Squawka soccer quiz

SAO PAULO - Three Brazilian states have halted their professional soccer local leagues due to a spike in hospitalizations and deaths caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The state government of Ceará, in northeastern Brazil, on Thursday ordered the local league to stop playing, but is still allowing its clubs to take part in the Brazilian Cup. The soccer bodies in Paraná and Santa Catarina, both in the country’s south, also suspended their leagues. Almost 260,000 people have died of COVID-19 in Brazil, whose death toll is second only to the United States. Many Brazilian governors expect the next two weeks to be the deadliest in the South American nation since the pandemic hit one year ago. A handful of coaches and players have started a public debate on whether soccer should be stopped all together. Lisca, the coach of recently promoted America, was the most vocal proponent for a suspension of play. “I am appealing to the Brazilian FA to give the Brazilian Cup a break so we can … [Read more...] about Brazilian soccer under pressure to stop as COVID-19 surges

GENEVA - As the head of African soccer battles in court this week to stay on the ballot for re-election, FIFA president Gianni Infantino is coming off a comprehensive tour of the continent. The timing of the visit does not appear to be coincidental. Infantino fueled talk of election interference by visiting about a dozen African countries and meeting heads of state along the way — ala predecessor Sepp Blatter — while promoting his preferred candidate, South African billionaire Patrice Motsepe. The current president of the Confederation of African Football, Ahmad Ahmad of Madagascar, is appealing against a five-year ban imposed by FIFA for financial misconduct while running the Cairo-based body. Although Infantino helped put Ahmad in office four years ago, it is unlikely that even a victory for the Madagascan at the Court of Arbitration for Sport would help his chances in a campaign increasingly influenced by the FIFA president. In the aftermath of Infantino’s African tour, a … [Read more...] about FIFA tours Africa, aims to hold sway in soccer election

Ian Wright, former striker for Arsenal, says that EA "changed their whole policy" after a FIFA player sent him racist Instagram messages, reports Eurogamer . In May 2020, 18-year-old Patrick O'Brien lost a game of FIFA Ultimate Team while playing with the Ian Wright icon card. He then sent the famous footballer a deluge of racist messages on Instagram and was spared a criminal conviction in Irish courts this past February. The judge in the case stated that "O'Brien had shown genuine remorse for his actions," wrote an apology to Wright, and donated 500 Euros to the Irish Network Against Racism - but Wright took to Twitter to express his disappointment . Black Lives Matter: here's what you can do to help. EA, however, issued a lifetime ban to O'Brien, wiping his FIFA accounts and telling Eurogamer "Ian Wright is a part of our EA Sports family." Wright spoke about EA's response on the March 3 episode of his Wrighty's House podcast , and says EA changed their … [Read more...] about Soccer legend Ian Wright say EA “changed their whole policy” after FIFA player’s racist messages

MILAN - As far as collapses go, AC Milan’s isn’t all that spectacular. It hasn’t even had much of an impact on the Serie A standings. At the beginning of the year, Milan was in first place in the league and hadn’t lost in 10 months. But the team could find itself six points behind league leader Inter Milan ahead of Sunday’s tricky match at Hellas Verona. Milan was in astounding form in 2020, losing only two games in the entire calendar year, but the team has lost four of its 11 league matches in 2021. The first of those was against Juventus on Jan. 6, ending the Rossoneri’s 27-match unbeaten run. Milan has since lost its sense of invincibility and Wednesday’s 1-1 draw against Udinese capped a miserable month which has seen the team lose two of its last four league matches with only one victory. When Milan’s form first started to dip, coach Stefano Pioli said he was not too concerned. That has changed. “We could have and should have done more,” Pioli said after the match … [Read more...] about Struggling Milan visits Verona needing to rebuild confidence

BRUSSELS - The European Union’s top court dealt a blow to Barcelona, Real Madrid and two other Spanish soccer clubs on Thursday by upholding a decision from the bloc’s executive arm ordering they should pay back illegal state aid. In its final ruling, the European Court of Justice cancelled a previous legal decision two years ago by a lower EU court that found the clubs’ tax regime was lawful, and said the action brought by Barcelona is “definitively rejected.“ In 2019, the Luxembourg-based General Court annulled a decision by the European Commission dating back to 2016 ordering the clubs to repay several million euros in tax compensations. The EU’s executive arm had found at the time that public support measures granted by Spain to several professional soccer clubs gave them an unfair advantage over other teams, in breach of EU state aid rules. When the General Court annulled the decision, it said the commission had not proved the tax regime constituted an unlawful economic … [Read more...] about EU’s court deals setback to Barcelona, Madrid in tax case