Category Archives: Football

US stadium and hotel workers threaten strikes ‘to make things fair’ during World Cup

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Low wages and fears of ICE crackdowns have set workers on edge of strike as thousands set to arrive during World Cup

Hospitality and food service workers in several US cities hosting World Cup games are warning of looming labor disputes and possible strikes as the largest single sport tournament in the world gets ready to kick off on 11 June.

In Los Angeles, California, cashiers, dishwashers, cooks, bartenders, concessions workers and food attendants at the SoFi stadium reached a tentative agreement on Tuesday afternoon, but the union noted it has a contractual right to walk off the job if it determines that federal immigration enforcement is threatening worker safety during the World Cup. The US’s opening match, against Paraguay, is scheduled to take place at SoFi Stadium on 12 June.

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Is the pope a Real Madrid fan? Leo’s admission upsets Barcelona faithful

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Pontiff appeals in Catalan for harmony on Barcelona leg of Spain tour after making football foes in city

To the delight of many, Pope Leo XIV kicked off the Barcelona leg of his week-long visit to Spain with a few words in Catalan, calling on the faithful who had gathered in the city’s cathedral on Tuesday “to build harmony and communion beyond all polarisation”.

The pontiff’s familiar and commendable plea for people to set aside their differences may, however, have come a little late. Three days earlier, while chatting to journalists on the flight to Spain, Leo had made an awkward confession.

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Sexism and bullying keeping women out of careers in sport, MPs told

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Women coaches routinely overlooked, undermined and denied opportunities despite qualifications, say experts

Women are being shut out of careers in sport by entrenched sexism, discrimination and workplace bullying, MPs have been told.

Female coaches are routinely overlooked, undermined and denied opportunities despite their qualifications, experts told a parliamentary select committee on Thursday.

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Mexico City police teargas teachers’ protest 10 days before World Cup

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Teachers associated with CNTE union were marching toward Zócalo for salary raises and reversal of pension laws

Riot police fired teargas at teachers who were marching toward Mexico City’s historic Zócalo plaza, just days before the square is expected to host the 2026 World Cup “Fan Fest”. The incident is the second time police have clashed with teachers in the past week, and more conflict is likely as Mexico City prepares to hold the opening game of the Fifa World Cup on 11 June.

“This event will have to be suspended,” Filiberto Frausto, a union leader, told AFP, which witnessed police firing teargas on 1 June. “A cause like ours should be far above – it’s far more important than a little bit of distraction and fun.”

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French police arrest 780 after violent clashes as PSG fans celebrate Champions League win

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Interior minister says 57 officers injured as rioters set fires and vandalise shops in about 15 cities

French police have detained 780 people involved in violent clashes in Paris and other French cities that erupted on Saturday night after Paris Saint-Germain defeated Arsenal to win the Champions League.

The interior minister, ­Laurent Nuñez, said 57 officers were wounded, with most suffering minor injuries, as football fans set off fires and vandalised shops. One small group even tried to storm a Paris police station.

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‘Happy either way’: Arsenal fans find zen attitude to Champions League final

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Supporters filling north London pubs said they were already gratified by Premier League win

The streets of Holloway, usually bustling with families and trolly-dragging shoppers, were uncharacteristically quiet on Saturday afternoon. But shortly after the clock struck 5pm, loud roars echoed through the north London high street, located a short walk away from the Emirates stadium, as Arsenal walked on to the pitch for the Champions League final.

While the team, still basking in the glory of their Premier League win last week, were in Budapest for their final showdown against Paris Saint-Germain, Gunners – or Gooners, as they are colloquially known – came out to support the team on their home turf.

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Thursday briefing: How ​English football ​is ​pricing ​out ​its ​own ​supporters

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In today’s newsletter: Behind the packed stadiums and record revenues lies a growing tension​ of a sport thriving financially while the supporters who built it ​are increasingly ​left behind

Good morning. The men’s football season is reaching the sharp end. This week, Arsenal were crowned Premier League champions and last night Aston Villa won the Uefa Europa League. The men’s Fifa World Cup is just around the corner.

But fans in England are also at the sharp end: rising prices inside and outside grounds, kick-off times being altered on the whim of TV channels, and a creeping sense that some clubs are desperate to replace the “legacy fan” with a premium-paying “high-yield customer”.

UK politics | Andy Burnham is backing Shabana Mahmood’s controversial changes to the immigration system, his allies have said, in a blow to those in Labour who hope to soften them.

AI | The Electoral Commission has called for new legal controls over misinformation from AI chatbots, after a thinktank found they had made serious mistakes during the recent Scottish election.

Ebola | Doses of a potential vaccine against the Bundibugyo virus that is causing an Ebola outbreak in central Africa will not be available for six to nine months, the World Health Organization said.

Middle East | Israel’s far-right national security minister has sparked a diplomatic crisis by publishing footage of Israeli security forces abusing international activists who were detained as they tried to sail to Gaza with aid.

UK news | Rainwater harvesting, the use of grey water in homes and an urgent campaign to reduce water usage across society are vital to prevent water shortages of 5bn litres a day by 2055, the government has been told.

In the weeks leading up to the World Cup, soccer writer Jonathan Wilson will explain how the tournament became a global phenomenon with cultural, social and political weight that extends far beyond each game. Sign up for the newsletter here.

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‘We’ve done it’: euphoria as Arsenal win first Premier League in a generation

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The Emirates erupted as the Gunners were crowned champions – with expats, drivers and a boy in pyjamas out to celebrate

‘Twenty-two years,” said the father to his son, shaking his head reflectively. “Twenty-two effing years.” Standing outside the Emirates Stadium among an ever-growing crowd, he was not alone in trying to get a handle on his feelings. Arsenal had just won their first league title in a generation, after all.

From the moment Eli Junior Kroupi gave Bournemouth a first-half lead over Manchester City, the red part of north London was preparing to party. Arsenal’s only rivals for the title had to win to take their duel to the final day. A half-time deficit was not a good start. The landlord of the gridlocked Gunners pub on Blackstock Road had a glass of champagne in his hand, though it may have been something to do with the prospective takings.

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‘Tearing down barriers’: North Korean footballers arrive in Seoul for first time in eight years

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Naegohyang FC due to play Suwon FC in semi-final of Asian Women’s Champions League on Wednesday

A North Korean women’s football club has arrived in South Korea for an AFC Women’s Champions League semi-final, marking the first visit by athletes from the isolated state to the South in eight years.

The delegation of 27 players and 12 staff entered the country on Sunday before Wednesday’s match between Naegohyang FC and South Korea’s Suwon FC Women in Suwon.

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Fifa World Cup matches face heightened terror risk in US amid Iran conflict

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Experts warn of ‘soft target’ vulnerabilities and intelligence gaps as federal agencies prepare to secure 78 matches across 11 cities

Fifa World Cup matches set to be held across the United States face heightened terrorism risks, with experts warning that vulnerabilities are being amplified by the US-Israel conflict with Iran and a depletion of counter-terrorism expertise within federal law enforcement.

The biggest threat stems from homegrown violent extremists, often lone actors that may have become radicalized online by extreme political views or jihadists such as the Islamic State (Isis), said four counter-terror experts interviewed.

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Prague derby abandoned after fans storm pitch with Slavia seconds from title

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  • Sparta keeper Surovcik says he will pursue legal action

  • Slavia chair calls incident in derby ‘disgrace’

The derby between Slavia Prague and Sparta Prague was abandoned on Saturday after hundreds of home fans stormed the pitch in the closing minutes, when Slavia were leading 3-2 at their Fortuna Stadium and seconds away from clinching the Czech league title.

Slavia supporters breached security barriers during stoppage time and flooded the field, with some carrying lit flares and running toward the visiting section. Pyrotechnics were thrown into the stands as players from both teams attempted to leave the pitch.

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Veteran goalkeeper, 70, to return to pitch for official game in Spain

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Ángel Mateos González due to play for CD Colunga, making him oldest player to take part in official match

At an age when many veteran footballers might prefer to be regaling grandchildren, friends and assorted barflies with slightly embroidered tales of their former sporting prowess, 70-year-old Ángel Mateos González is heading back on to the pitch.

The Spaniard, who retired from competitive football 27 years ago, is due to play in goal for the Asturian team CD Colunga in a fifth-tier match this Sunday. If all goes to plan and he pulls on his gloves, he will reportedly become the oldest player to take part in an official match in Spain.

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Ghanaian winger Dominic Frimpong killed at age of 20 in attack on team bus

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  • Armed men fired at Berekum Chelsea bus on Sunday

  • Frimpong dies of wounds at hospital

Berekum Chelsea winger Dominic Frimpong was killed in an armed robbery on his team’s bus as they returned from a match on Sunday, the Ghana Football Association said.

Berekum Chelsea said six “masked men wielding guns and assault rifles” had blocked the road as the team returned from their Ghana Premier League match against Samartex.

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Interpol arrest warrant requested in Congo-Brazzaville for Jean-Guy Blaise Mayolas

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  • Football federation president on the run with wife and son

  • Conviction in absentia of wide-ranging corruption charges

Authorities in Congo-Brazzaville have applied to Interpol for an international arrest warrant against Jean-Guy Blaise Mayolas, the president of the country’s football federation, Fecofoot, after he was convicted of embezzling $1.1m in Fifa funds.

Mayolas is on the run with his wife and son after they were all sentenced to life imprisonment this month for embezzling funds provided by world football’s governing body as part of its Covid-19 relief plan in February 2021. As the Guardian revealed last year, that included almost $500,000 earmarked for the Congo women’s team.

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Reform accused of seeking to insert ‘toxic politics’ into English football

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Suella Braverman presses the FA to scrap diversity and inclusion policies, which she claims are ‘racist’

Reform UK has been accused of seeking to insert “toxic politics” into football after the party pressed the Football Association in England to scrap diversity and inclusion policies.

Suella Braverman wrote to the FA on Tuesday to ask for a meeting to discuss the governing body’s diversity policies, which Reform’s equalities spokesperson described as “utter woke nonsense”.

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‘He looked devastated’: club tells of Barcelona fan who ended up in Exeter

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Supporter mistakenly travelled to St James Park ground instead of Newcastle namesake (save for an apostrophe)

The two stadiums are 366 miles apart. One holds more than 50,000 people, the other less than 10,000. The buzz as you walk up to the two grounds is a little different.

But nevertheless, one Barcelona fan appeared not to have realised that he was at the wrong ground and tried to get through the turnstiles at Exeter City’s modest stadium (St James Park), rather than Newcastle United’s hulking one (St James’ Park).

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Roman Abramovich’s Chelsea FC sale cash may be under investigation as ‘proceeds of crime’

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Documents filed at Companies House over 2022 deal could complicate row with UK over how money will be used

Jersey authorities may be investigating whether cash raised by Roman Abramovich’s 2022 sale of Chelsea FC amounts to the proceeds of crime, according to documents filed at Companies House on Wednesday, potentially complicating a row with the UK government over how the money will be used.

Accounts for Fordstam Ltd, the company through which the billionaire Russian oligarch owned Chelsea, show that the proceeds of the sale – currently frozen and gathering interest in a Barclays Bank account – have risen to £2.4bn.

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Roman Abramovich ready to fight UK government over proceeds from £2.5bn Chelsea sale

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Russian oligarch says money is his to allocate despite international sanctions imposed on his assets

The Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich has stepped up his row with the British government over the £2.5bn proceeds of his sale of Chelsea FC, insisting that the money is his to allocate despite the international sanctions imposed on his assets.

The UK and EU imposed sanctions on Abramovich in 2022, freezing his assets in response to Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, citing his ties to Vladimir Putin’s regime.

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Scotland’s World Cup qualifying win reactions equivalent to small earthquake

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Celebrations to McLean’s jaw-dropping goal picked up by seismic activity monitors at Glasgow Geothermal Observatory

When Scotland qualified for the men’s football World Cup for the first time in 28 years, supporters were propelled into wild celebration – and even made the earth move in the process.

According to the British Geological Survey (BGS), when Kenny McLean scored from the halfway line to seal a breathtaking 4-2 win over Denmark, which are ranked 18 places higher in the world than Scotland, the reaction at Hampden Park was equivalent to a very small earthquake.

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Luis Rubiales has eggs thrown at him during book launch in Madrid

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  • Former Spanish federation president struck by three eggs

  • Rubiales claims the assailant ‘was my own uncle’

The disgraced former Spanish football federation (RFEF) president Luis Rubiales had eggs flung at him, allegedly by his uncle, during the presentation of his new book on Thursday in Madrid.

Rubiales, convicted of sexual assault for a forced kiss on the player Jenni Hermoso after Spain won the Women’s World Cup, appeared to be struck on the back by an egg as the man Rubiales claimed was his uncle threw three in the direction of the 48-year-old.

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