Keir Starmer Is Walking a Fine Line in Tackling Immigration
Nigel Farage, leader of the populist Reform UK party, is riding high in the opinion polls this summer while campaigning on the alleged links between crime and high immigration. Labour and the Conservatives struggle to respond: They have to tread a fine line between acknowledging genuine public fears and inflaming rank prejudice.
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Crystal Palace, UEFA and CAS: What now for the club, the manager and players?
Three months after winning the FA Cup, Crystal Palace finally know which European competition they will play in this season. Confirmation came just before 11:30am on Monday morning, but it was not good news. Palace will be in the Conference League. After UEFA's Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) ruled Palace were in breach of multi-club rules and demoted them from the Europa League, for which they had qualified courtesy of that FA Cup win, the club appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). But after a hearing last Friday, CAS communicated on Monday that they had upheld the original decision. Advertisement With that news came anger and fury from the Palace supporters, and bitter disappointment for those at the club. The initial decision had felt, chairman Steve Parish said, 'a terrible injustice'. This, too, will feel that way. Less than 24 hours earlier, they had celebrated winning a second trophy in three months after defeating Liverpool in the Community Shield at Wembley. This was a brutal return to earth with a bump. Regardless, the ramifications of the UEFA and CAS rulings could be far-reaching across the club. First, it's worth clinging to a small positive. While they will not be admitted to the Europa League, it should not be forgotten that Palace will still be embarking upon their first campaign in European competition. Amid all the understandable doom and gloom and disappointment, that is a small chink of light for all involved. They have not yet given up on this case, either. Not necessarily in the hope they could yet secure a reprieve and a return to UEFA's second competition, but they might explore suing their former major shareholder, John Textor, who has since sold Eagle Football's 43 per cent stake in the club to Woody Johnson. If that were to happen, they would seek to recoup their extensive legal costs and look to claim damages for the difference in prize money between the Europa League and Conference League. Roughly speaking, the overall prize pot for teams competing in the Conference League (€285m; $330m) is around half that of clubs in the Europa League (€565m). It should also be noted that Palace would have qualified automatically for the group stage of the Europa League. By dropping down into the Conference League, they must now beat either the Norwegian side Fredrikstad or Denmark's Midtjylland — currently going head-to-head to reach the Europa League — in the Conference League play-off round to reach the group stage. Their opponents are likely to be Fredrikstad, who are 3-1 down from their home leg. Their point of contention is primarily that Textor did not act when UEFA's email was received by Lyon and missed by Palace. Had he done so, Palace argue, he could have placed his shares into a blind trust ahead of the designated deadline of March 1, and both sides would be competing in the Europa League. Advertisement Textor is relaxed about any legal action that may come his way, but, regardless of the success, it demonstrates the strength of feeling around the situation and reiterates that sense that everyone around this situation feels as if they have been wronged. 'I remain stunned by UEFA's decision to ignore all of the evidence and the on-pitch result to demote Crystal Palace from the Europa League,' he told The Athletic. 'The rule is clear: a (blind) trust is only needed if there is decisive influence. If I had decisive influence, then you would have already seen Eagle Football players on the ground at Selhurst Park, but after four years of ownership, there is not one example of multi-club collaboration on the Palace roster. 'Unfortunately, the insanity at UEFA will be resolved, and we will come to learn of their remedy as the 'Crystal Palace rule' in 2026, but that will be tragically late for a community that deserves better.' That the final outcome came after winning the Community Shield is all the more galling. UEFA's ruling was delivered two months after the FA Cup victory — a period that should have been one of celebration, but which became sullied by the anxious realisation that there could be an issue just days after that success. Palace deserved to have been able to enjoy their outstanding achievements for longer and without the next chapter being shaped by decisions made in a courtroom rather than on the pitch. There is also a sense of deja vu to all this. After finishing third in the top flight in 1990-91, they were denied what they thought would be a UEFA Cup place in the final weeks of the campaign. English clubs had been banned from European competition following the Heysel disaster in 1985, with Liverpool handed an extended ban. However, Liverpool's ban was lifted a few weeks before the end of the campaign, meaning Palace missed out. Advertisement This time they will compete in a lesser competition than the one they had anticipated — if they emerge successfully through the qualifier — but it is still almost as agonising. Palace will, eventually, seek to draw a line under this saga, however hard that may be, and move on with Johnson as the fourth principal owner, and look to be strong on the pitch across four competitions. For some of Palace's key players who have been in demand this summer, playing in a third-tier European competition may not be especially attractive. Striker Jean-Philippe Mateta in particular is eager to play in the Champions League, while it could now prove more difficult to keep hold of Eberechi Eze and captain Marc Guehi, both of whom are likely to feel they should be showcasing their talents in Europe's most prestigious competition. Glasner did not rule out the departure of either player this summer in his pre-match Community Shield press conference, while Parish conceded after the game that they might have to sell Guehi, who is out of contract next summer. The CAS ruling will not help their cause in that respect. 'We'd have to,' Parish said when asked if they would sell Guehi should an acceptable offer be made. 'For players of that calibre to leave on a free, it's a problem. We had one bid (last summer), but Joachim (Andersen) went (to Fulham instead) and we couldn't afford to lose both defenders. 'We had another bid in January, but that was a difficult situation as well. The player had a point of view on that one. We'll have to see what happens, but it needs a new contract or a conclusion of some kind.' That said, no Palace player has as yet walked into the club and demanded a move on the back of the CAS decision. Palace would play an additional six games, guaranteed, if they emerge through their Conference League play-off fixture, but travel is likely to be more onerous, with trips to distant parts of Europe due to the calibre of teams involved. Chelsea, last year's winners, took an inexperienced squad to Almaty, Kazakhstan, last December for a group game against Astana in the competition. But even they found recovery time and performances affected back in the Premier League. Palace, in contrast, boast a far thinner squad, and the extra travelling may put significant extra pressure on their Premier League performances. If they enjoy a run deep into the Conference League, which is plausible, that additional load will surely take its toll. Glasner has called for at least two more signings after a 'passive' window, and, while he is content to work with a smaller squad, it does feel as though Palace require further reinforcements to provide proper strength in depth — and should any important players leave, then it will become even more essential. Advertisement 'It helps if players are in early when you start pre-season because you have time to train,' Glasner said on Friday. 'After this, training has more or less stopped, and it's just games. It makes it harder to integrate players. This is what we missed (by not making early signings). But I never complain, it's in the past, I can't complain. 'We definitely need two more players. One at the back, one in attack. We have good numbers, good quality, good competition. Challenging players for the top level is what we need.' Palace's transfer activity has been hindered by all the uncertainty this summer. Prospective signings would have sought clarity and certainty before committing. Their financial position is also awkward, with Parish saying the club is still paying off transfer fees for players signed in previous seasons, cautioning against lofty expectations for a host of new arrivals as a result. It seems clear that Glasner will have to work with only a small number of additions to his existing squad. 'If we had four more players, I don't know what we could achieve, but it's not as simple as that,' Parish said. 'We have a lot of outgoings this year because we're paying a lot of transfer fees for players we already have. We'll do whatever we can. 'At some point, you have to recycle your squad or you're pushing off problems. We'll do everything we can in the next few weeks to give ourselves the best chance. I'm aware we're in four competitions and it's not going to be easy. 'Maybe Ismaila (Sarr) will go to the Africa Cup of Nations (in December). We're trying to cope with all those things. But the amount of money we have isn't infinite.' Glasner's approach to management is focused. He tries to stay in the moment and avoids looking too far back or ahead, preferring instead to scrutinise variables he and his team can control. That will be the way forward for him now. There will no doubt be disappointment, particularly given he won the Europa League with Eintracht Frankfurt in 2022. He has a track record in that competition, but he is extremely ambitious and has belief in his staff and his players. His mindset will now be on trying to win the Conference League and improve on last season's 12th-placed Premier League finish. It may be more challenging now for Palace to convince players to join, particularly if they are competing for those players with teams in better competitions. But there are still draws, with Glasner as good a sales pitch as any, and the excellent spirit within the dressing room that has been cultivated since his arrival. Advertisement Given that Palace are generally targeting younger talents with a view to developing them, that calibre of player may still be enticed by the opportunity to compete in Europe, even if it is in the Conference League. Despite the disappointment, Palace will be one of the strongest teams in the Conference League and among the favourites to win it. To go all the way, lift another trophy, and qualify for the 2026-27 Europa League would be the perfect response to being denied what they believe was their rightful place. Nothing, surely, would stand in their way. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle
Yahoo
40 minutes ago
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Some Florida officers are continuing to charge people under halted immigration law
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Some law enforcement officers are continuing to charge people under a Florida law that bans people living in the U.S. illegally from entering the state, even though a federal judge has halted enforcement of the law while it's challenged in court. Two more people were arrested and charged under the law in July, according to a report Florida's attorney general is required to file as punishment for defying the judge's ruling. Both men were arrested by a sheriff's officer in Sarasota County, located on the state's southwest coast. The charges came months after U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams in Miami first halted enforcement of the state statute, which makes it a misdemeanor for people who are in the U.S. without legal permission to enter Florida by eluding immigration officials. As punishment for flouting her order and being found in civil contempt, the judge required Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier to file bimonthly reports about whether any arrests, detentions or law enforcement actions have been made under the law. In separate incidents on July 3 and July 28, the men were each charged with driving without a valid license and offenses related to driving under the influence of alcohol. The State Attorney's Office for the 12th Judicial Circuit dismissed the illegal entry charges against them, and requested that the sheriff's office advice the arresting officer of the court's order halting enforcement of the law, according to the status report. A spokesperson for Uthmeier did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In a separate court filing, immigrants' rights advocates who filed the lawsuit questioned whether state officials are using the blocked law to justify holding detainees at an isolated immigration detention facility in the Florida Everglades dubbed 'Alligator Alcatraz.' Attorneys for the advocates provided the court an email apparently sent by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement employee to the offices of members of Congress, stating that Florida officials are relying on legal authority granted by the blocked law. 'ICE's email raises serious concerns about potential violations of the Court's injunction on a large scale,' attorneys for the immigrants' rights groups wrote, asking the court to order the state to explain under what legal authority it's holding people at the Everglades facility. ___ Kate Payne is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Solve the daily Crossword
