"My dream was always to have nipples made out of wicker"
— Alexander Skarsgård on playing the romantic role of a lifetime. Never let anyone tell you your dreams are too specific.
Red Card
Europe to FIFA: “Pitch, Please”
What’s going on: Imagine last month’s World Cup without Spain’s historic run, Erling Haaland's man bun, or Jude Bellingham (for… reasons). Future World Cups may be robbed of such joys if FIFA doesn’t play ball. After FIFA announced plans this week to sell a 20% stake in the tournament to private investors, UEFA — which reps all 55 European soccer federations — said it will boycott future World Cups if FIFA follows through. Hours later, UEFA's counterpart, CONCACAF (guys, we gotta work on these names) — which oversees North and Central America, and the Caribbean — rejected FIFA's plan as well. FIFA says the $20 billion proposal would generate over $80 million for each member association over the next 12 years. But the money comes at a cost: The frontrunner is a US-based investment group led by Joshua Kushner. His brother, Jared, is President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, and his father, Charles, is Trump’s ambassador to France and Monaco.
Crossing a line: Everyone’s pulling out their red cards, pointing to the potential for corruption in the world’s most popular sport. (And, to be fair, FIFA certainly knows a thing or two about that.) Although the organization tried to calm the waters with a response Thursday night — saying “Nobody is selling football" — FIFA said it would still push ahead with the controversial move. But if private investors are calling the shots, future decisions — like selling broadcasting rights and tournament formats — would be driven by profits instead of what's best for the game. It doesn’t help that the Trump/FIFA/red card fiasco is still fresh in everyone’s minds, not to mention the scrutiny Jared has fielded for mixing politics and personal business in the Middle East and Albania. The stakes are especially high for women’s soccer, which faces the possibility of a World Cup next year without three of the last tournament's top-performing countries.
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