FIFA urges soccer bodies to mandate racism as an offense

FIFA urges soccer bodies to mandate racism as an offense
The crossed hands gesture was made on a medal podium at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 by United States athlete Raven Saunders (Left) who won silver in women’s shot put. (X/ @FeedSportNews)
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Updated 16 May 2024
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FIFA urges soccer bodies to mandate racism as an offense

FIFA urges soccer bodies to mandate racism as an offense
  • Soccer’s world body detailed the tougher and more unified approach it wants to tackle racism on Thursday
  • The crossed hands gesture was made on a medal podium at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 by United States athlete Raven Saunders who won silver in women’s shot put

GENEVA: FIFA wants all 211 national federations to make racist abuse a disciplinary offense, and designate a crossed hands gesture by victims to alert referees to abuse.
Soccer’s world body detailed the tougher and more unified approach it wants to tackle racism on Thursday after months of consulting with victimized players including Real Madrid star Vinícius Júnior.
The crossed hands gesture was made on a medal podium at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 by United States athlete Raven Saunders who won silver in women’s shot put.
“It’s the intersection of where all people who are oppressed meet,” Saunders said in Tokyo.
FIFA is encouraging players to copy the gesture that led to Saunders facing a disciplinary investigation by the International Olympic Committee, which has rules prohibiting political statements at medal ceremonies.
Teams whose fans or players racially abuse opponents could soon face disciplinary punishments such as forfeiting games, typically as a 3-0 loss, as part of a five-pillar pledge on tackling discrimination. They will be put to FIFA member federations on Friday at their annual meeting in Bangkok.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino promised months ago to make a worldwide proposal and has consulted with Brazil star Vinicius Junior, who is Black and has been repeatedly abused by opposing fans in Spanish stadiums.
He broke down in tears at a news conference in March before Spain hosted Brazil in a friendly organized in fallout of the persistent abuse he has faced in his adopted home.
“The time has come for football to unite to unequivocally commit as a global community to address the issue of racism in the game,” FIFA said in a letter to member federations.
FIFA also wants to create a panel of players who will “monitor and advise on the implementation of these actions around the world.”
Soccer has struggled for more than a decade to deal with racism in stadiums by agreeing and coordinating on-field responses by match officials and post-match disciplinary action by federations and competition organizers.
Calls for tougher sanctions, such as match forfeits, points deductions or even disqualification from a competition have been judged too difficult to enforce legally. They also risk enabling agitators to try and provoke incidents.
Soccer leaders in countries such as Italy and Spain have consistently denied the sport has a racism problem.
In some cases, investigations were dropped by soccer authorities including UEFA because there was no evidence beyond a claim by the player alleging abuse.
Black players who claimed they were racially abused by opponents or fans and tried to leave the field have themselves been shown a yellow card for their actions.
FIFA wants the crossed hands gesture to be the recognized signal for referees to start a long-standing three-step process at a game where racial and discriminatory abuse is heard: To pause the play and broadcast warnings in the stadium, to take teams off the field, then abandon games.
That three-step process should be mandatory across all 211 federations, FIFA said on Thursday. They also will be asked to lobby their governments to make racism a criminal offense and prosecute cases, plus promote anti-racism work in schools.
Before Saunders crossed her hands in Tokyo, the gesture was used by the men’s marathon silver medalist at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.
Feyisa Lilesa raised his arms above his head and crossed his wrists at the finish line in Rio in protest against government oppression at home in Ethiopia.
Saunders initially was in trouble with the IOC for making the gesture which also was a broader statement celebrating diversity. The IOC investigation was paused days later after Saunders’ mother died.


Mbappe misses penalty as Liverpool exact revenge on Real Madrid

Mbappe misses penalty as Liverpool exact revenge on Real Madrid
Updated 28 November 2024
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Mbappe misses penalty as Liverpool exact revenge on Real Madrid

Mbappe misses penalty as Liverpool exact revenge on Real Madrid

LIVERPOOL: Kylian Mbappe saw a penalty saved as Liverpool beat Real Madrid 2-0 on Wednesday to inflict a third Champions League defeat in five matches on the holders.
Alexis Mac Allister and Cody Gakpo scored the goals in the second half as the Reds maintained their perfect record to return to the top of the table.
Mohamed Salah also fired wide from the spot, but it mattered little as Liverpool secured a 17th win in Arne Slot’s first 19 games in charge.
Slot has already achieved what Jurgen Klopp could not as Liverpool boss by slaying the Spanish giants.
Liverpool had a score to settle with Madrid, who were unbeaten in eight previous meetings between the sides, including Champions League finals against Klopp’s men in 2018 and 2022.
Defeat sends Carlo Ancelotti’s side tumbling down to 24th in the table.
Only the top 24 progress to the knockout stage with the top eight advancing directly to the last 16.
Liverpool are well on course to do just that and the confidence coursing through a side also eight points clear at the top of the Premier League was in evidence throughout in front of a highly-charged Anfield crowd.
Madrid were hamstrung by a lengthy injury list and made the trip to England without Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo, Dani Carvajal, Eder Militao, Aurelien Tchouameni and David Alaba.
Young center-back Raul Asencio has been pressed into action by those absences and he made a vital goal-line clearance on four minutes.
Darwin Nunez was sent in behind the Madrid defense by Salah and after his shot produced a fine save from Thibaut Courtois, Asencio reacted smartly to prevent the rebound bouncing off him and into his own net.
Courtois was Liverpool’s scourge with a man-of-the-match performance in the final two years ago as Madrid prevailed 1-0 in Paris.
The Belgian was at his best again as he blocked another big Nunez chance from point-blank range as the Liverpool pressure built without reward before the break.
Courtois was in sparkling form again at the start of the second period to parry Conor Bradley’s downward header.
But Liverpool were not to be denied as Bradley was this time the provider for Mac Allister, who manufactured the space for a shot into the far corner on 52 minutes.
The visitors were relying on Mbappe for a moment of magic in the absence of Vinicius, but the Frenchman was well-marshalled by his international team-mate Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk.
His chance to silence his critics arrived on the hour mark when Andy Robertson was harshly adjudged to have tripped Lucas Vazquez inside the area.
Caoimhin Kelleher has excelled in the absence of the injured Alisson Becker and leapt to his left to save Mbappe’s spot-kick.
Salah sparked a furor ahead of the game by declaring his disappointment with Liverpool’s failure to offer him a contract renewal.
The Egyptian has been in sparkling form this season and his pace and trickery fooled Ferland Mendy into a mistimed challenge.
Salah, though, gave Madrid a lifeline by firing his penalty off the outside of the post.
Liverpool had to wait just six more minutes for the cushion of a second goal as substitute Gakpo rose highest from a corner to power a header past Courtois.


Amorim eyes victory in first Man Utd home game to kickstart new era

Amorim eyes victory in first Man Utd home game to kickstart new era
Updated 27 November 2024
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Amorim eyes victory in first Man Utd home game to kickstart new era

Amorim eyes victory in first Man Utd home game to kickstart new era
  • The former Sporting Lisbon boss admitted after the draw at the weekend that United would “suffer for a long time” as he puts his stamp on the club

LONDON: Ruben Amorim said struggling Manchester United need a win to kickstart his Old Trafford revolution as he prepares for a “special” first home match against Bodo/Glimt on Thursday.
United had a disappointing 1-1 draw at Ipswich on Sunday in Amorim’s first game in charge since replacing the sacked Erik ten Hag, leaving them 12th in the Premier League table.
On Thursday they face Norwegian side Bodo/Glimt in the Europa League after one win and three draws in their opening four matches in the competition.
“It is said to me that it will be a special time,” Amorim told his pre-match press conference on Wednesday. “I just want to win the game, just to give that happiness to the supporters.
“Before the match it will be like a new sensation but after the whistle it will be one more game and we want to win that match.”
Amorim, who changed United’s formation against Ipswich, said the club needed to feel “momentum.”
“It’s important when you are putting an idea,” he said. “If you win it’s a big help.”
The former Sporting Lisbon boss admitted after the draw at the weekend that United would “suffer for a long time” as he puts his stamp on the club.
And on Wednesday he admitted he did not know how long it would take players to get used to his methods, explaining it was difficult to draw parallels with his previous experiences.
“You can say that this is a different league so it’s harder than in Portugal,” he said. “But I also have more experienced players and all these guys play for national teams.
“They just need to increase their confidence and at the moment I don’t know how to answer that question. I don’t know how long.
“But I will know that with a lot of games without time to train it will be tough for me but it will be tougher for them because they are on the pitch and they will suffer a little bit.
“I will try to help and we have to manage to win some games and try to increase that idea in the team.”
Amorim said United had firepower in their ranks despite their lack of goals this season and that he would try to help out-of-form Marcus Rashford.
“We will try to find the right solution for him, as for the other players,” he said.
“He has to be Marcus, first of all, to try to return to that moment. Then he will have the help of all the staff, all the club and all the fans because he’s a Manchester United boy. But he has to be the first one to really want it.”


Israeli soccer team prepares for closed-door match in Hungary after attacks on fans in Amsterdam

Israeli soccer team prepares for closed-door match in Hungary after attacks on fans in Amsterdam
Updated 27 November 2024
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Israeli soccer team prepares for closed-door match in Hungary after attacks on fans in Amsterdam

Israeli soccer team prepares for closed-door match in Hungary after attacks on fans in Amsterdam
  • The team will face off Thursday against Turkiye’s Besiktas in an Europa League match that was relocated to Hungary
  • Maccabi Tel Aviv head coach Zarko Lazetic told a news conference on Wednesday that his team was focused on its game, regardless of what tensions may exist elsewhere

DEBRECEN, Hungary: Israel’s Maccabi Tel Aviv soccer team returned to Europe on Wednesday for the first time since its fans were assaulted in the Netherlands earlier this month in attacks that were condemned as antisemitic by authorities in Israel and across Europe.
The team will face off Thursday against Turkiye’s Besiktas in an Europa League match that was relocated to Hungary. The contest at Nagyerdei Stadium in the city of Debrecen will be played without fans due to security concerns following the violence in Amsterdam on Nov. 7 that resulted in five people being treated in hospitals and dozens of detentions.
Maccabi Tel Aviv head coach Zarko Lazetic told a news conference on Wednesday that his team was focused on its game, regardless of what tensions may exist elsewhere.
“It’s not a question for me what happened outside of the stadium. We saw some videos and everything, but we really try to focus on football,” he said. “We’ll see tomorrow what is the effect.”
The violence in Amsterdam came after local authorities banned pro-Palestinian demonstrators from gathering outside the stadium where Maccabi was playing Dutch team Ajax.
A large crowd of Israeli fans chanted anti-Arab slogans on their way to the match, video showed. Afterward, youths on scooters and on foot crisscrossed the city in search of Israeli fans, punching and kicking them, according to Amsterdam’s mayor.
The city’s police commander said the incidents had “an antisemitic character.”
Maccabi press officer Ofer Ronen-Abels said Wednesday the events in Amsterdam “had nothing to do with football.”
Before the assaults, Besiktas had requested its home game against Maccabi, originally scheduled for Istanbul, to be moved to “neutral ground” over security concerns.
The club later said on social media that Hungary was the only country willing to host the match and that Hungarian authorities requested it be played behind closed doors.
Hungary has hosted several home games for Israel’s national team for security reasons since the war in Gaza began.
Maccabi held its final practice session at the Kiryat Shalom training complex in Tel Aviv on Wednesday before departing for Hungary, the team said on its website.


Messi’s son debuts at Argentina youth tournament as grandparents watch

Messi’s son debuts at Argentina youth tournament as grandparents watch
Updated 27 November 2024
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Messi’s son debuts at Argentina youth tournament as grandparents watch

Messi’s son debuts at Argentina youth tournament as grandparents watch
  • The 12-year-old Messi played with the No. 10 jersey of an Inter Miami youth team
  • Thiago’s mother, Antonela Roccuzzo, and several members of his family, including grandparents Jorge Messi and Celia Cuccittini, were in the stands to watch him play

BUENOS AIRES: Thiago Messi, the eldest son of the Argentina star, has made his debut in the “Newell’s Cup” tournament in the countryside city of Rosario.

The 12-year-old Messi played with the No. 10 jersey of an Inter Miami youth team, which lost 1-0 on Monday to host Newell’s Old Boys in the traditional under-13 competition. The team also played Tuesday.

Lionel Messi took his first steps as a footballer in the Argentinian club in Rosario, 300 kilometers (186 miles) northwest of capital Buenos Aires.

Thiago’s mother, Antonela Roccuzzo, and several members of his family, including grandparents Jorge Messi and Celia Cuccittini, were in the stands to watch him play. Lionel Messi did not attend.

Thiago, who was substituted in the second half, played with his friend Benjamin Suarez, son of Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez, Messi’s teammate and close friend at Barcelona and now at Inter Miami.

Messi and Suarez are in Rosario after Inter Miami’s early elimination in the MLS playoffs. On Sunday, they watched a friendly game of Inter Miami’s U13 team against Union at the same sports complex.

The youth tournament in Argentina brings together eight teams from North and South America.


Lewandowski hits Champions League century as Barca beat Brest

Lewandowski hits Champions League century as Barca beat Brest
Updated 27 November 2024
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Lewandowski hits Champions League century as Barca beat Brest

Lewandowski hits Champions League century as Barca beat Brest
  • It made Lewandowski only the third player to reach that milestone in the competition, behind former Barcelona great Lionel Messi, on 129, and former Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo, with 140

BARCELONA: Robert Lewandowski scored his 100th Champions League goal as Barcelona beat Brest 3-0 to climb provisionally second in the Champions League group standings on Tuesday.
The veteran striker slotted home from the spot in the 10th minute to fire the Catalans ahead and reach his milestone, adding a second late on after Dani Olmo’s goal to inflict the French side’s first defeat.
After dropping points in their last two outings in La Liga, coach Hansi Flick had urged his players to “eliminate” mistakes in their game and Barca produced a solid display.
They got off the mark quickly when Brest goalkeeper Marco Bizot clumsily clattered into the back of Lewandowski after the forward controlled Pedri’s cross on his chest.
The striker dusted himself down and dispatched the penalty clinically to open the scoring after 10 minutes and bring up his century.
It made Lewandowski only the third player to reach that milestone in the competition, behind former Barcelona great Lionel Messi, on 129, and former Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo, with 140.
Under Flick, the forward’s form has improved significantly this season, reaching 22 goals in 19 appearances between La Liga and the Champions League.
The 36-year-old has made 125 Champions League appearances with Barcelona and before that German sides Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich.
“I am very happy, many years ago I did not think I could score more than 100 goals in the Champions League,” Lewandowski told Movistar.
“For me the most important thing is that we try to win every game, if I can score, then that’s the perfect solution.
“I don’t know how many games we have left before the end of the year but we have to win them all and rest over Christmas.”
Barcelona were still without teenage star Lamine Yamal, recovering from an ankle problem, but Raphinha was busy on the right and the Catalans dominated proceedings.
They did not create many clear chances though until Fermin Lopez forced a fine save from Bizot with a diving header.
The Dutch goalkeeper made amends for his earlier mistake by denying the Spaniard with his leg.
Lopez again came close early in the second half when Lewandowski put him in with a neat flick but Bizot was alert to save his low effort.
Playmaker Olmo had an effort scrambled off the line by Brendan Chardonnet as Barcelona sought to put the game to bed.
The former RB Leipzig midfielder eventually grabbed the second in the 66th minute when he received Gerard Martin’s pass in the box, showing some nifty footwork to dodge Chardonnet and beat Bizot at the near post.
Brest thumped RB Salzburg 4-0 and had dropped just two points from their first four matches despite sitting in mid-table in Ligue 1, but were brought down to earth at the Olympic Stadium.
Mathias Pereira Lage drilled home to momentarily delight nearly 3,000 traveling supporters but their joy was curtailed when the linesman raised his flag for offside.
Barca substitute Pablo Torre should have netted Barcelona’s third when he intercepted a pass with just the goalkeeper to beat, but fired wide.
Instead the job fell to Lewandowski and he rolled home his 101st Champions League goal with aplomb, beyond Bizot’s outstretched arm.
Brest fall a few places down the table but their strong start to the campaign means they are well placed to secure at least a play-off spot, while Barcelona are aiming to reach the last 16 directly.
Flick’s side travel to last season’s runners-up Borussia Dortmund next, before visiting Benfica and hosting Atalanta.