Illegal streaming concerns raised as drone halts Arsenal, Fleetwood Town fixture

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Arsenal and Fleetwood Town’s Carabao Cup match was stopped for approximately eight minutes on Tuesday after a drone was seen above the League Two side’s stadium.

Referee Michael Salisbury stopped the game less than two minutes in as a drone was spotted flying above the pitch. After halting play and explaining the situation to the mangers, the players tried to stay warm as fans booed during during the eight minute interval.

Since the 2023-24 season the English Football League (EFL) has had a policy on drones. Besides the obvious safety concerns, there is also the chance of the match being funnelled to illegal streams. This chance of a stain blemishing the ‘product’ is taken extremely seriously.

In response to the situation The Football Association (FA) stated, ‘The referee should stop the game and advise both team captains and managers that play will not continue until the drone has passed, or left the vicinity of the players and spectators.’

If the drone doesn’t leave, the guidelines suggest both teams return to the changing rooms to await a decision moving forward. During and after an incident with a drone at a game, the club are guided to work closely with local law enforcement and match officials. These engagements are to determine whether the drone posses any public safety concerns or if it is being used with criminal intent.

The game was promptly resumed after the drone left the vicinity and returned to the ground at a nearby housing estate. 

Fleetwood Town, who sit 18th in League Two, went on to produce the biggest result in their club history to knock the Premier League champions out of the cup on penalties. 

According to Sky Sports, Lancashire Police have since seized a drone that they believed was flying over the ground and have taken a man into questioning. The legal outcome will shortly follow, but the EFL have made a strong indirect statement on how much they value their product and the rights to it.

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Borussia Dortmund & Vodafone launch ‘Fan Mode’ to keep supporter attention on the pitch

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Borussia Dortmund have launched ‘Fan Mode’, a new initiative aimed to incentivise supporters to put their phones away and live in the moment while supporting their side at home matches.

Dortmund have paired with club sponsor Vodafone, with the program in use from Saturday’s 1-0 win over Eintracht Frankfurt.

Under the initiative, fans can activate ‘Fan Mode’ within the Borussia Dortmund app – in a manner similar to flight mode – before locking their phone as the action kicks off. From there, time spent inactive on their phone during play equates to points, which in turn sees fans in the running for prizes – including autographed jerseys and fan shop gift cards.

‘With Vodaphone, we have a partner who not only understands what technology is capable of, but also when it should take a back seat,’ said Dortmund CEO Carsten Cramer.

‘Here, a global technology company is specifically using its innovative strength to protect the experience that no technology can replace.

‘Fan Mode sends a powerful message. Over 81,000 people in the stadium, singing, cheering, and holding their breath together: this here and now is irreplaceable.’

The move comes following a 2023 survey conducted by Vodafone themselves, which showed 63 percent of general football fans regularly use their smartphones during matches but simultaneously, listed an increase in social media, selfies and streaming at the football as an annoyance.

‘Anyone at a soccer game should experience the moment and the emotions – not just a cell phone screen,’ said Marcel de Groot, CEO of Vodafone Germany.

‘Let’s leave our smartphones in our pockets more often at the stadium and instead focus on what’s happening on the field and in the stands.’

Partaking in the initiative is completely voluntary, as is the claiming of any points or prizes.

Dortmund, managed by Niko Kovac and currently second on the Bundesliga table, led the Bundesliga’s average attendance for season 2025/26 with just under 80,000.

Their ‘Yellow Wall’ – the supporters in the Südtribüne, or South End of Westfalenstadion (known commercially as Signal Iduna Park) – are widely considered among one of the iconic sights of global football fandom.

Peter Kokotis: ‘South Melbourne Was Never Built to Finish Second’

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South Melbourne football director, Peter Kokotis, has just one complaint following the club’s historic Australia Cup triumph last Saturday: that the team he has played a primary role in building may not have had due time to take it all in.

As those players – just a week on from becoming the first semi-professionals to win the national Cup – headed to Sydney for their next assignment, Kokotis took a rare moment to himself. Remaining in Melbourne, he reflected on what the achievement meant to the club he started supporting as an eight-year old in 1979, his uncle earlier a signatory to their 1959 establishment.

‘As was common with a lot of young Greek boys, our fathers were of a different generation. My father was in the hospitality industry, always working nights. So that two, three hours with him every second Sunday was gold to me. It was my time with dad,’ Kokotis told Soccerscene Unfiltered.

‘Once we dropped to the State League in 2005 some of us stayed, but a lot left or didn’t come at all, or went off to Melbourne Victory. We went from an NSL powerhouse to a club struggling to compete.

‘The last seven days [as we spoke] haven’t been normal. It’s been an incredible outpouring of emotion, gratitude from all over the community with people reaching out. It’s been really refreshing and lovely to listen to people’s stories of how it’s impacted them.’

From the gloom, South Melbourne now finds itself in its strongest position of the post-NSL era. Once a FIFA-licensed player agent, Kokotis has served as South’s general manager, a board member, and the past two seasons as senior football director – an immense task, given the relentless schedule the club is undertaking.

Off-field, they’re banging at the gates for an A-League license, a status they’ve been denied numerous times over the past 20 years. This time does feel different; with the A-League stagnating and South packing the stands on Cup final night, their top-flight exclusion looks ever-more incongruous with the broader health of the game.

While their preparedness to step up can’t just hinge on a result here or there, Kokotis is aware their on-field showings do supplement their attractiveness as a proposition – significantly.

‘We are evolving as a club, and there are many things we do outside of the senior team that are about cultural connection, the wider community. We’re not just a team that cares about trophies and silverware,’ he says.

‘But South is not a club built on coming second… and [winning] is my area. I feel the responsibility, the legacy and the history of the club, and all the success and great people that have come before us.

‘I feel obligated to maintain the machine and keep it going. This time is unique with what’s going on in the football landscape, and success now is very important.’

Catch the full chat with Peter Kokotis on Soccerscene Unfiltered: from helping Brazilian flair reach Australia and backing the unfancied Sinisa Cohadzic, to the top-down versus bottom-up growth debate, and plenty more…

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