Platini Demands Infantino Resign, Fazlagic Strikes Twice in Kumanovo: A Day When Football Was Settled in Court and on the Pitch

Platini wants Infantino gone: "If UEFA wants to bring him down, it will be through the courts"

Former UEFA president Michel Platini has publicly called on Gianni Infantino to resign as head of FIFA, accusing him of failing to respect the rules of football. The list of grievances is specific: additional breaks in matches at the 2026 World Cup, a 30-minute half-time in the final, and the annulled suspension of American striker Folarin Balogun after president Donald Trump intervened. Added to that is the plan for private investors to take an ownership stake in FIFA. Infantino has held the post since 2016 and wants a new term at the congress in Morocco in March 2027.

Platini does not pretend to be neutral - he was a candidate for the same chair himself until fraud charges knocked him out of the race, and he was finally acquitted in Switzerland in August 2025. "I always knew he loved money and power," he told RMC Sport. UEFA, together with CONCACAF and the Asian confederation, is preparing a complaint for "disloyal management" under Swiss law and is looking for a rival candidate for 2027. So: not through the sporting bodies - through a courtroom. When the highest authority in a sport gets changed by lawyers instead of by a vote, what does that say about the state of the vote itself?

Fazlagic found the net twice: Shkendija (A) took the full haul from Kumanovo

Domestic football delivered a small thriller in Kumanovo. Shkendija Arachinovo won 1:2 away at Bashkimi, and the hero was Enis Fazlagic - he scored twice in the first half alone, in the eighth minute and right at the end of stoppage time. The hosts finally scored their first goal of the season, and what a goal: Portuguese Luis Ribeiro produced a masterpiece from a free kick in the 25th minute.

That alone was not enough. Bashkimi stayed bottom of the table with no points and five straight defeats, while Arachinovo jumped to fifth with seven points. One free-kick goal does not fix a season that started badly - the home crowd in Kumanovo knows that by heart.

Dimitrievski's net was rattled by his own teammates: Valencia fell at the Riazor

Macedonian goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski lost the match against his own defence. Valencia went down 3:1 at Deportivo la Coruna, and two of the three goals were own goals by his teammates - Tarrega in the 13th minute and Diakhaby in the 59th. In between, Aubameyang made it 2:0. Valencia pulled one back through Sadiq, but that was all.

Dimitrievski played all 90 minutes and recorded three saves. After three rounds Valencia sit 17th with a single point. It is rare for a goalkeeper to be the least blameworthy man on the pitch and still walk off with three conceded on his stat line - but that is exactly the position nobody offers an excuse for.

133 million pounds turned down: Bruno Fernandes stayed at United

Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes rejected an offer from the Saudi Pro League that arrived during the summer World Cup. The figure, according to the Sunday Mirror, was 640,000 pounds a week tax-free on a four-year deal - roughly 133 million pounds in total. The previous year he had already turned down an offer from Al Hilal.

The Portuguese has one year left on his Old Trafford contract, with a twelve-month extension option. His numbers at the club - 107 goals and 108 assists in 328 matches - and the players' player of the year award after the 2025/26 season give him the right to ask for whatever he wants. Instead, he stayed. And then he scored a hat-trick against Ipswich for United's first Premier League win. Rarely does a decision get validated that fast.

Four goals for the 39-year-old Messi: Inter Miami thrashed Montreal 7:1

Lionel Messi scored four goals and added an assist in Inter Miami's 7:1 win over Montreal - his first four-goal game in MLS. Miami came into the match on a run of five games without a win across all competitions.

Casemiro opened the scoring in the 20th minute, Fabian Herbers equalised, and Messi restored the lead with a deflected free kick before half-time. In the second half he carried on: a second goal after a run, an assist for Luis Suarez, then a lob over the goalkeeper for his hat-trick and one more free kick in added time. He is 39 and still decides matches on his own - which is rarer than the scoreline itself.