Fans from several countries participating in this summer’s World Cup must deposit up to $15,000 in bond payments to be granted a tourist visa to enter the United States, while organiser FIFA is privately pressing the Trump administration to make exemptions for players.
The difficulties have emerged as nationals from certain countries travelling to the U.S. on a business or tourist visa — known as B-1 and B-2 visas — have been subject to bond payments after policy changes by President Donald Trump’s administration.
The “Visa Bond Pilot Program” relates to 50 countries, five of which have qualified for the World Cup. The policy has impacted nationals from Algeria, Cape Verde, Senegal and Ivory Coast since January 21 this year. Last week, World Cup participants Tunisia were among the countries added to the list, which comes into effect from April 2.
There is no wording outlined in the Visa Bond Pilot Program that grants immunity to athletes competing in major sports events such as the World Cup.
More from @AdamCrafton_
🔗 https://t.co/RofgWAgL4Z
Let me explain what just happened 👇
5 minutes before the President announced a halt to attacks on Iran… someone placed a $1.5 BILLION bet on stocks going up and dumped $192 million in oil.
5 minutes…
These trades were 4 to 6 times larger than anything else in the entire market. Whoever did this wasn’t guessing. You don’t risk $1.5 billion on a hunch.
There was zero public indication this announcement was coming. No leaks. No press. Nothing. The only people who knew were in the room when the decision was made.
Someone in that room picked up a phone.
And within minutes they made more money than most Americans will earn in a thousand lifetimes. In a single trade. On a war that cost you $4+ a gallon gas and $16 billion in tax dollars.
American citizens funded this war. Politicians are profiting from it.
This is not the first time. Every major announcement from this administration has had massive suspicious trades right before it dropped. Tariff reversals. Policy shifts. War decisions.
This is the most blatant insider trading operation in the history of American politics. It’s not even close. And it’s happening over and over in broad daylight.
You would go to federal prison for trading on a tip from your cousin. These people are front running war decisions with billion dollar bets and nobody will ever ask a single question.
Nobody will be investigated. Nobody will be charged. By tomorrow this will be buried under the next satisfying headline. Just like last time. And the time before that.
The game is rigged. And they’re not even trying to hide it anymore…
🚨🚨𝐉𝐔𝐒𝐓 𝐈𝐍! | Tottenham Hotspur have already made contingency plans in the event of Igor Tudor’s departure, with former Monaco manager Adi Hütter understood to be a serious contender for the interim role.
👨🏻💻[@JPercyTelegraph]
#THFC | #COYS | #TOTTENHAM | #SPURS
@eirikaase Enig, men samtidig rart at ikke trenerne går i klubbtøy med sponsorer på? Er jo veldig synlig, og det at trenerne kjører sitt eget løp i klesveien, gjør jo utstyrsavtalene til klubbene mindre verdt. Så synes det er lite lojalt, enten man kjører HM eller dyre designerklær.
Bruno Fernandes has more G/A in the Premier League than Wirtz, Palmer, and Ødegaard COMBINED this season.
The standard ALWAYS surpasses the substandard. 🔝🇵🇹
⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️
⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️
⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️
⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️
⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️
⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️
⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️
⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️
⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️
⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️
⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️
⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️
⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️
⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️
⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️
Just the number of charges you're facing for cheating on an epic scale
Watching the City-Arsenal game — one challenge with building a squad this summer is that you don’t know what type of football will be allowed in 26/27.
If PGMOL keeps allowing the same level of clutching and grabbing as they have this season to accommodate Arsenal and City — you must build one type of team. CBs on the full back positions. And so forth.
If the PL reverts back to allowing the same level of clutching and grabbing as was allowed between like 1992 to 2022 — skilled players will be very effective against squads heavy with 6’2+ players.
In 2024 Chelsea received a €5m add on bonus from Real Madrid as a result of Real reaching the Champions League final for the sale of Eden Hazard.
Hazard had retired from football in 2023 and Chelsea earned €150m from the deal overall.
According to the Premier League negotiated settlement with the club Chelsea received no on field advantage from signing Hazard from Lille for €35m in 2012 and therefore a £10m fine was appropriate rather than a points deduction.
The big problem @FA_PGMOL has is how today the modus of every defender in the PL when dribbled past — is to pull down the attacking player. It doesn’t matter if you are in the penalty area or if the attacker is in alone on goal.
In other words — the “tactical foul” — is committed even in situations where you give up a penalty and/or a red card.
Why are defenders doing this? Teams and players acts in a way that pays offs. Commit 5 fouls like this, and you give up 1-2 penalties and red cards — and you probably prevent 2-3 goals.
And it is clearly the reason for why the PL in 25/26 only is about set pieces and there is a record number of 0-0 games.
This evolution has been driven by Arteta and Pep who have teams that are extremely smart with the tactical fouls. They are disciplined and don’t commit fouls when their defense breaks down — but every time someone breaches their defense by beating a player 1 on 1 — it’s stopped with a foul. Since they get away with it everyone else is starting to follow suit. And the Mings, Tarkowskis and Maguires of the league is having a renaissance.
A Amad Diallo skips past defenders 6-7 times per game. 6-7 times per game, he is hauled to the ground by the defender. And he draws on average 0.7 fouls per game.
UEFA’s official twitter channel asked this week — if you could make a team of XI with only one player, who would it be? I think Valverde was most commonly mentioned. But seriously — in the PL, in the way it’s reffed by PGMOL — a team with 10 Dan Burns would be unplayable, right?
Helt korrekt straffe til Bournemouth og rødt kort til Maguire.
Og så er det like åpenbart en parodi at Amad ikke får straffe på en like tydelig holding 20 sekunder før Bournemouth fikk 1-1. Men de hadde tross alt fått én straffe fra før, så da utgår visst VAR også.
@AndreasHopen_ Karrierene deres tok litt ulike retninger, men Twum får i alle fall finere naturopplevelser enn Afeez finner i Aberdeen. Ser for meg en veldig fin hjemme hos-reportasje hos Twum når han om 4-5 år driver med produksjon av eplejuice og moreller, og snakker sognemål😉
@badebyen Synes han var god jeg. Tror dessverre agenten hans ødela mye for ham slik at det ikke ble noen ny deal i Start den gangen.
Får fine naturopplevelser i Sogn da😎
@AndreasHopen_ Ja ser jo at han har valgt å gå i en mer sivil retning og slå seg ned i Norge. Flott det. En veldig fin type😀 Tror ikke han ville dra fra Start den gangen, men hadde agent som styrte på…
Litt av en reise da!
🚨 NEW!!
Eintracht Frankfurt left-back Nathaniel Brown is on Manchester United’s shortlist. The German side are demanding at least £52m for him in the summer. Brown is also on the shortlist of Real Madrid, Liverpool and Barcelona. #MUFC [@Plettigoal]