Social Issues

Saudi Arabia will host the men's soccer World Cup in 2034 while the 2030 edition will be held in Spain, Portugal and Morocco, with one-off matches in three South American countries, world soccer's governing body FIFA confirmed on Wednesday.

The decision was announced by FIFA President Gianni Infantino following a virtual extraordinary Congress. The 2030 and 2034 World Cups each had only a single bid and both were confirmed by acclamation.

Christian Pulisic’s red-hot form with both AC Milan and the U.S. men’s national team has the American placed amongst the best players in the world right now — though, it's not exactly exempting him from criticism. The reason? His latest celebration.

Pulisic scored two of the four goals in the USMNT's 4-2 victory over Jamaica (5-2 score aggregate) to seal their spot in the Concacaf Nations League semifinals, further cementing his status as the United States’ target man and main attacking threat.

Vini Jr. is the people’s 2024 Ballon d’Or champ. If that makes it any better.

Monday morning struck the world with some of the biggest news of the year as reports revealed that ‘clear’ Ballon d’Or favorite, Vinicius Jr., was to not travel to Paris, France, for the prestigious award’s ceremony — meaning the star Brazilian and Real Madrid forward was imminently snubbed from taking the golden ball home.

BREAKING: Vinicius Jr will NOT travel to Paris as Real Madrid know he will NOT win the Ballon d’Or.

MADRID — Four people have been arrested and questioned in Spain on suspicion of conducting an online hate campaign encouraging fans to racially abuse Real Madrid star forward Vinicius Jr, police said on Thursday.

The men were detained on Oct. 14 and 15 then released as investigations continued into social media slogans which urged fans to wear face masks so they could insult the Black Brazil international without being identified, police added.

The Football Association have charged Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur after the Uruguayan made a racist remark about South Korean people when talking about his teammate Son Heung-min during a television appearance.

Bentancur, 27, has until Sept. 19 to respond to the charge.

Rodrigo Bentancur charge

San Diego Wave FC President Jill Ellis filed a defamation suit on Monday against a former team employee who accused Ellis on social media of creating a harsh work environment.

Brittany Alvarado, previously a video and creative manager for the Wave, wrote in a July 3 social media post that the treatment she and her co-workers endured under Ellis "has been nothing short of life-altering and devastating to our mental health."

The U.S. soccer federation condemned the online racist abuse of their players on Thursday after their 2-1 defeat by Panama at the Copa America.

"There is absolutely no place in the game for such hateful and discriminatory behaviour," U.S. Soccer said in a statement.

"These actions are not only unacceptable but also contrary to the values of respect and inclusivity that we uphold as an organization."

USMNT players face racist abuse online

Denmark's male footballers have decided to refuse a pay raise for playing for the national team in order to ensure their female counterparts get equal basic pay, the global players' union FIFPRO said on Friday.

The national football association (DBU) had been looking to ensure equal pay for both teams but players from both squads were not in favor of taking money from the men's team to pay the women.