Barca left back Balde replaces injured Gaya
Doha, Nov 19: FC Barcelona’s 19-year-old left back Alejandro Balde has replaced Jose Luis Gaya in the Spain squad for the World Cup, the Spanish Football Federation has confirmed.Gaya missed the World Cup after suffering an ankle injury, with Balde stepping up from the Under-21 side after an impressive start to the season, which has seen him play at both left and right back for Barca — although he has just 23 first-team appearances in his career and only made his Under-21 debut in September, reports Xinhua.
Spain coach Luis Enrique admitted it has been “the worst day for having to tell Gaya that he had to leave the squad, due to an injury that is not that serious, but with the games so close, it would have been a risk (to keep him).”(IANS)
Infantino says double standard behind critics
Doha, Nov 19: FIFA president Gianni Infantino targeted European critics of World Cup host Qatar on Saturday and suggested a moral double standard in his home continent.
Infantino listed Europe’s problems on the eve of Qatar kicking off its home tournament that has been dogged for years by criticism of the emirate’s record on human rights and treatment of migrant workers who built stadiums and infrastructure.
“What we Europeans have been doing for the past 3,000 years we should be apologizing for the next 3,000 years before we start giving moral lessons to people,” Infantino said to hundreds of international media.
He said Qatar and capital city Doha will be ready to host the “best World Cup ever.” “Today I feel Qatari,” Infantino said. “Today I feel Arab. Today I feel African. Today I feel gay. Today I feel a migrant worker.” Infantino related the criticism to bullying and discrimination he said he experienced as a child of Italian parents who moved to work in Switzerland to live in Doha ahead of the World Cup.
In response to his comments, human rights group Amnesty International said Infantino was “brushing aside legitimate human rights criticisms” by dismissing the price paid by migrant workers to make the tournament possible and FIFA’s responsibility for it.
He said European nations now closed its borders to immigrants who wanted to work there, whereas Qatar had offered opportunities to workers from India, Bangladesh and other southeast Asian nations through legal channels.
Under heavy international scrutiny, Qatar has enacted a number of labor reforms in recent years that have been praised by Equidem and other rights groups. But advocates say abuses are still widespread and that workers have few avenues for redress. (AP)
Watch first WC match on Twitter: Musk
San Francisco, Nov 19: Twitter boss Elon Musk sent out a tweet late last night inviting people to watch the first World Cup match live on the micro-blogging site.
He also promised the best coverage and real-time commentary.“First World Cup match on Sunday! Watch on Twitter for the best coverage and real-time commentary,” he tweeted.Musk did not specify the sport he was referring to, but it’s likely the FIFA World Cup 2022, which starts on November 20.His latest tweet has also put sought to rest speculation that the microblogging platform will not be around for long.
All sports fans who were worried that they wouldn’t be able to see their results in real-time on Twitter can rest assured that nothing serious will happen. However, the coverage in India will be presented by JioCinema.In the comment section to Musk’s tweet, the video-streaming platform replied, “for India, the best coverage is on JioCinema”.“Nice try Elon, but for India, the best coverage and commentary is on JioCinema (and we’re not even charging $8 for it),” it tweeted. (IANS)