By Andrew Warshaw
June 20 – It was bound to happen. For every wrong decision that has been corrected by VAR on its World Cup debut, a string of other seemingly obvious mistakes have been allowed to stand, leading to widespread confusion among players and fans alike about the system’s effectiveness.
By David Owen
June 20 – All 32 teams at Russia 2018 have now played at least one match, making it time to take Insideworldfootball’s first look at the latest World Cup Battle of Brands.
By Andrew Warshaw
June 20 – They were pretty much no-hopers as the lowest-ranked team in the FIFA world rankings, came into the tournament in desperately poor form and were expected to join South Africa as the only hosts to be eliminated at the group stage.
June 20 – He flew in on an Aeroflot flight, checked into a top-class downtown hotel, gave a brief television interview and that was it. Sepp Blatter was back at the World Cup today attending the showpiece event of the organisation he headed for 17 years.
June 20 – Manchester City has renewed its regional partnership with Chinese firm PAK Lighting who are the club’s Official Lighting Partner in the country.
By Andrew Warshaw
June 19 – Having been trounced in their bid to stage the 2026 World cup, a record fifth loss, Morocco are coming back for yet more – by order of the king.
June 19 – Germany could have done with the inspirational but now-retired Philipp Lahm when they kicked off their World Cup campaign against Mexico.
By Andrew Warshaw in Moscow
June 19 – After all the talk and concerns about Russia’s record on racism being at the centre of attention at the World Cup, it is a visiting team’s fans who have tarnished the early stages of the tournament.
June 19 – He always said he would come and now Sepp Blatter is sticking to his word – right under the nose of his successor.
By David Owen
June 19 – After his breathtaking virtuoso performance against Spain in Sochi, Cristiano Ronaldo may well be pondering the possibility of a second consecutive World Cup hat-trick when Portugal take on Morocco on Wednesday at the Luzhniki.
June 19 – The growth of the women’s club game has sparked a new area of stats and strategic data focus. One of the findings of a new report is that a financial divide between clubs is already starting to take place, a trend mirroring the men’s game.
June 19 – The Sport Integrity Global Alliance (SIGA) has opened the application process for its Global Mentorship Programme for Aspiring Female Leaders.
By Andrew Warshaw in Moscow
June 19 – At least eight people, including some Mexican World Cup fans, were injured after a taxi mounted a crowded pavement in one of the most popular areas of the Russian capital on Saturday.
June 19 – Russia’s aviation watchdog Rosaviatsya is investigating an incident on a plane that was carrying the Saudi team to a World Cup game in Rostov-on-Don on Monday.
By Paul Nicholson
June 18 – The pictures flashed around the world of FIFA president Gianni Infantino sitting majestically between his two new best friends, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia on his right and Valdimir Putin on his left at the opening match of the 2018 World Cup, will have left FIFA’s high paying rightsholders wondering if there is another game in play that they are not part of.