2 hours ago
6
Key events
There is, of course, some competitive World Cup action tonight, and a big test for England’s women as they seek to bounce back from their one-sided mauling by Spain last Friday. They host Ukraine at Hill Dickinson Stadium and Lauren Hemp’s still upbeat:
A World Cup summer is always a hell of a shop window, albeit sometimes a confusing and misleading one, and there’s a huge amount of out-of-contract talent about, from young stars to seasoned veterans. Michael Butler pits the 20-somethings against the 30-somethings:
Football regulator in contact with West Ham over Sullivan allegations
Away from the World Cup, the latest allegations against the now former West Ham chairman have alerted the new regulator, as PA Media reports:
The football regulator is in contact with West Ham after allegations were made against co-owner David Sullivan that he had pressured aspiring models for sex.
The 77-year-old recently quit as chairman of the east London football club to fight what he claimed were “false allegations” about his conduct.
On Monday, the BBC and The Times reported the accounts of seven women who claimed Mr Sullivan engaged in sexually exploitative and predatory behaviour.
The Independent Football Regulator (IFR) said it is in contact with the football club seeking information about Mr Sullivan’s suitability as a co-owner following the claims, which he denies.
An IFR spokesperson said: “These are extremely serious allegations.
“We are in contact with West Ham on this matter and will use our statutory powers to seek urgent information from David Sullivan relating to his suitability under our owners, directors and senior executives regime.
“We are unable to comment further at this stage.”
The accounts from the women date back to the 1980s and 1990s, when he owned tabloid newspapers the Daily Sport and the Sunday Sport.
According to the reporting, the claims about Mr Sullivan involve him pressuring young or aspiring models in their late teens or early 20s.
The Times said it was a two-year investigation, which involved its reporters interviewing dozens of former models and other industry sources.
Some more reaction from Somalia to the denial of entry to the referee Omar Artan by US authorities.
Artan, named CAF’s best referee in 2025, said in a statement: “I would like to thank FIFA and CAF (Confederation of African Football) for all their support and I promise to keep my refereeing levels up as I concentrate on the future.”
Meanwhile Somalia’s government said it had unsuccessfully tried to negotiate with the US and Fifa so that Artan could enter the country and it was saddened by what had happened. “His international achievements are a source of honour and pride for the Somali people,” Somalia’s sports ministry said in a statement.
On this day in World Cup history … one of the more fun tournament openers, from Germany’s summer of love (just nestling behind Argentina 0-1 Cameroon and France 0-1 Senegal in my own chart of best opening games).
Platini files criminal complaint against Infantino
In more Football Family news, this just in from PA Media:
Fifa president Gianni Infantino is the subject of a criminal complaint from his former boss at Uefa, Michel Platini, just days before the World Cup kicks off.
Former Uefa president Platini, one of the most gifted footballers of the 1970s and 1980s, had been favourite to succeed Sepp Blatter as Fifa chief in 2016 until the launch of an ethics probe into a payment he received from Blatter in 2011.
Platini was banned for eight years by Fifa’s ethics committee in 2015 – a sanction which was later reduced to four years by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Platini and Blatter also faced criminal proceedings regarding the payment, but both were acquitted by the Swiss federal criminal court in 2022 and then by the appeals court in 2025.
Now Platini has launched criminal and civil proceedings in the French courts over the matter, with Infantino one of the individuals named.
The criminal complaint, as confirmed by his lawyer Olivier Baratelli, alleges that Infantino and others “worked to exclude (Platini) from the race for the presidency of Fifa”. The complaint alleges that Infantino was the one “first and foremost” seeking to achieve this.
Fifa has been contacted for comment.
Platini has always maintained that the two million Swiss francs (£1.9m) payment from Blatter was back pay for work conducted as an advisor to Blatter between 1998 and 2002.
Tried out our World Cup bracketology game yet? Every time I have, it’s ended up with France winning, in my most recent effort beating Japan – my dark horses for the whole tournament – in the final.
Iran says ticket allocation withdrawn
Staying on the “football and politics don’t mix” tip, Iran’s football federation (FFIRI) has said that their ticket allocation for the World Cup has been pulled, leaving supporters who had already made travel plans unable to attend their team’s matches, Reuters is reporting. “This is despite the fact that many Iranian football fans, relying on the officially announced process, had already made the necessary plans to attend the matches,” the FFIRI added in a statement.
“With less than three days remaining until the start of the 2026 World Cup... the United States has once again acted to obstruct the presence of Iranian supporters at the stadiums hosting the national team’s three group stage matches,” the Iranian federation said in a statement. It described the move as “contrary to the spirit governing international competitions and the principle of equality among participating countries”.
More on Iran’s chequered buildup here:
And the treatment of Artan is filling up the inbox, early doors. Here’s Krishna Moorthy:
“Uncertainty over Iran. Now a top referee from Africa is sent back from Miami. Bankruptcy ensured ticket prices. To rephrase a famous quote. It is not the schedule that killed the game, it is the greed!”
While Robbie has a proposal:
The English or Scottish FA or EFL/SPFL should invite the banned Somali referee Omar Artan to referee a marquee game - something like the Community Shield. We need to show tangible support.
And another thing that we need, frankly, to feel righteously angry about is the denial of entry by US authorities to the Somali referee Omari Artan, who was refused entry to the country at Miami International Airport despite apparently having a valid travel visa. Fifa, so quick to deploy control-freakery when it comes to pressing matters such as recyclable water bottles, shrugged its shoulders and abdicated responsibility for one of its own referees. “Fifa is not involved in host country immigration processes, including visa adjudications … in line with previous Fifa events, a host government ultimately determines who receives a visa and who is admitted into their country,” sniffed a statement.
The Football Family there, bringing the world together.
Time for some morning reading recommendations for y’all:
Ben Fisher gets his chat on with the evergreen Edin Dzeko, still churning out the hits at 40 as a spearhead of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s World Cup challenge:
Ewan Murray in Charlotte reports on Scotland’s verbal stramash with Norway after they cancelled their training match, citing injury concerns in Steve Clarke’s camp.
Djed Spence talks jaw-breaks, seizing his England chance and bantz with Arsenal players:
Our latest experts’ network team guides feature Jordan and Portugal:
And here’s a great interview by Donald McRae with Kelly Cates, who’ll be presenting from the BBC’s Salford studio in the middle of the night but has got the Tunnocks Caramel Wafers in (other caramel wafers are available). She also talks of the centrality to the tournament of fans, who’ve not been made universally welcome what with one thing and another:
“You don’t get the full World Cup experience unless the fans are there, unless you have fans being able to travel in the first place. Not everybody’s going to be able to, either financially or logistically or because of travel bans. So that’s another issue and I think they’re missing out on what makes a World Cup special. They’re hoping they will be able to put razzmatazz around it and bring the American showbiz factor that’s going to make up for [the missing fans]. But it won’t feel like a traditional World Cup.”
Preamble
Morning (BST) everyone. Two days to go, and the excitement/tension/hype is mounting. We’ll be across as much of it as possible, as the countdown continues. While Europe may have been sleeping, there’s been more friendly action and fitness news, starting with the revelation that Neymar is “recovering well” from the calf injury that had made him a doubt for Brazil’s opener against Morocco.
Brazil’s all-time record scorer underwent an MRI scan on Monday, Reuters reports, which showed he is “making good progress in his treatment” amid hopes that he will be able to play a part for Carlo Ancelotti’s side.
“He will continue to follow the recovery schedule and fitness programme as planned by the Brazil team medical staff,” the Brazilian Football Confederation said in a statement on Monday. He did not take to the field with his teammates for Monday’s workout at Brazil’s base, the new training ground of MLS outfit New York Red Bulls, around 30 miles west of Manhattan. Instead he stayed inside to work in the gym.
In last night’s friendly action, Michael Olise again demonstrated why he’s one of the most watchable footballers in the world with a hat-trick in France’s 3-1 win over Northern Ireland in Lille. Didier Deschamps fielded his attacking big guns – Desiré Doue and Kylian Mbappé also featured – in Les Bleus’ final match on home soil before flying out to their Boston base.
“We’ll need a Michel Olise at that level,” Deschamps purred. “Michael stands out because of the season he has had at Bayern and with us. He has achieved some really great things, he is full of confidence. He also has the ability to put in the effort, which is remarkable.” Patrick Kelly scored Northern Ireland’s consolation, a first international goal for the Barnsley midfielder.
Elsewhere, Spain turned it on for a Mexican crowd when they beat Peru 3-1 in Puebla. Mikel Oyarzabal opened the scoring after two minutes with a fierce shot from the edge of the area before Pedri doubled the lead after half an hour, tapping into an empty net following a cross from Ferran Torres. Spain added a third early in the second half when Yéremy Pino’s delivery forced an error from goalkeeper Pedro Gallese, before Jairo Velez pulled one back for Peru with a low finish.
