It asks the committee to investigate Gianni Infantino for alleged breaches of FIFA’s ethics code and to ban him for two years.

Full disclosure: I signed it. I support it. I doubt it will change anything.

Two days before the complaint arrived, FIFA had confirmed that Infantino would stand for re-election at the FIFA Congress in Rabat in March 2027. “Of course, nothing has changed,” a spokesperson said.

The petition serves as yet another public rejection of Infantino, all of which may eventually topple him.

But for the moment, FIFA has already explained its stance on this pressure. “Those who do not have the support of FIFA’s Member Associations should not seek to achieve through allegation, insinuation or misinformation what they cannot achieve through FIFA’s established democratic processes,” it wrote in an August 8 statement.

The organisation’s position is straightforward: Infantino’s authority comes from its 211 member associations, and any attempt to remove him must ultimately pass through them.

Infantino is comfortable meeting his critics on that specific battlefield. The doomed FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) collapsed, but was intended to put millions in member associations’ pockets.

His relationships with individual members are what Infantino is banking on to save his job.

When the leaders of UEFA, the AFC and Concacaf turned against him, he specifically did not treat the confederations as unified electoral blocs. Their presidents can challenge him, but they cannot cast the ballots of the national associations beneath them.

And his moves over the last month show exactly that.

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Anzalone was trying to bring the former Manchester City striker into a new ticketing venture. According to the messages later seized by investigators, a script was being prepared for Agüero to record a launch advertisement.

By the time those preparations became public, Anzalone was in custody. He was arrested on 23 June in an investigation into an organisation allegedly bringing cocaine from Bolivia and synthetic drugs from Spain into Argentina.

Police later detained Pablo “Bebote” Álvarez, a former leader of the barra brava (hardcore supporters) from Independiente, one of Argentina’s largest soccer clubs, as part of the same process.

Investigators recovered the conversations about Agüero and a venture called KRÜ Tickets. KRÜ is an esports brand Agüero founded in 2020, with Anzalone seeking to build the ticketing company around the star’s established company.

Agüero and KRÜ both issued statements saying they had reviewed the proposal and passed on it.

But by then, the story was already running wild.

How did the investigation start?

The police investigation began in June when 12 liters of “liquid ecstasy” were discovered at Buenos Aires’ Ezeiza airport in a shipment from Barcelona. The subsequent operation saw over 27 raids across Buenos Aires and Salta, with 11 people arrested, and drugs, currency, and vehicles seized.

The information retrieved allowed investigators to map out 25 courier journeys bringing the drugs, according to Argentine crime outlet Encripdata.

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However, evidence to support such a claim is hard to find.

“At the moment we have situations where vulnerable nineteen-year-olds come from Sudan to play in domestic soccer leagues, or in the under nineteens, and they are targeted for match fixing by overseas operators,” Minister Wells told a room full of journalists in late August.

This article was written by Tracey Holmes and originally published in The Sports Ambassador. Across Substack and her podcast, Tracey does an outstanding job at holding sports authorities to account. It is republished here with her kind permission and I encourage you to subscribe and support her work.

When asked by The Sports Ambassador podcast, none of the major football organisations working in governance, delivery of competition, integrity, and player representation were aware of such specific ethnic targeting in their sport.

British is the nationality that has appeared most in Australian match fixing cases, dating back to the well-documented Southern Stars case in Melbourne 2014.

Australia has no shortage of talented footballers. It is the number one ranked organised team sport in terms of total registered players across age and gender categories.

Suggesting teenagers are coming to Australia from Sudan to play football seems unlikely given the difficulty Sudanese people face in obtaining visas.

This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Sudan has been described as ‘the abandoned crisis’ by the Refugee Council of Australia (RCA).

The despair engulfing the country is multi-dimensional and catastrophic: a declared famine since 2024 and a brutal civil war between the Sudanese Armed Forces and an armed paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces.

More than 11 million nationals have been declared stateless and another six million are displaced internally, according to UNHCR.

“The Sudanese community in Australia is deeply affected by the crisis,” the RCA announced in April in calling for broader and more accessible visa pathways.

“Current options are limited, and the cost and eligibility requirements for family visas place them out of reach for many.”

When asked for clarification to support Minister Wells’ comments, a spokesperson said:

“The Australian Government is concerned that match-fixers target young and financially vulnerable athletes as well as those from developing nations.

“All athletes deserve protection from being targeted by match-fixing. The laws introduced to Parliament will ensure greater protections from match fixing for everyone involved in sport.

“Sports Integrity Australia continues to work with all stakeholders to provide education on the dangers of sports manipulation.”

But the Federal Sports Minister did not say that; she singled out Sudanese athletes as she answered a question about new legislation seeking to criminalise certain behaviours associated with match fixing.

Minister Wells presented no evidence to support her claim; her office says her comments were ‘illustrative’.

Sentiments about the need for athlete protection is not lost on the player association, Professional Footballers Australia (PFA).

When asked whether the PFA had any knowledge of Sudanese players being targeted by match fixers, Chief Executive Beau Busch said:

“We are not aware of the specific case of players being targeted by match fixers as referenced by the Federal Sports Minister.

“However, it is clear that match fixing continues to pose a significant challenge for the industry and protecting our people.

“The research is clear that a variety of factors contribute to its prevalence, including addiction, financial distress and a lack of education and support services.

“As such we need to move from an approach that is solely focused on sanctioning to one that proactively tackles the biggest known contributing factors such as addition, non-payment and financial vulnerability.”

Back in 2019 Australia was the first non-European country to become a signatory to the EU’s treaty to combat the global scourge of match manipulation, known as the Macolin Convention.

Seven years later, as part of national gambling reforms, which don’t go far enough according to critics, new legislation has been introduced to criminalise a suite of offences associated with match fixing.

Minister Wells explained last week it was part of the government’s ‘holistic approach’ aimed at cracking down on some of the sources of illegal gambling as well as ‘those who profit from it’, including up to ten years in jail for those found guilty.

Twenty-four hours before writing this, Football Australia was asked for a comment. A spokesperson said they required more time.

“Generale, večna slava i hvala.” “General, eternal glory and thanks.”

Supporters repeatedly chanted the name of Ratko Mladić.

Earlier that day, Mladić had died in UN custody in The Hague. The former commander of the Bosnian Serb army was serving a life sentence for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes committed during the 1992-95 Bosnian war.

His forces conducted the nearly four-year siege of Sarajevo, during which thousands of civilians were killed, and in July 1995 overran the UN-protected enclave of Srebrenica. More than 8,000 Bosniak men and boys were subsequently murdered. International courts ruled the massacre was genocide.

Mladić was also convicted over the persecution, murder and forcible removal of civilians across Bosnia, as well as the taking of UN peacekeepers hostage and using them as human shields. After spending 16 years avoiding arrest, he was captured in Serbia in 2011, sentenced to life imprisonment in 2017 and lost his final appeal in 2021.

The Red Star show of support was nothing unusual.

Its organised supporters, the Delije, have repeatedly celebrated Mladić, including during European matches. UEFA has already sanctioned the club for supporters chanting his name and singing that he was a “Serbian hero”.

This time, however, the support did not remain in the stands.

Red Star’s official X account posted a photograph of the banner with a single saluting-face emoji. There was no caption or attempt to distance the club from its message.

The Srebrenica Memorial Center filed an official complaint with UEFA on 28 August.“A club that knowingly uses its official communication channels to spread messages glorifying a man convicted by a final judgment of genocide cannot reduce such conduct to the behavior of fans,” the Center said.

It asked UEFA to permanently disqualify Red Star from European competitions, arguing that the club’s own involvement turned the case from supporter misconduct into a question of Red Star’s “institutional attitude” towards the principles governing European football.

UEFA rapidly opened disciplinary proceedings over alleged “racist and/or discriminatory behaviour” and “transmitting a message that is not fit for a sports event”.

Red Star Belgrade has not withdrawn from the furore. As of early on 29 August, the post was still up and the comments had been turned off.

What is the connection between Red Star Belgrade and Ratko Mladić?

Mladić retains support among some Serbian nationalist circles, despite his convictions for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. To them, he was a military defender of the Serbian people and The Hague tribunal reduced a complicated war to Serbian guilt.

And there is broad tolerance for these displays of support. In 2023, the Youth Initiative for Human Rights documented 308 murals, graffiti and symbols celebrating Mladić across Serbia, more than 250 of them in Belgrade.

Serbian human-rights groups have spent years campaigning against his glorification, while journalists, activists and opposition figures have repeatedly challenged denial of the crimes established at The Hague.

But Red Star's Delije haven’t backed down.

Research into the group has found that Serbian national and Orthodox identity are central to the movement's self-image, with one study describing loyalty to the Serbian nation as an important part of how Delije members understand the group.

Who are the Delije?

The Delije were formally created in 1989, when several groups on Red Star’s North Stand came together under one name.

The group soon became led by Željko Ražnatović, better known as Arkan, who would become one of Serbia’s most brutal warlords and war criminals. already a career criminal with links to the Serbian security establishment.

Arkan was already a career criminal when he took over the Delije.

He was with Red Star supporters at the notorious May 1990 match against Dinamo Zagreb at Maksimir, when fighting between supporters and police engulfed the stadium as political tensions between Serbia and Croatia were already worsening.

Arkan established the Serbian Volunteer Guard in October 1990. Better known as Arkan’s Tigers, the unit was formed in part around men recruited from Red Star’s supporters.

At a derby against Partizan on 22 March 1992, uniformed members of the Tigers appeared in the North Stand. One after another, they raised road signs referring to Croatian towns captured during the fighting.

Arkan appeared before the stand and was applauded. Historian Richard Mills has documented the episode, as well as “Delije” graffiti appearing in Vukovar after the city’s destruction.

Mladić was not part of Delije directly, but he became a Serbian nationalist symbol that the club’s ultras have adopted.

The group has continued to use Red Star matches to express views on Kosovo, Republika Srpska and Serbian national identity.

Has Red Star been punished for supporting Mladić before?

Absolutely.

In 2018, thousands of Red Star supporters chanted Mladić’s name during a Champions League qualifier against Sūduva. This included the line: “My Mladić, your problem is that you are a Serbian hero.”

UEFA treated the incident as discriminatory behaviour and sanctioned the club. Red Star appealed, arguing that Mladić’s conviction was still under appeal, that the chants did not directly insult anyone and that praising him should not automatically be interpreted as attacking his victims.

UEFA rejected that argument. Its Appeals Body found that the chants could not be separated from what Mladić represented. Praising him also meant praising the values attached to a man convicted over ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity. UEFA therefore considered the chants discriminatory.

The club also told UEFA during that 2018 appeal that it had already taken steps to prevent similar chanting in future and stressed that the incident involved only a small number of ultras.

Eight years later, Red Star supporters were again openly honouring Mladić, this time with official support.

This averts the immediate confrontation of a civil war between FIFA and its richest confederation.

At a meeting in Monaco on 27 August, UEFA will tell its member associations that FIFA has met the conditions for ending the boycott and that UEFA members will participate in the U-20 Women’s World Cup in Poland, beginning on 5 September.

But among online discussions, this decision is being equated to letting Infantino off the hook. In recent days, UEFA and Concacaf had discussed a joint Nations League, outside FIFA’s jurisdiction. which would move more international matches and their commercial rights under the control of the regional bodies.

Infantino, meanwhile, seemingly crashed a visit to the Caribbean Football Union in the Dominican Republic to …

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Tiangong Ultra ran 100 metres in 9.39 seconds at Beijing’s World Humanoid Robot Games, beating Bolt’s 9.58-second human world record. Its closest rival, Lightning, developed by Honor, finished in 9.47 seconds.

Both were seemingly overwhelmed with their achievements. Tiangong failed to stop and slammed into the crash mats. Lightning collapsed beyond the line and was carried away on a stretcher.

Millions of people have watched the race and it has been covered by every major media outlet.

The records kept coming. The next day, Tiangong Ultra won the 400 metres in 38.15 seconds, comfortably inside Wayde van Niekerk’s human world record of 43.03. Another machine from the same Beijing research centre managed a 2.88-metre standing jump, compared with 0.95 metres at last year’s Games. The comparison with human high jump is imperfect, since the robot jumps from standing rather than using a run-up, but the improvement in a year is substantial.

Speed was not the only attraction. An AgiBot Expedition A3 traded table-tennis rallies with Olympic champion Ding Ning without live remote control, tracking the ball through cameras, predicting its trajectory and selecting its own returns. Elsewhere, robots boxed, played autonomous football and attempted rather less glamorous challenges such as plugging in cables, weighing powder and moving individual beans with tweezers. Reuters neatly summarised the problem facing the industry: robots can now outrun humans, but useful work remains considerably harder.

Tiangong is not merely a robot athlete. It is a product of the Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Center, a Beijing-backed technology centre originally established with shareholders including Beijing Yizhuang Investment Holdings, UBTECH, Xiaomi and Beijing Jingcheng Machinery Electric. Company filings show the ownership structure, while subsequent financing has brought in further state and private investors including the Beijing AI Industry Investment Fund, Yizhuang Investment and Baidu.

Tiangong’s results are therefore a striking demonstration of the progress being made inside China’s heavily backed humanoid-robot industry. Last year, the winning robot needed 21.50 seconds to cover 100 metres. Twelve months later, Chinese machines are running the distance in less than ten.

The event is called the World Humanoid Robot Games.

Bu the “World” part is up for debate.

What do you mean?

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According to the International Tennis Integrity Agency’s announcement, Kyrgios provided a sample on 22 June during the ATP 250 tournament. A World Anti-Doping Agency-accredited laboratory reported on 17 July that it contained benzoylecgonine, a metabolite of cocaine. His mandatory provisional suspension began on 4 August

Cocaine is classed as a stimulant and is prohibited in competition under WADA’s 2026 Prohibited List. Normally, a positive test for a non-specified stimulant can expose an athlete to a lengthy suspension.

But Kyrgios could be banned for just a month.

Kyrgios separately said that he intends to step away from public life for a convenient 28 days.

Has WADA suddenly become lackadaisical about cocaine?

No, this attitude is because anti-doping authorities have spent years trying to distinguish between athletes taking coca…

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Ten years on, Infantino is fighting to keep his career. His plan to operate the World Cup and FIFA’s main commercial operations through FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) met with revolt.

With three confederations, half of the six that make up FIFA, calling for his head, Infantino removed FFE and has apologised for the plan. However, he has defended FFE’s core goals and refused to resign from his position as FIFA President.

The opposition to him is broad. UEFA, AFC and CONCACAF, representing European, Asian and North American football, refuse to drop their threatened boycott of FIFA competitions until Infantino is gone.

But CAF and Conmebol (Africa and South America) remain firmly on his side, as do many member nations, especially smaller ones who have seen their revenues skyrocket during Infantino’s tenure.

World leaders are similarly divided. Canada’s Mark Carney and the UK’s Andy Burnham have called for Infantino to go, while Trump, who received a FIFA Peace Prize from the Italian executive, has defended him to the hilt.

But the immediate dispute may now reach further back. UEFA’s lawyers may go back to the beginnings of Infantino’s career.

The immediate dispute may now reach further back. UEFA’s lawyers have demanded that 18 FIFA officials, including Infantino, preserve material about FFE to be used in potential future proceedings. The Telegraph has reported that UEFA is also considering a full review of Infantino’s 16 years spent atop European then world football.

So we went digging. The list of allegations is not a continuous corruption case, it is incredibly varied. It is also not meant to be a ruling on Infantino’s guilt or innocence, but as a journey through a career riddled with a surprisingly consistent stream of allegations of corruption, cronyism, and governance clashes.

We initially found 76 separate controversies. We narrowed them down to 45 as instances of related behavior were combined. Sometimes, matters that came out in the same scandal were separated when they tackled unrelated issues. Where possible, we have always sought to include Infantino or FIFA’s statements about the case.

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He claimed that he and two accomplices were travelling towards the stadium carrying homemade bombs and an AR-15. They planned to attack police officers and players from both teams, he said, singling out Lionel Messi. Argentina nevertheless played that evening, beating Jordan 3-1 in their final group match.

Ten days later, another threat appeared before Argentina faced Egypt in Atlanta. An account on X claimed its owner was about to enter the stadium with four bombs strapped to his body and kill Messi. During the match on 7 July, police received a separate telephone warning that three bombs had been placed inside rubbish bins in the stadium. Explosives officers and detection dogs searched the venue. They found nothing.

The incidents became public one month later.

The headlines immediately became fantastical.
US Stopped Multiple Plots to Assassinate Lionel Messi During the …

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The talks ran some seven hours. No press was admitted and no questions were taken.

A letter was published to inform the hoi polloi of the footballing world that FIFA's secretary general and Management Board had heard Infantino apologise and had accepted that FIFA Forward Enterprised (FFE) was mishandled rather than misconceived. Infantino accepted that "mistakes were made in the process” and that it "should have been handled differently". The Management Board had therefore concluded, with "full support", that Infantino could stay in office.

And who signed this letter of full support for Gianni Infantino?

Gianni Infantino himself.

And Secretary-General Mattias Grafström, whom the letter also states has Infantino’s full support in return.

If only the rest of the footballing world could be so tidily aligned. In the days before and after Salé, Infantino faced:

• reports that he offered Morocco the 2030 World Cup final in exchange for its backing, which FIFA has vehemently denied

• a former FIFA vice-president accusing the organisation of blackmail

• American host cities waiting for FIFA payments they say were promised

• European clubs continuing to demand money due from the Club World Cup

• the Jordanian football federation also demanding owed money

• Portugal legend Luís Figo calling for his head

• heads of government publicly abandoning him

The Sports and Crime Briefing dives into Gianni Infantino’s week from hell.

FIFA’s confession is that it got caught

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The Dane was second in the Tour de France, behind Tadej Pogačar, with the peloton due to start the mountainous 15th stage later that morning. Vingegaard was required to provide a sample, a process he said took approximately 40 minutes. Three hours later, officers visited Pogačar and tested him at 5am.

The yellow jersey later said he had managed around four hours’ sleep before abandoning any attempt to return to bed, listening to Eminem and drinking coffee instead.

The tests were conducted by the International Testing Agency, which has managed the UCI’s anti-doping programme independently since 2021. The ITA can collect blood or urine from riders during and outside competition, monitor their Athlete Biological Passports and use information from laboratories, performance data and its own investigations to decide who should be tested and when.

There appears to be almost no precedent …

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National associations are also beginning to abandon him in public. The Dutch federation said it saw no future under Infantino and had lost confidence in his leadership. Germany’s DFB had already refused to support his re-election and is now accusing him of acting unilaterally and irresponsibly. England’s FA backed a full review of FIFA’s leadership and governance.

The knives are coming out inside FIFA. Infantino’s senior adviser Carlos Cordeiro resigned in protest, disowned any involvement in FFE and called it “a bad deal for football”. Chief operating officer Kevin Lamour said senior staff had been deceived and described FFE as one man’s project.

These attempts predate FFE, with the Guardian reporting that moves to call the emergency meeting were “already under way” after FIFA lifted Folarin Balogun’s World Cup suspension following several calls involving Donald Trump.

Yet against all of that, a small cluster of federation presidents has chosen an odd line of defense.

They accept Infantino was wrong about FFE.

But they seem to think admitting he was wrong is itself the achievement and is proof that he is fit to remain in office. And much of this campaign feels oddly coordinated.

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More than 200 of FIFA’s 211 member associations had reportedly endorsed him ahead of the vote in Rabat on 18 March 2027. No challenger had declared. He had already been returned unopposed by acclamation in Paris in 2019 and again in Kigali in 2023.

Three days ago, the coronation ended.

On 28 July, FIFA proposed FIFA Forward Enterprise, a commercial subsidiary that would house the business and event operations of the World Cup and other FIFA competitions, with a minority stake sold to private investors. Joshua Kushner’s investment vehicle was expected to lead the transaction. FIFA gave all 211 associations until 19 September to decide whether to participate, with tens of millions of dollars in additional funding attached to acceptance.

Europe answered first. On 30 July, all 55 UEFA associations rejected the plan and threatened to boycott every FIFA competition while it remained alive.

“The soul and governance of football are not assets to trade,” UEFA said. “It is not FIFA’s to sell.”

Then Concacaf turned. Its 41 associations across North America, Central America and the Caribbean rejected FFE too.

In Asia, the AFC said it had not been consulted and accused FIFA of bypassing the established channels of football governance.

Africa, Latin America and Oceania have been more cautious, promising review and consultation.

Now, the language has turned. Media reports say that Infantino may have scuppered his chances at re-election.

But while Infantino’s presidency is under its greatest pressure, it is not close to being over.

The reason is that Infantino has spent the last decade building a patronage system where those who support him have serious financial incentives to do so.

Will Infantino Fall? Not Yet

Football associations are rebelling against Infantino’s FFE proposal. They have not yet rebelled against Infantino.

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The chair of the English Football Association is also one of FIFA’s eight vice-presidents. Yet, according to the FA, she and her organisation were “completely unaware” that Infantino was preparing to place FIFA’s commercial future inside a new $20 billion company and sell part of it to private investors.

Nine days after the final, FIFA publicly announced FIFA Forward Enterprise, or FFE. One day later, The Times revealed that the 211 associations which must support the plan have until September 19 to decide.

That gives them 53 days to consider a company that would combine FIFA’s broadcasting, sponsorship, ticketing and licensing businesses with the operational delivery of its men’s, women’s and youth tournaments.

I broke down the numbers behind this worrying proposal for the Sports and Crime Briefing yesterday (and incidentally wrote the 2nd most-read article in the history of the newsletter!)

No asset list, independent valuation, shareholder agreement or detailed governance structure has been published. FIFA has not explained whether FFE would own its commercial rights or license them, how long the arrangement would last, what rights investors would receive or how they could sell their interests.

But yet, members have 53 days and counting to approve.

An Artificially Close Deadline

Infantino’s letter tells the associations that “the decision on whether or not to proceed with this proposal belongs entirely to you”.

Does it really?

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The FIFA president accused journalists and other detractors of having been “consumed by hate and criticism” during the World Cup. Those sitting “behind their pens”, he wrote, had spread false rumours while FIFA worked on the front lines to deliver the tournament. He reduced the relationship between FIFA and its critics to five words: “While you divide, we unite.”

Forty-eight hours later, FIFA asked those same critics, and the football world, to absorb a proposal that would fundamentally change how the sport is financed.

FIFA plans to create a new commercial company called FIFA Forward Enterprise, or FFE. The company would combine FIFA’s broadcasting, sponsorship, ticketing and licensing rights with the operational delivery of its tournaments across men’s, women’s and youth football.

Private investors would be invited to buy minority interests. FIFA hopes to raise up to $4.2 billion on an initial equity valuation of $20 billion, meaning that outside investors could collectively acquire roughly one-fifth of the business.

Infantino described FFE as a “focused, dedicated business” whose value would be shared more widely across the game. The money raised would finance a new programme offering each of FIFA’s 211 member associations up to $20 million for major development projects. Infantino called it the “democratisation of football”.

Incidentally, Infantino stands to benefit colossally from this new arrangement, according to the Times, as he could become a chief executive of FFE, placing him in a commissioner-type role for world football once his term as FIFA president expires.

And the announced lead investor in this scheme is Joshua Kushner, brother to Jared, the son-in-law of President Donald Trump.

UEFA responded that the proposal “crosses a line”, pointing to the absence of transparency over who ultimately benefits.

The Sports and Crime Briefing breaks down the numbers and what they mean.

Takeaway 1: FIFA Is Selling Part of Its Commercial Future

FIFA is not offering investors shares in FIFA itself.

It is constituted as a Swiss association, governed through its member associations rather than conventional shareholders. FFE would be a separate company, initially owned and controlled by FIFA.

FFE would bring together FIFA’s commercial rights, including broadcasting, sponsorship, ticketing and licensing, with the delivery of tournaments across men’s, women’s and youth football.

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That same day, Russia launched one of its largest combined attacks of the war on Ukraine. Ukrainian Olympic skeleton athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych counted the barrage on X: 600 drones and 90 missiles. “It’s sad to see childhood legends turn into moral bankrupts for whom nothing is more valuable than Russian rubles,” he wrote. “Shame.”

Pirlo rejected any political reading of the day. “We came exclusively for sport and for the children,” he said. “Football has the unique power to bring people together, to overcome borders and to offer a moment of joy, especially to young kids who dream of becoming footballers.”

Two months later, Pirlo’s job as an ambassador for Fonbet helped sabotage the most important coaching appointment in Italian football.

How close was Pirlo to the job?

Seemingly one signature away. After Pep Guardiola declined, technical director Paolo Maldini and advisor Leonardo settled on Pirlo, with Italian media reporting a four-year contract to the 2030 World Cup at no more than €1.5 million a season plus bonuses tied to Euro 2028 qualification. His backroom staff was already assembled, with Roberto Baronio lined up as his deputy. His agent Tullio Tinti had begun the paperwork to free him from his club, United FC Dubai. The announcement was expected around the FIGC Federal Council of July 28.

What exactly happened?

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The diagnosis, delivered to camera, was that Kane was suffering from magia negra (black magic), mal de ojo (the evil eye) and mala energía (black energy).

The segment went viral in late June, shortly after the World Cup began.

But the ritual had not originated in Peru. It was intended to reverse a curse supposedly placed on Kane some 4,000 miles away, in a shrine town in Ghana’s Ashanti Region.

Spain are world champions. But the 2026 World Cup was shadowed by a different game: traditional priests, curanderos, seers, shamans, witch doctors, tarotists and self-styled prophets attaching curses, blessings and predictions to almost every match. This article is Part One of a new Sports and Crime Briefing investigative series diving deep into these fraud schemes, how they are monetised, and how social media clicks are turned into paying customers.

How a curse crossed two continents

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Campaz, who had scored on his World Cup debut against Uzbekistan three weeks earlier, blazed the shot over the bar.

And while Campaz converted his penalty in the shootout, it didn’t matter and Colombia went out 4-3.

On the evening of July 8, a charter carrying the Colombian squad left Vancouver for Bogotá, landing at around 3 a.m. Colombia time. National icon James Rodríguez was on board, as were his teammates.

Campaz was absent.

The next morning, journalist Camilo Pinto revealed how Campaz's social media had been flooded with abuse since the final whistle.

Among the messages, one stood out.

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“In light of the decision taken on Sunday to suspend the implementation of an automatic one-match suspension, we feel that it is time for European Football Associations, all of whom are member associations of FIFA, to intervene and ask that FIFA investigate the aforementioned decision-making processes,” they wrote.

It is one of the most concerted moves any European institution has made against a sitting FIFA president.

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Russian athletes can now qualify for the Los Angeles 2028 Games on a full national team. FIFA is considering doing the same thing.

Now, Russia’s suspension had nothing to do with doping.Russia was banned in 2023 for annexing Ukrainian sports organisations in occupied territory. According to the IOC, Russia has given up gave up its claim to those bodies and therefore, the IOC’s lawyers concluded the grounds for suspension were gone.

The Sports and Crime Briefing has previously revealed how egregious this is and the amount of death and destruction wrought upon Ukrainian athletes by Russian violence.

But Russia’s older problem, generations of a state-backed doping program, remains open. The IOC even said as much in its decision to reinstate Russia.

“To address the lack of confidence in the global sporting community relating to the return of Russian athletes to international competition and in view of the recent allegations regarding the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA)’s governance, and pending confirmation that reinstatement conditions concerning the World Anti-Doping Code have been met, all Russian athletes returning to international competition must meet relevant anti-doping requirements,” it read.

What are the allegations concerning RUSADA’s governance?

Those allegations concern Veronika Loginova, RUSADA’s director general, who is under two investigations by WADA, the global anti-doping watchdog.

In April, Insider reported that her long-term partner is a serving FSB colonel, Dmitry Kovalov, the very officer Russia’s security service assigns to defend its accused dopers in the Swiss courts.

Jens Weinreich’s Sport & Politics newsletter then tracked that the FSB unit running Russia’s Olympic doping operations also runs its political hit squads, including the poisoning of Alexei Navalny.

Loginova has been neither charged nor sanctioned, and nothing has been proven.

But her situation raises a more basic question than her own conduct: in the ten years since Russia’s doping exile began, has its anti-doping system improved at all?

There are four ways to check.

1. Did Russia ever hand over the evidence?

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