Sports
FIFA Make U-Turn on World Cup Decision After Being Called Out by Keir Starmer
FIFA have made a number of controversial decisions in the lead-up to the 2026 World Cup, and their decision to ban football fans from bringing water bottles into stadiums has perhaps been the most controversial of them all.
The sport’s global governing body made the decision despite the extreme heat that is expected in North America over the next month-and-a-half.
Justifying their decision, FIFA said: “FIFA is committed to protecting the health and safety of all players, referees, fans, volunteers and staff. FIFA made the decision to prohibit bottles to prevent risk and injury to players and attendees.
“Outside bottles are already prohibited at several of these venues for safety considerations and FIFA is applying this consideration across its tournament stadiums.
“FIFA works closely with each host city committee and local authorities on heat mitigation factors for fans travelling to the stadium, which can include resources such as misting stations, fans, hydration stations, cooling tents and more around the stadium footprint.
“Inside the stadium footprint, pricing for water bottles for the FIFA World Cup 2026 will remain consistent with other events held at each stadium.”
Keir Starmer Slams FIFA
FIFA’s decision sparked widespread backlash, with Keir Starmer among the high-profile names that urged them to make a U-turn. The President of the United Kingdom said, per ESPN: “It’s just wrong. And I can’t help but think that it’s about making money.
“So you can’t bring plastic bottles in but you can buy a bottle of water when you get in the crowd? And then it’ll be expensive. The tickets themselves cost a fortune, far too expensive in my view. So the ticket sales are too high. And this is the wrong policy.
“I would call on FIFA to just look again at this. Think about it. Think of the fans. They are football fans from all sorts of backgrounds across our country, across the world. They’re already spending a fortune getting there. They’ve got to pay a lot for tickets, too much in my book.”
FIFA Make Partial U-Turn on Water Bottles
FIFA have now partially backtracked on the policy, with specific water bottles now being allowed inside stadiums inside the USA and Canada. A post from the governing body said, per the Independent: “All fans will be permitted to bring in one, soft, plastic, 20 ounces (590ml), factory sealed disposable water bottle into any Fifa World Cup 2026 match in the USA and Canada.”
2026 World Cup chief operating officer, Heimo Schirgi added: “What is not allowed are hard-sided resealable water containers, which could pose a safety and security risk.”
The new rule does not apply to venues located in Mexico, though.
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New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani has welcomed FIFA’s U-turn. He told the Athletic: “I’m glad that FIFA decided to reverse this policy and allow water bottles to be brought into World Cup games.
“No one should have to fear being priced out of being hydrated, especially fans who are often waiting for hours before a game in extreme heat.”
The World Cup will begin on June 11, with the winner of the competition being crowned on July 19.
Sports
Romano Shares Exciting Update On Savinho to Tottenham Transfer
Tottenham are continuing in their pursuit to sign Savinho from Manchester City, with transfer expert Fabrizio Romano reporting that a deal will be done “quite soon”.
Spurs have already completed their first signing of the summer transfer window – despite it not being open yet – with Andy Robertson confirmed to be joining the club on July 1, following the expiration of his contract at Liverpool.
A second free transfer should follow in the coming days, with Marcos Senesi set to arrive from Bournemouth, having “given his word” to complete a move to Tottenham this summer.
Tottenham have been linked with other free transfers too, namely John Stones from Manchester City and Dusan Vlahovic from Juventus and canny free deals like that will allow Roberto De Zerbi to potentially splash out bigger cash on individual signings.
Spurs make contract offer to Savinho
One of those looks likely to be for Stones’ Man City teammate Savinho.
Spurs are likely to have to drop a fee of at least £50million to sign the Brazilian from City this summer and there have been talks over a deal, with an insider suggesting Tottenham had already made a £120,000-a-week contract offer to the 22-year-old.
Romano believes a deal will not be far off completion for Spurs to spend their first big money of the summer transfer window and bolster De Zerbi’s attacking options.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Romano said: “Tottenham are going for Savinho, Tottenham feel that the player wants the move, Totenham feel that Savinho one year ago was already ready to go to Tottenham.
“Savinoh was attracted to Tottenham one year ago and Savinho is attracted to Tottenham today, so on the player’s side I don’t see big issues. I think on the player’s side Savinho to Tottenham can get done quite soon.
“Now it’s on Manchester City and Tottenham, negotiating, discussing, talking about the transfer fee, but Tottenham are in it, they are working on the Savinho deal.”
Savinho did not have the best of 2025/26 seasons
City signed Savinho from French club Troyes in 2024 in a deal worth around £31million. Spurs did have a bid of more than £60million knocked back last summer, but could negotiate a fee less than that given the player’s disappointing 2025/26 season.
The forward only started 14 games in all competitions, with 36 appearances in total, scoring just four goals and providing three assists.
De Zerbi likes to play with conventional wingers in his 4-2-3-1 system and he will see Savinho as perfect for his system.
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Soon after signing him, Pep Guardiola said: “His impact has been really, really good. He is a player who can play on both sides, can come inside, but what I like most is how devastating he is in the final third. He gets the ball, and his first thought is always to attack the opponent. He is aggressive, he is fast, and he has a unique quality to dribble past two or three players. For a manager, having a winger with that kind of personality is a gift.”
After Van Hecke Bid, Tottenham Face Tough Decision on ‘Generational’ Star’s Future
Tottenham have some crucial decisions to make in the summer transfer window, including some tough ones surrounding exits.
Sports
Every 2026 World Cup Team Ranked By Height
All 48 teams that will compete in the 2026 World Cup, co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada, have now named their 26-man squads for this summer’s tournament.
Argentina go into the competition as the reigning champions and will no doubt do everything in their power to lift the trophy once again at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on July 19.
They aren’t the favourites to win the tournament, however, with Euro 2024 champions Spain, two-time winners France and Thomas Tuchel’s England all having better odds.
With the tournament now just a few days away, FIFA have published the height of all 1248 players that will be competing. Using this data, X user Out of Context Football Manager has worked out the average height of every squad. While height isn’t everything, their findings make for fascinating viewing.
48-41
If Argentina are to retain their World Cup title, they will do so with the fifth-shortest squad in the competition. The average height of their 26-man squad is just 179.7cm, with Lionel Messi and Julian Alvarez their smallest players, standing at 170cm tall.
Only four World Cup nations have a shorter squad than Argentina: Mexico, Qatar, South Africa and Saudi Arabia. The latter are the smallest team competition with an average height of 178.4cm.
Colombia are also among the smallest nations at the World Cup when it comes to stature, despite goalkeeper Álvaro Montero standing 201cm, making him the joint-second tallest player in the competition.
|
Average height of every World Cup team (48-41) |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Rank |
Nation |
Height |
|
48 |
Saudi Arabia |
178.4cm |
|
47 |
South Africa |
178.8cm |
|
46 |
Qatar |
179.4cm |
|
45 |
Mexico |
179.5cm |
|
44 |
Argentina |
179.7cm |
|
43 |
Colombia |
180.0cm |
|
42 |
Jordan |
180.4cm |
|
41 |
Uruguay |
180.5cm |
40-31
Two of the favourites for the competition, Portugal and Spain, are also on the small side when it comes to stature. Roberto Martinez’s Portugal squad have an average height of 181.5cm, with Spain are two cms taller at 181.7cm.
Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo is one of their bigger players, standing at 185cm, while Pedri is one of Spain’s shorter players at 174cm.
⚽
World Cup History Quiz
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Panama have the smallest player in the competition among their ranks. Winger Cesar Yanis stands at just 160cm tall, while his teammate, Alberto Quintero, is the fourth-shortest player in the tournament (164cm). Despite those two players bringing their average down, 15 nations have a shorter squad than them.
One of those 15 are DR Congo, with Noah Sadiki and Parfait Guiagon both standing at 165cm.
|
Average height of every World Cup team (40-31) |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Rank |
Nation |
Height |
|
40 |
Ecuador |
180.5cm |
|
39 |
DR Congo |
181cm |
|
38 |
Egypt |
181.2cm |
|
=36 |
Cape Verde |
181.3cm |
|
=36 |
Japan |
181.3cm |
|
35 |
Haiti |
181.4cm |
|
34 |
Portugal |
181.5cm |
|
=32 |
Panama |
181.6cm |
|
=32 |
Paraguay |
181.6cm |
|
31 |
Spain |
181.7cm |
30-21
Canada are also one of the shorter teams in the competition at 182cm. Their average height is brought down by Marcelo Flores, who is the second-shortest player in the tournament (164cm).
Brazil are looking to end their 22-year World Cup drought and emerge victorious in North America. They have the 23rd-largest squad in the competition, with Alisson Becker (193cm), Gabriel Magalhaes (190cm) and Igor Thiago (190cm) their tallest players.
|
Average height of every World Cup team (30-21) |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Rank |
Nation |
Height |
|
30 |
Uzbekistan |
181.8cm |
|
=28 |
South Korea |
181.9cm |
|
=28 |
Curacao |
181.9cm |
|
27 |
Canada |
182.0cm |
|
26 |
Ghana |
182.6cm |
|
=24 |
Morocco |
182.7cm |
|
=24 |
Algeria |
182.7cm |
|
23 |
Brazil |
182.8cm |
|
22 |
Ivory Coast |
182.9cm |
|
21 |
Iraq |
183.2cm |
20-11
Thomas Tuchel has been entrusted as the man to lead England to World Cup glory and end 60 years of hurt. He likes to play physical football and thus has named a big squad, with Dan Burn (201cm) the second-tallest player in the competition.
England’s average squad height of 184.2cm makes them the 14th tallest squad in the competition, just shorter than fierce rivals Scotland (184.5cm).
Austria’s Florian Wiegele, standing at a mammoth 205cm, has become the tallest player to ever make a World Cup squad. Sasa Kalajdzic also stands at 200cm tall. Despite their height, Austria aren’t among the 10 largest teams in the competition.
|
Average height of every World Cup team (20-11) |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Rank |
Nation |
Height |
|
20 |
USA |
183.4cm |
|
19 |
New Zealand |
183.5cm |
|
18 |
Australia |
183.6cm |
|
17 |
Iran |
183.7cm |
|
16 |
Turkey |
183.8cm |
|
15 |
Senegal |
184.0cm |
|
14 |
England |
184.2cm |
|
13 |
Scotland |
184.5cm |
|
12 |
Tunisia |
184.6cm |
|
11 |
Austria |
184.7cm |
10-1
The 10 tallest teams in the competition, interestingly, are all European. Croatia, led by the diminutive Luka Modric, have an average height of 184.8cm, just shy of two of the favourites to win it all, Netherlands and France (both 184.9cm).
Switzerland (185.2cm), Germany (184.4cm), Czechia (185.7cm) and Belgium (185.8cm) are the seventh, sixth, fifth and fourth-tallest teams in the competition respectively.
In third are Sweden (186.2cm). Graham Potter has called up a number of physically dominant players, including Gustaf Nilsson and Jacob Widell Zetterström (both 197cm).
While Norway and Bosnia are the tallest teams in this summer’s tournament, with each having an average height of 187.2cm.
Erling Haaland, one of the best strikers in world football, stands at 195cm. He is Norway’s third-tallest player, behind strike-partner Alexander Sørloth (196cm) and Brentford’s Kristoffer Ajer (198cm).
Bosnia, meanwhile, have called up the joint-second tallest player in the competition: HNK Rijeka centre-back Stjepan Radeljic (201cm).
|
Average height of every World Cup team (10-1) |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Rank |
Nation |
Height |
|
10 |
Croatia |
184.8cm |
|
=8 |
Netherlands |
184.9cm |
|
=8 |
France |
184.9cm |
|
7 |
Switzerland |
185.2cm |
|
6 |
Germany |
185.4cm |
|
5 |
Czechia |
185.7cm |
|
4 |
Belgium |
185.8cm |
|
3 |
Sweden |
186.2cm |
|
=1 |
Norway |
187.2cm |
|
=1 |
Bosnia |
187.2cm |
Sports
Lena The Plug Reveals ‘Ridiculous Truth’ About Adam22 Divorce
Lena The Plug has revealed the ‘ridiculous truth’ behind her filing for divorce from her husband, Adam22.
The couple hit the headlines in January after Adam22 was knocked out by Jason Luv, who adult film star Lena had slept with twice. Adam22 was savaged online for revealing that he “allowed” Luv to have sex with Lena despite their marital relationship.
Their ‘open’ relationship has been under scrutiny ever since. The pair married in 2023 and have a five-year-old daughter together.
Adam22’s Loss to Jason Luv
In their January boxing match, Adam22 was humiliatingly stopped in the first round by Luv, in a completely one-sided fight. Not only did he lose the bout, but it also seemed that his marriage had collapsed.
Reports recently emerged confirming that Lena had filed for divorce. TMZ broke the story and were able to obtain various documents relating to the split.
In paperwork filed on the first of June, Lena was listed as requesting full custody of the couple’s daughter, as well as claiming half of Adam22’s entertainment studio, which is worth $1.1 million.
According to the filing, the pair had been separated since April, with Lena being listed as having no job and living off of $3,000 in spousal support paid by Adam.
However, the situation took a bizarre turn on Friday when the adult star, real name Lena Nersesian, took to social media to address the matter on Instagram.
Lena The Plug Reveals ‘Truth’ About Adam22 Divorce
Revealing that the divorce documentation had been forged, she declared:
“About a month ago, I opened my mailbox and discovered that someone had been repeatedly attempting to file for divorce on my behalf using forged signatures.
“I became even more concerned when I realised the name on the filing matched the same person who had previously requested multiple wellness checks on me. Based on guidance from law enforcement, I filed a police report for identity theft.
“Unfortunately, that did not stop the situation. Somehow, the filing was eventually accepted, and now I have to hire an attorney to correct a legal process I never initiated.”
She went on to state that she and Adam are not splitting up and that they have a very happy and loving relationship.
“For everyone wondering: I am not getting divorced. I love my husband, and our life together. My genuine belief is that the person responsible thinks they are helping me because they have been misled by someone online pretending to be me. This situation is RIDICULOUS, and I can’t believe it’s real life.”
Partnered with the caption, Lena also released a video in which she shut down any rumours created by the fake filing, as she stressed that she has access to all her finances while she also said that on June 1st, the day the divorce papers were filed, she would have been celebrating her birthday and not filing for divorce at the courthouse.
When the news surrounding their so-called ‘divorce’ broke, many fans and followers were shocked and confused, as Lena and Adam were still friendly with each other online and on social media, while Adam22 appeared to find the funny side of the situation with his regular Instagram updates, which led to the suggestions that the situation was fake and that it was a publicity stunt.
One man who appeared convinced that the news was legitimate, though, was Jason Luv, who took a brutal swipe at Adam22 on social media.
In response to speculation that the ‘divorce’ was staged, Lena told her followers:
“There was no stunt. Now I have to hire a lawyer to help me get this dismissed.”
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