October 15, 2022

The brief from today:

Dortmund fans face ban in Denmark

Danish security authorities, in charge of managing the upcoming Champions League match between FC Copenhagen and Borussia Dortmund, have applied to UEFA for a ban on Dortmund fans. The first group meeting between the two sides took place on September 6 in Dortmund, with the home side winning 3-0. During the match, as well as outside the stadium, however, there were multiple clashes between the home fans and the visiting Copenhagen supporters. As a result, the return fixture in Copenhagen, scheduled for November 2, is considered to be a security threat. This belief prompted the Danish police to formally approach UEFA for a barring of any away support in Copenhagen. Dortmund are already in hot water with Europe’s governing body following the incidents in the first fixture, with the German club receiving a suspended sentence for the crowd trouble. This sanction could eventually result in partial closures during upcoming UEFA matches at Dortmund’s Signal Iduna Park. Regarding the Danish application, however, a decision from UEFA is pending with the specific match in question still almost three weeks away. In response, Dortmund have temporarily halted the sale of tickets to their fans for the away match in Denmark pending UEFA’s judgement.

Dortmund fans, aka the Yellow Wall, may be barred from Copenhagen if Danish authorities get their way

Mbappe and PSG saga rumbles on

Earlier this week, PSG’s star forward, Kylian Mbappé, made it clear that he wants to leave the club in the January transfer window despite signing a massive contract extension only five months ago. The source of his frustration stems from the fact that he was promised a specific type of striker signing during the summer, which would then allow him to play as a support attacker rather than the primary forward. The fact that such a player wasn’t recruited, along with other key reinforcements in midfield and defense, has now prompted his decision to seek an exit. His conviction to depart is so strong that he is apparently willing to buy himself out of the contract according to media reports in France. Local law states that for someone to break a binding agreement, they would have to compensate the other party a large sum that could total more than the salary owed during the life of the contract. Mbappe was recently declared the highest paid footballer for the past year according to the latest list released by Forbes, so the $128 million he earned could help soften the blow of such a payout to PSG. That said, the 23-year-old may be able to avoid any penalty payment whatsoever based on a report recently released. According to Mediapart, and investigative outlet in France, PSG have been using Twitter bots to push negative narratives against players for the past few years. The report states that one recipient of such bad publicity was Mbappe himself back in 2019. While PSG have publicly denied the Mediapart story, Mbappe could still present this an argument for a breach of contract by the club. If he finds a judge willing to entertain that approach, and if ample evidence is provided proving the story to be accurate, then the World Cup winner may actually walk away without owing anything. He certainly seems adamant on leaving in January, but whether the realistic thing would be a move next summer is what needs to be determined.

Mbappe seems determined to depart from PSG