The Athletic FC: Allegation of racism at Club World Cup, NFL owner agrees deal for Palace stake

New York Times

4 hours ago

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Today, we're covering an incident the Club World Cup really didn't need — an allegation of on-field racism.
Plus: NFL owner buys into Premier League club, Monterrey's inventive defensive walls, and a team sheet full of trialists.
There is still no satisfactory explanation for why FIFA, having put together an anti-discrimination campaign for the Club World Cup, shied away from properly implementing it. One day aside, none of its messaging promoting inclusivity has been on display at matches in the United States.
The Athletic tried to get the world governing body to explain itself, because these campaigns are important. FIFA might like to think football is all things to all people but the sport is not clean of bigotry — and this morning, the organisation is facing up to an allegation of racism at its flagship tournament.
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Yesterday's Club World Cup game between Real Madrid and Pachuca in Charlotte was a highly eventful Group H contest. Madrid lost Raul Asencio to a red card for a professional foul after seven minutes but their superiority told in a 3-1 win that should see them into the knockouts. All well and good.
But in stoppage time, with the game just about over, an angry exchange between Madrid defender Antonio Rudiger and Pachuca captain Gustavo Cabral hinted at something more than a regulation squabble. Rudiger complained to referee Ramon Abatti, who listened and responded by crossing his arms. The gesture is FIFA's protocol for signalling alleged racist abuse.
An investigation into the incident is underway. Cabral spoke to the media afterwards to deny racially abusing Rudiger. Members of Rudiger's camp maintain that he was the victim of racism, and Madrid head coach Xabi Alonso said: 'We believe him. It's unacceptable.' FIFA was asked to comment last night but, as yet, has said nothing.
Cabral, a 39-year-old Argentinian who has been at Pachuca in Mexico for the past six years, insisted he was innocent of the claim against him. The centre-back told reporters he called Rudiger 'cagon de mierda', a profanity used in Argentina to describe somebody as a coward.
'It was a fight, we collided, he said that I hit him with my hand and then there was an argument and the referee made the sign of racism,' Cabral said. 'In Argentina, we say 'cagon de mierda'. I told him the same thing.'
At first, Abatti intervened in the confrontation between Rudiger and Cabral and ordered both players to walk away but when Rudiger returned to protest further, Abatti made the 'X' gesture — introduced by FIFA last year so officials, players and coaches could flag racist incidents.
Pachuca head coach Jaime Lozano insisted he was unaware of the controversy but defended Cabral's character. 'I will talk to him,' Lozano said, 'but knowing him from before, this has never happened with him, nor with any of these Pachuca players in our league. I tell you I can put my hands in the fire for my captain.'
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This isn't the first time Rudiger has been the target of alleged racial abuse. He once wrote an article about his experience, saying: 'Every once in a while, we have a big social media campaign and everybody feels good about themselves, and then we go back to normal. Nothing ever really changes.'
Five years on, it's a strikingly pertinent comment.
The biggest breaking story you're likely waking up to comes from America's east coast. John Textor is selling his minority stake in Crystal Palace to none other than Woody Johnson, the long-time owner of the New York Jets NFL franchise.
U.S. money continues to pour into European football, especially the Premier League. While Johnson's 43 per cent shareholding won't give the 78-year-old control of Palace (a relief, perhaps, given the Jets' many years of misery), we'll see how the partnership evolves. Subject to Premier League approval, it should be signed and sealed.
The trade should also guard Palace's place in next season's Europa League, which was under threat because Textor also held shares in rival Europa League contender Lyon, something UEFA forbids. As Oli Kay writes, the conflict of interests merits a discussion about the sport's attitude to multi-club groups — but those concerned might just have been spared any embarrassment.
Yesterday's goalless grind between Monterrey and River Plate had us nodding off… except in the moments where Monterrey found themselves facing direct free kicks.
If you've been following social media, you might have picked up on the fascination around the Mexican team's novel approach to defending set pieces on the edge of their own box, effectively using two defensive walls a few yards apart (see the image above, from their previous fixture against Inter).
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After a bit of investigating, Jack Lang found out that Monterrey have been doing this for a while. The theory of the formation is that it gives the attacking player neither corner of the net to aim at, inviting a shot down the middle instead. After working against Inter and going viral, let's see if the tactic catches on. Innovation usually spreads.
We're edging towards the sharper end of the Club World Cup now. Here's a rapid rundown of other events:
The last 16 is starting to fill up. Bayern Munich, Manchester City, Juventus and Flamengo are all through to the knockouts. City blasted six goals past Abu Dhabi's Al Ain last night, aided by an arcing chip (below) that Ilkay Gundogan probably didn't mean.
I'm not sure this is wise pre-match talk but Palmeiras defender Murilo, who in YouTuber style describes himself as 'Team Ronaldo', says he'll do Cristiano's 'siu' celebration if he scores against Lionel Messi's Inter Miami later. Famous last words.
If Nicolas Jackson's place at Chelsea was under threat from new recruit Liam Delap, it's even more so after a stupid boot-to-shin red card against Flamengo. He'd been on the pitch for a whole four minutes.
On Friday, we asked you to name the six England players who won caps in the 1990s, the 2000s and the 2010s. They were Rio Ferdinand, Jamie Carragher, Emile Heskey, Wes Brown, David James and Frank Lampard. Brown completely stumped me.
(Kick-offs ET/UK time. All Club World Cup matches are shown on DAZN in the U.S. and UK, as well as on the other channels stated.)
Club World Cup: Group A (both 9pm/2am): Inter Miami vs Palmeiras — TBS, Fubo (U.S. only); Porto vs Al Ahly; Group B (both 3pm/8pm): Atletico Madrid vs Botafogo — 5Action (UK only); Seattle Sounders vs Paris Saint-Germain.
All change for the clash with the Binos as Trialist, Trialist, Trialist, Trialist, Trialist, Trialist and Trialist come in for Trialist, Trialist, Trialist, Trialist, Trialist, Trialist and Trialist.
Trialist, Trialist, Trialist and Trialist make up the bench. pic.twitter.com/1XVlD4gJI4
— Dumbarton FC (@Dumbartonfc) June 21, 2025
One of the traditions of pre-season friendlies is that any player on trial with a club is listed on the teamsheet simply as 'trialist'. The anonymity can be a nightmare for journalists, who often have no idea who they're watching.
Dumbarton in Scotland took the protocol to extremes on Saturday. They are in the process of exiting administration and, as such, have neither a squad to speak of nor the freedom to sign anybody new yet. So it was that their entire line-up (and four substitutes) consisted of unidentified trialists. Thoughts with whichever football writers tried to cover that.
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