This may be the only World Cup where Palestinian flags have so noticeably outnumbered Italian ones. At the first global tournament after Oct. 7, 2023, symbols of Palestinian solidarity have been widespread despite the fact that Palestine has never competed in a World Cup. After being adopted by teams and fans across the tournament, the…
Belgium’s sports authorities do not appear to have fully moved past the controversy that shrouded their Round of 16 matchup against the United States, but Belgian fans in Washington have. Folarin Balogun, the American striker whose red-card punishment was suspended by FIFA just before that game, is now barely top of mind. “I don’t think…
The head of FIFA’s anti-discrimination partner — which has dispatched human monitors to every World Cup match so far — said Thursday that the group has submitted “a number of reports regarding matches involving Mexico.” Piara Powar, executive director of the Fare network, declined in an interview with POLITICO to say what incidents the reports…
President Donald Trump’s call to FIFA President Gianni Infantino urging him to review U.S. striker Folarin Balogun’s red card has thrust the politics of global sport back in the spotlight — and it’s raising questions about how the Olympic movement plans to navigate a White House that has an interventionist approach toward the world’s biggest…
The newfound harmony between France and Morocco will be tested Thursday night when the two nations clash in the World Cup quarterfinals in Boston. Relations between Paris and Rabat have rarely been warmer, after President Emmanuel Macron recognized Morocco’s disputed sovereignty plan for Western Sahara in 2024. During a state visit to Rabat that year,…
Remarks by Paraguayan Senator Celeste Amarilla shocked France — and much of the world — earlier this week after she branded Kylian Mbappé a “brute,” mocked his intelligence and questioned his French identity. Days later, the fallout has spiraled from international condemnation to criminal investigations and extraordinary South American threats to extradite the France captain….
The World Cup quarter-final against France folds every saga about Moroccan defender and captain Achraf Hakimi into a single frame. France is the team that ended Morocco’s historic 2022 run, the country where Hakimi became a global star at Paris Saint-Germain — and the legal system now charging him with rape over a 2023 allegation….
Seventy-two members of the European Parliament on Wednesday demanded an investigation into FIFA President Gianni Infantino after FIFA lifted the red card suspension of star U.S. striker Folarin Balogun following a call from President Donald Trump. Last Thursday, Trump called Infantino to lobby for the automatic ban given to Balogun after receiving a red card…
BRUSSELS — The atmosphere at Le Stalingrad tea salon in Brussels is electric, full of supporters packed shoulder-to-shoulder, with Arabic commentary blaring from the televisions and every chance greeted by deafening reactions. The crowd has erupted each time Morocco held firm defensively, but the loudest roar of the night (so far) came when France’s Kylian…
Morocco is having a moment as a powerhouse soccer nation, reaching the business end of back-to-back World Cups and seeing a pathway to winning this year’s tournament. “Morocco has gained everybody’s respect now,” team coach Mohamed Ouahbi told reporters after the squad’s victory over the Netherlands in the first knockout round of the 2026 World…
