Human Rights

DOHA - "Stop! Can't you see the metro station is full? Stop!" a frazzled supervisor shouted as green-vested marshals linked arms to contain thousands of fans streaming from the stadium that will host soccer's World Cup final in Qatar.

It was after midnight on Friday and, for hours, nearly 78,000 people had been filing out of the stadium after a near-capacity match tested the small Gulf state's readiness for the tournament, which kicks off on Nov. 20.

Last week, Gotham FC captain McCall Zerboni was nominated for the NWSLPA’s Ally Award, which recognizes leadership and character in unsung players. A week later, she was being called out on social media for using racist language. Then Angel City’s Madison Hammond gave a master class in how to respond to those who perpetuate harmful stereotypes.

Premier League teams will limit their pre-match anti-racism gesture of "taking the knee" to only some significant games from the new season, the league said on Tuesday.

The Black Lives Matter cause was taken up by Premier League clubs in 2020 following the death of George Floyd, a Black man who died in police custody in Minneapolis in May that year.

Premier League clubs wore the Black Lives Matter logo on their shirts before it was replaced by "No Room for Racism."

Jaelene Daniels refused to play for the N.C. Courage on Friday night. 

Hours before the Courage were to host the Washington Spirit on their Pride Night featuring LGTBQ+ pride jerseys, the North Carolina club announced Daniels would not feature because she refused to wear a jersey that promotes equality and fights discrimination.

Tiémoué Bakayoko is going viral for all the wrong reasons. 

The AC Milan player — on loan from Chelsea — was recently held at gunpoint by police in Milan. After video of the incident became public, the police said they were completely justified in the treatment of the professional footballer.

Bakayoko, a 27-year-old French international, was thrown up against a police car and searched by officers who had guns drawn. 

As many states ban abortion across the United States, soccer fans could find more than their reproductive freedoms disappearing. They might also lose their ability to watch top-flight soccer.

NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman said this week full access to healthcare — including birth control, in-vitro fertilization and abortion — is one of the league’s values. As the NWSL seeks to increase by two teams up to 14 by 2024, states that deny women and those who may become pregnant full healthcare rights could find themselves left out of the growing women’s soccer party. 

Zambia qualified for its first World Cup — all without its star player, unavailable over questions about her gender.

The Copper Queens edged Senegal 4-2 in a shootout after a 1-1 draw in the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations on Wednesday in Morocco, securing the first Women’s World Cup berth from Africa and the first senior World Cup berth for Zambia, men or women.

History was made on Friday when U.S. Soccer announced USWNT star Megan Rapinoe will become the first soccer player to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom. U.S. President Joe Biden will award Rapinoe, along with 16 other recipients including gymnast Simone Biles, the medal on July 7 at the White House.