Assessing all of the controversial VAR decisions from Premier League Gameweek 2, including Alexis Mac Allister's red card for Liverpool, Cristian Romero's non-handball for Tottenham against Man Utd and Takehiro Tomiyasu's dismissal for Arsenal

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The Women’s World Cup final had barely started and England realised they were in a bind. Spain’s possession was dragging the players all over the pitch and completely distorting Sarina Wiegman’s shape, which meant they had to press that bit higher. As soon as they did that, however, Aitana Bonmati and those around her just passed their way into even more open space. “That’s the quality of Spain,” a magnanimous Wiegman said afterwards, almost resigned to their superior quality. But that is also a new twist on a vintage problem, one which may point to the future for both England and the game. It’s just over a decade since Premier League midfielders – and the rest of the world – were finding the exact same challenges against Andres Iniesta, Xavi and Sergio Busquets in the men’s game. The comparisons have already been made with this Spanish midfield, led by Aitana. The success of Spain’s men ended up influencing the entire sport, creating a spate of technically adept players, which has now come full circle. Frenetic pressing reigns for men, but it took over a decade. The women’s game is at the other side of the curve. Spain represent the extreme example of an ongoing transformation, that has already seen the technique of European academies take the game – and the ball – away from the United States. It is going to have increasing influence. It may also pose a problem for England. Because, in recent years, English academies have been among the few in Europe not producing this type of player. It is why, for all the optimism after another international final, there is an issue to work out if this is to be the start of an era rather than just the end of a cycle. There isn’t a single English midfielder at any of the top WSL clubs in Arsenal, Manchester City or Chelsea. At least one manager in the division is known to have complained about it, pointing to a lack of quality coming through in that area. “There’s no one in the pipeline,” one involved source says. England is obviously still producing a lot of talent, but it’s mostly in other positions. There’s also a feeling that this tournament – and especially that landmark final against Spain – showed England are missing exactly that approach. That is something that has been said before. An obvious response here is that Georgia Stanway is at Bayern Munich and Keira Walsh at Barcelona. That’s part of the issue, though. Stanway is superb in that role but was made isolated by Spain's superior numbers here. The Barcelona players deeply respect Walsh as a world-class midfielder, but not primarily for that pace of pass. The main point was that Spain were able to just play around and through them. And, having had such success with this, the rest of the world is going to seek to emulate Spain further. England may not be able to in the same way, for some time, because they lack that kind of player. It similarly points to a schism that was already evident throughout this World Cup, and again goes back further in the men’s game. Spain’s midfield technique both comes from and facilitates a deeper ideology. Without that, Wiegman had to go to a more pragmatic approach. That may have to continue if she does stay in the job, but could be an even bigger issue for her successor. That doesn’t mean it is a terminal problem, or even completely prohibitive to more trophies. English academies are still producing so much talent in general. They just need to get back to thinking about a specific type of talent in midfield, and also about how to stop such players. It is the future of the sport. Read More Fans wait overnight for Lionesses return – but team use private airport exit Spanish president’s kiss was an abuse of power that never should have happened Women’s World Cup 2023 LIVE: England head home after final heartbreak Lionesses receive surprise reception as they start journey back to England England’s impact will last far longer than pain of World Cup final defeat How not to win a World Cup: Spain, Jorge Vilda and the story of a complicated victory

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Former Scotland striker David Goodwillie has vowed to “finally speak my truth” after his latest attempt to return to football was kiboshed following another public backlash. Australian second-tier side FC Sorrento announced on Wednesday that they had recruited the 34-year-old, who was ruled by a judge at a civil court case in 2017 to have raped a woman in 2011. After the news of Goodwillie’s impending arrival was not well-received on social media, however, the Perth-based club released another statement just hours later revealing they had cancelled the former Dundee United, Blackburn, Aberdeen and Plymouth player’s contract. It is his third deal in 18 months to collapse after moves to Scottish Championship side Raith and English non-league outfit Radcliffe were also quashed following ferocious criticism of their decision to sign him. Goodwillie subsequently opened a Twitter account and shared a post on Wednesday afternoon in which he declared that he owes it to his wife and children to speak out in the face of “misinformation” about his situation. “Due to recent events, I feel it’s only right to myself, and finally speak my truth,” it read. “For the past year I have actively tried to speak with the tabloids/news/interviewers anyone that would listen and had the same outcome, they weren’t willing to give me a platform to tell my side, I was told they would come across hypocritical. “I’m going to take the next few days and write everything down and share it with whoever wants to hear what I have to say. “I owe it to my wife and children, a lot has been said that is misinformation, I have been silenced for long enough, there will nothing off the table, and after that if anyone has any questions on what I have to say, I will try and answer them all in time.” Goodwillie and fellow footballer David Robertson were deemed by a judge at a civil court in January 2017 to have raped a 30-year-old woman at a property in Armadale, West Lothian, after a night out in nearby Bathgate in January 2011. Criminal charges against Goodwillie were dropped in 2011 due to lack of evidence. Goodwillie was playing for English club Plymouth at the time of the civil court judgement and left “by mutual consent” just days after the ruling. Two months later, in March 2017, he signed for Clyde despite fierce criticism of the Bully Wee’s decision to give him a deal. He played for the Cumbernauld-based club for almost five years, becoming club captain and scoring 109 goals in more than 170 appearances, before Raith moved to sign him in February last year. Following widespread opposition to the move, Goodwillie was released from his contract without playing a match. A year later, there was a similar situation when Northern Premier League side Radcliffe responded to criticism by cancelling Goodwillie’s contract a day after he scored a hat-trick on his debut against Belper Town. And now Sorrento have followed suit. On Wednesday morning, they revealed the signing of the Scottish forward along with two other new recruits. “SFC are pleased to announce we have added three players to our mid season first team. Clay Gibbs, David Goodwillie & Callum Dobbs have all joined!” read the initial statement from the Perth-based club. Sorrento head coach Steven McGarry, who played in Scotland when Goodwillie was beginning his career more than a decade ago, added: “With David, we get a player with real quality and experience. “He’s played in the top leagues in England and Scotland while also representing Scotland at international level so he’s a massive addition to the club.” But just hours later, Sorrento deleted their initial post and released another statement. “Sorrento Football Club has rescinded its contract with David Goodwillie,” it read. “David was scheduled to arrive in Perth within the next week to commence playing with the Club for the remainder of the 2023 NPLM season. “The arrangement was non-commercial in nature. The Club has informed David of its decision and apologises to anyone in our football and broader community that may have been caused offence by his signing.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live UEFA to prevent clubs spreading cost of transfers with lengthy contracts Jonny Bairstow steals the show at Lord’s – Wednesday’s sporting social Everton to consult with fans about potential midseason stadium switch in 2024-25

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Social media users have made it clear they have a big thing for a baseball mascot, but unfortunately, she’s a married woman. Mrs. Met is one half of the New York Mets baseball team’s husband and wife mascot duo. For years, Mrs. Met has been lusted over by fans and received multiple marriage proposals in spite of her taken status. And, it seems people’s crushes on her show no sign of stopping after people on the social media platform X/Twitter had some thoughts on a recent photograph of her. In the picture, Mrs. Met could be seen grabbing some food with her Mr. Met at the Citi Field stadium in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park. They both wore the Mets baseball gear including tight trousers and caps. Soon, the wholesome picture led to some not-so-wholesome comments being shared by some would-be homewreckers hilariously lusting over Mrs. Met. “Gyaaaaaatttttt! Thicker than oatmeal!!” one admirer commented. Another said: “Your husband will never fulfil you.” Someone else asked: “Can I say something without people getting mad?” “She kinda,” is all one person had to say to get their point across. The tweet has been viewed almost 25 million times and been bookmarked by almost 3,000 users who presumably want to remember the post for later. One person argued: “You all need to feel the warmth of an actual woman because there’s no way there should be this many bookmarks for a mascot.” Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletterHave your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Arsenal and England midfielder Declan Rice explains how he joined Chelsea in an unconventional way as a child.