Ref cam – currently being trialled at selected Premier League matches – is to be used at the potentially explosive clash between Arsenal and Manchester City later this month, Inside Sport can reveal.
The top flight, in conjunction with refs’ body PGMOL, have been testing the system which sees referees wear a camera on their shirts, along with an ear-piece and a microphone.
And the Gunners clash with City, on 21 September, will be one the matches in which the unique view is offered to those watching on television.
Last season, City pair Kyle Walker and John Stones accused Arsenal of employing ‘dark arts’ as Arsenal attempted to see out a 2-1 lead at the Etihad Stadium with 10 men. Pep Guardiola also had his say in what became a time-wasting row, labelling his side ‘an honest team’ after they grabbed a 98th minute leveller.
Earlier in the game, Walker had complained to ref Michael Oliver in the tunnel following an earlier incident while Daily Mail Sport later revealed that teenager Myles Lewis-Skelly was booked for unsporting behaviour after he appeared to relay a message to goalkeeper David Reya.
Ref cam is to be used at the potentially explosive clash between Arsenal and Manchester City
Arsenal and Man City have been involved in several heated meetings in recent seasons
Myles Lewis-Skelly was shown a yellow card last year after delivering a message to David Raya
Lewis-Skelly, a sub, was shown yellow after he trotted behind Raya’s goal line while warming up in the 65th minute.
Oliver observed the 17-year-old communicating with Raya before the Arsenal goalkeeper fell to the floor and stopped proceedings. Manager Mikel Arteta, formerly of City, used the ensuing break in play to deliver a team talk to nine of his outfield players as they looked to keep City at bay.
FA prepare for tense Serbia clash
The Football Association will be sending stewards to Belgrade for England’s match with Serbia on Tuesday night, which may well turn into a feisty affair.
Sections of the stadium will be closed thanks to racist behaviour in a previous fixture, while trouble broke out before the two countries clashed at last summer’s Euros in Gelsenkirchen, where seven Serbians were arrested. England sold out their 2,500 allocation and hundreds more are expected without tickets.
Levy’s fight to avoid publicity
The abrupt departure of Daniel Levy from Tottenham last week led to the publication of a number of anecdotes on the ex-chairman, who was a notoriously fierce negotiator.
He was also no fan of publicity, as Inside Sport experienced first-hand at the end of a Spurs pre-season tour some years ago – when he switched seats with right-hand woman Donna Cullen to ensure he was not sat next to a journalist for 13 hours. None taken, Daniel.
R360 fights for formal sanctioning
Sources within R360, the global rugby league headed by former England captain, Mike Tindall, are confident of launching in autumn 2026.
Inside Sport understands R360 has shared 100 pages of detailed information with World Rugby and the international players union to demonstrate the depth of its readiness – covering everything from competition regulations to anti-doping policy. The breakaway league seeks to capture the interest of fans of international rugby, which they believe the club game is currently failing to do.
The abrupt departure of Daniel Levy from led to a number of anecdotes on the ex-chairman
However, last week a UK-based rugby body, seemingly threatened by the prospect of the breakaway league, is thought to have briefed that R360 had ‘withdrawn’ its application for sanctioning by the World Rugby Council.
To achieve formal sanctioning, R360 is even being asked for confirmation of things like the names of doctors for each team – which can only be provided once franchises are up and running. For a league launching at the back end of next year, clearly this will not be in place before the World Rugby Council’s September meeting.
Instead, R360 says it will submit for approval at the council’s next meeting – which staggeringly is not until June 2026. Despite this, R360 insists its launch timeline is unchanged. In reality, the breakaway league does not require World Rugby approval to launch, but apparently it is attempting to work within the existing rugby apparatus. Time will tell if rugby bodies force them to take matters into their own hands.
Fans warm welcome after record breaking trip
A nice touch from Carlisle United, who handed out a free programme and a voucher for a drink and a pie to the hardy band of 78 Truro City fans who made the gruelling near 900-mile round trip from Cornwall to Cumbria to see their side lose 3-0 on Saturday.
The trek was an English football record but will be beaten twice more this season thanks to National League fixtures at Hartlepool and Gateshead.
Karate legend’s memoir pulls no punches
He pulled few punches during his charge to karate world champions and it would appear that Geoff Thompson MBE has done similar in the writing of his autobiography.
Thompson, son of a Windrush couple, spent his early years in Wolverhampton and lived less than half a mile away from where Enoch Powell wrote his ‘river of blood’ speech.
Kirsty Coventry continues to ring the changes following her election as IOC president
After moving to London’s East End following the premature death of his father, he took up karate as a means of defending himself from the National Front and gang violence before landing World Championship gold in 1982.
Thompson, who has sat on a variety of boards within sport and advised on the Birmingham Commonwealth Games, has titled the book ‘Big Black Bast*rd’ and promises a ‘spiritual, revealing and truthful account’.
