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I believe we now have evidence of FIFA's World Cup ticketing shell game: FIFA is colluding with third-party resale platforms for its own supply management. Look at this SeatGeek map (secondary market!) for Saudi Arabia vs Cape Verde. The circled areas are not random single resale tickets, but large, contiguous blocks of seats: entire rows and swaths in sections 101/102, 112/113, 119/120, 134–137, 139, ... The blue circles appeared weeks ago, then the purple blocks suddenly showed up a day or two ago, and the red blocks seem to have appeared recently too. That's not what ordinary fan or even commercial scalper resale looks like who resell pairs, fours, and scattered seats. Instead, this looks like inventory being dumped in bulk onto secondary markets, at prices below FIFA's official site. Why doesn't FIFA just lower prices on its own site Probably because official price cuts could trigger refund demands, chargebacks, or consumer-protection headaches from fans who already bought at much higher prices. Instead FIFA keeps official prices high, avoids openly admitting the market-clearing price is lower, and moves unsold inventory through third-party resale platforms instead.

The jury, after hours of deliberation, rendered a verdict of NOT GUILTY for Rick Chow in relation to the malice murder of 14-year-old Cyrus Carmack Belton, who was chased almost an entire football field away from the store before being fatally shot in the back.

A former Real Salt Lake player is suing the club, MLS, and U.S. Soccer for $100 million 😳 Jeffrey Dewsnup became the youngest to sign with RSL when he was 16 in 2021. Now he’s claiming he was hazed in the shower and locker room by teammates, while RSL failed to protect him. Still a minor when he joined the club, Dewsnup was forced to use the same locker room and shower with adults, where the alleged hazing occurred. The lawsuit alleges that Guatemala national team defender Aaron Herrera, who once played for the USMNT, exposed his genitals to Dewsnup. It also alleges that Herrera, together with David Ochoa, made explicit comments about Dewsnup’s body. Meanwhile another allegation is Herrera, Tate Schmitt, and Justen Glad threw a soccer ball at Dewsnup while he was changing, striking his naked buttocks multiple times. The lawsuit also alleges that Real Salt Lake’s goalkeeper coach at the time, Ignacio Hernández, forced him to train on an injured shoulder “after accusing plaintiff of faking the injury.” Although Dewsnup’s father reported all those issues to RSL, the lawsuit alleges that the club did nothing. Dewsnup is now seeking $20 million for past and future medical expenses and $80 million for lost wages. He left the club in 2022 and retired from soccer. The Utah has turned into a musician— becoming a singer, songwriter, and a producer. [via The Salt Lake Tribune]