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5 Sep 2026, 05:00 GMT Exclusive by William Ralston

England’s manager Thomas Tuchel called the officiating ‘just not good enough’ in the fiery last-16 tie. Now Alireza Faghani gives his version of events It was 6pm on 5 July in Mexico City, and Alireza Faghani, a 48-year-old Australian-Iranian, was asleep in the locker room, snoring. His assistants had turned the music down. Had it not been for the muffled roar of nearly 90,000 fans through the concrete walls of the Estadio Azteca, he could have slept until the following morning. Faghani was the referee for Mexico v England in the last 16 at the 2026 World Cup. Mexico hadn’t lost a competitive game at the Azteca since 2013, at least in part because they’re used to the conditions. Situated 2,240 metres above sea level, the air contains less oxygen. Opponents struggle to breathe, let alone win. Continue reading...

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20 Jul 2026, 11:21 GMT

There were ugly scenes at the end of the World Cup final as Argentina’s Leandro Paredes and Nahuel Molina were seen throwing punches at Spain players after their 1-0 defeat. Paredes was then sent off after shoving Spain's Eric García by the throat and wrestling Gavi to the ground. He had already been booked during the match. The antics after the final whistle were quickly condemned by UK broadcasters, with the former England goalkeeper Joe Hart labelling Argentina’s behaviour 'disgusting' on the BBC and ITV's Gary Neville calling it 'a disgrace' Lionel Messi’s World Cup fairytale ends with pitiful Argentina as final villains At the World Cup of superstars, a team take home the trophy Top 30: from half a million World Cup photos, why I love these the most ‘We had a date with destiny’: De la Fuente lauds Spain players after World Cup victory Continue reading...

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20 Jul 2026, 10:43 GMT

Boos descended from the stands as Donald Trump and the Fifa president, Gianni Infantino, took to the field for the World Cup trophy ceremony at New York New Jersey ⁠stadium on Sunday. Spain beat defending champions Argentina 1-0 to win the title. After the US president presented Spain with the trophy, he attempted to stand with the team at the side of the podium as they celebrated, before Infantino quietly ushered him away. It was a repeat of last summer’s Club World Cup at the same stadium after Trump presented the trophy to champions Chelsea and tried to crash the celebrations , to the bemusement of the players Donald Trump and Gianni Infantino booed before US president attempts to crash Spain celebrations Spain win World Cup after Ferran Torres breaks 10-man Argentina’s resistance Continue reading...

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