Fifa

SPURNED World Cup sponsor Budweiser will demand their pound of flesh from Fifa after the late beer in-stadium U-turn.Owners ABInbev agreed an estimated £95m deal to continue as the official beer suppliers to the 2026 tournament in the USA, Canada and Mexico – up £30m from the Qatar agreement.
There will be thousands of leftover Budweiser following the late U-turn on salesCredit: Getty
That was on the basis of a 48-team and 80-match tournament across the three countries.
But it is expected Budweiser will now demand a massive reduction in lieu of taking legal action against Fifa for breach of contract.
And the blow will be eased further when Fifa confirms early in 2023 that the opening phase will now consist of 12 groups of four teams rather than the planned 16 groups of three, meaning a 104-match World Cup.
That will offer the brewery a further 24 matches with exclusive sales rights at the stadium plus the likelihood of extra official Budweiser-catered Fan Festivals across the three host nations.
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Fans were set to be able to drink £12-a-pint beer in the venues at Qatar 2022 before tournament chiefs reversed on their promises at the 11th hour.
That leaves Budweiser with thousands of crates of beer that cannot be sold.
So the company vowed to give all the leftovers to the winning country at the World Cup.
It means supporters can only purchase alcohol at the official FanZone.
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Furious, regular fans are being forced to pay almost the same amount as the richest visitors to Doha.
The USA team are among the VIPs staying at the Marsa Malaz Kempinski Hotel in the swanky Pearl district.
A bucket of six 33cl cans of the official tournament tipple is on sale in the hotel’s sports bar for £51.20 – so £8.5 per can, or 26p per cl.
In the FanZone, it’s £11.62 for a 50cl can – so 22p per cl – in much less luxurious surroundings. More

GERMANY sent a defiant message to Fifa with an iconic team photo ahead of their World Cup opener against Japan.Hansi Flick’s side were one of the seven European nations that planned on wearing the One Love armband.
Germany’s players covered their mouths for the team photo in a united stanceCredit: EPA
Gianni Infantino was in the stadium to see the protestCredit: Getty
German FA chief Bernd Neuendorf talks to Nancy Faeser as she wears the One Love armbandCredit: Getty
Faeser had the armband out just a couple of metres from InfantinoCredit: Reuters
The armband has been used as a message of support and unity, especially for the LGBTQ+ community with England, Wales, Belgium, Holland, Switzerland and Denmark also set to join with Team DFB.
However, Fifa made a last-minute decision to ban the accessory – and threatened captains with yellow cards or even one-match suspensions prompting a U-turn from all seven countries.
It means captain and goalkeeper Manuel Neuer walked out with the regular generic ‘No Discrimination’ version instead.
But Germany’s starting XI still made a protest of their own ahead of kick-off in Qatar.
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The 11 stars, including Chelsea’s Kai Havertz and wonderkid Jamal Musiala, lined up and all covered their mouths with their right hand – as if to say they have been silenced by the tournament organisers.
That includes Fifa president Gianni Infantino, who was in the stadium to witness the silent stand first hand.
Like Alex Scott on Monday, German Federal Minister of the Interior and Community, Nancy Faeser, showed her support by wearing the One Love armband inside the ground – and even as she sat right next to Infantino.
The German and Japanese players also wore training tops with rainbow colours on the sleeves for the warm-up at the Khalifa International Stadium – while Neuer’s World Cup boots feature the colours too.
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The official Team DFB Twitter account posted: “We wanted to use our captain’s armband to take a stand for values that we hold in the Germany national team: diversity and mutual respect.
“Together with other nations, we wanted our voice to be heard.
“It wasn’t about making a political statement – human rights are non-negotiable.
“That should be taken for granted, but it still isn’t the case. That’s why this message is so important to us.
“Denying us the armband is the same as denying us a voice. We stand by our position.”
German manager Hansi Flick spoke of his dismay over the armband saga in Tuesday’s pre-match press conference. 
🗣 “It’s a gesture and it’s a start… They say they’ve been silenced but by who? Use your voice! Wear the armband! We always say leadership is about action!@IanWright0 & Roy Keane discuss Germany’s pre match stand pic.twitter.com/bMDRFBQCy3— ITV Football (@itvfootball) November 23, 2022

He said: “About the One Love armband, together with the German FA and other countries, the German team wanted to do this and to take a stand.
“But now Fifa have threatened us basically with sanctions. The associations that played on Monday (England and Wales), it was very short notice.
“If you want to run a campaign like this together, you should stick to your decisions.”
Ian Wright praised the Germany players as “fantastic” for the global gesture in the ITV studio at half-time.
But Roy Keane encouraged them to go further and show leadership by actually wear the One Love armband for a match.
Keane said: “It’s a gesture and it’s a start but I think they can do more.
“They say they’ve been silenced but by who?
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“They’re the players, the most important people in football.
“Use your voice! Wear the armband! Stand up! We always say leadership is about action! Go and do it!”
The silent protest comes after Fifa’s U-turn on the One Love armbandCredit: Reuters
Manuel Neuer wore the Fifa armband insteadCredit: Getty
Assistant referee Zachari Zeegelaar made a beeline to check itCredit: EPA
Neuer sent a message with his choice of boot coloursCredit: Reuters
Germany’s warm-up tops with rainbow colours on the sleevesCredit: Getty More

DENMARK are planning talks with fellow Uefa members over potentially QUITTING Fifa. They were one of seven nations, including England and Wales, planning to wear One Love armbands before backing down over the threat of yellow cards.
Denmark held a press conference on Wednesday morning announcing they were considering leaving FifaCredit: Reuters
Denmark are ready for talks with Uefa’s 55 member states, which includes England, to quit Fifa after the One Love armband rowCredit: Alamy
Former Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt wore a blue dress with rainbow-colored sleeves as she watched Denmark vs TunisiaCredit: AP
Danish FA (DBU) chairman Jesper Moller said Denmark were considering leaving Fifa and are ready for talks with Uefa’s 55 member nations, which includes England.
They are willing to discuss a blanket withdrawal from the world governing body.
The DBU delegation expressed their “anger” at the way Fifa threatened sporting sanctions for the seven captains planning to wear the One Love armband.
Denmark will not formally support Fifa chief Gianni Infantino in his bid to be re-elected as president.
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Moller said: “There are presidential elections in FIFA. There are 211 countries in FIFA and I understand that the current president has statements of support from 207 countries.
“Denmark is not among those countries. And we’re not going to be either.”
On leaving Fifa, he said: “It is not a decision that has been made now. We have been clear about this for a long time. We have been discussing it in the Nordic region since August.
“I’ve thought it again. I imagine that there may be challenges if Denmark leaves on its own. But let us see if we cannot have a dialogue on things.
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“I have to think about the question of how to restore confidence in FIFA. We must evaluate what has happened, and then we must create a strategy – also with our Nordic colleagues.”
Alongside Denmark, England and Wales, Germany, France, Belgium, and Switzerland had all planned for their captains to wear One Love armbands in Qatar.
The armbands promote inclusivity and LGBTQ+ rights, with same-sex relationships illegal in Qatar.
But the seven skippers were warned by Fifa that they faced a yellow card as a “minimum” punishment for wearing the armbands.
DBU chief CEO Jakob Jensen said: “On November 21, England asked for an emergency meeting with FIFA, who came to the English hotel. FIFA said it would at least give a yellow card.
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“There has been discussion about whether there is a legal basis for giving a yellow card, but there is.
“The penalty could have been a yellow card, that the captain had not come on the pitch or that he was given a ban.” More

LOUIS VAN GAAL has attacked Fifa for threatening to book players for wearing the OneLove armband.A number of captains at the World Cup wanted to wear the anti-discrimination symbol including England captain Harry Kane and Holland’s Virgil van Dijk.
This is Louis van Gaal’s third spell in charge of the national sideCredit: Getty
But the threat of disciplinary action saw them back down which Van Gaal clearly believes was wrong by football’s world governing body.
Van Gaal said: “I no longer want to answer political questions, this is time to talk only about football but one thing is clear we are not going to wear an armband if you are going to get a yellow card and we need to question if this is a correct act on behalf of Fifa.
“You can answer that question.
“We cannot have Virgil van Dijk on a yellow card. We are here to be world champions, that’s our purpose. All of us need to ask if this is a proper action on behalf of Fifa. That is crystal clear.”
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Van Gaal was speaking after Holland’s 2-0 win over Senegal courtesy of late goals from Cody Gakpo and substitute Davy Klaassen.
On the eve of the game he had said he would no longer be drawn on political questions and had instructed his players not to be either.
Back in March he had slammed the decision for Qatar to be awarded this World Cup.
He said: “It’s ridiculous that the World Cup is there. Fifa says they want to develop football there. That’s bulls**t. It’s about money, about commercial interests.”
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Defeat to the Dutch means that Senegal will have to launch a rescue mission if they are to make it beyond the group stages.
Ecuador and Qatar come next in the African team’s schedule.
They will be hoping to have Cheikhou Kouyate back in the team after the midfielder sustained an unfortunate and painful injury. More

BELGIUM have been forced to change their World Cup kit after Fifa demanded that the word “love” be removed.The Red Devils’ away shirt was based on the Tomorrowland festival’s fireworks show and is supposed to symbolise the shared values ​​of diversity, equality and inclusiveness.
Belgium will have to remove the word “love” from their away shirtCredit: store.tomorrowland.com
Captain Eden Hazard will also not be able to wear the One Love armbandCredit: Rex
It was developed by both Adidas and the Royal Belgian Football Association for the World Cup.
It also has the word “love” written on the back underneath the players’ squad number.
However, it now needs to be removed as confirmed by the RBFA.
A statement from CEO Peter Bossaert read: “The word love must disappear.
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“It’s sad, but Fifa leaves us no choice. The rest of the equipment remains unchanged.”
Due to the necessary change, the Red Devils will now wear their red kit for the three group-stage games.
Roberto Martinez’s side will be facing Canada, Morroco and Croatia in Group F.
Captain Eden Hazard, like England’s skipper Harry Kane, has also been stopped from wearing the One Love armband.
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Bossaert added: “Eden will indeed not play with the One Love band.
“We have no choice, because the penalties are disproportionate. We can’t risk Eden getting a yellow card before the game starts.
“We were prepared to pay high fines – and we also indicated this in our conversations with Fifa – but there was simply no consultation possible.
“That means that we cannot continue our action.” More

ENGLAND fans were reportedly allowed in for FREE to watch the 6-1 thrashing of Iran after a Fifa ticketing app error. Supporters faced a nightmare getting in after the app CRASHED this morning, which left rows of seats empty at the start of the match.
There were plenty of empty seats at the start at the Khalifa International StadiumCredit: AFP
England fans celebrate in the Khalifa International StadiumCredit: PA
Many supporters were seeing this message

Many fans claim that their e-tickets DISAPPEARED from their phones.
It caused several to miss the kick-off but eventually they filtered through and filled up the Khalifa International Stadium.
Amid the chaos, fans were allowed in without even having a ticket, with no checks taking place.
One supporter told The Mirror: “They have just let everyone through.
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“There was a f*** up with the app and many people were stopped but they have now just opened the gates.”
Fans who were delayed getting into the stadium were helped by the fact there was a massive delay in the play.
Iran keeper Alireza Beiranvand had a horror clash with defender Majid Hosseini, leaving him with a brutal nose bleed.
It took around ten minutes before Beiranvand eventually got back to his feet and was able to restart play with a goal kick.
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But he was clearly dazed after possibly suffering a concussion and signalled to come off before laying on the pitch.
No2 Hossein Hosseini had been warming up and replaced Beiranvand after a lengthy amount of stoppage time that saw 14 MINUTES added on to the end of the first half.
By then, England were already in cruise control after going 3-0 up, with teenage sensation Jude Bellingham opening the scoring.
Bukayo Saka and Raheem Sterling then added to the scoring leaving Gareth Southgate’s Three Lions home and hosed by the break.
And Saka, on a revenge mission after missing a penalty in last year’s Euros final, doubled his lead just after the hour mark.
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Striker Mehdi Taremi did pull one back for Iran on 65 minutes, proving nothing more than a consolation, as Marcus Rashford soon made it 5-1.
Jack Grealish then capped things off after converting from an unselfish pass from Callum Wilson as Taremi’s penalty ended the game 6-2.
Bukayo Saka celebrates with England captain Harry KaneCredit: Getty More