and I’m never sleeping again.”

We can all empathise with that.

 

Josh Cavallo: 'I'm a footballer and I'm gay,' says Australian player
Published
2 hours ago
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Media caption,"It's my freedom day and I’ve never been so happy" – Josh Cavallo speaks to the BBC
Adelaide United player Josh Cavallo has come out as gay, becoming the only current top-flight male professional footballer in the world to do so.

The 21-year-old wrote on social media that he was "ready to speak about something personal that I'm finally comfortable to talk about in my life".

"I'm a footballer and I'm gay," the midfielder said in an accompanying video.

"All I want to do is play football and be treated equally."

'Fighting with my sexuality'
Josh said he was tired of trying to perform at his best "and to live this double life, it's exhausting".

"It's been a journey to get to this point in my life, but I couldn't be happier with my decision to come out."

"I have been fighting with my sexuality for six years now, and I'm glad I can put that to rest."

Josh says it got to the point his mental health was affected and he was "going into dark places".

"At the end of the day I just wanted to be happy. This is bigger than football, it's my life. I'd go home and I wasn't happy," he told the BBC's Newshour programme.


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"It just slowly eats away at you and it's not something I wish upon anyone."

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He thought "people would think of me differently when they found out".

"They would start saying bad things about me or making fun out of me. That's not the case. If anything you would earn more respect from people."

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Analysis by Jack Murley, presenter of the BBC's LGBT Sport Podcast

"I'm a footballer and I'm gay."

Those six words may not sound like much, but Josh Cavallo's decision to open up about his sexuality is hugely significant.

He's chosen to speak while still an active player - something that marks him out from the likes of Thomas Hitzlsperger, who only came out publicly after retiring.

In many ways, gay and bisexual men are more represented in football than you think.

There are out players at the non-league level of the English football pyramid, as well as gay referees like Ryan Atkin and James Adcock.


But to have a top-level professional like Josh Cavallo feel comfortable enough to come out while still playing is a huge step - and, as evidenced by the reaction on social media, a welcome one as well.

As Josh himself says, too many men have felt as if the only way to be successful in football is by hiding their sexuality - with many choosing to step away from the game altogether rather than being their authentic self.

His decision to speak out (with the full support of his team-mates) shows that, in 2021, it just doesn't have to be that way anymore.

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Few elite male football players have come out as gay during their careers.

Andy Brennan became the first former Australian League player to come out in 2019 when the ex-Newcastle Jet was still playing in a lower tier.

Former Aston Villa midfielder Thomas Hitzlsperger revealed he was gay after retiring from the sport.

In 1990, Justin Fashanu came out as gay. He took his own life in 1998 after allegations of sexual assault were made against him by a 17-year-old in the US.

Thomas Beattie, a former youth player for English club Hull City came out in 2020, and said he was proud of Josh, adding "visibility and representation matters".

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.View original tweet on Twitter

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Josh's statement has sparked an outpouring of support for him, which he's called "immense".

• Coming out as bisexual to my football teammates
• 'Inclusion is bringing LGBT fans back to football'
• 'Coming out in football has only felt amazing'

Australia's professional players union said it was a "wonderful moment" for him, the sport and "the LGBTI+ community".

"Coming out as a gay footballer in the public eye takes incredible courage," says Liz Ward, director of programmes at Stonewall.

"His brave decision will undoubtedly mean a lot to lesbian, gay, bi, trans and queer sportspeople around the world, who are too-often held back from playing and watching the sports they love."

Josh says before coming out, he had to "mask my feelings in order to fit the mould of a professional footballer."

"That's a lot of wasted young players missing out - players that could be very talented, but who don't fit the norm."

"As a gay footballer, I know there are other players living in silence. I want to help change this, to show that everyone is welcome in the game of football and deserves the right to be their authentic self," he added.

Newsbeat has contacted Josh's management but they've not yet responded.

 

Messi substituted at half time yesterday. Zero Ligue 1 goals or assists since he arrived from Barca on a free.

 

Meanwhile BBC and Sky are reporting that Ronaldo had a spectacular dump this morning.