Politics

Anti-discrimination reports sent to FIFA over Mexico games

Published

1 day ago

July 10, 2026

The head of FIFA’s anti-discrimination partner — which has dispatched human monitors to every World Cup match so far — said Thursday that the group has submitted “a number of reports regarding matches involving Mexico.”

Piara Powar, executive director of the Fare network, declined in an interview with Blue Light News to say what incidents the reports allege.

But the existence of the reports could spell trouble for the Mexican Football Federation, which has faced a number of sanctions over the past decade from FIFA related to discriminatory practices at its games.

FIFA declined to comment on any specific report Friday, and an inquiry to the Mexican Football Federation’s press inbox went unanswered.

In a statement, the world soccer governing body said “potential incidents are handled by FIFA’s judicial bodies in line with the relevant regulations and match reports, and taking into account the specific circumstances at stake.”

A potential subject included in the reports: Mexican fans repeating an anti-gay chant that has loomed over the national team since it emerged during the 2014 World Cup.

Sometimes referred to as “El Grito,” the chant involves the crowd winding with a prolonged “ehhhhh” as the opposing goalkeeper sets up for a goal kick, followed by a thunderous “puto” as the ball launches upward.

The latter word, which roughly translates to “male prostitute” in Spanish, is listed as a homophobic slur within the global guide to discriminatory practices in soccer authored by the Fare network, an umbrella organization set up to counter discrimination in world soccer.

The chant was audible during broadcasts of Mexico’s last-16 match against England and appeared during the federation’s final group stage tilt against Czechia. The Mexican national team played all of its World Cup matches on home soil, in Mexico City and Guadalajara.

Whether these reports will result in a material penalty is unknown. Powar said that, in most cases, sanctions are announced following the end of the World Cup and are preceded by an investigation and hearings related to the report. Previous punishments have ranged from six-figure fines to forcing the national team to play in front of an empty stadium.

The Mexican federation has unsuccessfully tried to stymie the chant’s popularity. During the 2018 World Cup, Mexican forward Javier Hernandez pleaded with Mexican fans to not invoke it after FIFA announced it was investigating its use during an earlier match.

And ahead of the 2026 tournament, the federation launched a campaignexplicitly encouraging fans to support the team by ditching the chant in favor of a stadium-wide wave — a now unanimous-practice that traces its origins to the 1986 World Cup in Mexico.

Powar said change is still possible.

“It’s not the case that, you know, this culture is fixed or that you can’t change it into a more positive direction, particularly when you’re getting fined the sort of sums the Mexican Federation have over the years,” Powar said.

Politics

The Trump ally looking for a Messi miracle

Published

32 minutes ago

July 11, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

When Argentina defeated Egypt with a last-minute miracle — making it the western hemisphere’s lone survivor into the quarterfinals — the country’s libertarian president Javier Milei said he was “crazy with joy.”

As his Argentina faces off today against Switzerland, Milei — arguably U.S. President Donald Trump’s most Trumpian ally in the Western hemisphere, if not worldwide — could use some good news.

“Milei worked miracles bringing down inflation and corralling public spending. But that came at a significant social cost, and he has been far less successful in attracting investment and creating jobs,” said Benjamin Gedan, a former U.S. State and Treasury Department official who now heads the Stimson Center’s Latin America program in Washington. “The president is ubiquitous, endlessly picking fights and exhausting even many onetime supporters.”

Both in his brash style and brash politics, the chainsaw-brandishing Milei is Trump’s kindred spirit. Before there was DOGE, Milei slashed tens of thousands of public sector jobs to combat what he claimed was administrative bloat.

On other issues, he has followed Washington’s lead. After the United States withdrew from the World Health Organization, Argentina followed suit. Milei has also threatened to leave the Paris Agreement, shunned BRICS and sidelined Mercosur in favor of deeper alignment with the U.S.

In return, Trump last October rewarded Milei, whom he dubbed “my favorite president,” with a crucial $20 billion economic lifeline. An internal Pentagon email cited by Reuters suggested the U.S. also considered supporting Argentina’s claim on the Falkland Islands in revenge for Britain’s stance in the U.S. war against Iran.

But none of it has been enough to save Milei from his political troubles at home. His administration has been hit by several corruption scandals, including his own suspected links to a failed digital coin and the forced resignation of his cabinet chief earlier this month over allegations of misappropriating public funds. Combined with rising inflation, it has made Milei an unpopular figure at home ahead of an election next year.

A survey by Opina Argentina this week found that 58 percent of respondents hold a negative view of the president, placing him behind his main political rivals.

Notably, Milei has not attended any of his country’s matches, despite having previously traveled to the U.S. 17 times since his election in 2023. He might be trying to steer clear of the Argentina football federation (AFA) and its president, Claudio Fabián “Chiqui” Tapia, who, according to Argentine newspaper La Nación, is being investigated by the FBI for possible money laundering.

Milei also skipped Trump’s big July 4 bash in Washington, opting instead for a more low-key celebration at the U.S. embassy in Buenos Aires, causing some Argentinian commentators to speculate about a possible chill in bilateral relations.

On Thursday, however, Secretary of State Marco Rubio put those rumors to rest, congratulating Argentina on its 210th Independence Day in a statement that praised Milei as “an indispensable partner” in the two countries’ joint fight against “narcoterrorism, transnational crime, and authoritarian regimes.”

The two countries have another thing in common: Messi, the 39-year-old Argentine playmaker who is one of the World Cup’s top scorers and also plays for Inter Miami. Both Trump and Milei have sought, in their own ways, to bask in his glow.

“You could have gone anywhere in the world, any team in the world, and you chose Miami,” Trump told Messi during a White House visit in March. The meeting prompted criticism from some in Argentina who accused the soccer legend of lending legitimacy to Trump’s politics by appearing alongside him.

Milei, in turn, seized on that criticism to attack the media and his political opponents and align himself with the football star, declaring: “If you mess with Messi, you mess with us all.”

Messi, meanwhile, has steered clear of politics. A far less polarizing figure than either president, an Argentine survey conducted before the World Cup put his approval rating over 90 percent. When Messi led Argentina to a World Cup trophy four years ago, however, it did not do much to boost the country’s governing class. President Alberto Fernández saw his Peronist coalition suffer a historic defeat in the following year’s election. He was later charged with domestic abuse, and his former vice president is now serving house arrest after a corruption conviction.

“Which is all to say,” observed Gedan, “Messi is a national hero, but Argentine politicians don’t get to share the glory.”

Politics

Will Trump’s Justice Department rescue Messi’s Argentina?

Published

1 hour ago

July 11, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Reports of an aggressive FBI investigation underway in Florida into alleged corruption involving Argentina’s national soccer body are prompting confusion about the Trump administration’s stance toward using U.S. courts and law enforcement to pursue corruption extending beyond U.S. borders.

Argentina’s La Nacion newspaper reported Wednesday that U.S. prosecutors questioned a key businessperson by Zoom earlier this month as Argentina continued its strong run in the World Cup, powered by indomitable veteran Lionel Messi. The Miami Herald also confirmed aspects of the probe, which reportedly focuses on TourProdEnter LLC, a Florida-based company that handled promotional deals for the Argentine Football Association.

The association and people linked to TourProdEnter have denied wrongdoing. No charges have been filed. The Argentine Football Association did not respond for a request to comment.

The moves by the FBI, along with the reported involvement of at least three Justice Department prosecutors, are notable because after President Donald Trump returned to office last year, he paused for several months all enforcement of a U.S. law that makes it a crime to bribe foreign officials overseas, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

Trump previously called it a “horrible law.” Incoming Justice Department officials said previous administrations had used the statute to bring criminal cases over alleged corruption that had little connection to the U.S.

Among the cases to face such criticism are a series of prosecutions that began more than a decade ago under former President Barack Obama’s administration into corruption in international soccer. A dozen people were ultimately convicted in the probe, which was led by federal prosecutors in Brooklyn, New York, and toppled FIFA’s leadership.

Appeals in some of the cases have dragged out. In May, the U.S. Attorney in Brooklyn, Joseph Nocella, appeared personally in court to explain to a judge why the Justice Department wanted to drop the case against a former Fox television executive whose conviction for paying bribes for soccer broadcast rights was initially thrown out but later reinstated by an appeals court.

Nocella said the administration had higher priorities, such as counterterrorism, national security, drug and human trafficking and violent gangs, the Associated Press reported.

It’s unclear whether the ongoing U.S. probe into Argentina’s soccer operations is proceeding because a significant part of the activities under investigation took place in the U.S. or some other wrongdoing has been uncovered that makes the case more attractive under current Justice Department policy.

The FBI declined to comment on the case.

Politics

Not everyone wants a day off

Published

2 hours ago

July 11, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is already considering adding an extra bank holiday to the calendar if England wins a World Cup final. But shutting the country down for a day to celebrate a national high might not be the political winner he thinks it is.

While rank-and-file citizens may thrill at getting a break to celebrate, sober up or sleep in, key political interests — from business groups that fear a disruption to commercial activity to social services that have to trudge on regardless — can balk at an instant holiday.

Countries have a long history of celebrating major on-field victories with off days. Uruguay marked victory in football’s inaugural World Cup with a public holiday in 1930, and Panama gave workers the day off for qualifying to its first-ever World Cup in October 2017. Just beating Argentina in a group-stage game seems a particular reason to celebrate: Cameroon did so on a national holiday over 1990, and Saudi Arabia ordered a nationwide day off for public servants, private sector workers and students alike in 2022.

This year two countries have already redrawn their national calendar after World Cup wins. Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa declared a public holiday for June 26 after his side upset Germany to reach the knockout rounds, thanking players and coaches who had endured “criticism, insults and tough times” before bringing “immense joy” to the country. His post ended with two words: “Tomorrow, holiday!”

Days later, Paraguayan President Santiago Peña did the same after his country’s stunning penalty shootout victory on June 29 over Germany propelled the South American underdogs into the World Cup round of 16. Posting a picture of himself signing the decree, Peña acclaimed the expression of Paraguay’s “grit, faith and strength.” The accompanying decree argued the triumph had gone far beyond sport and that “the government cannot remain indifferent to this tremendous achievement,” making it necessary to allow Paraguayans to celebrate together.

Peña’s government had laid some necessary groundwork for the move. A law adopted in 2025 allows the president to declare up to three temporary public holidays each year by decree for special occasions, including sporting achievements. The measure had been drafted with the World Cup in mind, and was first used after Paraguay qualified for the tournament last September.

But some in Paraguay were not cheering at Peña’s declaration. Even as Paraguay celebrated one of the biggest victories in its football history, business groups — particularly representing micro, small and medium-sized enterprises — complained that the holiday had been announced with virtually no notice, disrupting commercial activity and work schedules. Peña later admitted the decision had been spontaneous.

“I’m very honest. I didn’t think about that before the game,” the president said, acknowledging criticism from the business community. “It was a spontaneous decision.”

Asked this week by reporters on Wednesday whether England winning its first World Cup in 60 years would merit a day off, Starmer replied: “I think I don’t want to jinx it, but ask me again if we get to the final.” The remark fueled speculation that Friday, July 24, could become a one-off holiday if England goes all the way. The decision, however, would likely fall to Starmer’s expected successor, Andy Burnham.

Not everyone is convinced. A Good Morning Britain poll on X found 60.4 percent supported a World Cup bank holiday. Among the minority opposed replies was a user identifying herself as a supermarket worker, who pointed out that essential workers including National Health Service employees would still be on shift while many others enjoyed a long weekend. “Don’t think it’s very fair,” she wrote.

Successive British governments have also generally resisted calls for additional bank holidays, repeatedly pointing to the economic cost. A 2022 Department for Culture, Media and Sport impact assessment estimated that an additional bank holiday would reduce U.K. gross domestic product by around£2.4 billion — a figure ministers continue to cite when responding to calls for extra holidays, including if England were to win this year’s World Cup.

If the Three Lions make history over the next week, Downing Street may discover that deciding whether the country deserves a day off proves almost as politically contentious as winning football’s biggest prize itself.