International
Mohamed Salah’s Criticism of Arne Slot Divides Opinion as Egypt Rallies and Pundits Push Back
Salah’s public criticism of Arne Slot split opinion: Egypt rallied while former Reds criticised him. .
Mohamed Salah’s public criticism of Arne Slot has produced sharply contrasting reactions. The Egypt national team and a number of team-mates moved quickly to defend the forward on social media, while former Liverpool players criticised the decision to make the issue public.
The Pharaohs’ official X account shared: “You will never walk alone. You will always be the best.” A slew of Salah’s Egypt teammates echoed the sentiment, posting their captain sitting with last season’s Premier League trophy with various captions hailing him as a “legend.” Egypt manager Hossam Hassan joined in as well, posting on his own social media: “Always a symbol of determination and strength.”
Salah’s comments followed a decision by Slot to leave the 33-year-old on the bench for a third consecutive game as the manager looked for a winning formula amid a run of poor results. Liverpool sit ninth in the standings with just two wins in their last 10 league matches.
Closer to Anfield, reaction was less sympathetic. Danny Murphy criticised the public nature of Salah’s remarks on Match of the Day: “Knock on the manager’s door, see the owners, whatever you have to do, express your frustration,” Murphy said on Match of the Day. “By doing this, he’s causing the team a problem and the manager a problem and making it all about him.
“You can’t do it. Whether you agree with him you don’t deal with it like this.”
Michael Owen expressed understanding of Salah’s feelings but agreed with the need for restraint in public: “I can imagine how you feel. You’ve carried this team for a long time and won everything there is to win.
“But this is a team game and you simply can’t publicly say what you’ve said. You’re going to AFCON in a week. Surely you bite your lip, enjoy representing your country and see how the land lies when you get back?”
There are immediate practical implications. Liverpool could be without Salah for up to seven matches if Egypt make the AFCON final. The forward also urged his parents to come to the Reds’ clash with Brighton next Saturday because it could be his final time at Anfield, hinting at a potential move in the January transfer window.
Arsenal
Why the Premier League has another three-week wait for its return
The Premier League is paused for three weeks as international football takes over until October 10.
The first chapter of the 2026/27 Premier League season has already been completed, but there will be no league football for the next two weekends. An international break has taken over, and the domestic calendar will remain on hold until October 10.
That pause comes after a strong start from Arsenal, whose perfect record drew talk of a potentially one-sided title race. Yet Brighton & Hove Albion halted that run before the break, a result that offered a reminder that the leaders are not beyond reach.
For now, though, attention shifts away from club football and back to national teams. This is the first time sides have come together since the 2026 World Cup, and the next couple of weeks will be filled with fixtures that should keep supporters occupied.
The Premier League’s return is set for Matchday 6, when Arsenal open the weekend at Emirates Stadium against Leeds United. It will mark the restart of a schedule that has been interrupted by an extended pause created by the international calendar.
That calendar was changed by the FIFA Council in 2023, leaving only three international breaks this season. September and October have effectively been combined into one longer window, with further breaks still due in November and March.
The stoppage is not limited to England’s top flight. Club football across Europe has also been paused until the second weekend of October, while the 2026/27 UEFA Nations League begins to take centre stage.
Teams will play four times during this window, and several matches stand out. League A includes a rematch of the Euro 2024 final between England and Spain on Sept. 26, Germany against the Netherlands on Sept. 24, France at home to Italy on Oct. 2, and Portugal facing Norway on Oct. 4.
International
Townsend escapes serious harm after Thailand pitch roller incident
Townsend was run over by a pitch roller in Thailand, but escaped with minor injuries.
Former Premier League winger Andros Townsend was involved in an unusual accident in Thailand on Saturday after being run over by an out of control pitch roller.
The 35-year-old escaped relatively lightly, and he was well enough to make light of the incident on social media afterwards. “It turns out Stoke away wasn’t so bad after all,” he wrote on Instagram.
Townsend was struck and briefly trapped when the roller rode up onto his left leg. What could have been a far worse situation ended with only minor cuts and bruises on his left thigh, with luck clearly on his side.
He did go on to feature in the match, although only as a substitute in the final minute. Before that, he had started both of Prachuap’s matches in Thai League 1 in 2026/27. His late appearance did not affect the outcome, as three goals and a clean sheet were enough to see off Pattani.
Townsend has now been based in Thailand for a little over a year. He left England in 2024 after 12 straight seasons in the Premier League, having played for Everton and Luton Town. His move abroad began with Antalyaspor in Türkiye before he headed to Thailand and joined Kanchanaburi Power at the start of 2025/26.
That club had only just been promoted, but later went down from the top division, prompting Townsend’s switch to Prachuap.
Chelsea
Balogun’s collapse set off a transfer-day chain reaction
Balogun’s stalled Everton move triggered a deadline-day chain reaction involving Monaco, Chelsea and United.
Folarin Balogun’s deadline-day move looked close to completion before it unravelled into one of the window’s most complicated sequences. Everton had already agreed a $54.1 million (£40 million) deal with Monaco on Monday, and the striker was due to undergo a medical at Finch Farm.
That routine check did not go smoothly. Vague issues emerged, although the draft does not make clear what caused Everton’s concerns. Balogun had not featured in Monaco’s matchday squads in any of their first four games of the new season, and his last competitive outing had come against Belgium in Seattle.
Even so, the situation did not shut the door. Everton returned to Monaco to revisit the fee, while attention shifted elsewhere. The uncertainty around Balogun also prompted a late approach for Manchester United’s Joshua Zirkzee, who was open to the idea after turning down Fiorentina. United were not prepared to lose him, with only one natural senior centre forward, Benjamin Šeško, available and little time left in the window.
Monaco’s handling of Balogun also affected their negotiations over Lamine Camara. Romain Molina said Thiago Scouro had been “bragging and demanding” more than $80 million for the midfielder until Balogun’s future became unclear. With one major sale needed to balance the books, Monaco eventually accepted $63.7 million (£47.1 million) from Chelsea for Camara, who had been identified as Enzo Fernández’s replacement.
Chelsea, however, were then left frustrated when Monaco reversed course after Balogun’s move appeared to be back on. Everton had already submitted a deal sheet signed by the player, giving them a two-hour grace period beyond the 11 p.m. BST deadline to complete the paperwork. Chelsea had not done the same for Camara, so no similar late rescue was possible.
The sequence did not end there. Balogun later changed his mind, did not report for Monaco training the next morning, and talk of a move to a league with a still-open window began to circulate. The fallout also affected Erik Lira, with Monaco needing Balogun’s departure before the Cruz Azul midfielder could occupy the club’s non-E.U. roster slot.
