0:02

This is a global player.

0:04

Original Podcast High Gabi Oh.

0:06

Sorry man I, I've just lost

0:08

our script. Just not say hi

0:10

Martha. Cut Up Up Up Up Up.

0:13

Don't let anybody tell you that presents

0:15

his could only read what's in front

0:17

of the. Hi.

0:19

Mark wealth of intubated other busy

0:21

week with plenty to go through.

0:24

So here's another weekend edition of

0:26

the Sports Age. The

0:35

Schools agents. With Gabi like an

0:38

unlocked Sat men. After

0:42

all three teams promoted to the premier

0:44

league, return straight to the second tier.

0:46

Fl chair Rick Perry discussed if the

0:48

gulf between the two divisions is now

0:50

too big. But first an emotional sit

0:53

down with Arsenal and Ukraine defender Alexander's

0:55

in Chiang Kai. He spoke to guest

0:57

sports agent John Sopel about playing football

0:59

while his country is still in the

1:01

middle of a complex. I. Think

1:03

he's not just for football players for all

1:05

the people who wishes living in Broad now

1:07

I know plenty of my friends which left

1:09

com three years years ago and but they

1:12

are all still Ukrainians and they all still

1:14

helping each other and they are all still

1:16

sending a lot of stuff you know to

1:18

Ukraine and helping as much as we can

1:20

because I just wanted to and you sent

1:22

a lot of money to Ukraine is where

1:24

I don't want to speak about his honestly

1:26

because listen national hero by far or this

1:29

is minute and the have to do with

1:31

people nice to feel this help not the

1:33

other. Nice to show within the social

1:35

media or other. For me this is

1:37

not a priority. Priorities to help right?

1:39

and I think this is our power

1:41

of Ukrainian people today. I'm so proud

1:43

to be Ukrainian. Because

1:46

we never felt ourself. Together.

1:49

Like now using these days. So and the

1:51

way we help each other support each other.

1:53

This is our our and and you use

1:55

the word duty as such an interesting word

1:58

at a time. the now.

2:02

What does that duty look like? Is the duty

2:04

to carry on playing, to be waving the flag,

2:06

is it to go back

2:08

and fight on the front line if

2:10

President Zelensky asks you to? I just

2:13

wonder how you weigh these things in

2:15

your mind. For me, what duty means,

2:18

well first of all I really hope that none

2:21

of you guys around me now, because we

2:23

are all from different countries, I

2:25

really hope that none of you live in

2:27

these kind of situations with the war at

2:30

your place. So that's why for me

2:32

duty means you can do

2:34

it on the front line like our heroes

2:36

doing it, if you are not allowed to

2:38

do it, just help as

2:40

much as you can. But for me,

2:43

war duty means whatever I

2:45

will be more helpful to my country,

2:47

to my people, you have to

2:49

do it. In this case, since

2:52

they invaded our country, me and my

2:54

family were talking as well about it,

2:56

because honestly my head was

2:58

like in this space, I couldn't eat, I couldn't

3:01

drink water or whatever, I mean I was

3:03

like, I was in a deep, deep shock

3:05

like all of us, and

3:08

at the end of the day you just

3:10

need to decide where you will be more

3:12

helpful for your country. So while I'm playing

3:14

football and then sending this money, sending some

3:16

stuff, buying some stuff, helping to the people,

3:18

helping to the refugees as well, which a

3:20

lot of people came during these days to

3:22

UK or whatever, represent your country in the

3:24

best way you can, speak

3:27

out using your people in

3:29

the social media or whatever, or

3:32

rather being in Ukraine and

3:34

volunteer job, which is also massive

3:36

as well, and I would like to say massive thanks

3:38

to all the people which is involved in that. But

3:41

this is the question, this is the duty, so whatever

3:43

you can be more helpful to your country and people,

3:45

just do it. What about footballers

3:47

that, I don't know, maybe from Russia or

3:49

Belarus or countries that are

3:51

maybe a little more pro-Russian, have you

3:54

been disappointed that there hasn't been more

3:56

support from them? 100%. I spoke with

4:00

not with football player once I

4:02

had chat with one of the

4:04

I don't want to say the name because I

4:07

don't think it will be a good idea

4:09

you know I spoke with

4:11

one of the very famous sportsmen in

4:13

Russia we had chat in Instagram about

4:17

like this situation which

4:19

happened and I just explained him everything

4:21

and in the end you know he didn't

4:24

even reply me I mean it disappoints you

4:26

a lot because people which used to call

4:28

you before brothers and sisters okay

4:32

it was not you who invaded our country

4:34

but it was your country your people and

4:37

you just keep keep silence you

4:39

are not talking about it at all so you don't

4:41

even post even one picture to

4:44

stop these scary things

4:46

you know which your country doing two

4:48

hours there is only few few of

4:50

them I'm saying few because it was

4:52

really few during this two and a

4:54

half years and honestly

4:56

I didn't see any feedback afterwards

4:59

that some of them were

5:02

in prison or whatever so it means that

5:04

you can do it and then in the

5:06

end you're not gonna get anything from it

5:08

but the question is why they don't do

5:10

it why they just keep silence I don't

5:12

know so I just said to

5:14

him as well to in the chat that listen

5:16

if one day Ukraine will invade someone I will

5:18

be one of the first one who's gonna scream

5:21

about it and to say we

5:23

need to stop these things because this is not

5:25

good you know to kill to kill people just

5:27

we need to live in a peace world we

5:29

are not living in a wild war the

5:32

thoughts agents now

5:35

also on that episode it was the day

5:37

that the England squad was announced by Gareth

5:39

Southgate a provisional 33 he'd been quite

5:42

ruthless hunting yeah obviously he had

5:44

a few injuries to consider but he was

5:46

giving a few young players a

5:48

chance to prove themselves I wonder just

5:50

how much of a chance they've got of sneaking

5:52

into the final squad but Joe was interesting wasn't

5:55

he on what it feels like to get that

5:57

first call up yeah Joe Cole with us on

5:59

that we also gave you a

6:01

bonus episode on Wednesday when

6:04

the boxing referee and judge Ian

6:06

John Lewis joined us. Is

6:10

Tyson lucky not to have actually had

6:12

that fight called at one stage? He

6:14

looked in a very bad way. In

6:16

a knife. Oh in a knife, friend. What

6:19

I'd say, it's just my personal opinion, when

6:22

us referees stop

6:25

fights, people jump up

6:28

and down, why have you stopped that fight?

6:30

Why? He was this, he

6:32

was that. But what they don't see is

6:34

what we see. Their eyes, their eyes are

6:36

in orbit and you're thinking, God,

6:39

I've got to stop this. So we

6:41

stop it and then, but in this particular fight,

6:45

the whole world can see

6:47

Tyson's eyes in orbit and

6:50

he was virtually gone. You

6:52

know, it was a good idea to stop that

6:54

fight then. Because you've been surprised if it's been

6:56

stopped. No one has been surprised at all.

6:59

Take us into that split decision you have

7:01

to make Ian, when you are moving on

7:04

from a judge to a referee of

7:07

when to stop a fight.

7:09

And you talk about the eyes and

7:11

you will have had criticism for stopping fights in

7:13

the past two years. Oh of course, of course

7:15

I have. Yes, absolutely. Yes. But

7:18

I'm watching that with my daughter and I'm thinking,

7:20

this is going to be stopped, this is going

7:22

to be stopped. And it isn't. I'm

7:24

watching one of the fights on the undercard as well,

7:26

the Cordina fight. And that was eventually stopped. There

7:29

must be so many things that

7:31

run through your head, particularly

7:33

if you're refereeing a unified

7:35

heavyweight championship bout. What

7:37

do you have to take into consideration? Everything

7:40

is a really, really, such a tough call.

7:43

And what you got to remember is

7:45

I'm the next fighter. So I

7:48

want to give them every opportunity possible

7:50

because that could be your one and

7:52

only chance at the big time. So,

7:55

you know, and being an ex-fighter as a

7:57

referee, I think it gives you a really

7:59

good a really good step

8:01

inside because I know as soon as that

8:03

fighter gets in that ring I know exactly

8:05

what they've gone through to get to that

8:08

point. But at the end of the day

8:10

people it's about safety

8:13

and listen we've all got a fight in us right,

8:15

everyone's got a fight in us but

8:17

when unfortunately sometimes the fight

8:19

gets punched out of you that's

8:21

when we do our

8:24

job and we say because listen we're fighters

8:26

when I fought for the title back in

8:28

the day I got put down

8:30

for the fourth time I got up and I'm alright, I'm

8:32

alright but I was gone, the referee survived it off. That's

8:35

what we're there for, we're there to save you

8:37

and always say it, when a

8:39

loser's corner, thank you, you know

8:41

you've done a good job. The sports agents. The

8:48

sports agents. With Gabby Logan and

8:50

Mark Chapman. And

8:54

on to Thursday's show and with the

8:56

gap seemingly widening between clubs in the

8:58

Premier League and Championship EFL chair Rick

9:01

Parry joined us. We needed change because

9:03

we had all sorts of challenges, we

9:05

had the Taylor Report, we had clubs

9:08

having to invest in all-seater stadia, game

9:10

was at a fairly low ebb. In

9:12

the wake of Italian 90

9:15

talent moving abroad, very

9:18

difficult to get change within the set-up

9:20

of the football league so

9:22

something different was needed. What we didn't

9:24

want to do in any way, show

9:26

perform was to destroy the rest of

9:28

the pyramid, that was never part of

9:30

the plan. And I'll tell

9:33

you what's really interesting, so the final deal that

9:35

we signed with Sky and the BBC was actually

9:37

214 million over the

9:39

five years, 40 odd

9:42

million a year to start with, that

9:44

was 400% up on the previous EFL

9:46

deal so it was actually big money.

9:49

But in the first year of the Premier

9:52

League, the turnover of the Premier League, not

9:55

all the clubs, The turnover of the Premier

9:57

League, the limited company, was 45 million. The

10:01

turn over the Football League. Was.

10:03

Thirty Four million. The gap

10:05

was Eleven million. Football League

10:07

was earning seventy five percent.

10:10

As much as the Premier League. And

10:12

of course, who would remember it's big chunk

10:14

of that was supposed money. For example, shudder

10:17

and ten million a year this? the gap

10:19

has gone from eleven million to three billion.

10:21

while. And the turn over

10:23

the Fl is six percent of the

10:25

Premier league's but they was never the

10:28

intention to leave the Football League behind.

10:31

Premier. League as been immensely successful.

10:33

Nobody visits it would be as

10:35

big as a mother antibodies. Says

10:38

that. They. Thought would be

10:40

generating the numbers we are now at the

10:42

time would be lying frankly because nobody had

10:45

a clue. Sky was on the verge of

10:47

going bust. They were losing two hundred and

10:49

fifty million A Yes, it was brave. It

10:51

was bowled on both parts, but the sun.

10:54

Never wanting to destroy the game, we thought

10:56

the Football League would succeed on his as

10:58

they thought they would succeed on their own

11:00

because having talked about the tensions of making

11:03

decisions same apply to them, you could make

11:05

a decision on anything. so we thought they

11:07

would thrive and. On in

11:09

the negotiations with the Football League

11:11

clubs. The. Thing that was paramount

11:13

from that point of view was the three of three

11:15

down Ivs ability to get into the premier league. So.

11:20

That was the sweet. A real mix of

11:22

guess where this just scroll bucks read the

11:24

sports agents feed to listen to those episodes

11:26

in full global player or were as he

11:29

that your podcasts. And will have more. Every

11:31

Tuesday and Thursday we'll see. You. Next week

11:33

or Sages with. Subsidence

11:36

a lot

11:38

less.