The two-time Olympic 800m gold medallist Caster Semenya appears to be preparing for a career outside of athletics after joining a women’s football club.
The 28-year-old is currently appealing against a decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport which approved the IAAF’s introduction of a new testosterone limit for female athletes.
Continue reading...When the striker called out racism in football, it ended her international career. She explains why the fight was worth it
Eniola Aluko is one of only 11 female footballers to have played more than 100 times for England. She has scored some of the Lionesses’ most memorable goals, was the first female pundit on Match Of The Day, and is a qualified lawyer, having graduated from Brunel University London with a first in 2008. But it is as a whistleblower that she is destined to be best remembered. And, like many whistleblowers, she has spent the subsequent years being rubbished by those she exposed.
Now she has written a memoir. They Don’t Teach This is a fascinating examination of her multiple identities – British and Nigerian, a girl in a boy’s world, footballer and academic, a kid from an estate with upper-middle-class parents, a God-fearing rebel. But the book is at its best when she reveals exactly what happened after she accused the England management team of racism, and the Football Association of turning a blind eye to it. Aluko does not hold back – and few people from the football establishment emerge with their reputation intact.
Continue reading...Gianni Infantino’s efforts have not had much impact and, with World Cup qualifiers soon, the wait to attend games continues
“They think that, if they give up on this, it’s a noose for them,” says Maryam Shojaei. “People will ask for more. If they give in in one area, they fear they will have to give in in others.”
“They” are the Iranian authorities and Iranian Football Association, who have thus far resisted calls for the removal of the 40-year ban on women in football stadiums. And Shojaei, who is the sister of the Iran national team captain, Masoud Shojaei, is one of an increasing number of women campaigning for entry: some have attempted to sneak into matches disguised as men, female sports photographers have had to scale buildings nearby just to do their jobs, and others have suffered brutal arrests and detention.
Continue reading...Sherry Bray and Christopher Ashford admit accessing CCTV of postmortem examination
Two people are facing prison sentences after they admitted accessing footage of the footballer Emiliano Sala’s postmortem examination.
The Argentinian’s body was recovered from a plane wreck on 6 February, two weeks after it crashed into the Channel.
Continue reading...Fifa, Uefa and Premier League ask Saudi government to clamp down on beoutQ
The world’s biggest football authorities, including those who run the Premier League, World Cup and Champions League, have called on Saudi Arabia to take action to stop a sophisticated, homegrown pirate TV and streaming service that is illegally broadcasting matches internationally.
The strongly worded letter from the exasperated sports bodies – including Fifa, Uefa, Germany’s Bundesliga, Spain’s La Liga and Italy’s Serie A as well as the Asian Football Confederation – comes after almost 18 months fruitlessly attempting to mount a legal challenge in Saudi Arabia to block the service, called beoutQ.
Continue reading...Prosecutors in Las Vegas say that Juventus star Cristiano Ronaldo will not face criminal charges over allegations he raped a woman at a Las Vegas hotel in 2009.
After reviewing a police investigation into the claims, Clark County district attorney Steve Wolfson said on Monday there is not enough evidence to prove the allegations beyond reasonable doubt, and no charges will be filed.
Continue reading...Finsbury Park and Trafalgar Square were deluged with more than 1,000 Algeria supporters after their national football team won the Africa Cup of Nations on Friday night
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25 min: A cross from Dunn to Mewis gives van Veenendaal a difficult catch as she’s backtracking.
Neil Truby asks what it means to say, as I did earlier, that Mewis responds with a takedown. Basically, a wrestling move. But I should clarify that a few seconds had elapsed after Rapinoe cried foul.
22 min: Now the USA look more deliberate, passing around at the back.
Hubert O’Hearn with an interesting point: “What I’m going to suggest is by no means insulting, but this feels more like an FA Cup than a World Cup. You know, some hulking monster of a Man City, or Chelsea in their pomp, facing the gutsy team from mid-table or the Championship that went on a magical run. It’s actually rather charming – can’t remember the last time a World Cup Final felt so Favourite v. Underdog.”
Continue reading...Rotherham in November does not have too much in common with Nice in the searing 30C heat of a June evening but there was a definite sense of deja vu on the Côte d’Azur on Saturday night.
Phil Neville readily admits that one of his toughest moments as England coach came in South Yorkshire late last year where a soul-crushing 2-0 defeat inflicted by Peter Gerhardsson’s side “ruined” his Christmas.
Continue reading...Benin have delivered one of the biggest upsets in Africa Cup of Nations history, eliminating much-fancied Morocco on penalties after Hakim Ziyech missed a late spot-kick in Cairo.
The Squirrels prevailed 4-1 in the shootout after Sofiane Boufal sent his penalty over the bar, and Benin keeper Saturnin Allagbé tipped Youssef En-Nesyri’s effort onto the woodwork. Midfielder Mama Séïbou then stepped up to score the decisive spot-kick.
Continue reading...In the past, queer female athletes all too often had to hide their sexuality. Today, they’re proudly coming out – and challenging bigotry in sport and society as a whole
Women in sport still face a lot of stigma and abuse. One reason for this is the stigma and abuse that women face in general, but added to that is the fact that women in sport are often pegged as lesbians. You’d like to think that women kicking a ball, swinging a bat or hitting a target wouldn’t be so political – yet here we are, still trapped in the patriarchy’s locker room, engulfed in Lynx Africa fumes.
Recently, however, queer female athletes have proudly come to the fore. This week, Belgian tennis players Alison van Uytvanck and Greet Minnen became the first IRL couple to team up at Wimbledon, and called for more support in the sport for same-sex couples – in particular, saying it would help male players to come out.
Continue reading...US goal celebrations were a talking point yet again during Tuesday’s World Cup semi-final against England. After Alex Morgan scored USA’s second goal of the game, she raised her fingers to her lips, miming a sip of tea.
Alex Morgan sippin tea #USAvENG pic.twitter.com/oyiyeaFzKQ
Continue reading...Company automatically posted pictures of new shirts with offensive Twitter handles on back
Adidas UK has come under fire after a social media gambit backfired spectacularly, leading to the company tweeting out pictures of its shirts with racist and offensive slogans on the back.
The error came as Adidas launched a social media campaign, #DareToCreate, in conjunction with its release of the new Arsenal home kit.
Continue reading...• Coach Jill Ellis is unconcerned at Rapinoe speaking out
• France’s Corrine Diacre will not quit after 2-1 defeat
Megan Rapinoe showed no sign of stemming her outspoken ways after scoring the goals that saw USA march one step closer towards the World Cup final.
“Go gays!” she said after the 2-1 quarter-final victory over France in Paris and when asked to comment on whether it being Pride month made her contribution more personally significant. “You can’t win a championship without gays on your team - it’s never been done before, ever. That’s science, right there!
Continue reading...It was fitting that the social justice activist Megan Rapinoe, the focus of unwanted presidential attentions before the game for her “I’m not going to the fucking White House” comment, was the player to power the USA into a semi-final with England, her two goals emphatically ending France’s hopes of a men’s and women’s World Cup double.
“Le Grand Match” was a slightly more measured billing from Fifa than Rapinoe’s hopes of a “total shit-show circus” but either way this meeting between the holders and the hosts did not disappoint. Rapinoe is more than a mouthpiece, she is, in the words of her teammate Kelley O’Hara, “a baller”. No player has been directly involved in more goals in the World Cup than Rapinoe since she made her debut in the competition in 2011 and, although Wendie Renard’s header launched a spirited late fightback, Les Bleues were not able to find the equaliser in an end-to-end spectacle.
Continue reading...Exclusive: FoI request reveals proposal was at advanced stage after lobbying by Tottenham Hotspur football club
The public will be given a say on controversial plans to rename a train station near Tottenham Hotspur’s new stadium after it was revealed the proposal was at an advanced stage after intensive lobbying by the club.
The Guardian reported in March that White Hart Lane station was to be rebranded after the football club lobbied the London mayor, Sadiq Khan, and Transport for London (TfL). The transport body had been insisting the club should pay more than £14.7m for the privilege, in the face of vigorous resistance from Spurs.
Continue reading...The blue and orange seats of Cairo International Stadium make an attractive spectacle and the playing surface, at least when set against the ferocious heat, looks verdant. Every tournament eve brings its flutter of anticipation; that moment when reservations take a back seat and the simple joy of a month’s football takes root. It applies to the Africa Cup of Nations as much as any other major event: one glance at the list of names involved suggests that, if everybody is close to their best, a competition that looks impossible to call will be genuinely thrilling.
When Egypt are roared on to the pitch for Friday’s opener against Zimbabwe, the organisers’ sense of escapism may be even more profound. A Cup of Nations that will have few serious rivals in the global calendar for casual fans’ attention during its latter stages presents an open goal for reviving a profile that has flagged in recent years, but the buildup could hardly have been more chaotic. The Confederation of African Football is effectively on life support and, where the broader health of the continent’s football is concerned, four weeks of sparkling action may do little more than distract from the deeper clean required elsewhere.
Continue reading...The Illustrated City: In a multicultural city, soccer gives children like my daughter a common ground
Continue reading...Jawahir Roble’s love of football was forged on the streets of wartorn Mogadishu. Now she is training and inspiring young female footballers in the UK
On a sunny afternoon, a group of mothers in hijabs sit on the bench of a football pitch, watching their daughters play football at the Stonebridge recreation ground in north-west London.
As World Cup fever grips the UK, the girls’ enthusiasm for the training session is matched by their obvious adoration of their coach and referee, Jawahir Roble, known as JJ to her friends.
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The breakthrough! Argentina push forward for a change, but when they lose the ball England break fast and in numbers. Mead gets it on the left and her first-time cross is low and precise; Correa is stranded at the near post and Taylor turns it into an empty net!
59 mins: “According to Jonathan Pearce on BBC ‘The goalkeeper’s in electrical form.’” reports Paul Thompson. But what electrical? Perhaps a washing machine: quite good at securing clean sheets.
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