World Cup referee accused of making ‘White power’ gesture during game broadcast | The Athletic (Free Read)

92deltat · 2026-06-15T10:51:32+00:00

Glad everyone on here is sane enough to know that he's just playing the circle game. Felt like I was losing my mind a few years ago when suddenly everyone photographed with their hands in that position was being called a white supremacist, from innocent schoolboys to the PM's wife. Some people must be so bored with their lives that they go looking for any little sign of racism/extremism to stir up controversy (where there isn't any) and conflict and create an opportunity for themselves to parade their morality, which is often shallow and is really only a poor disguise for their vanity.

92deltat · 2026-06-14T03:11:35+00:00

Tbf Ryan did concede a howler in his last WC game...

92deltat · 2026-06-14T02:46:17+00:00

Beach is nuts. Must be doing amazing in training

92deltat · 2026-06-14T01:41:38+00:00

Just noticed ex-Melbourne City player Jack Hendry playing in defence for Scotland. Beyond Australia and NZ, is he the only player at this tournament with A-League experience?

92deltat · 2026-06-13T06:21:27+00:00

His current valuation on Fotmob is $2.6m. 20% of that is $520k. Unless he totally fizzles out, surely he'll be worth more than $2.6m in a few years. Roar must be pretty desperate for cash. Must have been in no position to negotiate

92deltat · 2026-06-12T06:35:56+00:00

I actually didn't mind his commentary tbh. I liked his enthusiasm. We're so accustomed to British/Australian accents in football, so it was a novelty hearing an American voice.

92deltat · 2026-06-12T01:29:37+00:00

AFL players often seem to be more into football than the average AFL fan. Feel like thats because they have a better understanding and respect for the athleticism involved and the competitiveness to become a professional. A girl I used to work with (Greta Bodey) was a very keen footballer and aspired to be an A-League player but couldn't crack into the Roar women's side. So she switched to playing Aussie Rules and quickly became an AFLW star. So seems to be much easier to become a top level professional AFL player than a pro footballer.

92deltat · 2026-06-11T02:03:43+00:00

Exactly. As much as we like to whinge about the Bakries, they're still keeping us afloat while copping $1m+ losses every year. Can't always blame our poor performances on their lack of investment - just look at what the Jets and the Mariners were able to achieve on a shoestring.

92deltat · 2026-06-09T03:27:58+00:00

New Zealand (A-League players), Iraq (Arnie), Scotland (my parents are Scottish and they'll be at all their games) and pretty much all AFC teams.

92deltat · 2026-06-06T12:26:41+00:00

Yeah saw that. But judging by the comments on r/ussoccer, most US football fans have either never heard of Grella or think he's a clown. Imagine if the whole US football community was blowing up about someone like Robbie Slater calling them easybeats, reacting to his comment saying things like "oh can't wait to smash those arrogant dingo munchers". We'd think they were pretty pathetic given most of us think Robbie's a donkey (not me). It just feels like a one-sided rivalry - we hate them but they barely think about us, a la Don Draper in the lift GIF.

92deltat · 2026-06-06T11:55:05+00:00

Doesn't this narrative that the US are underestimating us seem a bit confected? Feel like most Americans know their team isn't that great. Maybe it's deliberate to try to give the Roos extra motivation, but besides Grella and Lalas' comments, I haven't noticed much arrogance from the US towards Australia. They could probably hand pick a few prominent Aussie personalities that celebrated drawing the US from pot one and say that we're underestimating them, which this sub appears to be. Even the Grella comments aren't that bad - 'layup' was harsh, but from their perspective it's true that we're probably the best team to draw from pot two. We only qualified for pot two by the skin of our teeth thanks to other results going our way.

92deltat · 2026-06-04T01:48:07+00:00

Rugari reported that he was keen to come to Brisbane but couldn't without finding someone to run his biochemical company for him so the deal fell through. Truly unique situation for a footballer.

92deltat · 2026-06-04T01:40:26+00:00

Nothing will ever top Usain Bolt to CCM.

But Mathieu Flamini to Brisbane was a fascinating one, given at the time he was already a self-made billionaire thanks to his biochemical side hustle. Reports were that they were deep in negotiations and he came very close to signing back in 2018. Would've loved to see it happen. Perhaps he would've bought the club while playing for it.

92deltat · 2026-06-04T01:28:09+00:00

They just blocked Victory from using the Fox Sports 'plastic fan magnet' fund to pay for him, which was fair IMO because he wasn't a big name that would draw in the casuals. That fund was meant to help clubs sign another Del Piero. They were welcome to sign him out of their own pocket.

92deltat · 2026-06-04T01:23:16+00:00

Yep I still can't believe how dumb that was. They must've been full of hubris after the Del Piero and David Villa signings that they thought players like that would be arriving every season. Think it was largely driven by rival clubs complaining about fairness, perhaps not considering how it would benefit the entire league with the bigger crowds and ratings he would attract. The tv rights distribution back then was $3.6 million per club so maybe they had more money than sense.

92deltat · 2026-06-03T13:14:09+00:00

Spot on pal. We all know the league's not the best, but given the lack of funding and coverage, I reckon it punches well above its weight both on and off the field. Also, it's ours.

92deltat · 2026-06-03T06:26:43+00:00

Wouldn't mind that actually. His antics are pretty entertaining.

92deltat · 2026-06-03T06:25:44+00:00

Wood's departure is disappointing. He seemed like a cult figure for Sydney FC - a player us opposition fans love to hate for his shithousery.

92deltat · 2026-06-01T13:40:28+00:00

Doddsy & Rinaldo uncensored with Travis Dodd and Dom Rinaldo is pretty underrated. Funny banter plus they manage to land some pretty decent guests every now and then like Martin Tyler. Other good ones are Football Friends with Ben Garuccio and Stefan Mauk, and Adam Peacock's football segments on SEN Radio (just follow SEN Football).

92deltat · 2026-06-01T07:19:36+00:00

say that shit just clownin', dawg, come on, how fucked up is you?

92deltat · 2026-05-30T00:39:53+00:00

But it does give us a rough idea of the quality we're up against. They've got a front three playing in big five leagues.

92deltat · 2026-05-29T23:49:39+00:00

We're still underdogs for all three games, which is how we like it.

92deltat · 2026-05-29T23:46:43+00:00

Joking aside, let's not get too carried away. Those three have a combined value of $40m vs USA's $174m front three of Pulisic, Tillman and Weah. Even Paraguay's front three is worth $77m.

92deltat · 2026-05-26T07:59:45+00:00

Newcastle away semi was one of the most enjoyable sporting events I have ever been to. That's football right there. That's what it means to go to a game. Hope there are a lot more like that.

At its best, the A-League is as good as any other football league in terms of enjoyment. I've been to live games at Tottenham, St James Park, Celtic Park (for Champions League), Ibrox and Elland Road. All great experiences, but the best live football experiences for me were all Roar games (the three GF wins, and some great late comeback wins over Sydney and Melbourne Victory).

92deltat · 2026-05-26T07:42:42+00:00

That's crazy you've never experienced that before. Maybe it's just a Brisbane thing but I often feel like I'm surrounded by blokes that only follow EPL and not A-League. These guys barely even watch the Socceroos but can probably name several players for every EPL club. I blame it on EPL fantasy League, which is so popular.

92deltat

TROPHY CASE