Tag: Soccer

AFC president’s FIFA presidential bid mired in abuse of human rights allegations

November 2, 2015November 2, 2015 James Dorsey No Comments

By James M. Dorsey Assertions by Asian Football Confederation (AFC) President Sheikh Salman Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, a candidate for the presidency of world soccer body FIFA, that he was not involved in the arrest and abuse of sports executives and athletes in his naïve Bahrain in 2011 raise more questions than answers. Sheikh Salman…

Arab World, Commentary, Gulf States, Sports

Egyptian soccer fans put youth disillusion with elections on public display

October 21, 2015October 22, 2015 James Dorsey No Comments

By James M. Dorsey As Egyptian general-turned-president Abdel Fattah Al Sisi struggled this week to get Egyptians to cast their vote in parliamentary elections, militant soccer fans put widespread youth disillusionment with the president’s autocratic rule on public display. More than 10,000 fans rushed in response to a call by Ultras Ahlawy, the militant support…

Arab World, Bloggers, Commentary

Israel suspends Israeli-Palestinian encounters on the pitch

October 17, 2015October 17, 2015 James Dorsey No Comments

By James M. Dorsey The Israel Football Association (IFA) acting on orders of the police has suspended what it calls ‘sensitive’ matches, a reference to professional and amateur games between Israeli Jewish and Israeli Palestinian squads. Police said the suspension on soccer pitches that have long signalled mounting tensions, violence, and racism in Israeli society…

Arab World, Bloggers, Commentary, Israel, Palestine & Jordan, Sports

Staunch Sisi supporter calls for opening of stadia and dialogue with ultras

October 3, 2015June 12, 2019 James Dorsey 3 Comments

By James M. Dorsey A staunch supporter of general-turned-president Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris, has called on the government to allow soccer fans, a pillar of anti-government protest, back into stadia that have largely been closed to the public for nearly five years. Mr. Sawiri’s request on the eve of two African Confederation…

Arab World, Bloggers, Commentary, North Africa

FIFA to rescue of troubled Saudi King Salman

September 29, 2015September 30, 2015 James Dorsey No Comments

By James M. Dorsey Palestine is a headache Saudi King Salman doesn’t need as he confronts rare demands from members of his ruling family that he and his son be removed from power, growing unease about a seven-month old devastating military campaign in Yemen that has caused devastation and mounting civilian casualties, widespread criticism of…

Arab World, Bloggers, Commentary, Gulf States, Israel, Palestine & Jordan

Middle Eastern conflicts spill onto Spanish soccer pitch

September 23, 2015September 23, 2015 James Dorsey 3 Comments

Inevitably, the mass exodus of refugees from conflict areas was going to provoke the spilling into Europe of multiple disputes in the Middle East, Central Asia and Africa. Spanish soccer is the first to feel the weight of the baggage that has turned vast numbers into destitute refugees. By James M. Dorsey Inevitably, the mass exodus…

Arab World, Bloggers, Commentary, Iraq, Sports, Syria, Turkey

Religious support for Qatari labour reforms puts Gulf states on the spot

September 14, 2015June 12, 2019 James Dorsey 2 Comments

By James M. Dorsey A panel in Doha of religious scholars, officials of Qatar’s government-sponsored human rights committee, and international labour activists has called on Qatar to radically alter its controversial labour policies. The call serves to support Qatari government promises of labour reform in response to World Cup-related international criticism and increases moral pressures…

Arab World, Bloggers, Commentary, Gulf States, Sports

Israel’s fault lines spill onto the soccer pitch

September 5, 2015September 5, 2015 James Dorsey No Comments

By James M. Dorsey Israel’s multiple fault lines – secular vs religious, Jewish vs Palestine and controversial calls for a boycott of the Jewish state – are exploding on the soccer pitch. The spill over comes as President Reuven Rivlin warned in a recent speech that Israel was being fragmented by four tribes that view…

Arab World, Bloggers, Commentary, Israel, Palestine & Jordan, Sports

Turkish soccer supports Erdogan’s war against the Kurds

August 27, 2015August 28, 2015 James Dorsey 1 Comment

By James M. Dorsey The Turkish Football Federation (TFF), in a demonstration of the inseparable ties between sports and politics, has effectively declared its support for renewed Turkish-Kurdish hostilities designed to enhance the prospects of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling party in forthcoming snap elections. With armed Kurdish youth effectively taking control of at least one…

Arab World, Bloggers, Commentary, Sports, Syria, Turkey

Militant soccer fans claim responsibility for Cairo bombing

August 19, 2015June 12, 2019 James Dorsey No Comments

By James M. Dorsey A shadowy group of militant soccer fans that has largely lied low since it participated in mass anti-government protests in 2013 that led to the military overthrow of Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi has claimed responsibility for a car bomb near a Cairo security building that injured at least six policemen. Whether…

Arab World, Bloggers, Commentary, North Africa, Sports

Qatar’s quagmire: existential fears and missed opportunities

July 31, 2015September 29, 2018 James Dorsey No Comments

Access to soccer fields not available to everyone in Qatar where economic and social class distinction is still the rule. Migrant worker populations continue to increase, but not the benefits By James M. Dorsey Walking around Qatar’s monumental Aspire Dome sports academy, coach Fred Engh noticed kids playing soccer on an indoor field big enough…

Arab World, Bloggers, Commentary, Gulf States, Sports

The Cairo derby: Politics vs. repression

July 29, 2015September 29, 2018 James Dorsey No Comments

By James M. Dorsey This month’s premier league final between Cairo’s two storied clubs, Al Ahli SC and Al Zamalek SC, once the world’s most violent derby, was more than a clash between two soccer giants. It was a clash between management styles and diametrically opposed approaches towards militant, highly politicized, street battle-hardened soccer fans….

Arab World, Bloggers, Commentary, Editors Picks, North Africa, Sports

US cracks down on FIFA to avenge criticism of Israel

May 27, 2015August 20, 2019 rayhanania 2 Comments

Days after officials at the Federation of International Football Associations announced plans to allow a vote on whether or not to allow Israel to remain in the association, the United States launched a widespread prosecution against’s FIFA’s international leadership in Zurich Switzerland. That will teach FIFA for cracking down on Israeli racism By Ray Hanania The U.S….