Frantic phone calls, secret meetings and high-stakes threats: The inside story of how a billion-dollar European soccer superleague was born, and then collapsed, in less than a week.
Tag: Soccer
Boris Johnson Opposes Super League, Scores Political Points
The British prime minister was able to take the moral high ground by opposing the breakaway European soccer league that proved to be highly unpopular with fans.
Arrests Shake Up a Soccer Scene in Serbia Ruled by Gangsters and ‘Gravediggers’
A reputed gangster and leader of an “ultras” fan group, who also reportedly had ties to the government, has been arrested following a series of gruesome murders connected to a Belgrade soccer stadium.
Inter Milan Is Threatened by Challenges at Suning, Its Chinese Owner
Inter Milan’s Chinese owners spent heavily on big stars, and now it is winning again. But the bill is coming due, putting the team’s future in doubt.
Your Wednesday Briefing
Syria’s economy in distress.
The Women Faced Off to Play Soccer. One Team Lost Because of Hair Dye.
A Chinese university team argued that an opposing player’s hair was not “black enough,” according to the rules, and her team forfeited the match.
Israeli Soccer Team, Infamous for Anti-Arab Fans, Has New Co-Owner: a Sheikh
The barrier-shattering deal puts an Emirati royal at the helm of Beitar Jerusalem, the only Israeli team that has never fielded an Arab player and whose most extreme fans chant racist slurs.
‘Because She’s a Girl’: Lockdown Exposes Gender Gap in U.K. Sports
Inequalities are especially pronounced in English youth soccer, where only a handful of clubs have kept training open for future female professionals, while boys at the same level play on.
Offices of Diego Maradona’s Doctor Raided Over His Death
The authorities searched the home and offices of the soccer hero’s doctor as part of an investigation into the circumstances of his death last week.
Diego Maradona, Lying in State, Is Mourned as a Man of the People
Known for siding with leftist leaders and causes, the soccer legend’s life, and his politics, never strayed far from his impoverished roots, and his fans loved him for it.