In 2024, Manizha Talash was disqualified for unveiling a 'Free Afghan Women' message. This year, Haiti was banned from having Toussaint Louverture on their kit. Today, Vladyslav Heraskevyvh is banned for a helmet picturing fellow athletes killed by Russia. www.bbc.com/sport/articl...

Last year Ratcliffe threatened to walk away if he ever got the kind of hostility the Glazers get from United fans. Well, hopefully pedalling far right "great replacement" conspiracy theories is all the fuel we need to get this parasite out of our club and send him packing back to Monaco

Man who moved abroad to avoid hundreds of millions of pounds of tax and whose business have benefited from hundreds of millions of pounds of public funds believes that, 'Britain has been "colonised" by immigrants, who are draining resources from the state.'

Family of worker killed on Saudi World Cup site still waiting for compensation a year on. ‘Arshad’s death was the first known fatality of a migrant worker linked to the 2034 World Cup.’ #SaudiArabia www.theguardian.com/global-devel...

"The only thing more powerful than hate is love." Bad Bunny at Super Bowl 🤝🏽 Grammys

For months now there is a daily pro-Palestinian protest at the Milan Duomo. Across the square are the TV studios for many of the Olympics broadcasters. Most of the people standing with flags tonight are older Milanese folks who arrive most evenings to draw attention to Gaza.

What an incredible 16 minutes of joyful resistance this Bad Bunny Super Bowl show was. Consider everything that led up to this, and watch with awe youtu.be/G6FuWd4wNd8?...

This was striking. Big cheers as US athletes entered. Big boos for JD Vance.

Haiti 🔥 (Shame the IOC made them remove the image of Toussaint Louverture for being too ‘political’) apnews.com/article/hait...

Banned by an organisation that still has statute of its founder - a man who who described himself as a "fanatical colonialist and believed in the supremecacy of the white race - at the front door of its HQ. #WinterOlympics #MilanoCortina

Genuinely quite impressive skills www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/f...

Every future Olympic host stopped and to speak to take questions from the media in Milan this week, except one. The next one; the one which has been badly embarrassed by revelations in the Epstein Files. Story about strange LA 2028 chairman Casey Wasserman’s strange visit to the Milan Olympics.

If Austin Powers was a ski jumper ⛷️ The doping scandal that will forever be associated with Milano Cortina 2026.

Whoever could have imagined that Mandelson would be a wrong'un.

Good Lorde

Happy birthday Elmo! 🎉 Get help, Jordan.

It's Elmo's birthday

I'm not sure if the costume helps, but this is a wonderful speech calling on Santa Clara City Council not to cooperate with ICE at the Superbowl on Sunday. "I'm not begging you. I'm f***ing demanding that you act with some semblance of a f***ing spine." www.bbc.co.uk/news/videos/...

What’s moderate about billionaires trying to beat unions?

John Oxley points out the clear yet often overlooked point that young men 18-24 are the second most liberal, left-leaning group in society (after young women) - being more so than young-ish thirtysomething women, and older women, as well as than men in older cohorts

"Efforts to remove unhoused people will focus on the security perimeters of Olympic venues, according to the report." For many of the major venues, what's been discussed has been a one-mile radius. For the Figueroa/Expo Park cluster, that would encompass huge sections of downtown and South LA

Infantinos omfavnelse av Trump viser at han bare bruker FN som pynt. Sammen med @samindrakunti.bsky.social Uttalelser fra @stevecockburn.bsky.social og @ncgeehan.bsky.social idrettspolitikk.no/2026/01/28/i...

This is v.good. I get the boycott calls, but the discussion cannot stop there. We also need to know how FIFA will protect fans from ICE, allow peaceful protest, ensure fans can travel safely. We need to dissect the responsibilities of FAs and sponsors. And work out how to hold people accountable.

"There is nothing he won’t say, no foghorn he won’t scream through, if he thinks it will get him more views and paying Substack subscribers. He’s an opportunist extremist." V.good on the self-radicalisation of Reform's new candidate by @joemulhall.bsky.social hopenothate.org.uk/state-of-hat...

🗣️ 'The government came to power with a commitment to end the need for food banks. This promise really matters.' Our Principal Policy Adviser @katieschmuecker.bsky.social sets out the implications of 6.8 million people living in very deep poverty at the time of the last general election 🔽

A unit of US ICE will have a security role in the upcoming Winter Olympics in Italy, sparking uproar. Milan's mayor says ICE is not welcome in the Olympic city: “This is a militia that kills,” he said www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

Poverty is deepening. 🔎 Our #UKPoverty2026 report was launched this morning. People in very deep poverty now make up the biggest group of people in poverty, at 6.8 million people. This is unacceptable for the fifth richest country in the world, and it has consequences.

Are Iranian footballers the most outspoken in the world? Always impressed by how many are willing to take a stand, against the odds. Not just historical greats like Karimi - remember the refusal to sing the national anthem in Qatar. www.theguardian.com/football/202...

Getting signed in the transfer window and then scoring a goal minutes into your debut… what @jeffrueter.bsky.social has done here is the soccer journalism equivalent of that. Poignant and important. Give it a read.

Poignant. Excellent. Devastating

Saudi dissident awarded $4.1 million by UK court for hacking, assault 'by Saudi Arabia' . Saudi Arabia had tried to throw out his lawsuit, arguing it had state immunity, but its argument was rejected by the High Court in 2022. www.reuters.com/world/uk/sau...

Another brick in Qatar’s project to host the Olympics is laid. Emir’s brother named president of Asian olympic body, and promises more “solidarity” and “development” - translated: more 💰

Worth remembering when looking at the horrific scenes in the US right now that both Reform and the Tories have pledged to bring in ICE-style organisations to the UK if they win power

Western countries are hitting refugees twice: they are making it harder to claim asylum *and* they are cutting aid to troubled regions. I went to Sudan, the world's worst humanitarian situation, where the UN refugee agency has had to cut half its staff. Please have a read: as.ft.com/r/df593f1e-e...

Competent law enforcement officers can defuse situations involving potentially dangerous individuals. They are trained for this, and they understand it is their job. ICE seems to be the exact opposite: escalating situations to the point of killing peaceful individuals.

I just spoke with the White House after another horrific shooting by federal agents this morning. Minnesota has had it. This is sickening. The President must end this operation. Pull the thousands of violent, untrained officers out of Minnesota. Now.

Infantino's backing of the “Board of Peace” undercuts FIFA’s ties with the UN. Read all about FIFA's bluewashing here. josimarfootball.com/2025/02/12/b...

“Needless to say, she has no criminal history,” www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

All ♥️ to the beautiful people of Minnesota who are turning out in the freezing weather to stand up & say #ICEOUTforGood + #AbolishICE My friend just texted me from the streets to say "We are a hardy & heartfelt bunch."

After spending years bluewashing FIFA with various MoUs and photo opps with UN agencies, Infantino joins the world’s dictators and warmongers in welcoming Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ - set up to undermine the very existence of the UN itself. And all for… what?

Congratulations to Aida Youth Centre and all who supported them. Brilliant campaigning that put Infantino and Ceferin under serious pressure. This is a symbolic victory amid a much wider tragedy that FIFA amd UEFA have done nothing to arrest. www.nytimes.com/athletic/698...

Fascinating history of Africa standing up against its marginalisation from colonial-era sport bodies. Also, FIFA mulling apartheid South Africa's proposal of an all-white team one tournament, and an all-black team the next, has to be one of history's prime examples of technocratic absurdity.

President Trump was inaugurated one year ago today. An absolute lifetime. In this new briefing, @amnesty.org maps out the "authoritarian practices" and "devastating erosion of human rights" at home and abroad - with a dozen alarm bells ringing. www.amnesty.org/en/latest/ne...

Well, there had better a counter-claim over repeated attempted towel theft. www.theguardian.com/football/202...

You can have democracy or extreme inequality, but not both. With extreme wealth comes concentrated power, with huge consequences for our rights. Just look around… Another excellent Davos report by Oxfam

The world saw a record number of billionaires created last year, with a collective wealth of $18.3tn (£13.7tn), while global efforts stalled in the fight against poverty and hunger. www.theguardian.com/global-devel... #RuleOfTheRich #TaxTheSuperRich

Kalidou Coulibaly was a class act last night handing the trophy to Sadio Mané, who himself was a class act bringing the Senegal team back out. Our kids share the names of these two champions and I can promise you this would not have happened here. #AFCON #SENMAR #LionsdelaTeranga

Well I think the we can declare #AFCON saved, @jonawils.bsky.social ! www.theguardian.com/football/202...

The arc of justice bends towards the top corner 🇸🇳🇸🇳🇸🇳

The emotions in this Senegalese household are high! We were fully behind both walking off and Sadio Mane stepping in to stop a World Cup ban (for now). Allez les lions de la teranga! 🇸🇳 #AFCON #SENMAR