Football (Soccer) Thread

[The Larch]

Bild has published that Manuel Neuer suffers from skin cancer and has already had three surgeries to deal with it.

[Zoupa]

Spurs draw it level. They should pull through and qualify.

I just feel bad for Zoups and Jake for having to watch this terrorism ball from Conte every week 

I don't know what it is this season with "let's only show up for the second half, guys". I've lost count of how many games they've done this, or coming back to win or draw after going a goal down.

[The Larch]

Gerard Piqué has announced his retirement, effective immediately. This weekend's game will be his last.

Now that was unexpected...

[celedhring]

Gerard Piqué has announced his retirement, effective immediately. This weekend's game will be his last.

Now that was unexpected...

He's been retired since 2020 

[The Larch]

Gerard Piqué has announced his retirement, effective immediately. This weekend's game will be his last.

Now that was unexpected...

He's been retired since 2020 

And still played 50+ games for Barcelona since then. 

[celedhring]

Gerard Piqué has announced his retirement, effective immediately. This weekend's game will be his last.

Now that was unexpected...

He's been retired since 2020 

And still played 50+ games for Barcelona since then. 

Yeah 

[The Larch]

Gerard Piqué has announced his retirement, effective immediately. This weekend's game will be his last.

Now that was unexpected...

He's been retired since 2020 

And still played 50+ games for Barcelona since then. 

Yeah 

So you'd have preferred if he had left then?

[celedhring]

Definitely, he's been in that "too slow to play, too big to be dropped" non-sweet spot for a few years. And his wages are huge. One of the few good things Xavi's done this season is finally benching him - which prompted the rumors he'd be leave at the end of the season and even retire, but this was unexpected.

[The Larch]

Definitely, he's been in that "too slow to play, too big to be dropped" non-sweet spot for a few years. And his wages are huge. One of the few good things Xavi's done this season is finally benching him - which prompted the rumors he'd be leave at the end of the season and even retire, but this was unexpected.

Well, apparently he's leaving one year and a half's wages on the table by retiring now, so he's not fully in it for the money, and says that he doesn't want to play for any other team, so at least he's been loyal to the team in that way. Then again this way he can finally become a full time businessman, which seems to be in what he had his mind these last few years.

How long until he becomes the team's president?

Edit: Btw, you're also a bit short on central defenders at the moment, right? This can't help either...

[FunkMonk]

If he's leaving now then that leaves a spot open and money on the table for Barca to buy an actual good CB in January.

[The Larch]

If he's leaving now then that leaves a spot open and money on the table for Barca to buy an actual good CB in January.

Right after the WC too, so whoever shows more promise during the tournament will get a big fat target on his back for a winter signing.

[Sheilbh]

Fuck this

'Let's focus on the football!' FIFA bosses tell World Cup teams not to lecture on morality
The build-up of the World Cup has been marred by concerns about the suffering of low-paid migrant workers to build the infrastructure in the tiny Gulf nation and discriminatory laws that criminalise same-sex relations.
Rob Harris
Sports correspondent @RobHarris
Thursday 3 November 2022 21:48, UK

FIFA's leadership has written to World Cup teams urging them to focus on the tournament in Qatar and not be part of lecturing on morality and dragging football "into every ideological or political battle that exists".

Sky News has exclusively seen the full letter from FIFA's president, Gianni Infantino, and the governing body's secretary general, Fatma Samoura, that has been sent amid growing pressure on players to be activists around the tournament.

It has been a World Cup build-up dogged by concerns about the suffering of low-paid migrant workers to build the infrastructure in the tiny Gulf nation and discriminatory laws that criminalise same-sex relations.

"Please, let's now focus on the football!" Infantino and Samoura wrote to the 32 football nations contesting the World Cup.

"We know football does not live in a vacuum and we are equally aware that there are many challenges and difficulties of a political nature all around the world.

"But please do not allow football to be dragged into every ideological or political battle that exists."

The letter does not address the request by England and Wales and six other European nations for their captains to wear "One Love" multicoloured armbands at the World Cup which are a response to concerns about Qatar's anti-LGBTQ+ laws. Both British nations have already said they would defy any ban by FIFA.

Infantino wrote: "At FIFA, we try to respect all opinions and beliefs, without handing out moral lessons to the rest of the world.

"One of the great strengths of the world is indeed its very diversity, and if inclusion means anything, it means having respect for that diversity. No one people or culture or nation is 'better' than any other.

"This principle is the very foundation stone of mutual respect and non-discrimination. And this is also one of the core values of football. So, please let's all remember that and let football take centre stage."

Infantino says everyone will be welcome in Qatar "regardless of origin, background, religion, gender, sexual orientation or nationality".

The letter was sent to the nations competing in the men's football showpiece with less than three weeks until the tournament begins in Qatar.

Infantino - and his leadership team - was not in place at FIFA when a tainted group of executive committee members voted in 2010 to award the World Cup to Qatar.

The last English team to play in Qatar was Liverpool at the Club World Cup in 2019. And Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp told Sky News this week it is "not fair" to expect political statements from players around the World Cup.

The German said: "They go there to play football. It's not about this generation's players to say now that 'we don't go, or we don't do that'.

"The decision [to hold the tournament in Qatar] was made by other people, and if you want to criticise anybody, criticise the people who made the decision."

Full text of the letter

Dear Presidents, dear General Secretaries,

The FIFA World Cup Qatar is now just around the corner and excitement about the world's premier football festival is building globally as we count down the days to kick-off in Doha, on Sunday, 20 November 2022.

As one of the 32 participating teams, you carry the hopes and dreams of your home nation and all of its people on your shoulders.

FIFA would like to assure you that in Qatar everything has been prepared to ensure that every participating nation will have the very best chance of achieving success on football's ultimate stage. The eight state of the art stadiums, where the 64 matches of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™️ will be played, will provide the perfect platform for the world's greatest sporting event.

So, please let's now focus on the football!

We know football does not live in a vacuum and we are equally aware that there are many challenges and difficulties of a political nature all around the world. But please do not allow football to be dragged into every ideological or political battle that exists.

At FIFA, we try to respect all opinions and beliefs, without handing out moral lessons to the rest of the world. One of the great strengths of the world is indeed its very diversity, and if inclusion means anything, it means having respect for that diversity. No one people or culture or nation is "better" than any other. This principle is the very foundation stone of mutual respect and non-discrimination. And this is also one of the core values of football. So, please let's all remember that and let football take centre stage.

Now, at the FIFA World Cup, we have the unique occasion and opportunity to welcome and embrace everyone, regardless of origin, background, religion, gender, sexual orientation or nationality. Let's take that opportunity and unite the world through the universal language of football.

Now our focus is football because #NowIsAll.

We wish you every success and a great tournament ahead!

Gianni Infantino FIFA President Fatma Samoura FIFA Secretary General

[The Larch]

And today it has been known that Qatar will have paid snitches mouthpieces fans attending the WC.

England fans paid to be 'spies' at World Cup
Group are expected to sing at opening ceremony in return for free flights and accommodation, £60 a day in spending money and complimentary tickets

A group of 40 England fans are being paid by Qatar to attend the World Cup, with instructions to deliver positive messages about the experience, sing certain songs when requested and report critical social media posts.

Sources have confirmed that the group — which includes the England band leader John Hemmingham — will receive free flights and apartment accommodation, £60 a day in spending money loaded on to a Visa card and complimentary tickets after signing a "code of conduct". They are all booked on flights that leave for Doha on November 17.

Another 40 supporters from Wales have also signed up to the Fan Leader Programme, along with fans from the 30 other competing countries as part of what supporters' groups have described as a "sinister, distasteful" marketing exercise.

All those who have signed up for the scheme are guaranteed a ticket to the opening ceremony but they must stay in Qatar for at least two weeks. The idea, The Times has been told, is for them to sit in groups and sing at the appropriate times for the television cameras.

One document sent to fan leaders outlines the role they will be expected to play in the opening ceremony. It reads: "In celebration of the fans around the world, over the period of five minutes, fan chants from each nation will be played and you will be expected to stand up, sing the song/chant, wave your flags and represent your country.

"The camera will focus on each national fan group in turn. We will share with you the chant/song selected from your country to ensure you are familiar with it."

In bold red letters it adds: "Be ready in your shirt, flags and scarves to cheer and shout."

Another document explains that fan leaders have to accept terms and conditions.

Last month the England Supporters Travel Club hosted a fans' forum at Wembley Stadium and invited the Qatar Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy (SC) to attend, with Hemmingham, 59, appearing as a "UK fan leader" at the event.

FA staff were present and heard Hemmingham, who is the band's trumpet player, tell the audience about the positive experience he enjoyed on a recent trip to Doha.

Detailed on the FA website is the fact that Hemmingham "shared his personal experiences from his visit to Qatar for the Lusail Super Cup". "He was able to visit alongside other fan leaders of different participating nations, sharing their thoughts and giving feedback ahead of the Fifa World Cup," the release read.

Hemmingham stated that "Qatar is very safe, there are lots of rules and no crime". The report on the meeting said he "stayed in a great hotel and there was a kind, exciting reception for travelling fans".

"There was lots of engagement with fans and Qataris were keen to actively make adjustments based on fan recommendations for the Fifa World Cup," the report added. "JH [Hemmingham] attended a fixture at the World Cup final stadium — the Lusail Iconic Stadium — [where] there are great in-bowl sound systems."

The Times has approached Hemmingham for comment but one insider sarcastically asked on Thursday night if the England band "might play Qatar's national anthem during the tournament".

In March last year the FA received a request from Qatar's Supreme Committee, which is organising the tournament, for members of the official supporters' club to join a fan engagement forum. Other sources claim the first contact was made with fan groups two years ago.

But it was only in September that those approached were asked to sign up to a "code of conduct" to guarantee their all-expenses-paid trip to the World Cup. "It all sounds a bit sinister and distasteful," said one leading member of a fan group, who asked not to be named for fear of possible consequences when he arrives in Qatar.

It is understood that the scheme has not been endorsed by the Football Supporters' Association or the FA.

Initially it seemed there was a request to simply disseminate information to other fans, with the incentive of a trip to Qatar in advance of the World Cup as well as complimentary flights, tickets and accommodation for the tournament itself.

The FA has said it only found out about the requirements of the scheme from international media reports.

"We were told this was an opportunity to engage with fans from all competing nations to ensure that the voice of supporters was clearly heard in the planning for the World Cup and that many international football associations were being approached," a statement from the governing body read. "We have had no more involvement with the scheme, and no sight of the 'code of conduct' or any of the terms and conditions of involvement."

A New York Times report said the Dutch broadcaster NOS quoted a Holland fan saying he had agreed to monitor the activity of other supporters from his country.

A board member from the American Outlaws, the biggest United States supporters' group, agreed to take part, then helped to sign up fellow members and others. However, he told the New York Times that, having already accepted one free trip to Qatar, he was not going to be part of the scheme.

A France fan told the French newspaper Le Parisien he had declined the offer from Qatar. "Despite the appetising side of the dish, I preferred to stay true to my values," Joseph Delage said.

Ahsan Mansoor, the fan engagement director for the 2022 World Cup who also attended the forum at Wembley last month, has insisted that "there is no obligation to promote or do anything".

But sources in possession of the relevant documents have confirmed that there is indeed a code of conduct that had to be signed, with a request not to disparage the hosts and to "report any offensive, degrading or abusive comments" from other fans. Ideally they should supply screenshots.

"At best they're volunteers for the World Cup and at worst they're a mouthpiece for the Supreme Committee," Ronan Evain, the executive director of Football Supporters Europe, said.

Some fans flown to Qatar in advance of the tournament were even invited to meet David Beckham, who is being paid millions to act as an ambassador for the hosts despite concerns about the country's human rights record.

[Josquius]

Perfect opportunity for one brave guy to wave a protest banner.

[Syt]

Shades of the 1978 World Cup in Argentina, two years after the military junta took over. The German players were visited by exiled WW2 ace and nazi Hans-Ulrich Rudel, with the head of the German FA, Neuberger, saying rejecting his visit would be an insult to all German soldiers. He also criticized Dutch players who - in the finals - refused to shake hands with representatives of the junta.

Berti Vogts said after the tournament that Argentina was a country where there is order and that he hadn't seen a single political prisoner anywhere. Player Manfred Kaltz said that he wasn't bothered that people were being tortured in Argentina, stating that he was going there to play football and had other problems than that.