International Football
Purple protest as Canada players take pay dispute to the pitch
The Canadian women’s soccer team took their dispute with their national association onto the pitch on Thursday by wearing purple jerseys with “Enough is Enough” written on the front ahead of their SheBelieves Cup opener against the United States.
The team’s protest is the latest escalation in their dispute with Canada Soccer over pay equity issues.
“Tonight, our players will be wearing purple as a symbol of protest,” said the Canadian Players Association in a statement.
“Considering the current circumstances, our players will continue to wear purple until our association has standard in place that ensure equal treatment and opportunity.”
The Canadians wore the purple t-shirts during warmups at Exploria Stadium in Orlando, Florida before changing into their traditional red kit but wearing purple tape on their wrists.
Purple has historically been associated with efforts to achieve gender equality.
The Canadians lost the match 2-0.
The Olympic champions had boycotted training last Saturday while demanding immediate changes but reversed course later that day as Canada Soccer called their strike unlawful and threatened legal action.
The squad said they would play under protest at the four-nation SheBelieves Cup.
In a media call on Tuesday, the players said the “disgusting” discrepancy between the Canada men’s and women’s soccer programmes became obvious last year in Qatar, where Canada’s men made their first World Cup appearance in 37 years in November.
Canada Soccer spent $11 million on the men’s programme in 2021, and $5.1 million on the women.
Canada Soccer has said it has a “proven track record” of supporting the women’s game and that pay equity was “at the core” of ongoing player negotiations.
U.S. forward Mallory Swanson scored both goals against Canada on Thursday.
She connected with a cross from Alex Morgan for a stunning finish in the seventh minute before slotting home in the 34th minute following a defensive mistake from Canada.
Canada captain Christine Sinclair said the team were “mentally exhausted”.
“Either we’re fighting for everything and come out on fire or we come out flat. And I think you saw those first 10, 15 minutes, we came out flat,” Sinclair said.
“I think we looked like a team that was tired, a team that’s mentally exhausted, coming up against a team, I mean, they’re defending World Cup champions for a reason and you have to be at your best to compete with them. And we weren’t tonight.”
The Canadians will face Brazil on Sunday before taking on Japan three days later.
Brazil defeated Japan 1-0 in the tournament’s opening match, Debinha scoring the only goal.
-Reuters
Two Moroccan players from top-flight soccer side Ittihad Tanger have been missing at sea since Saturday after strong currents drifted their small yacht, a club official said on Sunday.
They were in a group of five players from the club who went cruising off the northern city of Tangier when strong currents and heavy winds drifted their yacht away as they were swimming in deep waters, club deputy president Anass Mrabet told Reuters.
“Three players have already been rescued on Saturday, while research is still ongoing for the missing Salman Harraq and Abdellatif Akhrif,” he said.
The players did not have buoys on them when they jumped from the small yacht to swim, he said citing recounts by rescued players.
While Akhrif, 24, is already a full member of the squad, Harraq, 18, was about to move up to the senior team this year, Mrabet added.
Ittihad Tanger have been in the Moroccan top flight since 2015 and won the league title for the first and only time in their history in the 2017-18 season. However, they have struggled in the lower half of the standings in recent years.
-Reuters
FIFA will host its first ever FIFAe World Cup of Football Manager this year to crown the best virtual manager on the highly-popular video game, world soccer’s governing body said on Thursday.
FIFA is partnering with Sports Interactive, the developers of the game that has sold millions of copies and has also been used by several football clubs to scout players and opponents thanks to its extensive database.
Players will compete for $100,000 in prize money in the final event from Aug. 29 to Sept. 1.
“This competition requires participants to demonstrate a profound understanding of football strategy and tactics,” said former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, who is the ambassador for the esports event.
“Success demands not only mastery of game mechanics but also in-depth football knowledge, making this format a fascinating blend.”
FIFA said in the inaugural year of the event, selected member associations will be invited to be represented at the final event.
Member associations from all six confederations are expected to be invited while players can sign up on FIFA’s website.
-Reuters
Former Italy international Roberto Baggio was assaulted and robbed at gunpoint at his home in northern Italy while watching his country’s match against Spain in the Euro 2024 tournament on Thursday, local police said.
Burglars broke into Baggio’s house near Vicenza, hit him on the head with a gun butt and locked him and his family in a room while they stole jewellery, watches and cash, daily Il Corriere della Sera reported. It said he suffered a deep wound.
“Luckily, the violence I suffered only resulted in a few stitches, bruises and a lot of fear. Now it is to overcome the fear,” Baggio was quoted as saying by Italian news agency ANSA.
Baggio, 57, played for clubs including Juventus (JUVE.MI), opens new tab, AC Milan and Inter Milan. He also played 56 times for Italy, scoring 27 goals, and is widely seen as one of his country’s all-time greats.
After the robbery, Baggio, widely known as the “divine ponytail”, was treated at a local hospital where he received stitches for the head wound, Italian media reported.
Italy lost to Spain 1-0 on Thursday and now must avoid defeat by Croatia to guarantee progression in the tournament.
-Reuters
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