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Patrick Redford

LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 21: Match Referee David Coote gestures during the Premier League match between Crystal Palace and Arsenal FC at Selhurst Park on August 21, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

Premier League Ref Admits Video Of Him Talking Wild Shit About Liverpool Not Actually A Deepfake

Luis Paez-Pumar

Mateo Kovacic of Manchester City reacts after they lose the match during the Premier League match between Brighton &amp; Hove Albion FC and Manchester City FC at Amex Stadium on November 9, 2024 in Brighton, England.

Manchester City Is Stuck In The Mud

Billy Haisley

Fans of Maccabi Tel Aviv stage a pro-Israel demonstration at the Dam Square, lighting up flares and chanting slogans ahead of the UEFA Europa League match between Maccabi Tel Aviv and Ajax in Amsterdam, Netherlands on November 07, 2024. Maccabi fans clashed with pro-Palestinian citizens and ripped off Palestinian flags hung on the streets. In the lead-up to the Ajax vs Maccabi Tel Aviv match, several areas of Amsterdam have been designated as security risk zones.

The Media Can’t Figure Out Why Some Racist Israeli Soccer Hooligans Were Beaten Up

Sporting Lisbon's players celebrate after Swedish forward #09 Viktor Gyokeres scored his team's fourth goal during the UEFA Champions League, league phase day 4 football match between Sporting Lisbon and Manchester City at the Jose Alvalade stadium in Lisbon on November 5, 2024.

The New Champions League Format Actually Rocks

Manchester City's Spanish midfielder Rodri (L) receives the Ballon d'Or award from former President of Liberia and former Liberian football player George Weah (2L) as he wins in front of second-placed Real Madrid's Brazilian forward Vinicius Junior and third-placed Real Madrid's English midfielder Jude Bellingham during the 2024 Ballon d'Or France Football award ceremony at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris on October 28, 2024.

The Best Isn’t Always Enough For The Ballon d’Or


<p><a href="https://twitter.com/petesegall?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Pete Segall</a> lives in Chicago. His fiction has appeared in <em>The Bennington Review</em>, <em>Conjunctions</em>, <em>The Drift</em>, and elsewhere.</p>


Pete Segall

Manchester United players Tommy Taylor, left, and Ken Morgans, line up before playing Arsenal at their Highbury Stadium, 1st February 1958. This was Taylor's last match, he died in the plane crash that killed 8 of the Busby Babes team in Munich less than a week later.

Defector Reads A Book

In David Peace’s ‘Munichs,’ The Dead Are Everywhere You Look

Raphinha of FC Barcelona celebrates 0-4 with Lamine Yamal of FC Barcelona during the LaLiga EA Sports match between Real Madrid v FC Barcelona at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu on October 26, 2024 in Madrid Spain

Barcelona Has Put It All Together

Albert Burneko

Erik Ten Hag walks through some soap bubbles on his way to the pitch for what turned out to be his final match as Manchester United manager.

More Like Erik Done Hag

Southampton goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale reacts after conceding the late winning goal during the Premier League match between Southampton FC and Leicester City FC at St Mary's Stadium on October 19, 2024 in Southampton, England.

Southampton Is Too Stubborn For The Premier League

Tom Ley

Forward Temwa Chawinga #6 of the Kansas City Current dribbles the ball with defender Abby Dahlkemper #13 of Bay FC defending in the second half during a game between Bay FC and the Kansas City Current at PayPal Park on October 12, 2024 in San Jose, California.

Temwa Chawinga Has Conquered The NWSL

An image from the BOS Nation rollout video depicting a goat standing in front of the words Goat Balls

BOS Nation Apologizes For Ill-Advised Rollout, Not For Being Named BOS Nation

Defector Up All Night

It’s BOS Nation


<p>Diana Moskovitz is Defector&#8217;s investigations editor. You can contact her at diana@defector.com or dfmoskovitz@protonmail.com. She&#8217;s also on Signal @dmoskovitz.99</p>


Diana Moskovitz

<p>Lesley Ryder is a writer and a host covering the Chicago Red Stars. She co-created <a href="https://galpalsports.com/">Gal Pal Sports</a>, a platform that lives to make women’s sports fun for everyone.</p>


Lesley Ryder

San Diego Wave flags during the NWSL match between the San Diego Wave FC and the Portland Thorns on May 26, 2023, at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego, CA.

San Diego Wave, NWSL Sued For Team’s “Abusive And Hostile Work Environment”

Arne Slot, Manager of Liverpool, applauds the fans following the team's victory during the Premier League match between Crystal Palace FC and Liverpool FC at Selhurst Park on October 05, 2024 in London, England.

Liverpool Hasn’t Missed A Beat Under Arne Slot

Erik ten Hag, Manager of Manchester United, reacts during the Premier League match between Manchester United FC and Tottenham Hotspur FC at Old Trafford on September 29, 2024 in Manchester, England.

Surely, Erik Ten Hag Can’t Survive Yet Another Horrendous Start … Right?

Karim Adeyemi of Borussia Dortmund celebrates the teams second on advertising band during the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 League Phase MD6 match between Borussia Dortmund and Celtic FC at BVB Stadion Dortmund on October 1, 2024 in Dortmund, Germany.

Borussia Dortmund’s Newest Star Is Born

Then-head coach Rory Dames of Chicago Red Stars looks on against Washington Spirit during the NWSL Championship held at Lynn Family Stadium on November 20, 2021 in Louisville, Kentucky. (

Rory Dames Disappeared From The SafeSport Database And SafeSport Isn’t Saying Why

Lamine Yamal of FC Barcelona runs with the ball during the LaLiga match between Villarreal CF and FC Barcelona at Estadio de la Ceramica on September 22, 2024 in Villarreal, Spain.

Lamine Yamal Is Already On Top

Leandro Trossard of Arsenal leaves the pitch after being shown a red card during the Premier League match between Manchester City FC and Arsenal FC at Etihad Stadium on September 22, 2024 in Manchester, England.

Arsenal–Manchester City Clash Ruined By Premier League’s New Focus On Delays Of Game

Antonio Rüdiger of Real Madrid celebrates with team mates their team's third goal during the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 League Phase MD1 match between Real Madrid CF and VfB Stuttgart at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu on September 17, 2024 in Madrid, Spain.

Real Madrid Must Learn How To Walk Before It Can Run

Girona's Argentine goalkeeper #13 Paulo Gazzaniga (C) concedes Paris Saint-Germain's first goal during the UEFA Champions League 1st round day 1 football match between Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Girona FC at the Parc des Princes Stadium, in Paris, on September 18, 2024.

Brutally Late Goalie Boner Costs Girona In Champions League Debut

Maitreyi Anantharaman

Alex Morgan of USA celebrates her first goal during the FIFA Women's World Cup Final match between Japan and USA at the FIFA World Cup stadium Frankfurt on July 17, 2011 in Frankfurt am Main, Germany.

Find A Job You Enjoy, And You’ll Never Have A Day Off In Your Life

Callum Hudson-Odoi of Nottingham Forest celebrates after scoring a goal to make it 0-1 during the Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Nottingham Forest FC at Anfield on September 14, 2024 in Liverpool, England.

There’s Something Growing At Nottingham Forest

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<div>Abigail Segel is a contributing writer at Defector. She is also an editor for The IX Soccer and the Equalizer. Her work has been published in the Guardian and the Montreal Gazette.</div>
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Abigail Segel

in the FIFA Women's World Cup 2015 Round of 16 match at Commonwealth Stadium on June 22, 2015 in Edmonton, Canada.

Alex Morgan Knew How To Use The Spotlight

Alex Morgan #13 of San Diego Wave FC waves to the crowd after the game against the North Carolina Courage at Snapdragon Stadium on September 08, 2024 in San Diego, California. This was Morgan’s final NWSL game before her announced retirement.