Australia pulls out of Afghanistan cricket series over Taliban’s restrictions on women | CNN

[ad_1] Sydney CNN  —  Australia’s men’s cricket team has withdrawn from a series of upcoming matches against Afghanistan in protest over the ruling Taliban’s restrictions on women and girls’ education and employment, Cricket Australia (CA) said in a statement Thursday. The teams were scheduled to play three One Day International (ODI) games in the United […]

Iranian chess referee Shohreh Bayat fears ostracism over her activism as she challenges Russian chief of game’s governing body | CNN

[ad_1] CNN  —  Three years after fleeing Iran, chess referee Shohreh Bayat fears being further ostracized after challenging the game’s governing body and its president, Russia’s former deputy prime minister, over her choice of clothing at a tournament in October. Back in 2020, Bayat was criticized in Iran for not wearing the appropriate headscarf at […]

Brazilian soccer star Dani Alves under investigation for alleged sexual assault | CNN

[ad_1] CNN  —  Brazilian football player Dani Alves is under investigation for an alleged sexual assault that took place in Barcelona last month, the Catalonia Higher Court of Justice confirmed on Tuesday. “Barcelona investigating magistrate’s court number 15 has opened proceedings for an alleged crime of sexual assault due to a complaint presented by a […]

Lovie Smith said the NFL had ‘a problem’ about Black coaches. A year later he was fired and the league is being criticized yet again about its lack of diversity | CNN

[ad_1] CNN  —  When Lovie Smith was hired by the Houston Texans in February 2022 as the team’s new head coach, he said the NFL had “a problem” with hiring Black coaches and diversity. “I realize the amount of Black head coaches there are in the National Football League,” Smith told reporters just under a […]

Hope for ‘new’ NWSL after former coaches banned after misconduct investigation | CNN

[ad_1] CNN  —  “A new NWSL begins today.” That’s how the president of the union representing soccer players expressed optimism about the future of the sport after the National Women’s Soccer League banned a number of former coaches following years of alleged systemic abuse. On Monday, NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman announced the league had permanently […]

Iraqis celebrate their comeback with soccer tournament after decades of isolation | CNN

[ad_1] Editor’s Note: A version of this story appears in today’s Meanwhile in the Middle East newsletter, CNN’s three-times-a-week look inside the region’s biggest stories. Sign up here. Baghdad and Abu Dhabi CNN  —  Iraq is holding its first international soccer tournament in more than four decades, hosting its Gulf Arab neighbors for a two-week […]