Newcastle might question why time beyond the four minutes was played, but Eddie Howe chose to make a substitution in the 91st minute. The penalty was awarded on 94.22. Perfectly legitimate for the referee to play beyond the minimum allotted time.
Not even AI would generate this drink.
The referee has been remarkably lenient to both sides in Newcastle - Barca where cards are concerned. Yamal should be suspended for the second leg, absolutely no doubt whatsoever.
I think this plus the just inexplicable mismanagement of Curtis Jones means regardless of outcome Slot will be gone at the end of the season. There was *nothing* to justify Mac Allister playing 90 and not having someone composed in midfield who would just retain and recycle possession.
The Champions League is far, far more enjoyable than the Premier League.
There is nothing to justify the absence of Curtis Jones in this midfield. Nothing. #lfc
It's not a goal but it should be a penalty. #lfc
A reasonable conclusion, nonetheless, is that the bombing of Iran's oil and desalination facilities - making the lives of ordinary Iranians harder in the process - is a decision of gargantuan stupidity that will on the balance of probabilities only strengthen the hands of *any* new leader.
The not knowing is also what will - presumably - give policy makers and politicians nightmares. Khamenei was a monster, a truly evil person, but after decades of understanding how he operates, was more or less predictable. The US and Israel have traded predictability for ... complete uncertainty?
So I'd highly recommend not putting in 280 characters on Bluesky about how hardline he is (or not), whether he supports Iran having a nuclear weapon (or not), and what he might do (or not) when we don't have the well-sourced info to build a profile. We should be more scared because we *don't know*.
As that same article says - naturally without any providing any evidence for the same - "[his] succession ... could signal a shift towards a more socially liberal and economically progressive Iran, reminiscent of the changes seen in Saudi Arabia".
But this simply serves to say that we have no idea.
Another - for which we might question the credibility and legitimacy based on what has been published overall - said "it would be likely that Mojtaba follows in the Saudi Crown Prince’s footsteps, relaxing socially conservative and religious rules, and seeking a detente with the United States."
A 2024 expert briefing (Oxford Analytica) meanwhile described Mojtaba as "[lacking] his father's talent for political calculation, patience and timing" and an appointment "likely to cause elite divisions and widespread discontent".
Of those I can find, most (as late as 2025!) point to Mojtaba not being favoured for leader for reasons including unpopularity and being largely unknown. The assassination of his father has, rather ironically, appeared to have provided some of the backing required to manoeuvre him into position.
As recently as 2017, in a @foreignaffairs.com article titled "Iran's Next Supreme Leader", the authors ruled his candidacy out, mentioning in passing that "[he] has no popular base of support."
As the University of Leizig's Reza Talebi noted in 2024: "little information is available about [him]".
The most alarming thing about Mojtaba Khamenei is not the below; it is that we know *nothing* about him. The breathless reporting about how who he is - and according to whom? - is somewhat undercut by the only 158 references to his name in English on Google Scholar.
bsky.app/profile/doom...
I'm sure there are sensible civilian employees at the DoD and State who know Iran's regime isn't going to surrender. The political appointees don't agree or just don't care, and now appear transfixed on punishing not just a regime but the country as much as possible for not doing what they want.
There was a Pixar short called Out only a few years ago, which was about a young gay guy hiding his sexuality from his parents for fear of censure - ultimately the parents are welcoming of his boyfriend.
All I can say is that Pete Docter is a gigantic coward.
bsky.app/profile/dail...
At the moment, the World Baseball Classic is giving everything we're worried the World Cup won't. Watch if you can, even if you don't necessarily like the sport.
Not just a child, but an historically and culturally illiterate child. Those thousands of years ignore the 7th century conquest of "Iran" by the caliphate and the defeat of the Sassanian Empire - the "Empire of the Iranians" - which includes modern day Iran and Iraq.
bsky.app/profile/chad...
Arguably the most beloved contemporary Iranian novel (and series) is "My Uncle Napoleon", in which the titular Uncle blames the British Empire for absolutely everything that goes wrong, but it speaks to a larger point about Iranian memory of British interference in Persia.
bsky.app/profile/thes...
Luxury of the scoreline helps, but Nyoni has been a delight to watch. #lfc
And Gala playing tomorrow evening in an Istanbul derby.
So Rio can have his legs kicked away from him and it's not a foul? Sound. #lfc
Competition regulations only allow away sides to have 15% of the total tickets issued OR of the maximum, so that number is the maximum allocation permitted for Wolves.
There's also an absolute ceiling of 9,000 - so it would be lower than 15% at Old Trafford.
And our pre-season starts less than a week after the World Cup final.
The lads are enjoying an extended vacation in the US then.
The point is in the degree of control and outcome. The UK can continue to not impose those barriers to trade without any pushback/blowback/consequences from other parties. Trump can continue to control how much or little he bombs Iran, but he can't control what Iran does next or happens in the ME.
He's not saying they weren't damaging, but that some of the consequences haven't been as damaging as they *could have been* based on control. The UK has mitigated some of the Brexit trade consequences by not implementing the controls it could have - i.e. it would be worse *but for* this.
A risk, yes. A massive one, no.
The audition in which he went an entire league season undefeated is likely to count for significantly more than two games in which one team came up against an opposition with a wage bill approximately 4.5 times the size, and the other was a team he arguably shouldn't have joined in the first place.
