USL bargaining agreement reached, Matti Peltola redeemed, and more: Friday Freedom Kicks
Happy Friday, and happy May Day! I am in the midst of a very busy Washington Spirit week and, frankly, a little excited for the final of three matches to be away so I can watch and write my match recap from the comfort of home, especially as it’s predicted to be cool and rainy tomorrow.
Collective Bargaining Agreement Update (USL Championship)
We don’t have many details yet, but the USL and USLPA have tentatively agreed on a new contract! This is great news!
Next, some news on Matti Peltola’s fine for embellishment:
Personally, I would love to see this video evidence.
Takeaways from Loudoun’s late loss to Charleston (The District Press)
Ryan takes us through Loudoun’s first USL Cup match in advance of their next against Oakland Roots this weekend.
Washington Spirit secure second straight win, defeat Racing Louisville 1-0 (The District Press)
In case you didn’t get enough of Wednesday’s Spirit win.
KC Current forward/union leader explains process behind the NWSL’s schedule talks (Kansas City Star)
NWSLPA president Haley Hopkins discussed the players’ involvement in the recent consideration of an NWSL calendar switch. I’m glad the players were consulted (and also that a change was halted for now).
Las Vegas group makes bid to relocate MLS’ Vancouver Whitecaps (ESPN)
Save the ‘Caps, IMO.
MLS says commissioner’s account was hacked after taunting Vancouver Whitecaps (USA Today)
Meanwhile, someone used Don Garber’s X.com account to comment “Liar liar pants on fire” on a post by British Columbia Premier David Eby, saying he was working to keep the Whitecaps in Vancouver. Was it a hacker? A staffer on the wrong account? Don forgetting to use his burner? You decide.
USMNT’s Mauricio Pochettino says nation lacks ‘emotional relationship’ with soccer (The Guardian)
I understand why some people are bothered by Poch’s comments, but I can’t disagree that the general public has a closer relationship with football and basketball or “that there should be greater emphasis on creating publicly accessible places for kids to play rather than funneling all development through clubs and organized teams.”
It’ll take more than home soil: why hosting isn’t enough for a USMNT World Cup run (SSFC)
I’d love to see the US at least improve on their last World Cup performance, but I understand why some are concerned.
For some Friday cuteness, Lynn Biyendolo and her husband announced the birth of their baby, Lucky:
Finally, here’s your schedule of events for the weekend. As I mentioned last week, Audi Field is seeing a lot of use during this period.
| Teams | When | Where | Watch |
|---|---|---|---|
| DC Power vs. Dallas Trinity | Fri., May 1 at 7 p.m. | Washington, DC | Peacock |
| DC Defenders vs. Dallas Renegades | Sat., May 2 at 12 p.m. | Washington, DC | ABC |
| Washington Spirit vs. Orlando Pride | Sat., May 2 at 4 p.m. | Orlando, FL | Ion |
| Loudoun United vs. Oakland Roots | Sat., May 2 at 5 p.m. | Leesburg, VA | ESPN+ |
| D.C. United vs. NYCFC | Sun., May 3 at 3 p.m. | New York, NY | AppleTV |
| Old Glory DC vs. Chicago Hounds | Sun., May 3 at 5:30 p.m. | Bridgeview, IL | ESPN+ |
Have a good weekend!
DC United is apparently adding a defensive midfielder from Portsmouth. Andre Dozell is out of contract. The club wanted to keep him but he chose to leave. He’s 26 and is supposed to be joining during the summer transfer period when his contract officially ends.
My guess is to partner with Peltola. Which means someone will drop to the bench.
I would think Servania. He’s a hard worker, apparently a good teammate. But he’s a USL-level player.
Since he’s coming on a free, I would hope we can sign him without having to make him a DP. Because I’d still like add an A-mid or a CB.
Oh, Servania is absolutely being replaced.
And I hope Markovic gets more starts in the backline. Rowles juuust scored a game winner, but I do think that, sooner or later, he’s the one Markovic beats out in training and on the pitch.
Dozzell is coming from the EFL Champions League. I think that is a similar level as the MLS, so hopefully he can step in quickly. It seems that someone in the club is looking at each position and figuring out how to upgrade.
This was news a few days ago
Right. But I didn’t see it reported anywhere (other than Goff) and when I posted it yesterday, no-one responded (granted, it was in a Spirit article).
It does appear we’ve reached the point in the league’s unbalanced mindset where it looks like the following happened:
A Miami former Barca star needs to be penalized in order to keep embellishment rules relevant. He’s the only notable example that week. That’s a problem for Miami’s image. So the operation then becomes finding someone else who they can add to the press release, and that’s limited to clubs they wouldn’t normally think of. They watch DCU’s game. They skip past the player that faked an injury ostentatiously to avoid a red. They see some random Peltola play. He’s a star for DC, right? Add him to the release. Clear him a few days later in a way that only DC fans would even notice. Suarez’ fine remains in place. Process over.
I have a deep connection to my local club, but this league is doneso.
I too love my club. MLS is a very shotty operation.
I went to look at the infraction on the MLS site. I had to watch several times to see the elbow strike. It was not apparent at first, but I did see it.
My question would be, if they rescinded this decision, confirming that Peltola did get hit in the head…should that not then have been a foul against Orlando?
I didn’t say they didn’t site a specific play, just that it wasn’t embellishment, they cynically said it was, and then nixed the fine once
The press release was more than a day old.
A union deal on MayDay. Sounds perfect.
Also, it’s almost never a hacker.
Pablo posted his theory that it was whoever runs Garber’s account mistakenly thinking they were in their burner account. That seems most plausible to me.
The Old Glory game is at 6:30 PM ET on Sunday not 5:30 unless you are on CT. The game is also broadcast on Monumental as well as ESPN+.
Interesting story coming out of the Netherlands. Sorry that its behind The Athletic paywall. The article is much longer and I’ve done my best to summarize it below.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7246224/2026/05/01/the-citizenship-court-ruling-which-threatens-a-crisis-for-dutch-football/
Its a court case concerning eligibility to work in the Netherlands. NAC Breda lost a game 6-0 to Go Ahead Eagles in the Eredivisie. They then highlighted to the Dutch Football Association (KVNB) that Go Ahead Eagles defender Dean James is alleged to be ineligible to play because he previously accepted an offer to represent Indonesia internationally in March of last year. Acquiring Indonesian citizenship to represent Indonesia automatically revoked his Dutch nationality and therefore his work permit to play despite holding a Dutch passport. NAC therefore said the result is invalid and must be replayed. KNVB rejected the appeal and said the result would stand despite James’ ineligibility to play. NAC then appealed to a Dutch court.
At the center of this is Article 15, paragraph 1, subparagraph a of the Dutch Nationality Act. Which essentially says any adult by voluntarily acquiring a Non-EU nationality are automatically lose their Dutch nationality. The key word being voluntary. If you are born into multiple nationalities or gain them through marriage you are fine. But if as an adult gain citizenship in a non-EU country through any other means you automatically lose your Dutch citizenship rights.
At least 11 Eredivisie players are impacted by any potential ruling and effects at least 133 Eredivisie games from this season. In theory all of those matches could be forced to be replayed. The KVNB does have a regulation that any appeal concerning player eligibility must be made within 8 days after a match. But if the court rules that the match must be replayed that precedent could cause a meltdown of epic proportions in the Dutch top flight.
In his press conference, Weiler noted that Baribo will be out for this weekend’s game against NYC. He also reiterated that Pirani is “playing for himself and not for the team” and will not be included again.
Weiler added, “I can’t see the joy in his face and his identification with our club, so he will not be in the team.” Pretty strong indictment of the player? See also Hirving Lozano (although there are differences there)?
Well, that certainly clarifies things. And up to this point, I was cutting Pirani some slack–just assuming he had no vision rather than he was selfish and deliberately not passing to guys running off the ball. Weiler certainly doesn’t mince words.