Peta Steel

Peta(VdB) Steel.Jnlist, writer. Updtd late husband' Tom Steel book Life and Death of St Kilda. F/l ftre writer/obits Indy, Morning Star: unions. LBC/BBC/TUC/NUJ

[Mark Stephens @MarksLarks]

Your reminder that:

None of this happened at any prior World Cup not even:
2022: Qatar,
2018: Russia,
2014: Brazil
2010: South Africa
2006: Germany
2002: Co-hosted by South Korea and Japan
1998: France, NOR EVEN
1994: United States!!

[Peta Steel @PetaSteel]

@Juezcentral How sexy the Vikings are

[Mark Stephens @MarksLarks]

Your reminder that:

None of this happened at any prior World Cup not even:
2022: Qatar,
2018: Russia,
2014: Brazil
2010: South Africa
2006: Germany
2002: Co-hosted by South Korea and Japan
1998: France, NOR EVEN
1994: United States!!

[Tim (still totally unremarkable) @forwardnotback]

Residents had to be evacuated from their homes in east Belfast following fires - shameful scenes

Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service officers attended the scene at Lendrick Street on Tuesday night

Pics from PA

[Collins Okinyo @bedjosessien]

Referee Mohamed Atan got a hero's welcome back in Somalia 🇸🇴 they might think they have broken him but they have created a new hero with many open doors for opportunities.

When one door closes another opens.He remains the best 👌referee from Africa
@soka25east

[Stunner @invertCucurella]

🚨BREAKING: Didier Drogba says if the USA didn't want other Countries citizens in the US they shouldn't have bid for the Fifa world cup 2026 and says denial of Iran supporters and Somali referee Omar Artan is totally unacceptable, Football should be separated from politics

"When a country bids to host the biggest football tournament on the planet, it knows exactly what comes with it. Players, referees, officials and supporters from every corner of the world are part of the package."

"I look at the situation involving Somali referee Omar Artan and I feel disappointed for him. FIFA selected him because he earned that opportunity on merit, yet he was unable to participate after being denied entry."

"Then you hear about Iran's football federation claiming that its supporter ticket allocation was withdrawn just days before the tournament. If true, that leaves ordinary fans paying the price for issues that have nothing to do with football."

"The people suffering are not politicians. They're supporters who save money for years hoping to follow their national team at a World Cup."

"Football has always been one of the few things capable of bringing different cultures together. The moment politics starts deciding who gets to be part of that experience, everyone loses."

"I played in World Cups and international tournaments. The beauty of those events is seeing supporters from dozens of countries sharing the same streets, the same stadiums and the same passion."

"No fan should be judged because of their nationality, and no referee should miss the biggest moment of his career because of political circumstances beyond his control."

"FIFA, governments and football authorities need to find solutions because the headlines right now are about visas, travel restrictions and disputes instead of the football itself."

"The World Cup should belong to the world. That's what makes it special. The game must always come first, and politics should never be allowed to overshadow football's greatest celebration."

[Larry the Cat @Number10cat]

"Hate begets hate; violence begets violence; toughness begets a greater toughness. We must meet the forces of hate with the power of love." - Dr Martin Luther King Jr

[Michael Pierse @michaelpierse]

They're not protesting about an attempted murder. They're using an attempted murder as an excuse for racist mayhem.

[Sam Wolf @SamRWolf]

@IsabelOakeshott A White Brit was literally jailed last month for a public attempted beheading.

But Reform, Farage, Lowe, Musk etc didn’t make outraged posts about that case.

Because REFORM rhetoric was her gateway to far right groups (whose members openly support Restore).

[Gordon Fielden @GordonFielden]

This is the largest sporting event on the planet, despite what some Americans may believe, and the decision to prevent Africa's leading referee from participating in the World Cup sends an extraordinarily damaging message about the United States and the direction in which it is heading.

I am genuinely astonished that FIFA has not lodged a formal protest with the United States Government and sought intervention to ensure that this referee, who is held in the highest regard within the international refereeing community, is granted a visa to undertake one of the most important roles in world football. For any referee, appointment to a World Cup is among the greatest honours the sport can bestow.

A person's country of birth should never be the sole reason for preventing them from entering a country to carry out a specific professional duty at a specific international event. Particularly when the President of the United States publicly assured the world that participants would be welcomed.

If nationality alone has been the determining factor, then this is a serious stain upon both the tournament and the host nation. It raises profound questions about fairness, equality of treatment and whether political considerations are now taking precedence over sporting merit.

The World Cup is supposed to bring nations together. Decisions such as this achieve precisely the opposite.

[Sam @SamCKx]

Should we all be asking ourselves what Tommy Robinson is doing with Elon Musk's dad at the exclusive Metropol Hotel in Moscow right now?

[Anonymous @YourAnonNews]

Fascism does not arrive saying “I am fascism.” It arrives saying “law and order,” “border security,” “anti-woke,” “election integrity,” and “national emergency.”

[Thanos Angelopoulos @Th_Angelopoulos]

Zack Davies walked into a Tesco in Mold in 2015 and attacked Dr Sarandev Bhambra with a machete and a claw hammer while shouting "white power".

Cut to the scalp down to the bone. Left hand nearly severed. Five hours of surgery. Davies tried to behead him.

Nazi flags and Combat 18 stickers at his home. Life sentence.

In public. In a supermarket. In broad daylight.

You were saying?

[Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani @NYCMayor]

Soccer would not exist without immigrants. Immigrants play and coach the game, work in the stadiums, fill the stands, and make celebrations like the World Cup possible. Six of the players on the US Men's National Team are immigrants.

We will not allow ICE or anyone else to sow fear in our communities — especially at this moment. As the world comes to our city, we will stand proudly with our immigrant neighbors and reject these attacks for what they are: an attempt to divide us.

[Micky Jnr @MickyJnr__]

🚨🇨🇦 𝐁𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆:

Canada has confirmed that referee Omar Abdulkadir Artan, who was denied entry to the United States, is welcome to officiate matches in Vancouver. 😳

#AfricanFootball
#WorldCupwithMicky

[BladeoftheSun @BladeoftheS]

Nearly 100 fans from Morocco applied to go the USA.

The US blocked nearly 90% of their applications.

This is the most racist World Cup ever and it should be boycotted by everyone, the USA is refusing to let non-white people come.

[Michelle O’Neill @moneillsf]

Groups of masked men burning families out of their homes is nothing less than disgusting cowardice.

This has nothing to do with community.

This is outright thuggery.

The attack in North Belfast was heinous and wrong.

But there are dangerous attempts to exploit that to target and attack innocent people who are simply trying to live, work and raise their families here.

Racism, intimidation and violence are wrong wherever they occur.

There can be no excuse and no justification for these attacks tonight.

No one wants to see this on our streets and I again appeal for calm.

[Larry the Cat @Number10cat]

Note to America: The World is a necessary component of a World Cup

[Andy Preston @centre_right_]

Hearing about Sikh harassment.

A murderer does not define a community.

Sikhs have served Britain with distinction, created jobs and always contributed.

We’re lucky to have them.

[Peta Steel @PetaSteel]

@campbellclaret Show off