August 9, 2022
The brief from today:
Haaland still without a shoe deal
New Manchester City signing, Erling Haaland, is surprisingly still unsigned in another department: his shoe contract. The Norwegian forward was signed to Nike for some time earning an impressive €1 million per year, but that deal expired in January 2022. Since then, Haaland has been seen still playing with Nike boots, but also Adidas and Puma. Of course the latter is also the kit sponsor of his new club, City, but that doesn’t mean it’s a foregone conclusion he signs with them. Even off the pitch the player has been wearing various brands with both Adidas and Nike trainers among his preferred options. Despite wearing Nike Mercurial boots on his Premier League debut last weekend, Haaland also wore Adidas as recently as last month during preseason fixtures; the feeling is that he is coaxing a bidding war through his various choices. There were rumors of an €8 million per year contract being readied by Puma, but considering the German sports brand are currently paying Neymar roughly €27 million per year, Haaland is unlikely to be interested in such an offer. He will know that he has quite the appeal—especially after moving from the Bundesliga to the larger Premier League market—but it is also a bit curious that things are moving at their current pace. Perhaps it can’t be ruled out, after seven months of remaining unsigned, that he enjoys the freedom to wear what he pleases even if that means money is left on the table. It’s certainly unorthodox after so many years of big name players being affiliated with one brand or another; the reality is the choice is his, and nothing officially states that he must tie himself down to a contract. In time we will see whether all of this is a money play, or purely based on retaining his freedom of choice.
Haaland wore Nike (left) in the Premier League opener, and Adidas (right) in the Community Shield
More technology to help referees
The UEFA Super Cup, which pits the Champions League winner against the victor of the Europa League, will be taking place tomorrow. As part of the innovation planned for the match, there will be semi-automated technology utilized to help with offside calls. While VAR has now become commonplace in major matches and tournaments, this new tool is meant to further assist decision making for the referee in charge. The new system will utilize advanced cameras that are able to monitor up to 29 body points on each player. The objective of using this technology was summed up by UEFA’s chief refereeing officer, Roberto Rosetti, who said, “The innovative system will allow VAR teams to determine offside decisions quickly and more accurately, enhancing the flow of the game and the consistency of the decisions.” As of yet, it seems that most of the VAR delays and controversy are typically tied to foul and handball decisions, but apparently the decision makers are including offside calls into this as well. This will be the first official match in Europe that will explore this tool, but it has already been successfully tested in both the Arab Cup and FIFA Club World Cup. The big rollout, however, is planned for the World Cup at the end of the year, and all these trials will be aiming to iron out the kinks before the big tournament in Qatar commences.
England’s, Michael Oliver, will be the referee for the UEFA Super Cup match using the new technology