Belgium turned its back on Infantino, and the reason is one red card

The Royal Belgian Football Association has officially announced it will not support Gianni Infantino's re-election campaign for the FIFA presidency. The trigger is the Folarin Balogun case: the striker was sent off against Bosnia and Herzegovina at the World Cup, a suspension followed, and then the suspension was postponed after US President Donald Trump personally intervened with Infantino. Balogun played in the next match - against Belgium, who won anyway, 4:1. So the Belgians won and still consider the procedure a scandal. That is the point we keep missing here: you do not object only when you lose.

The Belgians did not stop at the pitch. Their statement says that "a large number of important decisions and assessments have so far not been sufficiently supported by adequate justification" and that this raises questions about transparency and governance. The same package included the plan called FIFA Forward Enterprise - selling stakes in FIFA competitions to private investors, which UEFA, CONCACAF and the Asian confederation shot down. Infantino withdrew from the idea, but not from the office: he stands again in March, and a win would keep him in charge until 2031.

Rooney opened United's ledger: 85 million pounds for a midfield, and nobody to score

After the 2:2 draw with Everton, Wayne Rooney aimed his criticism where it hurts the board least - at the transfer market. Manchester United paid around 85 million pounds this summer for Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans, plus up to 70 million for Carlos Baleba. Three midfielders, and what the pitch was missing was a number nine. "They had a lot of control in the game, but they lacked a proper nine," Rooney said.

The problem is not abstract. Benjamin Šeško missed pre-season and was unavailable against Everton, so Matheus Cunha started instead - a Brazilian who is not a classic centre-forward and who looked isolated all game. The second hole is at full-back: Luke Shaw is not a player you can count on every round, and United were linked with Lewis Hall and Alejandro Balde without a single concrete move. If you buy three midfielders and no strikers, that is not a strategy - it is a shopping list somebody wrote without looking at the team.

Mac Allister left without a new deal at Liverpool: "It saddens me"

Alexis Mac Allister has publicly admitted Liverpool informed him they will not be offering him a new contract. "I was told the club is not in a position to offer me a new contract, which of course saddens me a great deal," said the Argentine, who has two years left on his current one. Since arriving from Brighton in 2023 he has made 153 appearances, scored 19 goals and provided 20 assists, and was central to the Premier League title in the 2024/25 season.

Then came fifth place last year, followed by a solid World Cup with Argentina - seven matches in the starting eleven, all the way to the final against Spain. Now, under new manager Andoni Iraola, Mac Allister first came off the bench against Newcastle, then started against Nottingham Forest and Ipswich. The club leaves the door open if the form holds. Translated: play well and we will talk - while we wait for an offer in parallel. No player wants to hear that at 27.

A turn for Miovski: the Rangers captain's injury handed him his chance back

Macedonian international Bojan Miovski looked like a man packing a suitcase. After the arrivals of Lawrence Shankland and Kevin Kelsy, manager Derek McInnes pushed him into the background - in the first 10 matches of the season Miovski played in only three. Then Shankland tore a hamstring and will be out for around three months, with Youssef Chermiti also on the injury list. Suddenly Rangers were left with a thin attack.

According to Football Insider, the Scottish club now plans to give him significantly more minutes and is prepared to reconsider keeping him beyond the January window. Miovski recently split with his agent and is managing his own career. Last year he scored 13 goals in 42 matches across all competitions - a figure no manager ignores when he needs a goal. McInnes himself admitted: "His goals-per-game record in Scotland is very good. He trains excellently." The question that remains is why that record only became visible once somebody else got injured.

Gjorgji Mojsov takes over Zemun: a Macedonian manager fighting relegation in Serbia

Former Tikveš manager Gjorgji Mojsov is the new head coach of Zemun in the Serbian SuperLiga. According to Serbia's Meridian Sport, the 41-year-old Macedonian is the board's choice and succeeds Milan Kuljić in the dugout. Mojsov spent most of his career at Tikveš, where he was part of the coaching staff from July 2021.

The job is not romantic - Zemun are fighting to stay in the Serbian top flight, and Mojsov first has to stabilise the team and then keep its place in the league. Macedonian coaches rarely get a bench abroad when everything is calm; the call comes when the place is already on fire. That is the reality of our football export: you do not go as the answer to ambition, you go as the answer to panic. If Mojsov keeps Zemun up, that will be a bigger result than the Serbian media will write it up as.