Category Archives: Football

‘Dream come true’: young football fan thanks Jack Grealish for goal celebration

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Finlay Fisher, who has cerebral palsy, thanks England footballer for keeping promise to celebrate goal with special dance

A young football fan with cerebral palsy said seeing Jack Grealish perform their special goal celebration was “a dream come true” – and urged the England star to do “the Finlay” each time he scores.

Grealish had promised Finlay Fisher he would perform the shoulder waggle celebration after the 12-year-old wrote to him upon learning that the player’s sister Holly also has cerebral palsy. True to his word, the Manchester City forward pulled out the dance after scoring the sixth goal in England’s 6-2 win against Iran at the World Cup in Qatar on Monday.

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BBC’s Alex Scott wears rainbow armband for England World Cup match

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Pundit opts to wear OneLove armband in apparent gesture of solidarity with LGBTQ+ people in Qatar

The BBC pundit Alex Scott wore a rainbow armband as she presented coverage of England’s first match of the Qatar World Cup, in an apparent gesture of solidarity with LGBTQ+ people in a country where same-sex relationships are illegal.

Her decision to wear the OneLove armband – which officially represents a stand against all forms of discrimination – came hours after the England and Wales teams decided not to wear the same armbands after being informed that players could receive yellow cards for breaching Fifa rules on clothing.

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Iran players stay silent for anthem in apparent support for protests

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World Cup footballers did not sing before match against England in apparent show of support for protesters back home

Not a single member of the Iranian team sang their country’s national anthem at the start of their World Cup match with England, in an attempt to distance themselves from their government.

One official on the touchline sang, only serving to highlight his isolation, but there was heavy booing of the anthem by the large Iranian crowd inside the stadium.

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‘We are all Mahsa’: Iranians in Doha for World Cup voice anger at regime

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Signs of uprising were everywhere outside the stadium hosting England v Iran

Hundreds of Iranian fans arrived at Doha’s Khalifah stadium on Monday with a secret: they wanted their national team to lose.

“In my heart, I don’t want them to win,” said Mokhtar, 59, wincing visibly at the admission. The propaganda value of defeating Iran’s former colonial master, England, would simply be too irresistible for the country’s embattled rulers, he said.

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LGBTQ+ groups condemn Fifa over OneLove armband sanctions threat

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Campaigners hit out after teams including England and Wales say players will not wear armband at World Cup in Qatar

LGBTQ+ rights activists and campaigners have condemned Fifa’s threats to impose sanctions on players who wear OneLove armbands at the World Cup in Qatar.

England, Wales and five other European nations have confirmed their players will not wear the armband, saying the football governing body had made it clear their captains could be booked or forced to leave the pitch if they did so.

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Revealed: star football pundits promote World Cup gambling despite ban

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Spirit of rules on use of celebrities in advertising is being ignored, claims charity supporting victims of gambling addiction

Football pundits Harry Redknapp, Peter Crouch and Robbie Keane are helping to promote betting on World Cup matches despite stricter rules on celebrity gambling endorsements to protect young people.

Fifa officials estimate the last World Cup generated £120bn in betting turnover. Gambling companies hope for a similar betting spree for this year’s tournament, despite a ban on gambling in Qatar.

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Twitter has ‘50% chance’ of major crash during World Cup, says insider

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Social media giant ill-equipped to deal with traffic spikes after cuts imposed by Elon Musk, according to former employee

Twitter stands a 50% chance of a major outage that could take the site offline during the World Cup, according to a recently departed employee with knowledge of how the company responds to large-scale events.

The former employee, who was granted anonymity because of the sensitivity of what was discussed, has knowledge of the workings of Twitter Command Centre, the platform’s team of troubleshooters who monitor the site for issues such as traffic spikes and data centre outages.

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Robbie Williams defends decision to perform in Qatar during World Cup

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Singer said he didn’t ‘condone any abuses of human rights’ but it would be ‘hypocritical’ not to go

Robbie Williams has defended his decision to perform in Qatar during the World Cup, arguing that it would be “hypocritical” not to go.

The singer, 48, has been criticised on social media for agreeing to sing during the tournament, which begins on Sunday night, due to the country’s human rights record, stance on homosexuality and treatment of migrant workers.

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Hopes for workers’ legacy fade after ‘deafening silence’ from Qataris

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  • Trade union working with Qatar fears for World Cup legacy
  • It sees ‘no sign that sustainable change is coming’

The trade union leading attempts to improve conditions for migrant workers in Qatar has warned that a positive World Cup legacy is unlikely after proposals for a migrant workers’ centre and wider reform were met with “deafening silence” by government officials.

The Building and Wood Workers’ International has been working with the Qatari government since 2016 and was part of a collective effort that led two years to the abolition of the kafala system, under which workers could not change jobs without their employer’s permission. Union officials, however, now believe that attempts to cement change – including the creation of a migrant workers’ centre – have been stonewalled and see “no sign that sustainable change is coming”.

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James Cleverly says LGBTQ+ World Cup fans should ‘respect law’ of Qatar

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UK foreign secretary says it is his job to ensure UK visitors stay safe as he defends attending the tournament

James Cleverly has told LGBTQ+ football fans travelling to Qatar for the World Cup to “respect the law” of the host country, as the foreign secretary defended attending the tournament himself.

While Cleverly said he understood why some people were uncomfortable with Qatar holding the event, which begins on 20 November, he said it was “my job to make sure those people who do visit stay safe”.

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Revealed: UK local councils deposit taxpayers’ cash in Qatar state bank

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Town halls and finance firms say they support LGBT rights but send money to World Cup host where homosexuality is illegal

The rainbow flag flew above the Bourne Corn Exchange as South Kesteven council embraced LGBT history month.

A year after voting against such a gesture the Lincolnshire local authority declared itself pleased “to celebrate and recognise the […] rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people”, hoisting the flag outside its headquarters in 2019.

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World Cup stadium workers ‘had their money stolen and lives ruined’, says rights group

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Report on conditions in Qatar alleges labour abuses are widespread and calls on Fifa to set up compensation fund

Migrant workers who constructed stadiums for the World Cup in Qatar have endured “persistent and widespread labour rights violations”, which include nationality-based discrimination, illegal recruitment practices and, in some cases, unpaid wages, according to allegations in a new report by the human rights group Equidem.

While the report also documents a number of cases of good practice, including “adequate channels for reporting concerns with working conditions”, good access to healthcare, satisfactory safety measures and decent living conditions, Equidem’s findings conclude that Qatar has been a “hostile environment” for stadium workers.

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FTSE 100 firms hand billions in dividend payouts to Qatar investors

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Critics say everyday UK consumer spending has funnelled billions to controversial World Cup host since 2010

Some of the UK’s largest listed companies including water and energy giants have handed almost £500m to Qatari state-owned investors this year, raising concerns that blue-chip company profits are supporting the controversial World Cup host.

The dividend payouts are the result of the Gulf nation’s investments in a raft of FTSE 100 firms, including Barclays, Shell and utility firm Severn Trent, which have reported strong profits amid a cost of living crisis and the worst UK drought in centuries.

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Six out of 10 people in UK oppose Qatar hosting World Cup over anti-gay laws

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Poll finds only 43% of people think England and Wales should take part, while 39% think they should not

A large majority of people in Britain think the World Cup should not be held in Qatar because of its position on LGBTQ+ rights.

Homosexuality is illegal in Qatar, attracting punishments of up to seven years in prison. Despite this and other serious human rights concerns, Fifa members voted in 2010 to award the 2022 tournament to the Gulf state.

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Qatar lavished British MPs with gifts ahead of World Cup

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MPs who received gifts later appeared to speak favourably about Qatar in parliamentary debates

Qatar has spent more money on gifts and trips for British MPs in the past year than any other country, according to Observer analysis that reveals the Gulf state’s lobbying efforts ahead of next month’s football World Cup.

The Qatari government made gifts to members of parliament worth £251,208 in the 12 months to October 2022, including luxury hotel stays, business-class flights and tickets to horse-racing events.

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World Cup organisers in Qatar respond to Australian players’ criticism, saying ‘no country is perfect’

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Group running tournament praises Socceroos for raising awareness of human rights but does not address issue of same-sex relationships

Qatari organisers of the 2022 World Cup have responded to the Socceroos’ criticism of the country’s human rights record, praising the group of players for raising awareness of issues ahead of the tournament while admitting that “no country is perfect”.

Sixteen Australian players raised their concerns about the “suffering” of migrant workers and the inability of LGBTQ+ people in Qatar “to love the person that they choose” in a collective video released on Thursday.

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UK minister criticised over call for gay World Cup fans to show respect in Qatar

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James Cleverly says ‘flex and compromise’ needed on both sides in country that criminalises homosexuality

The UK foreign secretary, James Cleverly, has been criticised for telling gay football fans they should show respect to Qatar, which criminalises their sexuality, when attending the World Cup in the emirate.

Cleverly said Qatar was willing to make compromises to allow people it would normally persecute to attend the tournament, which kicks off on 20 November. On Tuesday, the prominent British LGBTQ campaigner Peter Tatchell claimed he had been arrested in Qatar for highlighting the country’s stance.

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Peter Tatchell stopped in Qatar while staging LGBT+ rights protest

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Incident outside National Museum in Doha comes less than a month before start of men’s football World Cup

The human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell has been stopped by police in Qatar while staging a protest against the Gulf state’s criminalisation of LGBTQ+ people.

Tatchell’s protest outside the National Museum of Qatar in the capital, Doha, comes less than a month before the start of the Fifa World Cup, which is expected to attract 1.2 million visitors from around the world.

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Great save? Lower league clubs mull early kick-offs to cut energy bills

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With budgets always tight some smaller football clubs are looking to offset their soaring power costs

Shrewsbury Town’s fans had long since filed out of the Montgomery Waters Meadow stadium after the defender Chey Dunkley had scored an injury-time winner against Exeter, when Brian Caldwell looked angrily skyward. The League One club’s chief executive was unimpressed to see the ground’s floodlights still burning bright.

Caldwell is among the football executives trying to limit the financial pain from huge energy bills. Faced with an even bigger surge in his annual costs, Caldwell was forced to settle for a £100,000 increase, to £180,000, when signing a new energy contract in April. “It’s a massive dent in our finances. Football clubs are not normal businesses, they’re set up to break even and put the money you can into the playing budget,” he said.

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Salford museum pays £7.8m for LS Lowry’s Going to the Match

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Purchase of 1953 painting beloved by football fans made possible by gift from charitable foundation

A painting by LS Lowry beloved by football fans and art enthusiasts has been bought by the Lowry museum and gallery in Salford, saving it from disappearing into a private collection.

The museum paid £7.8m including fees for Going to the Match, painted in 1953, at an auction on Wednesday evening. The purchase was made possible by a gift from the Law Family charitable foundation, which was set up by the hedge fund manager and Conservative party donor Andrew Law and his wife, Zoë. The painting had been estimated to fetch £5m-£8m.

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