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Hi, everyone!
I’m pleased to share that a few of the books on my coffee table have found places on a bookshelf — but only a few.
Ramble of the Day
There is a bit of an update from the USL Championship after the San Diego Loyal walked off the field after a Phoenix Rising player directed a homophobic slur towards one of its players. The USL awarded Phoenix the victory, even though they were losing 3-1 and the match only ended because a Phoenix player used a homophobic slur and his manager refused to substitute him. Those three points benefitted them in playoff seeding, mean they would host the final should they make it there.
Here it is, from the league: Phoenix will host the final if they win.
— Jeff Rueter (@jeffrueter) October 19, 2020
Hard to put into words how disgusting this is. The #USL is rewarding a team for using homophobic slur in a match they were losing. No way to sugar coat that. pic.twitter.com/eCWZoxVa9J
The Athletic’s Jeff Reuter also wrote a thread about the situation. He said the USL is treating this as “business as usual” when they shouldn’t, and I completely agree, especially considering the following request from Phoenix.
And since it needs to be spelled out:
— Jeff Rueter (@jeffrueter) October 19, 2020
This is NOT on Phoenix to fix. They have stated that they asked the #USL to nullify the result and were told no due to rules. This is on the league, 100%.
To me, it shows that league officials lack the desire to learn lessons from an awful situation. Phoenix, at least on some level, have attempted it, which makes the USL’s choice to go on like nothing happened even more irresponsible.
The notable thing about this incident is that people have actually done things — San Diego walked off the pitch, and then Phoenix asked that they not benefit from that decision. That’s the type of thing asked for when acts of discrimination happen — action. The USL has decided not to act, and inaction gets in the way of progress. It is a very blatant choice, too, because Phoenix offered them an easy decision and the league decided to ignore it.
Links of the Day
Eight people tested positive for COVID-19 in the latest round of Premier League testing.
Derby’s Wayne Rooney will quarantine for 10 days after he was exposed to COVID-19 by a friend.
Newcastle supporters raised £19,000 for West End food bank in a protest against watching their team on pay-per-view.
A longer read: Suzanne Wrack on why Sergio Agüero touching the back of Sian Massey-Ellis’ neck was not okay for The Guardian