Moussa Marega Racially Abused During Game – The Buck Stops Here

Image via Goal.com

On Monday, FC Porto registered a 2-1 away win against Vitoria de Guimaraes, seeing them edge to within one point of league leaders Benfica in the Portuguese top flight.

However, the game felt like an afterthought following the horrible events that took place in the 68th minute.

Less than ten minutes prior, Porto striker Moussa Marega put the visitors ahead. By the 68th minute, his joy had been turned into rage as Vitoria fans began to racially abuse him from the sidelines.

The French-born Malian was visibly enraged by the comments made, forcing him to walk off the field, ignoring the pleas from opposition players, his teammates and coaching staff to stay on the field.

The full video can be found below.

Not so long ago, we saw Italian striker Mario Balotelli (whose parents are Ghanaian) racially taunted by Lazio fans. The match on January 5th saw Lazio fined a mere 20,000 euros for the vile attacks.

Only two months prior to that, Balotelli booted the ball at the crowd and subsequently walked off the field after Hellas Verona fans displayed monkey chants in the 54th minute.

In spite of all the good that has been done in recent years to combat racism in our sport, some people don’t seem to fully comprehend just how hurtful their actions and words can be.

Racism, put simply has no place in today’s society. Whether it be on a soccer pitch, in a public place or on social media, all forms of racism should be called out and the individuals responsible should be held accountable.

Thankfully, in the case of the Hellas Verona ‘ultra’ who was at the centre of the attacks behind Balotelli, a significant ban was handed out.

But it is not enough. If you’ve seen the above videos, then you know just how much racist abuse can affect players.

They’ve all worked harder than you could possibly imagine to get to where they are now. They don’t deserve to be condemned simply because they look different than what people view as the norm.

In a world where people are growing to accept everyone for who they are regardless of race, gender, sex or otherwise, those people who are stuck in a different time need to be flushed out.

They need to be taught that it is simply unacceptable to call people out for being different.

When Balotelli was three, he was moved into foster care as his biological parents were too poor to cover his health bills. He was forced to bide his time between his foster parents and his biological ones.

All this happened after he and his family moved from the southernmost point of Italy to about as far north as you can go.

He wasn’t exactly born into a life of riches like some footballers are. He had to work his way from the ground up, fighting for every inch he could possibly get.

He has been able to forge a successful career for himself, winning three Serie A titles and the Champions League with Inter Milan.

He was also directly involved in the famous sequence of play that saw Sergio Aguero score the Premier League-winning goal for Manchester City in the 2011-2012 season.

No football fan alive today will ever forget the famous Martin Tyler call of “Balotelli….. Aguerooooo!” In assisting the Argentine, Balotelli forever wrote his name into footballing folklore.

But the sad fact remains that even in this time, there are those who want to bring him and players like Moussa Marega down to their levels.

Many fans are motivated to do this by jealousy. They look at these successful black players as they sit in the stands, envious of the money they make as professional players. The lives they live off the field. Their ability on the field.

It makes them sick that it’s not them in that position. Frankly, it makes everyone sick when these people decide to take out their anger and frustration on players who are undeserving of such attention.

What these people need to be taught is this.

If you were in their feet, as some have wished they would be, how would you like it if someone you’d never met or seen before began calling you names and making obscene gestures towards you for no other reason than you being different to them?

What if a random Twitter account began racially abusing you behind the safety of their computer screen?

It wouldn’t be a fun feeling and to wish that kind of treatment on players isn’t just reprehensible. It’s downright unfair.

Something else that needs to be taught to some is to let people make their feeling known. This particularly pertains to some of the teammates of Balotelli and Marega who insisted for them to not leave the field.

In the heat of the moment, it’s understandable to want your teammate to stay on the field as you try to win the game. But the fact of the matter is that they are protesting.

Them walking off the field is their way of saying that they won’t stand for racism. From this point onwards, players should try to understand what it is their teammate is fighting for.

In that moment, they need support. Join in the protest, don’t let the fans get what they want. Whatever needs to be done in that situation to show the racists what they’re doing isn’t right, do it.

These guys are your teammates after all. You’re supposed to have their back, no matter what.

By simply explaining this to players across the globe, helping them to understand that it is not right, things will take a turn for the better.

Because that’s what players such as Moussa Marega and Mario Balotelli are doing. Fighting against what’s wrong and fighting for what’s right and what is needed.

 

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Seven Iranian Footballers granted asylum in Australia after Anthem Protest

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The Iranian Women's Footballer Team Anthem Protest March 8 against the Phillipines. Image Credit: Dave Hunt/AAP Image via AP

Seven members of Iran’s women’s football team have been granted humanitarian visas in Australia, after a dramatic 48-hour operation that saw players slip away from government minders, protesters block team buses, and a late-night diplomatic resolution.

The saga began on March 2, when five players declined to sing the Iranian national anthem before their opening Women’s Asian Cup match against South Korea on the Gold Coast. The moment, seen by millions, prompted furious condemnation on Iranian state television, where conservative commentator Mohammad Reza Shahbazi labelled the players “wartime traitors” and called for them to be “dealt with more harshly.”

“This is no longer some symbolic protest or demonstration,” Shahbazi said on air. “In wartime conditions, going there and refusing to sing the national anthem is the height of shamelessness and betrayal.”

Under Iran’s Islamic Republic penal code, charges of corruption or treason can carry lengthy prison sentences or the death penalty.

A delicate operation

Australian officials had been preparing for what followed for some time. After Iran’s final group match- a 2-0 loss to the Philippines on Sunday night, government representatives were waiting at Robina Stadium on the Gold Coast, signalling to the players that help was available.

A police officer had been stationed inside the team’s hotel, working to create what Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke later described as “the maximum amount of opportunities” for players to make contact. Reports from inside the hotel suggested the women were not permitted to move around unaccompanied and were escorted even to meals.

By Monday morning, it had become clear that five players wanted to stay. The women slipped away from their minders, with Australian Federal Police and Queensland Police there to escort them to a secure location. Shortly after they left, BBC journalists at the hotel witnessed Iranian officials running through the building in an apparent attempt to locate them, but they were unsuccessful.

Burke met the group at approximately 9pm Monday and signed off on their applications for temporary humanitarian visas. By 1:30am Tuesday, the paperwork was complete. In a secure location in Brisbane, the five players, Fatemeh Pasandideh, Zahra Ghanbari, Zahra Sarbali, Atefeh Ramazanzadeh and Mona Hamoudi, broke into a spontaneous chant of “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie.”

Trump calls, the number grows

The story had by then attracted international attention. US President Donald Trump took to his Truth Social platform to demand action, writing that Australia should “give asylum” to the women or “the US will take them.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed he spoke to Trump just before 2am Tuesday. Shortly after, Trump posted again, appearing satisfied: “Five have already been taken care of, and the rest are on their way. Some, however, feel they must go back because they are worried about the safety of their families.”

The number of asylum seekers then continued to rise. As the remaining squad was transferred from the Gold Coast to Sydney Airport ahead of their departure, Burke and Border Force officials pulled each team member aside individually, without Iranian minders present, and offered them a choice. Two more players and a member of the support staff accepted. The total reached seven.

Crowds of Iranian-Australians gathered outside the airport, breaking into cheers as word spread that more players had stayed. A bus carrying the remaining squad had earlier been briefly blocked outside their Gold Coast hotel by protesters lying in the road, some holding signs, others desperately trying to persuade the players visible through the windows to disembark.

“They can’t speak freely because they are threatened,” said Naz Safavi, who had attended all three of Iran’s matches during the tournament. “We are here to show them that we are fully supporting them.”

One changes her mind

The situation shifted again on Wednesday when Burke informed parliament that one of the seven had changed her decision after speaking with departing teammates, who had encouraged her to contact the Iranian embassy.

“As a result of that, it meant the Iranian embassy now knew the location of where everybody was,” Burke said. The remaining asylum seekers were immediately moved to a new secure location.

The six remaining visa holders have been granted temporary humanitarian protection, valid for 12 months and providing a pathway to permanent residency, similar to visas previously issued to Ukrainians, Palestinians and Afghans.

Burke stressed throughout that the process had been entirely voluntary. “We never told anyone it was time to end the meeting,” he said. “If people wanted to stay and keep talking and miss that plane, they had agency to do that as well.”

Iran’s Foreign Ministry urged the players to return home, with spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei writing on X: “To Iran’s women’s football team: don’t worry- Iran awaits you with open arms.”

The six who stayed have not responded publicly. Burke said they were grateful, and clear about one thing: “They are not political activists. They are athletes who want to be safe.”

FQ Academy State Championships Return to Moreton Bay

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Image Credit: Football Queensland

Football Queensland (FQ) has confirmed the FQ Academy State Championships will return to Moreton Bay from Tuesday, 7 July to Saturday, 11 July 2026, delivered in partnership with City of Moreton Bay across South Pine Sports Complex and Moreton Bay Sports Complex.

This year’s edition is the most expansive yet. Under 13 to Under 16 Boys and Girls divisions will compete, drawing talent from the FQ Academy Leagues and the statewide FQ Academy Emerging Program, with regional centres from Wide Bay, Central Coast, Whitsunday Coast, Northern, and Far North & Gulf all represented.

The split-venue format is new. Boys’ fixtures will be held at South Pine Sports Complex, with girls’ fixtures at Moreton Bay Sports Complex- a structural change that reflects both the tournament’s growth and FQ’s broader push to elevate the event experience.

“More teams than ever before will participate in an expanded edition of the event this year, showcasing the skills of our most talented emerging players as they compete in a high-performance environment in front of FQ talent identification and technical staff,” said FQ State Technical Director Tom Laxton.

The Championships also carry direct selection implications. With the 2026 CommBank Emerging Matildas and Emerging Socceroos Championships on the horizon, Moreton Bay will function as a key filter in FQ’s ‘One Queensland’ talent identification pipeline.

City of Moreton Bay Mayor Peter Flannery welcomed the event’s return, pointing to the region’s infrastructure investment as central to its appeal as a host. “We’ve invested in quality sporting infrastructure to ensure young athletes have access to the best possible facilities, and it’s great to see that recognised with major events returning to our city,” Flannery said.

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