Category Archives: Football

Spanish police make arrests over ‘hate crimes’ targeting Vinícius Júnior

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Three detained after racist slurs directed at Real Madrid forward, with four more held over mannequin hanging from bridge

Spanish police have arrested three people in connection with the racist abuse suffered by Real Madrid’s Brazilian forward Vinícius Júnior during a match with Valencia on Sunday, and detained a further four suspects over an effigy of the player that was hung from a bridge in Madrid four months ago.

In a brief statement on Tuesday morning, the Policía Nacional said three young men had been arrested in Valencia over the “racist behaviour” that took place during the match at the city’s Mestalla stadium.

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Spanish prosecutors investigate racist football abuse against Vinícius Júnior

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Judicial sources say incident during Real Madrid’s match with Valencia is being treated as possible hate crime

Spanish prosecutors have opened an investigation over racist chants hurled at Real Madrid’s Brazilian forward Vinícius Júnior during a weekend match, as the head of Spain’s football federation admitted the country had a “problem” with racism.

The prosecutor’s office in the eastern city of Valencia, where the game took place, was investigating the incident as a possible “hate crime”, judicial sources said, after Luis Rubiales of the Royal Spanish Football Federation called for zero tolerance.

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At least 12 people dead after crowd crush at football stadium in El Salvador

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  • Incident occurred at the Estadio Cuscatlán in San Salvador
  • President Nayib Bukele pledges ‘thorough investigation’

At least 12 people have died with more than 100 injured in a crowd crush at a football stadium in El Salvador on Saturday, the Central American country’s government has confirmed.

Alianza FC and Club Deportivo Fas were playing the second leg of their playoff quarter-final game at the Estadio Cuscatlán in San Salvador, the country’s capital, when play was suspended after 16 minutes.

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Football Australia expects rainbow symbol clearance at Women’s World Cup

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  • Armbands could highlight LGBTQ+ issues and Indigenous rights
  • James Johnson ‘pretty confident’ after ‘good dialogue’ with Fifa

The chief executive of Football Australia has told the Observer that he is “pretty confident and optimistic” players will be allowed to wear rainbow armbands at the Women’s World Cup, after holding talks with Fifa. In a highly significant development, James Johnson said there had been “meaningful dialogue” between the hosts and football’s governing body and that it was likely to lead to players having greater ability to express themselves.

In an exclusive interview, Johnson also revealed that discussions had taken place over permitting Indigenous First Nation flags to be flown inside stadiums at July and August’s competition in Australia and New Zealand, saying it was an important issue for his country and its team.

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Liverpool fans boo during national anthem before match at Anfield

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Football club says how spectators choose to react to God Save the King is a ‘personal choice’

The British national anthem has been met with resounding boos at Anfield, with Liverpool fans drowning out the music with heckles before their fixture against Brentford hours after King Charles’s coronation.

Liverpool supporters could also be heard chanting “Liverpool, Liverpool” in what has become somewhat of a tradition whenever the national anthem is played at the ground.

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Wrexham AFC and Hollywood owners celebrate promotion with bus parade

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Thousands line route as Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney join men’s and women’s teams on open-top bus tour

Ryan Reynolds, Rob McElhenney and Wrexham AFC’s staff and players celebrated the team’s promotion with an open-top bus parade on Tuesday evening.

Thousands of fans lined up along a 3.5-mile route in the north Wales city as three buses left from the club’s Racecourse ground carrying the team that won the National League title and promotion back to the English Football League after a 15-year absence. The women’s side also clinched promotion to the Genero Adran Premier by winning their playoff final.

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Bobby Moore’s ex-wife urges return of lost shirt from 1966 World Cup final

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Tina Moore unsure how red England shirt left her possession but it is now in hands of mystery private buyer

It is the most famous moment in English football. Bobby Moore, the England captain, hoisted on the shoulders of his teammates, holding the World Cup trophy aloft in 1966.

While the moment was captured on camera and preserved for posterity, the red England shirt the centre-half was wearing, with the number six on the back, has been lost – and Moore’s ex-wife is urging its current owner to return it.

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Alan Shearer talks of ‘difficult week’ as he and Gary Lineker return to MotD

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Presenters back to cover FA Cup quarter-final after row that nearly cost BBC director general and chairman their jobs

Gary Lineker returned to presenting Match of the Day on Saturday evening after a row that threatened to topple the BBC chairman and director general.

As the former England international introduced live BBC coverage of the FA Cup quarter-final between Manchester City and Burnley, pundit Alan Shearer touched on the recent controversy.

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Man who racially abused Brentford’s Ivan Toney gets English stadium ban

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  • First such ban issued under new legislation
  • Antonio Neill given three-year ban for Instagram message

A man who racially abused Brentford’s Ivan Toney on social media has become the first person to be banned from every English stadium under the police, crime, sentencing and courts act. Antonio Neill, 24, sent the message via Toney’s Instagram account in October last year and the player shared it publicly, prompting a police investigation.

Neill pleaded guilty on 25 January to sending an offensive message. On Monday, he received a four-month sentence suspended for two years and a three-year ban from attending football matches in England.

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Gary Lineker row: No 10 refuses to say Sunak has confidence in Tim Davie as star ‘delighted’ to return to BBC – live

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Downing Street declines to say whether PM has confidence in BBC director-general after furore over Match of the Day presenter

The former journalist and Labour spin doctor Alastair Campbell praised Lineker for his “professionalism, accountability and integrity” and Tim Davie for “admitting they got it wrong” after the BBC apology.

Before the BBC statement, the former BBC director of news James Harding told Radio 4’s Today programme that the corporation had got itself into a bit of a muddle over impartiality.

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Pressure on BBC chair mounts over Gary Lineker suspension

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Executives race to resolve Match of the Day presenter standoff as senior Tories stop short of backing Richard Sharp on impartiality

BBC executives are scrambling to repair relations with Gary Lineker and stave off a staff mutiny at the corporation, with hopes that the presenter could be back in post by next weekend.

The row left the BBC’s chair, Richard Sharp, fighting for his future on Sunday night as Jeremy Hunt stopped short of backing him to guard the corporation’s impartiality in the wake of the row.

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Gary Lineker suspension: Match of the Day 2 and Women’s Super League coverage to be ‘much reduced’ – as it happened

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Corporation’s sports coverage severely disrupted as presenters and pundits pull out in solidarity with Lineker

Match of the Day viewing figures were unaffected by the absence of Gary Lineker on Saturday night.

The shortened 20-minute version of the show had no commentary, presenters, or pundits after staff walked out in solidarity with its host Gary Lineker. Even the show’s theme music was dropped, as the BBC dealt with the fallout after suspending its highest-paid star.

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BBC to air Match of the Day without presenters after Gary Lineker’s suspension

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Decision taken after corporation takes its highest-paid presenter off air and his fellow broadcasters refuse to appear in solidarity

Match of the Day will be broadcast without any presenters or pundits this weekend, after the main host, Gary Lineker, was suspended from the BBC for breaching impartiality guidelines over his criticism of the government’s asylum policies.

In a dramatic and unexpected escalation of a crisis that has been brewing all week, the corporation took the decision to take its highest-paid presenter off its flagship football show after he was criticised by Tory MPs and the rightwing media.

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Gary Lineker faces a dilemma: toe the BBC line or be a social media influencer

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Corporation is risking its reputation by making an example of its highest-paid star over his tweets on asylum policy

The BBC’s decision to take Gary Lineker off air leaves its most outspoken personality with a potentially career-defining decision, as the corporation looks to risk its reputation to make a public example of one of its biggest stars.

Lineker’s politically loaded tweets about the government’s new asylum policy – followed by a pledge to stand by his comments – had left the BBC in an almost impossible position, balancing impartiality with freedom of expression by its staff.

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Gary Lineker stands by his immigration policy remarks

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Match of the Day host says he does not fear BBC suspension for comparing government language to that of 1930s Germany

Gary Lineker has said he will stand his ground after a day of attacks from ministers over tweets he posted earlier this week criticising the government’s asylum policy, and dismissed suggestions he could face suspension from his £1.35m-a-year job at the BBC.

Pressure continues to mount on Lineker, with the culture secretary, the home secretary and two former BBC directors adding to the criticism of the Match of the Day presenter’s comments on social media, in which he likened the language used to set out the government’s immigration plans to “that used by Germany in the 30s”.

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‘Why do we need a supermodel?’: Backlash after Fifa makes Adriana Lima Women’s World Cup ambassador

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  • Football body’s decision criticised as ‘tone deaf’
  • Players and administrators have questioned why athletes were not chosen

Fifa’s decision to appoint supermodel Adriana Lima as an official ambassador for the Women’s World Cup was “tone deaf” and unnecessary, according to former football administrators, players and gender equality campaigners.

Fifa president Gianni Infantino said Lima, a former Victoria’s Secret model, “lives and breathes” football and would be an “excellent link” between the sporting body and fans worldwide. Lima describes herself as a football fan, but appears to have had no official involvement in the sport before now.

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Italy’s referees punish more dark-skinned footballers than light

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Researchers have found a racial bias by match officials in the country’s top league, but say it could be linked to crowd pressure

Referees in Italy’s top football league give more yellow and red cards to Black and darker-skinned players than to their light-skinned teammates, research shows.

Officials in Serie A awarded an average of 20% more fouls per season against darker-skinned players from 2009 to 2019, with 11% more yellow cards and 16% more red cards.

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‘Victory for Ukraine’: Shakhtar Donetsk have unlikely win in Europa League

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Football team that has been exiled from its home ground and endured an exodus of star players pulls off stunning win against Rennes on anniversary of war

Ukraine’s Shakhtar Donetsk have not played in their home city since 2014. The underground car park of their ground in Donbas is being used by the Russians to store weapons. They have endured an exodus of star foreign players, including the sale of star winger Mykhailo Mudryk to Chelsea last month.

But in a David and Goliath win over French side Rennes, Shakhtar Donetsk have gatecrashed their way into the last 16 of the Europa League.

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Manchester United fans and rights groups raise fears over Qatar-led ownership bid

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The Gulf state bank’s offer to buy the English Premier League team has been criticised by humanitarian organisations, LGBTQ+ fan clubs and advocacy groups for football governance

A Qatar-led bid to take over Manchester United should not be entertained because of concerns about state influence and human rights abuses in the country, rights groups say.

Fears about an offer to buy the club have been raised by Amnesty International’s Manchester branch, which said it had been contacted by fans who were very worried by the news.

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Wife and children of earthquake victim Christian Atsu join Newcastle tribute

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Minute’s applause held at St James’ Park, where Ghanaian footballer spent five years

Tributes have been paid to the Ghanaian and former Premier League footballer Christian Atsu, who was found dead under the earthquake rubble of his home in Turkey.

There was a minute’s applause for Atsu on Saturday at St James’ Park before Newcastle United’s game against Liverpool, which his wife and children attended. Atsu spent five years at Newcastle from 2016 to 2021.

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