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FIFA shuts down reporter’s sexuality question at Women’s World Cup

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FIFA has shut down a reporter’s question to Morocco’s national captain asking about gay players on her team at a tense Women’s World Cup press conference.

The 2023 Women’s World Cup is underway in Australia and New Zealand. Morocco is the first Arab country to qualify for the tournament.

The Moroccan national team will face Germany in their first match on Monday night in Melbourne.

At the press conference on Sunday a journalist – believed to be from the BBC – asked Moroccan captain Ghizlane Chebbak about gay players in her squad.

Same-sex relationships are illegal in Morocco and punishable with fines and jail.

The reporter asked, “We know that gay marriage is illegal, are there any gay players in the team, and what’s it like for them?”

At the press conference, a FIFA official pounced to shut down the question after it was asked. The mediator reportedly told the room the media were there to discuss the match, not politics.

‘Not an appropriate question for a player’
Some of the reporters at the conference recalled the “tense” moment and argued the question wasn’t appropriate.

Steph Yang from The Athletic pointed out, “From a harm reduction perspective, this is not an appropriate question for a player and would have endangered the players themselves.”

She added, “We are obviously going to talk about the intersection of politics and sports at this World Cup, and it’s vital to do so.

“But we should take care that our questions don’t cause further harm to those impacted by those very politics.”

Reporter Shireen Ahmed tweeted, “I was at this press conference. The reporter was completely out of line.

“Harm reduction matters and posing the question to the captain or coach was unnecessary.

“The question was waved off by a FIFA media officer moderating but it shouldn’t have been asked.”

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How To Stream AC Milan vs Liverpool Match Online For Free

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How To Stream AC Milan vs Liverpool Match Online For Free

An online streaming service has exclusive rights to the big Champions League match – but it’s easy to watch it for free.

Liverpool will be returning to the Champions League on Tuesday night, hoping to get back to winning ways on the opening night of the new campaign, facing old foes AC Milan.

The side, who previously faced Milan in the 2005 and 2007, suffered a 1-0 defeat against Nottingham Forest on Saturday, so they will be hoping to get back to winning ways this week.

However, Milan have also had a tumultuous ride so far, with the team currently in 9th after four games, despite a solid 4-0 win over Venezia at the weekend.

It’s shaping up to be a thrilling match, then, with both teams having plenty to prove, and you can watch it for free on Amazon Prime Video.

 

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LaLiga Signs 2024-25 Broadcast Deal With China Media Group

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LaLiga Signs 2024-25 Broadcast Deal With China Media Group

Spanish soccer’s top-tier LaLiga has unveiled state-run China Media Group (CMG) as its official broadcast partner in the country.

Through a deal announced today, CMG returns as a Chinese broadcaster of the 20-team Spanish league.

The tie-up has come with the 2024-25 campaign already four matchdays in and follows a memorandum of understanding between the two parties in late July.

Last season (2023-24), LaLiga action was shown in China by the Migu streaming service, while rights for 2024-25 have also been snapped up by the iQiyi digital broadcaster.

Javier Tebas, president of LaLiga, has said: “China remains a key market for LaLiga, and we are thrilled to bring our league’s unique passion and excitement to Chinese fans through one of the most influential media platforms in the country.”

Over the last few weeks, LaLiga has been scrambling to add more partners to its stable of broadcasters for this season.

Earlier this month, a significant deal across numerous African markets was unveiled with SportyTV, while mid-August saw BeIN Sports extend its exclusive rights deals across the Middle East and North Africa, and Asia-Pacific.

Domestically, DAZN and Movistar are the main rights-holders through deals running between 2022 and 2027.

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Belgium’s Pro League Launches Five-Season Domestic Rights Tender

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Belgium’s Pro League Launches Five-Season Domestic Rights Tender

Belgian soccer’s top-tier Pro League has gone to market with a domestic media rights tender for the five seasons between 2025 and 2030.

The tender was launched recently (September 9), and the Pro League is being strategically supported by the heavyweight IMG agency – through a deal unveiled last October – during the process.

The deadline for prospective rights-holders to submit bids is October 16, with a Pro League general assembly to then evaluate the bids on October 18.

Interested parties can obtain the tender documents by contacting tender2025@proleague.be.

The 16-team Pro League’s domestic and international rights are currently held by global sports streaming service DAZN – which acquired previous rights-holder Eleven Sports in 2023 – in a five-year deal running through the 2024-25 season. Eleven tapped sports agency Mediapro to distribute international rights in partnership with the league.

In total, eight rights packages are available for purchase – three specifically for the Pro League (others cover the second-tier Challenger Pro League and various domestic cup competitions).

A new development in this tender is that the packages are platform-neutral, meaning they cover both linear and streaming rights.

In terms of kick-off times for games across the five seasons covered by the tender, meanwhile, the Pro League has said these “remain virtually unchanged.”

IMG, meanwhile, also has a contract in place to collect and commercialize the Pro League’s fastpath data in a five-year agreement with European Leagues running from 2022-23 to 2027-28.

 

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