Nick McGeehan
@ncgeehan.bsky.social
Co-director @fairsq.bsky.social
David Goldblatt is one of the most eloquent, articulate and principled voices in football. He spoke about the issue of FIFA's inaction over Israel at @playthegame-org.bsky.social last month, and his words feel particularly relevant today as FIFA seeks to evade accountability.
November 27, 2025 at 12:54 PM
David Goldblatt is one of the most eloquent, articulate and principled voices in football. He spoke about the issue of FIFA's inaction over Israel at @playthegame-org.bsky.social last month, and his words feel particularly relevant today as FIFA seeks to evade accountability.
Unclear if these pitches are for Palestinian children or Israeli children in illegal settlements.
Still, isn't it great that the Swiss govt and FIFA are thinking about the children 🕊️✌️
Still, isn't it great that the Swiss govt and FIFA are thinking about the children 🕊️✌️
November 27, 2025 at 11:52 AM
Unclear if these pitches are for Palestinian children or Israeli children in illegal settlements.
Still, isn't it great that the Swiss govt and FIFA are thinking about the children 🕊️✌️
Still, isn't it great that the Swiss govt and FIFA are thinking about the children 🕊️✌️
These people are really just not very intelligent. It's hard to draw any other conclusion at this point.
November 21, 2025 at 8:00 PM
These people are really just not very intelligent. It's hard to draw any other conclusion at this point.
There is "a desire to perpetuate myths and falsehoods" around Maccabi Tel Aviv and its fans" Maccabi CEO tells @danroan.bsky.social
Leaving aside the evidence from Amsterdam, what about about this fact from an Israeli anti-racism group 👇https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/articles/c781xdjn0qwo
Leaving aside the evidence from Amsterdam, what about about this fact from an Israeli anti-racism group 👇https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/articles/c781xdjn0qwo
November 6, 2025 at 11:28 AM
There is "a desire to perpetuate myths and falsehoods" around Maccabi Tel Aviv and its fans" Maccabi CEO tells @danroan.bsky.social
Leaving aside the evidence from Amsterdam, what about about this fact from an Israeli anti-racism group 👇https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/articles/c781xdjn0qwo
Leaving aside the evidence from Amsterdam, what about about this fact from an Israeli anti-racism group 👇https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/articles/c781xdjn0qwo
Julie Burchill encroaching on Hadley Freeman's execrable turf. And you can see why as this seems to be the sort of drivel that snares you a columnist of the year award.
November 1, 2025 at 8:35 AM
Julie Burchill encroaching on Hadley Freeman's execrable turf. And you can see why as this seems to be the sort of drivel that snares you a columnist of the year award.
The 'trouble' with Ta-Nehisi Coates, Gary Lineker, Sally Rooney, and now Louis Theroux is that they have all shown solidarity with Palestinians.
November 1, 2025 at 8:22 AM
The 'trouble' with Ta-Nehisi Coates, Gary Lineker, Sally Rooney, and now Louis Theroux is that they have all shown solidarity with Palestinians.
Another influential person who has found no space or time to comment on Maccabi fans' well-documented record of violence and racism, the fact that the ban is precedented, and the mounting evidence that it is sensible.
October 24, 2025 at 9:15 AM
Another influential person who has found no space or time to comment on Maccabi fans' well-documented record of violence and racism, the fact that the ban is precedented, and the mounting evidence that it is sensible.
"If UEFA always implements what elitist clubs of ECA want, what's the point of UEFA?"
The Bayern ultras on point again, taking aim at UEFA, ECA, and multi-club ownership.
The Bayern ultras on point again, taking aim at UEFA, ECA, and multi-club ownership.
October 23, 2025 at 9:44 AM
"If UEFA always implements what elitist clubs of ECA want, what's the point of UEFA?"
The Bayern ultras on point again, taking aim at UEFA, ECA, and multi-club ownership.
The Bayern ultras on point again, taking aim at UEFA, ECA, and multi-club ownership.
Saudi 2034 still nearly a decade away but already seeing fake bullshit from fake organisations. I'm quoted in a piece by "Impact Policies" claiming Saudi Arabia has abolished its kafala system. They also quote Sharan Burrow, who hasn't been at ITUC since 2022. impactpolicies.org/news/629/sau...
October 20, 2025 at 4:07 PM
Saudi 2034 still nearly a decade away but already seeing fake bullshit from fake organisations. I'm quoted in a piece by "Impact Policies" claiming Saudi Arabia has abolished its kafala system. They also quote Sharan Burrow, who hasn't been at ITUC since 2022. impactpolicies.org/news/629/sau...
5/ It really shouldn't be too much effort for the UK's antisemitism tsar or the journalists writing about this to actually arm themselves with the actual facts before commenting. Especially given the type of attention this match is now generating 👇
October 19, 2025 at 6:55 AM
5/ It really shouldn't be too much effort for the UK's antisemitism tsar or the journalists writing about this to actually arm themselves with the actual facts before commenting. Especially given the type of attention this match is now generating 👇
3/ The report strongly indicates that Maccabi Tel Aviv fans instigated the unrest. This point is highlighted in a text box in the report where they call the tearing down of a Palestinian flag and chants of 'fuck palestine' as the "trigger" for the violence that ensued.
October 19, 2025 at 6:55 AM
3/ The report strongly indicates that Maccabi Tel Aviv fans instigated the unrest. This point is highlighted in a text box in the report where they call the tearing down of a Palestinian flag and chants of 'fuck palestine' as the "trigger" for the violence that ensued.
The UK's antisemitism tsar suggests the arrest statistics constitute "the facts" on the violence in Amsterdam. (Barney Ronay used the same stats in The Guardian.) The inference is that Maccabi fans were less guilty of violence. This ignores their role in instigating violence, and policing tactics 🧵
October 19, 2025 at 6:55 AM
The UK's antisemitism tsar suggests the arrest statistics constitute "the facts" on the violence in Amsterdam. (Barney Ronay used the same stats in The Guardian.) The inference is that Maccabi fans were less guilty of violence. This ignores their role in instigating violence, and policing tactics 🧵
11/ After the violence in Amsterdam, UEFA said they would "“examine all official reports, gather available evidence, assess them and evaluate any further appropriate course of action in accordance with its relevant regulatory framework”. The relevant regulatory framework is art 7 of UEFA statutes 👇
October 18, 2025 at 7:33 AM
11/ After the violence in Amsterdam, UEFA said they would "“examine all official reports, gather available evidence, assess them and evaluate any further appropriate course of action in accordance with its relevant regulatory framework”. The relevant regulatory framework is art 7 of UEFA statutes 👇
6/ A thread on the various instances of horrific anti-Arab/Palestinian racism among multiple groups of Israeli supporters - Maccabi Tel Aviv and Beitar Jerusalem foremost among them - would be huge. Many Israeli supporters are not only violently racist, they are politically influential. 👇
October 18, 2025 at 7:33 AM
6/ A thread on the various instances of horrific anti-Arab/Palestinian racism among multiple groups of Israeli supporters - Maccabi Tel Aviv and Beitar Jerusalem foremost among them - would be huge. Many Israeli supporters are not only violently racist, they are politically influential. 👇
5/ Here is a selection of what happened in Amstersam, for example. 👇
October 18, 2025 at 7:33 AM
5/ Here is a selection of what happened in Amstersam, for example. 👇
Gianni Infantino's latest Instagram post on how FIFA is going to help the Palestinians is only for those with strong stomachs. Infantino appears to be laying the ground to buy off the Palestinian Football Association and get them to drop their complaint against Israel, which has FIFA in a corner.
October 14, 2025 at 5:32 AM
Gianni Infantino's latest Instagram post on how FIFA is going to help the Palestinians is only for those with strong stomachs. Infantino appears to be laying the ground to buy off the Palestinian Football Association and get them to drop their complaint against Israel, which has FIFA in a corner.
FIFA won't fix any of the serious problems associated with the 2034 men's World Cup in Saudi Arabia because FIFA is itself broken. Comments at @playthegame-org.bsky.social
October 11, 2025 at 1:33 PM
FIFA won't fix any of the serious problems associated with the 2034 men's World Cup in Saudi Arabia because FIFA is itself broken. Comments at @playthegame-org.bsky.social
For anyone interested in understanding why FIFA has adopted a dynamic pricing model for the 2026 World Cup and why there is violent unrest in Morocco because of the 2030 World Cup, chapter 3 of @fairsq.bsky.social 's 2024 report Substitute is worth a read 👉 fairsq.org/substitute-r...
October 3, 2025 at 2:15 PM
For anyone interested in understanding why FIFA has adopted a dynamic pricing model for the 2026 World Cup and why there is violent unrest in Morocco because of the 2030 World Cup, chapter 3 of @fairsq.bsky.social 's 2024 report Substitute is worth a read 👉 fairsq.org/substitute-r...
Rupert Murdoch threw his weight behind MAGA fascism in the US, and The Times and The Sun are increasingly getting behind Reform in the UK. Dark money and right-wing press barons unraveling our democracies in front of our eyes.
October 1, 2025 at 6:26 AM
Rupert Murdoch threw his weight behind MAGA fascism in the US, and The Times and The Sun are increasingly getting behind Reform in the UK. Dark money and right-wing press barons unraveling our democracies in front of our eyes.
8/ On November 7, 2024, Maccabi Tel Aviv played Ajax in Amsterdam, and their supporters engaged in racist and violent behaviour which was widely broadcast on television and social media. Maccabi fans were also subjected to violence, some of which was reported to have been racially motivated.
September 30, 2025 at 3:13 PM
8/ On November 7, 2024, Maccabi Tel Aviv played Ajax in Amsterdam, and their supporters engaged in racist and violent behaviour which was widely broadcast on television and social media. Maccabi fans were also subjected to violence, some of which was reported to have been racially motivated.
7/ The full letter can be read here fairsq.org/uefa-ad-hoc-...
The main questions we asked UEFA were these 👇
UEFA did not respond
The main questions we asked UEFA were these 👇
UEFA did not respond
September 30, 2025 at 3:13 PM
7/ The full letter can be read here fairsq.org/uefa-ad-hoc-...
The main questions we asked UEFA were these 👇
UEFA did not respond
The main questions we asked UEFA were these 👇
UEFA did not respond
5/ And in February 2024, UEFA general secretary Theodore Theodoridis said Israel’s status in European soccer was not in question, and again strongly indicated that UEFA's was motivated by profoundly political factors, in contrast to what UEFA argued at CAS 👇
September 30, 2025 at 3:13 PM
5/ And in February 2024, UEFA general secretary Theodore Theodoridis said Israel’s status in European soccer was not in question, and again strongly indicated that UEFA's was motivated by profoundly political factors, in contrast to what UEFA argued at CAS 👇
4/ However in September 2023, UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin departed from the line of argument UEFA proposed at CAS, saying the expulsion was politically motivated www.uefa.com/news-media/n...
September 30, 2025 at 3:13 PM
4/ However in September 2023, UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin departed from the line of argument UEFA proposed at CAS, saying the expulsion was politically motivated www.uefa.com/news-media/n...