A final for all time, sacrificed on the altar of the modern game

That is what soccer has become: an entertainment complex squabbled over by fiefs and autocrats, a way of exerting soft power and measuring importance that is worth almost any price, a circus paid for in bread | RORY SMITH

Tens of thousands of River Plate fans who bought tickets for last week’s Copa Libertadores final now will be prevented from seeing it in person | Marcos Brindicci/Reuters

FIFA suspends Palestinian football chief Jibril Rajoub for ‘inciting violence’

Turning truth on its head, FIFA gives year-long suspension after Mr Rajoub allegedly called on “football fans to target the Argentinian Football Association and burn jerseys of Lionel Messi.”

Palestinian FA chief Jibril Rajoub

The beautiful game: a history of whitewashing international crimes

Nunca Mas “Never Again” Argentina’s Dirty War

By HUSSEIN SAMIH*

(June 8) – In the summer of 1978, at the height of Argentina’s brutal right-wing dictatorship, the 11th FIFA World Cup took place amidst an outcry over granting legitimacy to a state that is now known to have been responsible for the disappearances of around 30,000 people.

Israel demands FIFA ban Argentina from World Cup over ‘religious discrimination’

Comtec Group, a production company in charge of sports-washing the occupied territories, will demand FIFA to ban Argentine due to “religious discrimination.”

A poster of Palestinian FA chief Jibril Rajoub with Argentina’s soccer player Messi is seen during Rajoub’s news conference, in Ramallah, West Bank | Reuters

Argentina cancels Israel ‘friendly’ match

By ALI ABUNIMAH*

Palestinians are celebrating the news that Argentina – and its star Lionel Messi – will not be playing the “friendly” football match that had been set for Jerusalem next weekend.

Argentina’s World Cup warm-up vs. Israel expected to be canceled over Palestinian pressure

Neither side has issued an official announcement yet, but the game is largely expected to be cancelled |Uzi Dann and Noa Landau in Haaretz

Argentina’s Lionel Messi controls the ball during the international friendly soccer match | Ivan Sekretarev/AP

(June 6) – Argentina’s planned soccer exhibition against Israel’s national team slated for Saturday at Jerusalem’s Teddy Kollek Stadium is in danger of being canceled, Argentine media reported. Local reports claim Palestinian pressure is the impetus for the game’s expected cancellation.

A terrific World Cup

THE Brazil World Cup 2014 is over. After 63 matches and 31 days of competition, the 20th edition of the FIFA World Cup ended with Germany’s 1-0 victory over Argentina on Sunday July 13. It was a great final match of the tournament. Overall, we were very happy with how competitive and close a game it was.

Germany won the World Cup for the fourth time in Brazil, 2014.

Neymar backs friend Messi against Germany

If one is to believe the monopoly sports media, the people of Argentina and Brazil are at each other’s throats. Is this the reality? Brazilians call Argentines “hermanos” (brothers), they have an intense football rivalry, and their leading athletes are promoting respect and solidarity. 

Neymar and Messi with their kids at Barcelona

AFP (July 12) – Tearful Brazil star Neymar says he is prepared to set aside the historical rivalry between South America’s two footballing heavyweights as he wants four-time world footballer of the year Lionel Messi to win the World Cup when Argentina meets Germany in tomorrow’s final.

Fidel hails Maradona, Messi

I was astonished to read a cheap, personal attack defaming Diego Maradona by Cathal Kelly in the Toronto Globe and Mail as part of its World Cup 2014 coverage.

Creating a fake comparison with Pele, this scribbler from the north wrote “The second greatest player in history has been a shrunken presence at this World Cup…” He went on to attack how “Maradona used the platform of his TV talk show [on the Venezuelan-based TV network Telesur] to compare Suarez’s four-month ban to ‘throwing him into Guantanamo’ and “coaxed the president of Uruguay into agreeing that FIFA was aligned against his country.” 

A few days ago I came across the following report of a June 23rd message from Fidel Castro to Diego Maradona, also reported in The Independent and the Guardian. Kelly’s report was dated June 27, 2014. Coincidence? Hidden political agenda? Judge for yourself. – Tony Seed

Belgium 2, USA 1: ‘Red Devils’ bedevil the devil

The “Red Devils” bedevilled the devil. The country that hosts the NATO headquarters – at a time of economic hardship, NATO is constructing a huge new $1 billion headquarters in Brussels. The eight-floor structure contains enough blast-proof glass to cover 10 football fields – ousted the military bloc’s supreme commander in a World Cup match played in Salvador, Brazil on July 1st. The significance of the match was as much off the pitch, as on.

The American Dream

The thinly disguised shock and disappointment of the TV broadcasters and sports media, which clearly wanted the United States to go through to the final rounds for commercial and political reasons, at the victory and the disparity in play was all too apparent.