As per reports, fans returning from London and St. Petersburg have been exposed to the Delta variant from India, and the rate of corona cases in Europe has risen by 10 per cent in one week.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), corona cases are on the rise in Europe again due to the easing of corona restrictions.
WHO has called for better monitoring of football matches due to the rise in corona cases.
The 16th edition of the European Championship, Euro 2020, began on June 11 with matches in 11 major cities across Europe — for the first time in the 63-year history of the tournament.
At the end of the round of 16 stage, eight teams have qualified for the quarterfinals.
Norwegian Football Federation (NFF) on Sunday ruled out the decision of boycotting next year’s FIFA World Cup in Qatar, amid the pressure from grassroots activists over accusations of the mistreatment of migrant workers.
As per reports, a congress was called by the federation to make a final decision in which 368 delegates voted for a motion rejecting a boycott while 121 were in favour.
BREAKING: Decision on the proposed boycott of the 2022 World Cup has been made — Norway will not boycott the tournament in Qatar. ❌ https://t.co/xwwUuGeFHh
In addition to this, Sandvik, spokesman of the Norwegian Supporters Alliance (NSA), said the matches in Qatar will “unfortunately be like playing on a cemetery”.
The movement was highlighted when the Norwegian professional football club, Tromsø IL, spoke out against the Gulf State. This year in March, Norwegian National Football players wore t-shirts with the slogan ‘Human rights, on and off the pitch’, as they were warming up before FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 qualification match.
Norway is currently fourth in its World Cup qualifying group and hasn’t qualified for a major international Football competition since Euro 2000.
It is to be noted that not only Norway but other European countries such as Germany and Netherlands have protested against the Gulf State.
The major reason behind the boycott is that a media report published earlier this month alleged that approximately 6,500 migrant workers from South Asia had died in Qatar since 2010 when the country was awarded hosting rights of the 2022 tournament. In the past, there were also a lot of protests against harsh working conditions, especially during the summer, they are forced to work under the scorching sun.
There is a lack of rights for migrant workers, who comprise about 95 percent of Qatar’s population,reports Al Jazeera.
After Ronaldo’s gesture, Coca-Cola was forced to release a statement saying: ‘Everyone is entitled to their drink preferences’ and that people have their ‘tastes and needs’.
Even a Euro 2020 spokesperson addressed the chatter around the topic saying: “Players are offered water, alongside Coca-Cola and Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, on arrival at our press conferences.”
Meanwhile, the organizer, UEFA warned that the teams could be fined if they move drinks at Euro 2020 news conferences.
Muslim football player Wesley Fofana was given permission to break his Ramzan fast during a match of the English Premier League (EPL) on Monday. Fofana later thanked the EPL management and the Crystal Palace FC team for allowing him to do so.
Halfway through Leicester’s 2-1 win, the Crystal Palace FC goalkeeper waited to take a goal kick to allow Fofana to drink some liquids before returning to play.
The short in-game delay was agreed upon in the captain’s meeting prior to the game.
Thanking the management, Fofana wrote: “Just wanted to thank the Premier League as well as CPFC, Vicente Guaita [and] all the Foxes for allowing me to break my fast tonight in the middle of the game.”
“That’s what makes football wonderful,” added the French footballer.
Fofana was able to play the entire game after previously playing 61 minutes in a 3-0 win over West Bromwich Albion — all while fasting.
“He’s a young player in the middle of Ramadan so he’s obviously not eating during the day,” Leicester coach Brendan Rodgers told reporters. “I think it’s absolutely remarkable.”
Meanwhile, it is believed to be the first time in Premier League history that a game has been paused to allow Muslim players to eat and drink mid-game.
All six Premier League clubs bowed to supporter pressure and have withdrawn from the European Super League (ESL).
As per reports, Manchester City was the first club to pull out after Chelsea signalled their intent to do so by preparing documentation to withdraw. Liverpool, Tottenham, Arsenal all followed suit and confirmed they intended to withdraw from the project.
Italian side Inter Milan are also set to withdraw as they no longer wish to be involved with the project. BBC Sport reported that bosses at the Serie A club are preparing for their exit following the dramatic developments.
The 12-team Super League, set up by the seven aforementioned teams and Spain’s Atletico Madrid, Barcelona and Real Madrid and Italy’s AC Milan and Juventus was announced on Sunday to widespread condemnation.
“Despite the announced departure of the English clubs, forced to take such decisions due to the pressure put on them, we are convinced our proposal is fully aligned with European law and regulations,” the ESL said on Wednesday, adding it was “convinced that the current status quo of European football needs to change”.
In an interview with Italian newspaper la Repubblica, Juventus chairman Andrea Agnelli said the remaining clubs will “press ahead” and the project still had “a 100% chance of being a success”.
Balague also says Atletico Madrid are meeting on Wednesday morning to review their position.
Prince William, who is president of the Football Association (FA), also expressed his concern over the “damage” the plans risk causing to “the game we love”.
“Now, more than ever, we must protect the entire football community – from the top level to the grassroots – and the values of competition and fairness at its core.” wrote William on the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s official Twitter account. “I share the concerns of fans about the proposed Super League and the damage it risks causing to the game we love.”
Now, more than ever, we must protect the entire football community – from the top level to the grassroots – and the values of competition and fairness at its core.
I share the concerns of fans about the proposed Super League and the damage it risks causing to the game we love. W
— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) April 19, 2021
William’s intervention comes as the royal family continues to mourn the death of his grandfather Prince Philip, whose funeral was held on Saturday.
Fans of the “Big Six” Premier League teams were left upset and disappointed by the Super League announcement, having not been informed of the plans. Coaches and players were also not aware of the situation.
In the hours following the confirmation of the Super League, fans of the Premier League “Big Six” took to their stadiums to protest the announcement, with Liverpool fans hanging banners and flags outside of Anfield.
Chelsea supporters then voiced their concerns at Stamford Bridge in numbers prior to their Premier League game against Brighton.
Liverpool supporters’ groups also made the decision to remove their flags from The Kop, protesting the owners’ decision to “put financial greed above integrity of the game”.
The Bureau of the FIFA Council has suspended the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) with immediate effect due to third-party interference, which constitutes a serious violation of the FIFA Statutes.
According to a press release by FIFA, this situation was prompted by the recent hostile takeover of the PFF headquarters in Lahore by a group of protestors and an alleged decision by certain individuals to remove the FIFA-appointed normalisation committee of the PFF led by Haroon Malik and to hand over the leadership of the PFF to Syed Ashfaq Hussain Shah.
FIFA issued a letter warning that, should the illegitimate occupation of the PFF headquarters not be lifted and the office bearers recognised by FIFA not be permitted free access to the building to carry out their mandate, the matter would be immediately submitted to the Bureau of the Council for decision.
A statement by the governing body confirmed that Bureau of the FIFA Council suspended the PFF with immediate effect due to third-party interference, which constitutes a serious violation of the FIFA Statutes.
“This situation was prompted by the recent hostile takeover of the PFF headquarters in Lahore by a group of protestors and an alleged decision by certain individuals to remove the FIFA-appointed normalisation committee of the PFF led by Haroon Malik and to hand over the leadership of the PFF to Syed Ashfaq Hussain Shah,” it said.
The group led by Ashfaq Shah stormed into PFF headquarters last month, forcing Haroon Malik and the NC to vacate the office and its control.
FIFA had termed the takeover ‘illegal’ and issued an ultimatum that NC should be handed over the PFF control by March 31 otherwise Pakistan could face a suspension.
The Ashfaq group had ignored the deadline and announced to continue its hold over PFF headquarters.
As the situation remains unchanged, the Bureau of the Council has decided to suspend the PFF.
This suspension will only be lifted once FIFA has received confirmation from the normalisation committee of the PFF that the PFF’s premises, accounts, administration and communication channels are again under its full control and it can continue to carry out its mandate without further hindrance.
Earlier, the Provincial Minister for Sports and Youth Affairs Punjab, Rai Taimoor Khan Bhatti had addressed the issue and promised to play a pivotal role in resolving the issue with a “positive solution” but nothing has happened yet.
پاکستان فٹ بال فیڈریشن کے تنازعہ پر کردار ادا کرنے کا فیصلہ،فریقین سے رابطہ کیا جارہا ہے۔فیفا کی جانب سے پاکستان کی رکنیت معطل ہونے سے عالمی سطح پر ملک کی بدنامی ہوگی۔بحیثیت حکومت ملک میں فٹ بال کے فروغ اور سہولیات کی فراہمی کا کام کررہے ہیں۔جلد تنازعہ کا مثبت حل نکلے گا۔
With the FIFA ban looming over the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF), Mahira Khan and Yumna Zaidi have extended their support for Pakistan’s Women football team, requesting the authorities to resolve the women footballers’ issues.
“Sports are essential to a society to remain healthy [and] provide us with the heroes we so desperately need to look up to and represent our country,” said Yumna, sharing her thoughts on the matter.
Urging authorities to listen to the girl’s appeals, Yumna further said: “At present, the current Pakistan women’s football team seems to be going through a host of issues and I want to appeal to whoever is listening, please help them we need this.”
“We need them to shine,” she asserted.
Sharing a video of Hajra Khan on Instagram stories, Mahira wrote: “Respect the game!!! Respect the players!!”
In a step that could be seen as players’ and teams’ vote of no confidence against Ashfaq Shah, the players of Karachi United and Highlanders Football Club have announced their decision to withdraw from the ongoing National Women Football Championship after the Ashfaq-led-group refused to hand over Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) offices back to the normalisation committee.
While Ashfaq group’s act may lead Pakistan to a suspension from FIFA, both clubs say that they do not support the incidents that took place at PFF last weekend and have decided not to play under the Ashfaq-led setup in protest.
Karachi United FC, which was scheduled to play against WAPDA Thursday morning in the semifinal, posted their decision on the club’s social media page, saying that given the prevailing circumstances and based on the decision of players, Karachi United has decided to withdraw its women’s team from the National Championship.
The statement added that while the team had played its quarter final “under protest” and for purely football reasons, it had hoped that the matter would be resolved.
“Since the FIFA deadline has passed and no corrective action has been taken, the team is left with no option but to withdraw from the competition,” the club said.
“Being a football organisation, we feel that footballers and teams should never have to be put in such situations to make such choices as players and teams just want to play,” they added.
Karachi United further appealed to the FIFA, AFC, NC and all stakeholders to urgently resolve this issue to avoid Pakistan from being suspended.
BREAKING: Karachi United have decided to pull out of the National Women’s Football Championship which is now being organised without the PFF Normalisation Committee.
Islamabad-based Highlanders football club said in the statement that following the recent development in PFF, it has decided not to participate in NWFC any further.
“We do not support any act that brings football into disrepute because we believe that no individual is bigger than the game. However, the integrity of game should be maintained at all levels,” the club said in a statement.
“We, the Highlanders club, believe that this is in best interest of Pakistan football,” the statement posted on club’s social media accounts said.
Highlanders Women Football Club was playing its first national women championship and they proved themselves as one of the contenders to win the Trophy. They were scheduled to play against Masha United in the semi final on Thursday.
“We travelled from Islamabad to Karachi with a dream to do well on football field and to win the national women football championship. We are proud of Highlanders’ performance in the tournament and I believe that we made the statement that we wanted to,” the club said.
BREAKING: Highlanders FC become the second club to pull out of the National Women’s Football Championship which is now being organised without the PFF Normalisation Committee.
Earlier, six footballers from different teams had announced to boycott the championship ahead of the quarter final matches.
Later Masha United, which was one of the semi-finalists, “become the third team to withdraw from the ongoing National Women’s Football Championship which lost its official status after PFF NC was ousted. Only WAPDA left now and probably get declared champion”, announced FPDC on Twitter.
Masha United become the third team to withdraw from the ongoing National Women’s Football Championship which lost its official status after PFF NC was ousted.
Hajra Khan, Khadija Kazmi, Sarah Ali, Mashal Hussain, Maria Khan and Zahra Shah had issued a issued a joint statement on Tuesday, saying “the integrity of game is being challenged by politicised governance, adding that “we, too, are responsible for upholding the integrity of the game.”
The Pakistani footballers say FIFA ban would destroy their careers.
Meanwhile, the Provincial Minister for Sports and Youth Affairs Punjab, Rai Taimoor Khan Bhatti had addressed the issue, saying: “Pakistan Football Federation’s decision to play a role in the dispute, the parties are being contacted. The suspension of Pakistan’s membership by FIFA will bring the country into disrepute in the international arena. A positive solution to the conflict will come out soon.”
پاکستان فٹ بال فیڈریشن کے تنازعہ پر کردار ادا کرنے کا فیصلہ،فریقین سے رابطہ کیا جارہا ہے۔فیفا کی جانب سے پاکستان کی رکنیت معطل ہونے سے عالمی سطح پر ملک کی بدنامی ہوگی۔بحیثیت حکومت ملک میں فٹ بال کے فروغ اور سہولیات کی فراہمی کا کام کررہے ہیں۔جلد تنازعہ کا مثبت حل نکلے گا۔
Amid the record high performance of cryptocurrencies in the financial market, Manchester City of the English Premier League has launched their own “$CITY-crypto” token in the market.
The English club and Socios.com partnered to launch the cryptocurrency that offers fans the option to claim huge club promotions, rewards, AR-enabled features, and other exciting stuff.
The football club has partnered with a digital entertainment company ‘Animoca’ to develop and circulate blockchain games for the fans. These will be the first-ever digital assets created for Manchester City.
The $CITY token can be traded like any other cryptocurrency and redeemed for goods and services available across the global crypto-market.
Moreover, football clubs of Italy, Juventus and AC Milan, Spain’s Barcelona and France’s Paris Saint-Germain have all put out tokens through the company before, which is run by a Maltese group called Chiliz.
Juventus star forward Cristiano Ronaldo has achieved an impressive milestone outside the football field, becoming the first person in the world to hit the 250 (251 now) million mark on Instagram.
With 19.7 million likes, Ronaldo also managed to hold the record of the most-liked post of 2020. The Portuguese star’s post mourning the death of soccer legend Diego Maradona got the most number of likes on Instagram last year.
Ronaldo himself follows only 458 people on Instagram.
The five-time Ballon d’Or enjoys a great fan-following across the globe and is one of the most prominent sportspersons in the world.
The second most followed sportsperson on Instagram is Ronaldo’s arch-nemesis, Lionel Messi, with 175 million followers. Meanwhile, Brazil’s Neymar has 144 million followers.
Sharing the news on Instagram, Ronaldo wrote: “What an incredible number! Thank you all, you’re part of this journey.”
According to Forbes, Ronaldo earns nearly USD 1 million per sponsored post on Instagram.
Meanwhile, Ariana Grande is the second most-followed individual and most-followed woman on Instagram, with over 214 million followers. Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson is the third most followed person with over 210 million followers.
Football legend Diego Maradona of Argentina passed away at the age of 60 on Wednesday.
According to reports, the 1986 World Cup winner passed away at home in Tigre after suffering a heart attack.
Maradona was recovering at home following brain surgery in Buenos Aires, where he was successfully treated for a possible bleeding on the brain earlier this month.
Last Friday, Maradona was sedated by medics after the former footballer suffered issues related to alcohol dependency following his surgery, with doctors describing the legend as suffering from a “mix” of serious issues, including cardiovascular and liver issues.
It was stated that Maradona would require constant support, including admission to an alcohol addiction clinic, following his discharge from hospital.
However, according to Argentinian newspaper Clarín, while recovering at home, Maradona suffered a heart attack and passed away shortly afterward.
A national hero in his home country, Maradona also captained Argentina to the 1990 World Cup final in defence of their title, losing to West Germany.
Domestically, he won two Series A titles with Napoli, including a league and cup double in 1987, as well as the UEFA Cup, his only European trophy.
A short tenure at Camp Nou with Barcelona nevertheless saw the barrel-chested Maradona win three domestic cups in 1983, before falling out with management.
He is celebrated as one of the greatest footballers to have ever graced the field.
