Tag Archives: World Cup

Mediaite reports: A World Cup match between Portugal and Uruguay was brought to a halt on Monday when a spectator took to the field, running and waving a rainbow flag. The interruption came after the second half kickoff. Images captured of the protester showed he was also wearing a blue shirt with the Superman emblem and the message “SAVE UKRAINE.” …

CNN reports: Iran state media has called for the US to be kicked out of the 2022 World Cup after the United States Soccer Federation changed Iran’s flag on its social media platforms to show support for protesters in Iran. The federation had temporarily displayed Iran’s national flag on its official Twitter, Instagram and Facebook accounts without the emblem of …

The Associated Press reports: World Cup host Qatar was eliminated on Friday, just six days and two matches into the tournament. Qatar can’t advance to the knockout round after losing to Ecuador in the opener and to Senegal on Friday. It was the earliest exit by a host nation in the World Cup’s 92-year history. Qatar’s fate was sealed after …

The Daily Beast reports: English soccer fans have been banned from dressing up as knights in shining armor ahead of Friday’s World Cup match against the U.S. in Qatar because the outfits are considered offensive to Muslims. British supporters have dressed up as St. George—the patron saint of England—at international sports tournaments for at least two decades. But international soccer …

The Hill reports: Both English and German soccer associations are considering legal action against FIFA after the sporting body banned players from wearing OneLove armbands promoting diversity and inclusion at the World Cup in Qatar. The German Football Association (DFB) may file a claim at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland to challenge the legality of FIFA’s threat …

The Guardian reports: Germany’s players placed hands over their mouths and wore rainbow stripes on their warm-up tops and boots in a powerful statement of defiance against FIFA before their Group E match against Japan. Their message was reinforced by the German interior minister, Nancy Faeser, who also wore a OneLove armband, which promotes tolerance, diversity and LGBTQ+ rights, as …

The Associated Press reports: Discriminatory chants allegedly by Ecuador fans at the World Cup opening game led FIFA to open the first disciplinary case of the tournament on Tuesday. FIFA said the charge was brought “due to chants” at the game against Qatar on Sunday and cited the section of its disciplinary code dealing with discrimination. The chants were reportedly …

The Associated Press reports: America’s top diplomat on Tuesday criticized a decision by FIFA to threaten players at the World Cup with yellow cards if they wear armbands supporting inclusion and diversity. Speaking alongside his Qatari counterpart at a news conference, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said it was “always concerning … when we see any restrictions on freedom …

ESPN reports: The captains of England, Wales, Belgium, Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands will not wear the ‘OneLove’ anti-discrimination armband in their World Cup opening games after confirmation that their captains would be given yellow cards if they took part in the initiative. The announcement came just before their World Cup campaigns were scheduled to start. The national federations said …

Bloomberg News reports: The organizers behind the World Cup in Qatar have banned the sale of alcohol within the stadiums, dramatically reversing a decision to allow Anheuser-Busch InBev NV to sell Budweiser beer. The decision will likely result in moving concession stands serving alcohol even further away from the stadiums. The tournament, typically the world’s largest sporting event and a …

The Daily Mail reports: The United States’ men’s national team have made a huge statement at the World Cup in Qatar by redesigning their crest to incorporate the rainbow flag, in a bid to show solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community. The tournament, which starts on Sunday and sees the US play their opener against Wales on Monday, has been hugely …

Reuters reports: A Qatar World Cup ambassador has told German television broadcaster ZDF that homosexuality was “damage in the mind”, as the Gulf state prepares to host the global tournament in less than two weeks. Khalid Salman addressed the issue of homosexuality, which is illegal in the conservative Muslim country. “They have to accept our rules here,” Salman said. “(Homosexuality) …

The Associated Press reports: FIFA came under pressure Wednesday from several European soccer federations who want their captains to wear an armband with a rainbow heart design during World Cup games in Qatar to campaign against discrimination. France and Germany, the last two World Cup champions, were among eight of the 13 European soccer teams going to Qatar who joined …

The Associated Press reports: Qatar’s ambassador to Germany was urged Monday to abolish his country’s death penalty for homosexuality at a human rights congress hosted by the German soccer federation two months before the Middle East country stages the World Cup. Fan representative Dario Minden switched to English to directly address the Qatari ambassador, Abdulla bin Mohammed bin Saud Al …

The Associated Press reports: The U.S. Soccer Federation reached milestone agreements to pay its men’s and women’s teams equally, making the American national governing body the first in the sport to promise both sexes matching money. The federation announced separate collective bargaining agreements through December 2028 with the unions for both national teams on Wednesday, ending years of often acrimonious …

The Associated Press reports: Rainbow flags could be taken from fans at the World Cup in Qatar to protect them from being attacked for promoting gay rights, a senior leader overseeing security for the tournament told The Associated Press. Major General Abdulaziz Al Ansari insisted that LGBTQ couples would be welcomed and accepted in Qatar for the Nov. 21-Dec. 18 …

The Associated Press reports: Russia’s request to freeze a FIFA ban on its soccer teams ahead of next week’s World Cup qualifying playoffs was denied Friday. FIFA said the Court of Arbitration for Sport dismissed the Russian soccer federation’s bid for an urgent interim ruling to freeze the ban pending a full appeal, which could come within weeks. The CAS …

Politico Europe reports: World football’s governing body, FIFA, announced Monday that it would suspend Russia indefinitely from international tournaments — expelling it from the World Cup 2022 playoffs one month before the final qualification matches. FIFA had come under fire Sunday night for its initial proposed sanctions on Russia, which proposed only a temporary ban on its name, flag and …

ESPN reports: FIFA backed away from immediately expelling Russia from World Cup qualifying on Sunday but said it remained an option, deciding instead the squad can play using the “RFU” acronym of its football federation, the Russian Football Union. The unanimous ruling by the Bureau of the FIFA Council, which includes the six regional football confederation presidents, was also that …

The Daily Beast reports: Russia are due to take part in a head-to-head match with Poland next month to decide which team will take one of the final European qualifying spots for this year’s soccer World Cup. On Saturday, the Polish soccer federation announced that it would not play the game. Under normal rules, that would mean they are thrown …