Latest news with #RonanEvain
South Wales Argus
2 days ago
- Politics
- South Wales Argus
Fifa warned about free speech restrictions at 2026 World Cup
The warnings follow recent US government policies under President Donald Trump, which include a travel ban affecting 12 countries, such as World Cup qualifier Iran, and heightened criticism over responses to civil unrest. The United States will co-host the tournament alongside Canada and Mexico, with California's Rose Bowl also set to host matches during the upcoming FIFA Club World Cup, which starts on Saturday. Ronan Evain, executive director of Football Supporters Europe, said: "Fans travel to the World Cup to celebrate and express their passion and any attempt to curtail our fundamental rights, including the right to free speech, is a betrayal of the spirit of football. "We're particularly concerned about the potential for selective enforcement and discrimination against fans based on our perceived political views or national origin. "FIFA must obtain the necessary guarantees to ensure fans from all over the world are able to safely travel and attend the games." Human rights organisations have voiced concerns about increasing restrictions on freedom of expression, particularly regarding pro-Palestinian protests. Minky Worden, director of global initiatives at Human Rights Watch, said: "FIFA should publicly acknowledge the threat US immigration and other anti-human rights policies pose to the tournament's integrity and use its leverage with the US government to ensure that the rights of all qualified teams, support staff, media and fans are respected as they seek to enter the United States, regardless of nationality, gender identity, religion or opinion." The US government has stated that the travel ban will not apply to players or team staff from qualified nations. However, it will prevent fans from Iran and other affected countries from attending matches in person. FIFA and the US State Department have been contacted for comment.
The Independent
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Curbing free speech at WC a ‘betrayal of the spirit of football' – fans' chief
Any attempt to curb fans' rights to free speech by the Trump administration at next year's World Cup finals will be 'a betrayal of the spirit of football', a fans' group chief has warned. The United States is co-hosting the 2026 tournament alongside Canada and Mexico, with FIFA's Club World Cup starting in the US on Saturday. Policies adopted by the US government under the presidency of Donald Trump have raised concerns among human rights group, particularly around immigration and the right to peacefully protest. A travel ban for citizens of 12 countries – including World Cup qualifiers Iran – came into effect earlier this week, while the federal government's response to civil unrest sparked by immigration raids in Los Angeles has also drawn criticism from human rights groups and California governor Gavin Newsom. The Rose Bowl in Pasadena, a city in Los Angeles County, will host six matches in the Club World Cup starting from Sunday, and the SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, also in Los Angeles County, will host eight matches at next summer's World Cup. The Sport and Rights Alliance is concerned at what it sees as 'escalating crackdowns' on freedom of expression by the US government, particularly protests related to Palestine. Ronan Evain, the executive director of Football Supporters Europe, said: 'Fans travel to the World Cup to celebrate and express their passion and any attempt to curtail our fundamental rights, including the right to free speech, is a betrayal of the spirit of football. 'We're particularly concerned about the potential for selective enforcement and discrimination against fans based on our perceived political views or national origin. ' FIFA must obtain the necessary guarantees to ensure fans from all over the world are able to safely travel and attend the games.' The US government has said the travel ban will not affect players or support staff of any qualified nations, but it will make it impossible for fans to travel from Iran to watch the team. Minky Worden, director of global initiatives at Human Rights Watch, said: 'FIFA should publicly acknowledge the threat US immigration and other anti-human rights policies pose to the tournament's integrity and use its leverage with the US government to ensure that the rights of all qualified teams, support staff, media and fans are respected as they seek to enter the United States, regardless of nationality, gender identity, religion or opinion.' FIFA and the US State Department have been contacted for comment.
Sky News
28-04-2025
- Sport
- Sky News
FIFA issues warning after Sky News finds 2026 World Cup tickets on sale for up to £46,000
Tickets for the 2026 World Cup are being sold on a third-party ticket exchange - with up to £46,000 for the final - despite FIFA not putting any on the market yet, Sky News has uncovered. World football's governing body has now issued a warning to fans to be "wary" of unofficial websites purporting to already offer tickets after being asked about one platform, Vivid Seats. We delved deeper into the website after concerns were raised by Chelsea fans about their chairman, Todd Boehly, being an investor and director in Vivid while it also sells tickets overseas for Stamford Bridge matches at inflated prices. Vivid has listings for matches throughout the World Cup for matches being played in the United States and Canada. Even a group stage match on the second day of the tournament has regular tickets - some listed in specific rows - being sold for up to £44,112 at the SoFI stadium in Los Angeles. The tickets listed for the World Cup final on 19 July 2026 range from £4,936 to £46,412 (row 31, lower level 139) at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. Vivid's website promises: "No matter what you're looking to spend, Vivid Seats has World Cup tickets to fit your budget." But then it says: "Vivid Seats will have World Cup tickets for sale as soon as they are available, usually many months before the actual game." In response to our discovery, FIFA cautioned supporters. "FIFA encourages any fan wishing to purchase tickets for the FIFA World Cup 26 to be wary of non-FIFA official ticketing websites that claim to be selling tickets already and only purchase tickets from the official and legitimate source once those are made available," the World Cup organisers told Sky News. FIFA is planning to put World Cup tickets on sale this summer. Ronan Evain, executive director of Football Supporters Europe, said the ticket listings were "worrying". He told Sky News: "It's unlikely that these tickets have been issued and the relation with the competition organisers is unclear. "Companies like this either exploit the many loopholes that persist in the ticket sales policy or they get privileged access to tickets through competition organisers or associated parties. "It's the responsibility of the competition organiser to ensure that they put in place a transparent ticket distribution policy and sufficient protections, such as drastic limitations on the number of times a ticket can be transferred to someone else, for example. "Either they get a safe shortcut to get access to tickets at a later stage. Or they are so confident in exploiting the many loopholes that they take limited risk in selling tickets that don't exist yet." Vivid Seats did not respond to a request for comment. But when asked about the Chelsea ticketing controversy last week, the American company said: "It is important to note that Vivid Seats does not set the base price for tickets sold on its marketplace or receive any revenue from that base price; only the seller sets and receives the base ticket price." That comment was issued in response to complaints by Chelsea to the Premier League about Mr Boehly being linked to a website selling tickets beyond Britain for matches. The Chelsea Supporters' Trust said Vivid and Mr Boehly were undermining efforts to combat ticket touting. 3:31 Since our report was published on Monday, Chelsea has revealed plans to introduce digital-only tickets from next season in conjunction with Ticketmaster. The hope is that eventually makes it harder for people to buy up memberships and sell tickets for hiked-up prices. In a statement, Chelsea chief revenue officer Casper Stylsvig said the link-up is in part about "continuing to address the issue of ticket touts." Chelsea has not commented on concerns about Vivid Seats.
Sky News
27-04-2025
- Sport
- Sky News
FIFA issues warning after Sky News finds 2026 World Cup tickets on sale for up to £46K
Tickets for the 2026 World Cup are being sold on a third-party ticket exchange - with up to £46,000 for the final - despite FIFA not putting any on the market yet, Sky News has uncovered. World football's governing body has now issued a warning to fans to be "wary" of unofficial websites purporting to already offer tickets after being asked about one platform, Vivid Seats. We delved deeper into the website after concerns were raised by Chelsea fans about their chairman, Todd Boehly, being an investor and director in Vivid while it also sells tickets overseas for Stamford Bridge matches at inflated prices. Vivid has listings for matches throughout the World Cup for matches being played in the United States and Canada. Even a group stage match on the second day of the tournament has regular tickets - some listed in specific rows - being sold for up to £44,112 at the SoFI stadium in Los Angeles. The tickets listed for the World Cup final on 19 July 2026 range from £4,936 to £46,412 (row 31, lower level 139) at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. Vivid's website promises: "No matter what you're looking to spend, Vivid Seats has World Cup tickets to fit your budget." But then it says: "Vivid Seats will have World Cup tickets for sale as soon as they are available, usually many months before the actual game." In response to our discovery, FIFA cautioned supporters. "FIFA encourages any fan wishing to purchase tickets for the FIFA World Cup 26 to be wary of non-FIFA official ticketing websites that claim to be selling tickets already and only purchase tickets from the official and legitimate source once those are made available," the World Cup organisers told Sky News. FIFA is planning to put World Cup tickets on sale this summer. Ronan Evain, executive director of Football Supporters Europe, said the ticket listings were "worrying". He told Sky News: "It's unlikely that these tickets have been issued and the relation with the competition organisers is unclear. "Companies like this either exploit the many loopholes that persist in the ticket sales policy or they get privileged access to tickets through competition organisers or associated parties. "It's the responsibility of the competition organiser to ensure that they put in place a transparent ticket distribution policy and sufficient protections, such as drastic limitations on the number of times a ticket can be transferred to someone else, for example. "Either they get a safe shortcut to get access to tickets at a later stage. Or they are so confident in exploiting the many loopholes that they take limited risk in selling tickets that don't exist yet." Vivid Seats did not respond to a request for comment. But when asked about the Chelsea ticketing controversy last week, the American company said: "It is important to note that Vivid Seats does not set the base price for tickets sold on its marketplace or receive any revenue from that base price; only the seller sets and receives the base ticket price." That comment was issued in response to complaints by Chelsea to the Premier League about Mr Boehly being linked to a website selling tickets beyond Britain for matches. The Chelsea Supporters' Trust said Vivid and Mr Boehly were undermining efforts to combat ticket touting. 3:31 Since our report was published on Monday, Chelsea has revealed plans to introduce digital-only tickets from next season in conjunction with Ticketmaster. The hope is that eventually makes it harder for people to buy up memberships and sell tickets for hiked-up prices. In a statement, Chelsea chief revenue officer Casper Stylsvig said the link-up is in part about "continuing to address the issue of ticket touts." Chelsea has not commented on concerns about Vivid Seats.
The Guardian
11-04-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Manchester United investigate fan treatment after teargas incident in Lyon
Manchester United are investigating the treatment of their fans who attended Thursday's 2-2 draw at Lyon. The local government admitted French police used teargas but said it was 'proportionate' to restore calm. Posts on social media showed United fans feeling the effect of the spray at the Europa League quarter-final first leg. The Rhône prefecture said in a statement: 'English fans were seated in the away section waiting to be allowed to join their bus. They attempted to force their way through the security measures deployed by the national police. Projectiles were also reported to be thrown at the police. The police therefore used moderate, proportionate and necessary force (tear gas) to restore calm. 'All the English supporters were then led to the buses to leave the stadium. It was a very brief moment and the rest of the event went well overall. We are committed to doing everything possible to welcome foreign supporters in safe conditions.' Football Supporters Europe criticised the police, claiming teargas was used after fans were prevented from using the toilets. Ronan Evain, FSE's executive director, said: 'It is completely unacceptable that the police would think it's OK to stop people from going to the toilets – then the reaction to it is completely disproportionate. It is human nature that people will lose their temper if the police take away basic elements of basic human dignity like being allowed to go to the toilet. 'The police are responsible for creating this tension, for escalating it instead of taking the only logical decision in this situation, which is to permit people to go to the toilet, even if it's only small groups. That they're choosing to escalate this even further [via the spray] can't be justified.' Duncan Drasdo, the Manchester United Supporters Trust chief executive, posted on X: '90 percent of the time on Euro aways if there is aggro it's with the police rather than local fans. Most countries can do this right but there are almost always problems with the French police. All too often they create the aggro they are supposed to be preventing.' Sign up to Football Daily Kick off your evenings with the Guardian's take on the world of football after newsletter promotion FSE is working with MUST to collect fan statements. United were approached for comment.
