Latest news with #InternationalFriendly
The Star
a day ago
- Sport
- The Star
Soccer-FIFA's Infantino offers support after England's Carter suffers racist abuse
FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Women's International Friendly - England Press Conference - St. George's Park, Burton upon Trent, Britain - June 28, 2025 England's Jess Carter during the press conference Action Images via Reuters/Peter Cziborra/File Photo ZURICH (Reuters) -FIFA President Gianni Infantino offered the governing body's support to England defender Jess Carter after she revealed she has been the target of racist abuse during Euro 2025. Carter, who is Black, on Sunday announced she is stepping away from social media for the duration of the tournament. The 27-year-old has started all four of England's games at the tournament, but struggled in their quarter-final win over Sweden on Thursday as the Lionesses conceded two first-half goals. Football Association CEO Mark Bullingham condemned the abuse, and said the FA has been in contact with UK police, who are in touch with the relevant social media platform, to "ensure those responsible for this hate crime are brought to justice." "We stand with Jess. We stand with every player and every individual who has suffered from racist abuse. No player should be discriminated against in any way, they should be free to be at their very best on the pitch," Infantino said in a statement. "In this instance, we will be offering our support with any further action required, as well as sharing data for appropriate action to be taken against any perpetrators." European soccer's governing body UEFA, Carter's club Gotham FC, the National Women's Soccer League, and the Lionesses all also posted statements in support of the player. Carter's teammate Lotte Wubben-Moy said in an Instagram post that she planned to come off social media as well. (Reporting by Lori Ewing; additional reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)
The Star
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Star
Soccer-England defender Carter the target of racist abuse during Euro 2025
FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Women's International Friendly - England Press Conference - St. George's Park, Burton upon Trent, Britain - June 28, 2025 England's Jess Carter during the press conference Action Images via Reuters/Peter Cziborra/File Photo ZURICH (Reuters) -England defender Jess Carter said she has been the target of racist abuse since Euro 2025 began in Switzerland, and announced on Sunday that she is stepping away from social media for the duration of the tournament. "Whilst every fan is entitled to their opinion on performance and result I don't agree or think that it's ok to target someone's appearance or race," Carter, who is Black, posted in a lengthy Instagram statement. "I am taking this measure to protect myself in a bid to keep my focus on helping the team anyway I can. "Hopefully speaking out will make the people writing this abuse think twice so that others won't have to deal with it." The 27-year-old has started all four of England's games at the tournament. England play Italy in the semifinals on Tuesday in Geneva. "We have made historic changes with this Lionesses squad that I am so proud to be a part of and my hope is that by speaking out about this it will make another positive change for all." FA CEO Mark Bullingham condemned the abuse. "Our priority is Jess and giving her all the support she needs," Bullingham said in a statement. "We strongly condemn those responsible for this disgusting racism." Bullingham said the FA has been in contact with UK police, who are in touch with the relevant social media platform. "We are working with police to ensure those responsible for this hate crime are brought to justice," he said. "Regrettably this is not the first time this has happened to an England player, so we had measures in place to allow us to respond quickly and where possible provide information to support any potential police action." (Reporting by Lori Ewing; Editing by Toby Chopra)
The Citizen
14-07-2025
- Sport
- The Citizen
Williams questions Nkota's Saudi switch
'Where is he going to go after Saudi because if you send him there, there are no teams that are going to watch him,' said Williams. Mohau Nkota of South Africa during the International Friendly match against Mozambique at Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane, on 10 June 2025 ©Phakamisa Lensman/BackpagePix Bafana Bafana legend Mark Williams has voiced concern over Mohau Nkota's transfer from Orlando Pirates to Saudi Pro League side Al-Ettifaq, questioning the timing and long-term benefit of the move. Pirates confirm exit The Buccaneers confirmed the 20-year-old's departure on Sunday, following a standout debut campaign in which he made 39 appearances and notched up 12 goal contributions. ALSO READ: Pirates winger joins Saudi Pro League side Ettifaq Nkota found the back of the net seven times across all competitions and registered five assists which were enough to earn him a move to Saudi Arabia. Williams, who also played in the Arabic country for Al-Shabab in the twilight of his career, believes Nkota should have pursued a path through Europe rather than heading to the Middle East so early. 'At 20, that's not the right move. If I was his agent, you don't send a 20-year-old to Saudi. Where is he going to go after Saudi because if you send him there, there are no teams that are going to watch him,' Williams said to Phakaaathi. 'Players like him must be sent to France or Belgium where I started my career. When you're in Belgium, then you're sitting on the brink of European football. 'For me, (it's hard) to say that he's going to improve. Most teams that he will play against in Saudi are senior players because you go to Saudi when you have your last three or four years to make a lot of money.' While financial details of the transfer remain undisclosed, clubs in the Saudi Pro League have earned a reputation for their financial muscle and willingness to spend freely in the transfer market. Although Williams is not in favour of the youngster's move to the lucrative Gulf league, he extended his best wishes to Nkota. The former striker believes the decision was driven more by financial gain than footballing development, 'Nobody will see him' 'For the company, it's good but for the player, I wouldn't have sent him to Saudi. If the money is good then it's a money-making move and we all know that,' he added. 'Good luck to the boy but he won't get the world of experience there because nobody will see him. He's also not going to get into the national team. Who's going to go watch him play Saudi? It's nobody. Is there Saudi TV on our radar? ALSO READ: Chelsea boss Maresca hails 'great triumph' in winning Club World Cup 'All I'm saying is good luck to the boy but if I was his agent, I would have sent him to Europe because he's still young. Saudi is for players like me when I was 30 years old.'
Irish Times
29-06-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
Ireland fall to second four-goal defeat to United States in three days
International friendly: USA 4 (Biyendolo 11, Rodriguez 42, Ryan 66, Thompson 86) Ireland 0 Republic of Ireland fell to their second 4-0 defeat in three days against an imperious looking USA side in an energy-sapping clash at TQL Stadium on Sunday evening. Having been humbled by the same scoreline in the unassailable altitude in Denver, Colorado on Friday against the reigning Olympic Champions and world number one-ranked side, Carla Ward's charges were faced with another extreme, this time in what was described as the borderline dangerous heat of Cincinnati. The out of season Irish group, still missing the experience and quality of Denise O'Sullivan (knee) and Megan Campbell (ankle) yet again, not forgetting the likes of Champions League winner Katie McCabe amongst others who didn't travel. The Ireland boss called up former Peamount United midfielder Erin McLaughlin and Philadelphia-born Dee Bradley, as well as making four changes to her side. READ MORE With just one goal against their illustrious hosts in their last 16 meetings, clear cut chances were always going to prove an arduous task in 30+ degree heat but the visitors started with intent. The tenacious Abbie Larkin buzzed about winning the ball back before striker Saoirse Noonan bravely won a free kick in a dangerous position. The serial winner with her former side Chelsea, Emma Hayes continued with her experiment of blooding youngsters into one of the most pressurised International environments in women's football and was afforded the luxury of changing all 11 from the game 72 hours previous. And it didn't take long for the hosts' strength in depth to come to fruition as they took the lead just 10 minutes in. Following some high quality build-up play down the right hand side, the ball eventually worked its way to Emma Sears who cleverly clipped the ball back to Lynn Biyendolo who made no mistake sweeping home the opener. Chloe Mustaki, who made her first start for the Girls in Green since 2022 in Friday's defeat and admitted in an emotional interview post game she thought she would not play again was making up for lost time as she was included from the start but the Bristol City star was being given a tough time by the Racing Louisville winger Sears, who was delivering dangerously at every given opportunity. The hosts had the ball in the net minutes before the first half water break but saw the goal ruled out with Yazmeen Ryan bundling into the back of Jessie Stapleton. Having taken on as much fluids and digested as many energy gels as possible during the brief rest period, wave after wave of white continued to flow forward. Just after the half-hour mark, the US almost doubled their lead in a carbon copy to the first when Sears got to the endline and stood up another pin point cross but this time Ryan couldn't guide her volley goalwards. Having weathered the storm, Ireland to their credit began to grow in confidence and forced a good bout of pressure, springing from their defensive shape to force a well-earned corner through the tireless Emily Murphy, who saw her back post header deflected behind. Moments later Murphy was at it again, winning back possession well and releasing Saoirse Noonan. The Celtic attacker played a clever ball in behind the US backline finding Kyra Carusa who narrowly missed the near post as her low strike flew into the side netting. But just before the break the slight Irish resurgence was brought to an abrupt halt as debutant Izzy Rodriguez smashed home a rebound, just after the unfortunate skipper Courtney Brosnan pulled off an outstanding point blank save. In search of what would have been just their second goal against their illustrious hosts in their last 16 meetings, Ward made a triple change at the break and slight tactical shift changing to a three at the back. The change of personnel and shape did frustrate the home side, getting bodies in the areas that allowed USA so much joy in the first half. But tiredness just seemed to be seeping in and just after the half hour mark Ryan added a third with a tidy finish for her first international goal. There was still time for Thompson to add a late fourth to put the icing on the cake of their 600th win in their illustrious history. USA: Mandy McGlynn: Emily Sams, Jordyn Bugg, Tara McKeown: Lynn Biyendolo (Sam Coffey, 63), Croix Bethune (Ally Sentnor, 63), Sam Meza (Rose Lavelle, 87), Izzy Rodriguez; Olivia Moultrie (Claire Hutton, 80), Emma Sears, Yazmeen Ryan (Alyssa Thomspon, 80'=) Subs not used: Naomi Girma, Avery Patterson, Michelle Cooper, Emily Sonnett, Claudia Dickey, Lilly Realle, Angelina Anderson Rep. of Ireland: Courtney Brosnan; Jessie Stapleton, Anna Patten (Ruesha Littlejohn, 73), Caitlin Hayes, Chloe Mustaki (Megan Connolly, 46); Marissa Sheva, Tyler Toland (Izzy Atkinson, 84); Emily Murphy (Hayley Nolan, 46'), Kyra Carusa, Abbie Larkin (Lucy Quinn, 46); Saoirse Noonan (Amber Barrett, 60) Subs not used: Grace Maloney, Sophie Whitehouse, Dee Bradley, Erin McLaughlin, Ellen Molloy, Erin Healy Referee: Janeishka Caban (Puerto Rico)
The Guardian
11-06-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
England made to suffer by Senegal and a Welsh thriller in Belgium
Rate, review, share on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Audioboom, Mixcloud, Acast and Stitcher, and join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and email. On the podcast today; is it the end of the Thomas Tuchel honeymoon at England – did we ever even get one? England followed up their disappointing win over Andorra with an even more disappointing friendly loss to Senegal. Elsewhere, Belgium 4-3 Wales was an extraordinary game in which Wales came back from 3-0 down only to fall to a late Kevin De Bruyne goal. And there were friendly wins for Scotland and Northern Ireland. Plus, Pep Guardiola speaks out over Gaza and your questions answered. Support the Guardian here. You can also find Football Weekly on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.
