FIFA chief Gianni Infantino says ‘zero tolerance’ approach must be taken when racism happens in matches at all levels.

A “zero tolerance” approach must be taken over racism in football and referees at all levels must stop matches if such incidents occur, FIFA President Gianni Infantino has said.

Infantino met Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior to discuss racism in the sport after the Brazil international spoke out when he was targeted by the crowd in Spain last month.

The FIFA chief labelled the racists “criminals” and said football authorities had to “shoulder responsibility”.

Vinicius, who is Black, has been the target of sustained racist abuse by fans in Spanish stadiums throughout the season, with little done by referees or football bodies to protect him.

Last month, Real Madrid filed a complaint with the Spanish State Attorney General’s Office claiming the racist abuse of Vinicius constituted a hate crime after the player was targeted during the La Liga defeat at Valencia.

“It’s very important not just to talk about racism and discrimination, but to take action in a decisive and convincing manner – zero tolerance,” Infantino said after meeting Vinicius and the rest of the Brazil squad in Barcelona.

“There is no football if there is racism – so let’s stop the games. The referees have this opportunity in FIFA competitions as we have this process for stopping the game, and actions have to be taken at every level, at national level as well,” Infantino said.

“It’s a football-related problem and we mustn’t look for excuses like: ‘It’s society’s problem, therefore, it’s fine in football.’ In the world of football, we must act in a very forceful way,” Infantino said.

“We want to identify racists in stadiums and across social media. They are criminals. They have to be banned from stadiums across the globe. The authorities need to take these people to court and we will say this to all of them. Racism is a crime,” he added.

Infantino has asked Vinicius to lead a ‘special FIFA anti-racism committee’.

“I asked Vinicius to lead this group of players that will present stricter punishments against racism that will later be implemented by all football authorities around the world.”

— Managing Madrid (@managingmadrid) June 15, 2023

Infantino said FIFA would set up a task force, with Vinicius taking a prominent role, to make specific recommendations.

FIFA created an anti-racism task force in 2013 after a notorious incident of abuse suffered in Italy by AC Milan midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng, who is Black.

Boateng worked with the task force which FIFA shut down in 2016, months after Infantino was elected.

FIFA said then the task force had “completely fulfilled its temporary mission”.

Shutting down the anti-racism panel had been “a monumental mistake,” one of its members, British-Nigerian journalist Osasu Obayiuwana, said on Twitter.

“Is this a frigging joke? @FIFAcom , at Gianni Infantino’s prompting, dissolved the FIFA anti-racism task force I was a part of from 2013-2016, despite my telling him, in July 2016, to strengthen it and give it teeth. FIFA said it had “accomplished its mission”. It’s taken them 7 years to realise that racism is still in football?”

The format for the event co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico will stick to four teams in a group after plan for 16 groups of three shot down.

The 2026 World Cup will have 104 matches instead of the typical 64 games due to its expanded format, football’s world governing body, FIFA, says ahead of its congress in Kigali, Rwanda.

The tournament due to take place in North America will expand from 32 to 48 teams. It will consist of 12 groups of four teams each, a change from the original planned format of 16 groups of three, FIFA announced on Tuesday.

“The revised format mitigates the risk of collusion and ensures that all the teams play a minimum of three matches while providing balanced rest time between competing teams,” FIFA said.

Co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, the event will be the first edition of the quadrennial tournament in which 48 teams take part.

The 16 host cities – 11 in the United States, three in Mexico and two in Canada – now have 24 extra games to stage on top of the 80 they already had for the inaugural 48-team tournament.

Adding about 1.5 million more tickets will also further fuel FIFA’s expected record revenue of at least $11bn through 2026 from a tournament that will rely on using high-revenue NFL stadiums.

The confirmed format means the top two nations in each group will go through to the knockout round along with the eight best third-placed sides.

As a result, the finalists and the teams finishing third and fourth will play a total of eight games instead of the current seven.

The last time either Mexico (in 1986) or the United States (in 1994) hosted a World Cup, there were only 24 teams.

FIFA also said a 32-team Club World Cup will be played every four years from June 2025, confirming the announcement made by FIFA President Gianni Infantino in Qatar last year.

The current version – an annual competition with seven teams – will be discontinued after 2023.

Confederation champions from 2021 to 2024 will be eligible to play in the 32-team Club World Cup, which means Chelsea, Real Madrid, Palmeiras, Flamengo and Seattle Sounders have already secured their places.

Europe’s 12 entries can also be decided by a ranking system based on the same four-year period. There will be a cap of two teams advancing per country with exemptions for continental champions.

FIFA also plans to create another competition starting annually in 2024 for continental champions. The UEFA Champions League winner will play the winner of playoffs featuring the other continental champions.

The FIFA Club World Cup is about to kick off in Morocco, with Real Madrid heavily favoured to continue European football’s stranglehold on the competition.

Beginning on Wednesday, the tournament will see six other sides vie with the Spanish giants for the chance to be crowned the best club team on the planet.

Here is what you need to know:

Which teams are taking part?

The 19th edition of the Club World Cup brings together the respective champions of each of FIFA’s six premier regional competitions, alongside the host nation’s league champions.

Joining Real Madrid in this year’s tournament are sides from Morocco, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Brazil and the United States.

Here is a full list of those taking part:

• Al Ahly, Egypt
• Al Hilal, Saudi Arabia
• Auckland City, New Zealand
• Flamengo, Brazil
• Real Madrid, Spain
• Seattle Sounders, United States
• Wydad AC, Morocco

Real Madrid, Auckland City, Seattle Sounders, Flamengo and Wydad AC all qualified as outright winners of their confederation’s top club tournaments.

The host country’s league champions Wydad AC also won the Confederation of African Football (CAF) last year, so Egyptian runners-up Al Ahly were awarded the Club World Cup’s African spot.

Al Hilal were nominated by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) as the region’s representative on account of being the reigning champions in the AFC Champions League. The latest iteration of the tournament will not finish until after the Club World Cup.

The path to #ClubWC glory!  

— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) January 13, 2023

Where is the tournament being played?

Morocco is hosting this year’s competition, its third time so far.

The tournament last took place in the North African country in 2014, when Real Madrid beat Argentinian side San Lorenzo 2-0 to claim the title.

This year’s matches will be played across two venues – the 65,000-seater Ibn Batouta Stadium in Tangier and the 52,000-capacity Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat.

How does the format work?

The tournament’s opening game will pit Al Ahly against Auckland City at the Ibn Batouta Stadium.

The winners will take on Seattle Sounders on February 4. Wydad AC will play Al Hilal on the same day.

Real Madrid and Flamengo will automatically enter proceedings at the semifinal stage, with the Brazilian side set to face either Wydad AC or Al Hilal on February 7.

The Spanish behemoths will be in action a day later, against either Seattle Sounders, Al Ahly or Auckland City.

A third-place playoff will precede the final on February 11. Both matches will be played at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium.

The format is set to change radically in the coming years, with FIFA planning for an expanded competition involving 32 teams to be held every four years beginning in 2025.

Who are favourites to win?

Real Madrid are the outright favourites to win this year’s competition, with the Spanish team seeking to become the first side in history to lift a fifth Club World Cup trophy.

The biggest threat to their ambitions could be Flamengo, Brazil’s most popular team. The Rio de Janeiro outfit will be out to make up for their loss to English side Liverpool in the final of the 2019 edition, hosted by Qatar.

The last nine teams to win the competition have all been from Europe and the continent has provided the winners for 14 of the 18 editions held so far since the first one in 2000.

South America has provided the only check on their success, with Brazilian clubs having come out on top four times in the tournament’s history, most recently in 2012 when Sao Paulo side Corinthians beat England’s Chelsea.

No team from any other region has ever won the Club World Cup, which has run every year since 2005 after taking a five-year hiatus following the inaugural edition.

Who are the players to watch out for?

Real Madrid’s array of stars will command the most attention in Morocco, with veteran French forward Karim Benzema and prodigious Brazilian winger Vinicius Junior among the side’s most glittering talents.

But there are several players from other teams also worth watching out for.

Among them is Salem al-Dawsari, Al Hilal’s Saudi Arabian winger. The 31-year-old shone at the recent World Cup in Qatar, netting against Argentina in the Green Falcons’ shock win against the eventual champions during the tournament’s group stages.

Chilean midfielder Arturo Vidal, 35, will also be hoping to offer up a reminder of his prowess and guide Flamengo to a first-ever Club World Cup victory.

Vidal’s teammate and prolific striker Gabriel Barbosa, 26, is expected to pose a threat to the Brazilian side up front. He has scored 65 times for Flamengo in 105 appearances to date and grabbed the winner for his team in the 2022 Copa Libertadores final against Athletico Paranaense.

FIFA says Argentina potentially breached rules regarding ‘offensive behaviour and violations of the principles of fair play’.

FIFA says it has opened disciplinary proceedings against Argentina for “offensive behaviour” during the team’s World Cup final triumph in Qatar last month.

Argentina beat 2018 winners France on penalties to lift the trophy for a third time.

Goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez made a lewd gesture with his goalkeeper of the tournament trophy after the match, before being filmed in the dressing room mocking French star Kylian Mbappe.

Mbappe won the FIFA Golden Boot trophy after scoring the most goals in the tournament.

Football’s world governing body said Argentina had potentially breached rules regarding “offensive behaviour and violations of the principles of fair play” and “misconduct of players and officials”.

FIFA is also investigating the Argentinian FA over breaching media and marketing regulations.

Martinez has also come under criticism from pundits and social media for mocking Mbappe during Argentina’s victory parade in Buenos Aires – where he held a baby doll with the French player’s face plastered on it.

The Croatian team is also being investigated for potential violations of “discrimination” and “order and security at matches” rules.

Players appeared to sing a song with fascist connotations following their third-place playoff victory over Morocco.

Defender Dejan Lovren defended himself and his teammates, recently telling AFP news agency it was “a patriotic song which relates to my country, which means that I love my country”.

Meanwhile, FIFA said it had fined Mexico 100,000 Swiss francs ($107,840) for chants by its supporters during the team’s game against Poland and Saudi Arabia during the group stages.

The team will also be forced to play one FIFA competition match behind closed doors.

Anoud al-Asmari is one of eight Saudis on the international panel announced by football’s global governing body.

Saudi Arabia’s first female international referee was appointed by FIFA on Thursday, less than a year after the conservative kingdom’s national women’s team made their debut.

Anoud al-Asmari’s name was published as part of a list released by the Saudi Arabian Football Federation. She is one of eight Saudis on the international panel announced by football’s global governing body, and is the only woman included.

Al-Asmari’s international badge is the latest in a series of steps in football by the oil-rich Saudis, who have lured 37-year-old great Cristiano Ronaldo to the Saudi Pro League and are mulling a World Cup co-hosting bid.

“I am happy to be the first Saudi female referee to receive the international badge in the history of Saudi sports,” al-Asmari, told the AFP news agency.

Asked how she would feel about officiating a men’s game, al-Asmari, 34, said she would not give it any thought until it was approved by the Saudi FA.

According to the Saudi Gazette, al-Asmari started her career as a referee in 2018, when she judged a string of matches for the Saudi national women’s team.

More opportunities have started to open up for Saudi women, including sport, as part of reforms particularly carried out by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. A women’s football league was started in November 2021.

The first Saudi women’s national team, coached by German veteran Monica Stapp, beat the Seychelles 2-0 in their maiden official match last February.

Saudi Arabia, whose neighbour Qatar hosted the World Cup in November and December, has applied to hold the Women’s Asian Cup in 2026 and is the sole bidder for the men’s version in 2027.

It is also considering a joint bid for the 2030 World Cup alongside Egypt and Greece, according to media reports.

Beşiktaş’ın eski teknik direktörü Slaven Bilic, Arjantin ile Fransa arasında oynanan 2022 Dünya Kupası finali sonrası açıklamalarda bulundu.

Slaven Bilic’in Arjantin – Fransa maçı yorumu şu şekilde:

“Bazı insanlar futbolu diğerlerine göre daha çok sever. Bazıları ise aynı duyguyu aynı şekilde yaşamazlar. Eski bir oyuncu ve teknik adam olarak değil, futbolu seven biri olarak bu hayatımda gördüğüm en iyi andı. Unutulmaz bir konser gibiydi. Çok fazla kalite ve mücadele yaşandı. Adeta bütün bir hayat, tüm duygularıyla bu oyunun içine girdi. Arjantin’in, 1998’de Fransa’nın Brezilya üzerindeki domine oyununun bir benzerini onlara uyguladı.

DUYGU, CESARET, KARARLILIK

“Arjantin çılgınca oynadı. Drama gibiydi oyun. Mbappe 3 gol attı ve finali kaybetti. Kulüp futbolu bundan çok farklı. Bu maçta duygular, cesaret ve kararlılık vardı. İlk yarıya baktığınızda normalde Arjantin’in bu karşılaşmayı 3 kez kazanması gerek. Oyunun 70’ten öncesi ve sonrası adeta iki farklı maç gibiydi. Virüsün etkisi mi bilmiyorum ama Fransa’yı ilk bölümde adeta sahada etkisiz hale getirdi Arjantin.”

“DÜNYA KUPASI BU İŞTE!”

“Tartışmasız gördüğümüz en iyi Dünya Kupası finali. Evet mükemmel bir oyun yoktu, taktik hatalar vardı ama bir futbol maçı olarak harikaydı. Dünya Kupası bu işte; duygular, birliktelik, güç ve kalite… Maçın en iyisi ilk yarıda Messi’ydi. Giroud, Mbappe ve Dembele kötü oynarlarken, Messi’nin yanında Alvarez harika oynadı. Sürekli savunmaya baskı yapıp, tempoyu o belirledi. Bu sayede çabuk golleri attılar. Bir araya Messi ya da Mbappe topu alıp, hücuma gidiyorlardı.”

“PLAYSTATION MAÇI GİBİYDİ”

“PlayStation maçı gibiydi. Arjantin tam bir duygu takımı. Di Maria golü atıyor, ağlıyor, tam tersi olunca da ağlıyor. Kızımla maçı izledim ve Hırvatistan yoksa, Messi’nin kazanmasını istedim. Ben bir Messi hayranıyım. Penaltılara kalınca Martinez’in maçı kazandıracağını düşünüyordum. Bu final dediğim gibi asla unutulmayacak. 6 golü ya da penaltıları unutun…Uzatmanın ikinci yarısının son 30 saniyesi bile inanılmazdı. O 30 saniyede bile iki takımdan biri gol atıyordu. Sadece bir teknik adam olarak değil, futbolu seven biri olarak hayatımda gördüğüm en iyi andı bu final. Hayat adeta bu finalin içinde gibiydi. Messi hayranıyım ve onun kazanmasını çok istemiştim.”

The number was higher than during the group stages of the 2018 World Cup in Russia according to FIFA.

More than 2.45 million people attended the first 48 matches of the Qatar 2022 World Cup while teams from five confederations made it to the round of 16, football’s governing body FIFA said on Saturday.

The number was higher than that of the 2018 World Cup in Russia for the group stages, FIFA said in the report.

Of all the matches in the first round of games, the most attended match was between Argentina and Mexico at Lusail Stadium with an attendance of 88,996 people.

Lusail will be the venue for the final, as well.

Meanwhile, at the FIFA Fan Festival in Doha, more than one million people visited the venue, a place where fans come together to watch live games during the tournament and was introduced in 2006 during the World Cup in Germany.

To date, Saudi Arabia led the list of most visitors with more than 77,000 followed by India which had a total of 56,893.

Before Qatar 2022 kicked off on November 20, the host country said it was expecting more than one million visitors.

In terms of TV audiences, 36 million people watched Japan vs Costa Rica, while USA vs England was the most-watched men’s football game in US television history.

Most diverse round of 16

According to FIFA, this year was the first time teams from all continents made it to the round of 16 knockout stages since 2002.

“This is the first time two African teams [Senegal and Morocco] have reached the round of 16 – only previous time came in 2014 [Algeria and Nigeria],” the governing body said.

Morocco topped their group after defeating Belgium and Canada, while drawing with Croatia in their opening match. Meanwhile, Senegal defeated Qatar and drew with Ecuador and Netherlands in their Group A fixtures.

South Korea, Australia and Japan qualifying was the first time three nations from the Asian Football Confederation made it to the round of 16 of the World Cup, the report added.

Katar’da düzenlenen 2022 FIFA Dünya Kupası H Grubu’nda Uruguay, Gana’yı 2-0 yenmesine rağmen Güney Kore’nin Portekiz’i mağlup etmesiyle gruptan çıkamadı.

Milli futbolcu Edinson Cavani, öfkesini Video Yardımcı Haken (VAR) monitöründen çıkardı.

CAVANI VAR EKRANINI YIKTI!

Uruguay oyuncuları Güney Kore’nin Portekiz’i yenmesi nedeniyle averajla Dünya Kupası’na veda etmenin üzüntüsü içerisinde soyunma odasına giderken, Cavani penaltı bekledikleri pozisyonlarda oyuna müdahale etmediğini düşündüğü VAR’ın saha kenarındaki TV panelini yumruklayıp yere düşürdü. FIFA yetkilileri yere düşen TV’nin fotoğrafını çekti.

2022 FIFA Dünya Kupası’nda Suudi Arabistan ile Meksika, C Grubu’ndaki son maçlarında karşı karşıya gelecek.

SUUDİ ARABİSTAN – MEKSİKA MAÇI NE ZAMAN, SAAT KAÇTA?

30 Kasım Çarşamba günü Lusail Stadı’nda oynanacak ve saat 22.00’de başlayacak mücadeleyi İngiliz hakem Michael Oliver yönetecek.

SUUDİ ARABİSTAN – MEKSİKA MAÇI HANGİ KANALDA?

Mücadele TRT Spor’dan naklen ekranlara gelecek.

İlk maçında Arjantin’i 2-1 yenerek büyük bir sürprize imza atan Suudi Arabistan, Polonya’ya ise 2-0 mağlup oldu.

Grupta son sırada yer alan Meksika ise tek puanını Polonya beraberliği ile aldı.

Fransız teknik adam Herve Renard yönetimindeki Suudi Arabistan, kazanması halinde tarihinde ikinci kez gruptan çıkacak. 3’er puana sahip Suudi Arabistan ve Arjantin’in son maçlarında berabere kalmaları halinde bu sonuç Arjantin’e yarıyor.

Mutlak galibiyete ihtiyacı olan eksi 2 averaja sahip Meksika, sahadan üç puanla ayrılır ve Arjantin yenilirse tur biletini alacak.

“Tangocular”ın berabere kalması halinde Meksika’ya 4 farklı galibiyet gerekiyor. İki takımın puanı ve averajı aynı olması durumunda daha fazla gol atan takım yoluna devam edecek.

FIFA organizasyonlarında iki takım arasında daha önce oynanan 3 maçı da Meksika kazandı. Bu maçlarda Meksika rakibine 12 gol atarken, kalesinde sadece 1 gol gördü.

Iranian football federation slams ‘unprofessional act’ as US football body uses modified flag in social media posts.

Iran’s football federation says it has lodged a complaint to FIFA over the removal of the word “Allah” from the Islamic Republic’s flag on social media posts by its counterpart in the United States, ahead of an upcoming World Cup game between the two countries.

“In an unprofessional act, the Instagram page of the US football federation removed the Allah symbol from the Iranian flag,” state news agency IRNA reported on Sunday.

“The Iran Football Federation sent an email to FIFA to demand it issue a serious warning to the US federation,” it added.

There was no immediate public response from world football’s governing body to the reported complaint, which came as the US prepares to face Iran in a decisive World Cup match on Tuesday — a fixture already burdened by the decades of enmity between the countries.

The US and Iran cut diplomatic relations in 1980.

Show of ‘support’ for Iran protests

The United States Soccer Federation (USSF) said in a statement on Sunday morning it had decided to forego the official flag on social media accounts in a show of solidarity with the “women in Iran fighting for basic human rights” in the wake of the death of 22-year-old Iranian woman Mahsa Amini in police custody.
The Islamic Republic’s flag consists of three horizontal bands in red, white and green with the word “Allah” appearing in stylised script in the middle.

The Twitter account of the US men’s team displayed a banner with the squad’s matches in the group stage, with the Iranian flag only bearing its green, white and red colours. The same was seen in a post on its Facebook and Instagram accounts laying out the point totals so far in its group.

By Sunday afternoon, the normal flag with the emblem had been restored in the Twitter banner, and the Facebook and Instagram posts with the altered flag had been removed.

“We wanted to show our support for the women in Iran with our graphic for 24 hours,” the federation said.

The United Nations says more than 300 people have been killed amid a crackdown on the protests which erupted in the wake of Amini’s death in September, and some 14,000 have been arrested, including children. Iran has accused the US and other foreign states of fomenting the demonstrations, without providing evidence.

Eagerly awaited rematch

Iran’s Tasnim news agency said on Twitter that the US team had “breached the FIFA charter, for which a 10-game suspension is the appropriate penalty”.

The US team “should be kicked out” of the World Cup, it added.

By posting a distorted image of the flag of the Islamic Republic of #Iran on its official account, the #US football team breached the @FIFAcom charter, for which a 10-game suspension is the appropriate penalty.
Team #USA should be kicked out of the #WorldCup2022 pic.twitter.com/c8I4i4z3Tv

— Tasnim News Agency (@Tasnimnews_EN) November 27, 2022

It is not expected that FIFA will take any such action.

Meanwhile, the two nations’ prospects on the pitch at the World Cup remain finely posed.

Iran’s dramatic 2-0 win over Wales and the US team’s tense goalless stalemate against England on Friday set up a tantalising final round of Group B matches.

England, sitting top with four points, face the bottom side Wales, meaning the Iran-United States contest will decide which team goes through to the round of 16.

The eagerly awaited meeting is a rematch of the 1998 World Cup group stage contest, dubbed the “mother of all games”, which Iran won 2-1. In a symbolic moment before that match at Lyon’s Stade Gerland, the Iranian players gave white roses, a symbol of peace in the country, to their American opponents.