“I’m the one that got them to do it,” said Donald Trump on Monday, referring to FIFA’s hugely controversial decision to suspend the red card ban of USA striker Folarin Balogun ahead of their loss to Belgium in the last 16 of the World Cup.
The US president then claimed he had just called for a review of the incident, which FIFA and their president, Gianni Infantino, insisted was then ruled upon by their disciplinary committee. The committee has not ruled on any other decision in a World Cup. Both the reviewing of red cards at the World Cup and political interference of any kind is banned by FIFA’s own statutes.
Sky-high ticket prices, the refusals of visas to fans, officials, player’s families and even a referee have all contributed to a tournament in which FIFA, and Trump, have been ever-present. These issues have all contributed to a spike in unpopularity for an organization that was already disliked by fans, if not necessarily by federations.
Infantino, Trump relationship has eroded FIFA trust
Several factors have contributed to growing frustration with FIFA.
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The decision to award US President Trump FIFA’s inaugural Peace Prize last December, shortly before Trump started a war with tournament participant Iran, was reportedly a unilateral move by FIFA President Infantino and has further eroded trust both within and outside the organization.
FIFA under fire for World Cup red card retraction
FIFA employ a rotation policy for World Cup hosting — that means each confederation should host a tournament in turn, with the exception of Oceania, which lacks the facilities since Australia began playing in Asian competition. But with matches in the 2030 World Cup scheduled in Europe, Africa and South America, that cleared the way for Saudi Arabia to be awarded the 2034 tournament unchallenged and much earlier than Asia would otherwise have been due, in 2042.
US President Donald Trump was front and center when Chelsea lifted last year’s Club World Cup trophyImage: Seth Wenig/AP/picture alliance
Structurally, each of the 211 member nations (which sit in six continental federations), gets a single vote for the president every four years. These member associations are then financially rewarded, to a greater or lesser degree, through various schemes and programs.
“The commercial dimension is the bedrock of FIFA’s system of power. The money is used by the presidents to accumulate and consolidate their power,” Miguel Maduro, a former chairman of FIFA’s Governance, Audit and Compliance Committee, told DW. He was dismissed from the post in 2017 after attempting to enforce political neutrality rules regarding Russia.
“It’s what supports the system of patronage through which presidents reward those loyal to them and punish anyone that dares criticize anything. It explains why incumbent presidents are never challenged and stay in power indefinitely.”
Can politics and the EU force FIFA to change?
Like Maduro, Nick McGeehan, of human rights NGO FairSquare, agrees that any reform would have to be imposed upon FIFA. And with individual member nations not incentivized or able to drive change, he is calling on the European Union to take up the fight.
“It requires political intervention. There is no other way to fix FIFA,” he told DW.
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“I think the most obvious example would be the European Union, who could regulate and govern sport the way they regulate other things like Big Tech.”
A Commission spokesperson would not be drawn on whether the EU might take on FIFA, telling DW only that the FSE and Euroconsumers complaint was being dealt with “in line with our standard procedures.”
Lionel Messi became the World Cup’s all-time top scorer during the 2026 group stageImage: Maria Lysaker/IMAGN Images/REUTERS
Asked whether they might intervene in the various questionable World Cup ticket practices, the spokesperson went on to confirm that EU laws “do not regulate the price levels for goods and services, such as event tickets.” But added that: “Traders must adequately inform consumers about the total price of their offers and avoid misleading commercial practices, such as making attractive starting price claims for tickets that are not available or pressure-selling techniques while consumers wait in the virtual queue.”
Though definitive political action is so far thin on the ground, McGeehan retains hope.
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“There is going to be a politician somewhere who recognizes the political value of taking people on and actually trying to hold them accountable. And I find that quite an exciting prospect, because I think it’s inevitable right now.”
Might UEFA and FIFA tensions force a breakaway?
While it operates under FIFA’s umbrella, there are simmering tensions between FIFA and the powerful European federation, UEFA. These came to a head in the Balogun incident, with UEFA releasing a statement that said FIFA had “crossed a red line” and expressed “disbelief at such an unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable decision.”
Earlier in the tournament, they became apparent in UEFA’s hiring of Somalian referee Omar Artan for the Super Cup final, days after he’d been refused entry to the US to officiate at the World Cup.
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“Football is made to connect people,” said UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin.
Somali referee denied US entry before World Cup debut
Last year, UEFA delegates walked out of the FIFA Congress, accusing Infantino of prioritizing “private political interests” after turning up late from a diplomatic tour of the Middle East alongside Trump.
“There are tensions between UEFA and FIFA, and UEFA are a huge confederation and have the ear of some of the biggest and the most historic footballing nations. So if there was any form of breakaway within football it would have to come from UEFA or a number of UEFA nations getting together,” Geoff Walters, a professor in sports business at the University of Liverpool in the UK, told DW.
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“But it’s hard in the context of football-politics to put your head above that parapet because you get shot down. If you do say something, then what does it mean? Is it going to harm your chances of hosting competitions, which can be beneficial? Does it mean that you are ostracized from the international community?”
However, in line with other federation heads, German FA (DFB) President Bernd Neuendorf did speak out on the Balogun incident.
“The impression that there has been active political interference in sports must be dispelled swiftly and conclusively. The integrity of the competition and the credibility of FIFA are at stake,” he said.
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UEFA themselves had to deal with the threat of an elite-club-driven breakaway Super League in 2021 and the legal issues that followed. Maduro said the organization “suffers from that same governance flaws as FIFA, albeit in a less obvious and radical manner.”
What’s in a FIFA breakaway for the rest of the world?
UEFA’s standing with the rest of the world’s federations may also have been weakened by Ceferin’s reported recent comments that the expanded World Cup makes a lot of matches “completely uninteresting.” A coalition of 13 football associations from Africa and Asia said they “firmly reject” the comments reported by Zurnal24, an online newspaperin Ceferin’s native Slovenia.
The prestige and power of Europe and South America, particularly Brazil and Argentina, are also not as strong as they may seem compared to Infantino’s power base in Asia and Africa. Walters said this is another reason why a breakaway appears a distant possibility.
Cape Verde earned draws against Spain, Uruguay and Saudi ArabiaImage: Marco Bello/REUTERS
“If it was spearheaded by leading nations, what would happen to the smaller nations across the world? What would happen to their ability to develop football in their countries?
“That’s part of the challenge with global sport that we’re seeing, not just in the context of the World Cup, but in the context of a lot of sporting leagues, where you are seeing the bigger teams starting to look to push and break away. They want to maintain the largest slice of the pie, of the commercial income and revenues that are coming into that sport,” he said.
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Is FIFA reaching areas others can’t?
While many others have questioned those commercial motivations, Infantino has insisted they are for the greater good.
“Every dollar we generate goes back into football,” he told reporters on the eve of the tournament on June 10.
“If we were selling our TV rights to pay-TV, like everyone else, we would generate four times as much revenue. And we could give all the tickets away, but they would still end up on the black market.
“As FIFA president we have to strike a balance. We invest in countries where no one else does — South Sudan, Bhutan. No one else is doing this.”
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For now, that much is true. In football terms, no one else has the remit or the money. And, given how deeply FIFA is entrenched within the sport, the chances of a breakaway seem remote.
Although discontent has rarely been higher, unless a federation, alliance of countries or prominent individual grasps the nettle, the chances of reform seem only marginally less slim than before.
Edited by: Chuck Penfold
This article was first published on July 2 and updated on July 7 to reflect developments at the World Cup.
After Victoria withdrew in 2023, Glasgow answered the SOS call – and organisers say the past 11 days in the Scottish city have “exceeded all expectations”.
Yes, there have been grumbles – including from those who have seen parking spaces outside their houses taken – and taxi drivers and shop owners the Games have passed by.
On the ground, though, this felt like a meaningful event.
Ticket sales of 434,000 were well down from 1.5 million for Birmingham 2022, but they were always going to be given the smaller venues for this scaled-back edition. It has been rare to enter a venue and not find a joyful, engaged crowd.
Organisers said their social media views passed those of Birmingham within the opening few days and highlighted record-breaking television figures in Australia and New Zealand, where the Games were free-to-air.
Still, without that same coverage in the UK, these Games have – at times – drifted by.
Glasgow 2026 was also hurt by the absence or late withdrawal of big-name competitors, particularly in athletics, which missed Keely Hodgkinson, Katarina Johnson-Thompson and Dina Asher-Smith.
The Games’ differing relevance between sports was again clear – for netball, this remains the pinnacle and is treated as such; for others, it is a stepping stone. Many narratives focused on the “next generation”.
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Eighteen-year-old Jersey swimmer Filip Nowacki was perhaps the most exciting name to emerge, but gymnasts Ruby Evans (Wales) and Reuben Ward (Scotland) and England track cyclist Henry Hobbs, who won two golds and a bronze, were others.
Swimmer Faye Rogers impressively brought her success at the Paralympics back to Glasgow with gold in the pool – and then competed in the non-para event as well.
It was a fifth successive mid-table finish for the Welsh club, who have not mounted a serious promotion push since Steve Cooper’s team were beaten in the 2021 play-off final by Brentford.
Having been among the Championship’s biggest spenders in the 2025 close season, Swansea’s hierarchy have once again shown ambition this summer.
The club are believe to have spent in the region of £15m on Elijah Just, Joseph Opoku and Moussa Yeo, while Stephen Welsh has signed on a free transfer.
“The focus is improving the team, improving the players, put the team in a level that we can compete against everyone,” Matos added.
“There are strong teams [in the Championship] with a lot in terms of budget and a lot of expectations.
“So it doesn’t mean that we need to be the best team, but it means that we need to be able to compete against everyone and be able to win against everyone.
“That’s the good thing about sports. You don’t need to be the best one, but you need to be able to beat the best one. That’s what we want to be.”
The final medals of the 2026 Commonwealth Games have been won after athletes from 74 nations and territories vied for gold in Glasgow.
Glasgow stepped in after the Australian state of Victoria backed out three years ago due to the cost of hosting the Games, meaning the Scottish city staged the event for the second time in 12 years.
A slimmed-down 10-sport programme, as well as six Para sports, included athletics, gymnastics, cycling, and swimming, spread across four Glaswegian venues.
Team England had the honour of taking home the first gold of the Games as Mark Swan secured a dramatic victory in the men’s lightweight category of the men’s para powerlifting, hauling up 222kg – more than three times his body weight – but Australia went on to surge clear of the rest of the field.
Here are the final medal standings from the 2026 Commonwealth Games
Chelsea have signed Argentina international Valentin Barco from sister club Strasbourg on a seven-year deal.
The 22-year-old, who played seven times for Brighton including six Premier League appearances during the 2023-24 season, becomes the seventh arrival of new manager Xabi Alonso’s reign.
A versatile player who can be used in central midfield as well as his regular position of left-back, Barco was in the Argentina squad that finished as runners-up at the World Cup, winning his fifth cap in the 3-1 group-stage win over Jordan.
He moved to Strasbourg initially on loan from Brighton in 2024 but signed permanently a year later having helped the club to qualify for the Conference League.
In all he made 53 appearances for the Ligue 1 side.
Valentin Barco (right) was involved in a viral heated exchange with Jude Bellingham after the World Cup semi-final (AP)
He is expected to join up shortly with his new team-mates on their tour of Australia and Hong Kong.
It continues a busy summer in the transfer market for Chelsea as they look to remodel under Alonso.
On Saturday they confirmed the signing of veteran striker Danny Welbeck from Brighton, following the signings of Crystal Palace’s Maxence Lacroix and Morgan Rogers from Aston Villa.
Marco Palestra, Emmanuel Emegha and Geovany Quenda have also been signed.
Team Nigeria finished the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow as Africa’s highest-ranked nation after winning 24 medals.
Nigeria ended the Games in seventh place on the final medal table with 10 gold, seven silver and seven bronze medals.
The performance saw Nigeria finish ahead of several traditional sporting nations, including Jamaica, Wales, Malaysia and South Africa.
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However, Nigeria’s overall medal haul was lower than its performance at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, where the country won 35 medals.
The 24 medals in Glasgow represent a drop of 11 medals, while the 10 gold medals were also two fewer than the 12 gold medals won in Birmingham.
Australia topped the final medal table with an impressive 70 gold medals, followed by England and Canada.
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South Africa was the second-best African nation, finishing 11th with seven gold, 11 silver and 10 bronze medals.
Kenya finished 13th with three gold, four silver and five bronze medals, while Mauritius placed 15th with one gold, two silver and one bronze.
Cameroon finished 16th with one gold, one silver and three bronze medals. Uganda won two silver and one bronze medal to finish 27th, while Namibia placed 29th with one silver and two bronze medals.
Ghana finished 30th with one silver and one bronze.
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Other African countries that won medals were Lesotho, Zambia, Gabon, Rwanda and The Gambia.
A total of 13 African nations won at least one medal at the Games.
Although Nigeria’s medal tally was lower than in Birmingham, finishing as Africa’s number one nation once again highlights the country’s strength across different sports and its place among the Commonwealth’s leading sporting nations.
Moses Itauma has weighed in on the hardest hitting heavyweight of all time debate, naming a formidable puncher who ended his career with a 92% knockout-to-win ratio.
When it comes to discussing the most powerful heavyweights in boxing history, fans will often mention Mike Tyson, George Foreman, Earnie Shavers and Deontay Wilder.
Foreman, too, was capable of delivering highlight-reel knockouts at the top level, as evidenced by his stoppages of Joe Frazier and Ken Norton in 1973 and 1974, respectively.
As for Wilder, it could be argued that, while boasting a 95% knockout-to-win ratio, he, unlike ‘Iron’ Mike and ‘Big George’, does not have the resume of an all-time great.
In terms of raw power, though, prodigious talent Itauma has told DAZN that he believes Shavers is the greatest heavyweight puncher of all time.
While never winning a world title, the ‘Black Destroyer’ fought in an era that was brimming with world-class operators, including Hall of Famers Muhammad Ali and Larry Holmes.
And while he did, of course, lose to both of those champions, Shavers nonetheless gave a tremendous account of himself on each occasion.
Two of his most notable stoppages came against Norton and Joe Bugner, with this generation’s Itauma clearly an admirer of the American’s career.
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And with the 21-year-old swiftly becoming a prolific knockout artist in his own right, perhaps he will eventually be mentioned in the same breath as Shavers, Tyson, Foreman and Wilder.
Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly considering a move for Victor Osimhen as they look to strengthen their attack ahead of the new season.
Spurs are searching for a new striker, with manager Roberto De Zerbi keen to improve his forward line. Richarlison’s future at the club is also uncertain.
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Reports on Sunday claimed that Osimhen has emerged as a new name on Tottenham’s transfer wishlist.
The Nigerian striker has been linked with a move to the Premier League for several years. Chelsea were strongly interested in him two years ago, but talks broke down in the final days of the summer transfer window.
Osimhen is now at Galatasaray and is reportedly keen to move to the Premier League. According to CaughtOffside, personal terms are not expected to be a problem, with the 27-year-old said to be open to joining Tottenham.
Victor Osimhen
Turkish journalist Ekrem Konur claims Tottenham have made an opening offer of between £50 million and £55m for the Super Eagles striker.
However, Galatasaray are reportedly looking for around £65m before agreeing to sell Osimhen.
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It remains unclear whether Tottenham will make a serious move for the Nigerian, but De Zerbi is expected to push for a new striker before the transfer window closes.
The Spurs boss also admitted on Saturday that Richarlison’s future remains uncertain.
“I like him as a player, as a guy,” De Zerbi said after Richarlison scored a late winner against Chelsea in Sydney.
“He has an unbelievable attitude and behaviour, but in the end we have to respect what he wants to do. We all know what he wants to do.
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“But for me, he’s still an important player because it’s not so easy to find another striker like Richarlison. He scores goals. He scored 12 goals last season, not through luck, because he knows how to score.”
With Richarlison’s future still unclear, Osimhen could become an attractive option for Tottenham as they look for a proven goalscorer.
Crawford was in attendance to witness Zepeda’s victory, and speaking on the TNT broadcast following the bout, he praised the performance of the new champion.
“Zepeda caught me off guard. I wasn’t ready for that. I was looking for a straight come forward type fighter, but from round one I said ‘damn look at his movement.’
“Look at his footwork. His distance, his range, his angles, his faints, his jabbing, his counter ability, his punch placement. How he was controlling the fight. Roach would hit him with a good shot, but he would eat it and come right back.”
The TNT panel then discussed a potential clash between Zepeda and current unified super-featherweight world champion Emanuel Navarrete, and Crawford made it perfectly clear what a war he thinks that could be.
“That’s CTE at its finest. You talk about a bloodbath, it’s a bloodbath waiting.”
Three-weight world champion Navarrete added the IBF super-featherweight title to his WBO crown when he defeated Eduardo Nunez back in February, and may be interested in the chance to claim gold in a fourth division by moving up to take on Zepeda.
Chelsea Green’s biggest career victory at WWE SummerSlam 2026 received an immediate reaction from someone who knows her journey better than anyone else. Shortly after Green captured the Interim Women’s Championship, her husband, Matt Cardona, took to social media to celebrate the historic moment.
The Interim WWE Women’s Championship was introduced after reigning champion Rhea Ripley suffered a torn meniscus while successfully defending her title against Jade Cargill in their rematch at Clash in Italy. Ripley had originally won the championship by defeating Cargill at WrestleMania 42, but her injury forced the sports entertainment juggernaut to crown a temporary champion until she is medically cleared to return.
Thanks for the submission!
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Following Adam Pearce’s announcement that Ripley would miss SummerSlam, WWE held a series of qualifying matches on SmackDown. Tiffany Stratton, Jade Cargill, Charlotte Flair, Chelsea Green, and Lash Legend all earned spots in the high-stakes Five-Way Ladder Match.
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The championship bout lived up to expectations. Late in the match, Tiffany Stratton appeared close to victory before Green shoved the ladder, sending her crashing onto the other competitors outside the ring. Moments later, B-Fab and Michin tried to stop Green and assist Cargill, only for The Queen to intervene as the action descended into complete chaos.
After Flair and Cargill neutralized one another at the top of the ladder, Green recovered while the rest of the field was down. She climbed the ladder uninterrupted and unhooked the championship to become the Interim WWE Women’s Champion.
While Matt Cardona did not compete at The Biggest Party of the Summer, he shared a congratulatory message on X after watching The Hot Mess climb the ladder and secure the championship on Night Two of SummerSlam.
“Here is your winner and NNNEEEWWW @WWE Women’s Champion…my hot wife…@ImChelseaGreen!”
Chelsea Green can now call herself Interim Women’s Champion, but her reign comes with a major challenge waiting in the future. Once Rhea Ripley returns from injury, the two stars will eventually collide in a Championship Unification Match to determine the undisputed titleholder.
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On the flight home from Chicago, as he reflects on the 4-2 loss to Leeds that ended Liverpool‘s United States tour, manager Andoni Iraola will have plenty to think about.
The first-half display was arguably the best since he took charge of Liverpool, but the second was categorically their worst as they conceded four times without reply inside 25 minutes.
Iraola did make a raft of changes at the break and in the second half but that is no excuse for the way they capitulated against Daniel Farke’s side.
Their lack of squad depth and physicality was alarmingly exposed and Iraola will be concerned with the ease with which Leeds scored, albeit against an inexperienced backline that finished with Calvin Ramsay, Ifeanyi Ndukwe, Mor Talla Ndiaye and Kostas Tsimikas.
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With Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz making their return, Liverpool were excellent in the first half and it is important not to be too critical but perhaps Iraola will be glad in the long-run that he saw this second-half display, where Liverpool‘s set-piece deficiencies were highlighted too.
The intensity Iraola demands on the training pitch was evident in the first half but seemed non-existent after the break. Senior figures like Curtis Jones and Federico Chiesa did not cover themselves in glory.
“I particularly hate this month of August because you start the competitions and you still don’t know if some of the players are going to leave and who’s going to come – there is a lot of uncertainty,” said Iraola, earlier in the week.
Iraola will meet Virgil van Dijk, Cody Gakpo, Alisson Becker and new signing Victor Munoz over the coming days at the AXA Training Centre.
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By then, the only first-team player he will have yet to meet will be Alexis Mac Allister, who has been granted extra time off following Argentina’s run to the World Cup final. Munoz, who did not play a minute in Spain’s successful World Cup campaign, will return earlier to aid his integration into the squad.
However, over the course of a fortnight in America, Liverpool have had no incomings. That was in part because Iraola wanted to see the squad at his disposal before making decisions. What he saw in this defeat will play into those decisions.
“I think we learn a lot of things. Obviously it’s not the result you want but I think (it was) probably the most useful friendly we played – in a positive way in the first half and in a negative way in the second half,” said Iraola. “I think we’ve learned a lot and I think we can take good conclusions and solve some things.”
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