Sports
Beer, Euro 2024, and all those cups – what's going on?
The European Championship has been drenched in beer. In the fan zones and outside the stadiums. On the concourses and in the stands.
Everyone has been drenched. Fans, players and, much to the amusement of everyone not wearing a lanyard, journalists, who have been sheltering laptops and walking into press conferences dripping with booze.
Get the tiny violins. Possibly a towel.
We do need to talk about the plastic cups, which have been cascading down from the stands towards anyone taking a corner or goal kick.
The beer first, though.
The official sponsor of the tournament is Bitburger, the German brewer, and the concourse bars are exclusively stocked with their products. For matches at the Allianz Arena, for instance, Pils, Radler and an alcohol-free beer are €7 for 500ml. For games in Cologne, at the RheinEnergieStadion, they have been pouring Kolsch, the sweet beer usually served in small, cylindrical glasses. There are no limits on how much people can buy and fans are able to drink anywhere inside the stadium.
With exceptions.
For England’s group game against Serbia in Gelsenkirchen, only beer with two per cent alcohol was served, compared with the usual 4.8 per cent. The fixture was deemed high-risk. Other special measures were employed, too, including a ban on drinking in the stands. It is unclear at this stage whether England’s last-16 game against Slovakia on Sunday, back in Gelsenkirchen, will be subject to the same restrictions.
Yet even with that lower alcohol content, most travelling supporters are, where drinking is concerned, enjoying a different level of freedom to that experienced back home.
Reduced-alcohol beer on sale at Serbia v England (Matthias Hangst/Getty Images)
Since 1985 in England, supporters attending matches across the Football League have been prevented from drinking alcohol “in sight of the pitch”. In Scotland, the rules are even stricter: no drinking in stadiums at all.
In Spain, only non-alcoholic beer is allowed. In France, there are no in-stadium alcohol sales for Ligue 1 games. In Serbia, bars around stadiums are only allowed to serve until two hours before kick-off.
Then there is Germany.
UEFA’s approach when staging tournaments is to adapt their rules for food and drink around local legislation and in Germany, alcohol is very much a part of Bundesliga matchdays. There can, as has happened at Euro 2024, be restrictions during high-risk games, that is not unheard of, but there would be something fundamentally un-German about not being able to watch the football with a drink in hand.
Naturally, clubs make a lot of money from beer sales; almost all in the top two divisions have a brewery as a sponsor. Famously, Schalke’s Veltins Arena has a 5km pipeline that connects the stadium with a local brewery. So, on any given weekend, beer sprays out from German terraces. Watch Borussia Dortmund’s Yellow Wall when a goal is scored; in the right light and at the right angle, it can look like the whole stand is weeping with joy.
There was trepidation about this. For instance, before England fans travelled to Germany, the UK’s Foreign Office issued a warning about the strength of German lager. But concerns about over-consumption have not really materialised so far. There have been few arrests and while many supporters have enjoyed long days in sun-drenched beer gardens, there has been very little trouble.
The Athletic spoke to a steward at Allianz Arena on Tuesday night. He said he and his team had experienced few problems with behaviour so far during the tournament. They had been watchful. So far, so good, despite full-strength alcohol being served at the games hosted in Munich, none of which have been deemed high-risk.
The plastic cups are a nuisance, though, and they are everywhere — including in press conferences. On Tuesday night, Dragan Stojkovic was asked whether Serbian fans throwing them at Danish goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel had created an unnecessary distraction, contributing to his side’s elimination after a goalless draw.
“Please, ask me about the football,” Stojkovic pleaded.
A cup of beer arrives as Schmeichel takes a goal kick against Serbia (Carl Recine/Getty Images)
Three nations have been fined for fans throwing objects onto the pitch so far — Croatia, Scotland, and Albania — and more are coming. When France played the Netherlands in the group stages, Antoine Griezmann had to evade a hail of beer cups when taking a corner. Against Switzerland, Germany’s Toni Kroos was similarly bombarded in the first half in Frankfurt, as was Italy’s Lorenzo Pellegrini against Croatia.
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Before that game in Leipzig, a few fans and journalists in the lower tiers were struck by plastic cups from above. Later on, the ball actually struck one that had landed on the pitch. When Schmeichel was a target on Tuesday night, in the incident Stojkovic was asked about, substitute Yussuf Poulsen had to help clear the penalty box.
After England’s 0-0 draw with Slovenia, when Gareth Southgate approached the fans at full time, they responded with jeers and plastic; the English Football Association can expect a fine in the post.
Are UEFA planning action?
When asked about the beer cups by The Athletic on Tuesday, a spokesman said they would be awaiting full reports before making any decisions. Something is stirring, but we are not quite sure what yet.
Plastic cups are not usually such a nuisance in Germany. In March 2022, a game between Bochum and Borussia Monchengladbach was abandoned after an assistant referee was struck on the head by a beer cup. In 2023, a 3.Liga game between Zwickau and Rot-Weiss Essen was abandoned at half-time when a referee had a beer thrown in his face. But such incidents are rare, which might partly be because of legislative change.
In 2023, many German stadiums began a drive towards using reusable cups. At participating stadiums, fans pay a deposit for a cup outside the stadium and can claim it back by returning their cup after the game. Bayern Munich have had such a policy since 2018-19, but many other clubs have adopted it in the years since. The environmental impact is one consequence. Fans’ eagerness to keep hold of their cups and their deposit is another.
The atmosphere during Euro 2024 games so far has been excellent, with supporters — other than in a few cases — enjoying being together. They have filled the stadiums and town centres with noise and joviality and, while there have been flashes of antagonism, the prevailing mood has been benevolent and full of friendly rivalry.
A Belgium fan prefers a helmet to the tournament’s plastic cups (Stu Forster/Getty Images)
Given it has been many years since a football tournament took place in mainland Europe without Covid-19 restrictions, that makes tenuous sense. Many seem to be treating the tournament as they would a holiday, with a determination to make the best of the experience despite, certainly in the opening days, some wearying organisational issues.
Supporters tend only to make headlines when they behave badly. At this tournament, where there have been dramatic improvements but at which there are still queues and delays, they deserve to be recognised for what they have allowed Euro 2024 to become. Colourful, atmospheric, festival-like.
The freedom to enjoy themselves has been part of that, too.
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(Top photo: A plastic cup on the pitch at Slovenia vs Serbia; by Clive Mason via Getty Images)
Sports
Florida AG launches civil rights investigation into MLB’s warning to Christian pitchers over Pride Night caps
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The attorneys general from Missouri and Florida have reacted strongly to the controversy stirred when Major League Baseball warned three San Francisco Giants players about inscribing a Bible verse on their Pride Night caps, and that reaction includes MLB being served with a subpoena that signals the launch of an official investigation.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier launched his investigation on Friday by serving MLB with a subpoena to investigate whether it is violating the civil rights of players based on their religious beliefs.
The general purpose and scope of Florida’s investigation “extend(s) to possible civil rights and deceptive and unfair trade practices violations in matters of employment concerning the business practices, policies, and procedures of Major League Baseball,” per the subpoena obtained by Fox News Digital.
In a letter from Uthmeier to MLB Commissioner Robert Manfred, the AG warns that “a pattern or practice of selectively enforcing its rules to benefit favored secular beliefs over disfavored religious beliefs would not only potentially violate Florida civil rights law, but it would also violate the League’s own policies.
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL FACES BACKLASH FOR ITS STANCE ON CHRISTIANS WRITING BIBLE VERSES ON PRIDE CAPS
“And a practice of claiming not to discriminate based on religion while discriminating based on religion could further amount to an unfair or deceptive trade practice in violation of the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.”
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier speaks at a news conference in Orlando on July 15, 2025, where he said U.S. Masters Swimming should not allow transgender athletes to compete against women swimmers or face legal action. Advocates Cassidy Carlisle and Lainey Armistead also attended. (Rich Pope/Orlando Sentinel/Tribune News Service)
Uthmeier is particularly troubled by the fact MLB said its warning had nothing to do with the players’ religious beliefs but rather was strictly because of a violation of the league’s uniform code.
It should be noted MLB said in a follow-up statement to its initial warning to the players that it was merely enforcing its uniform codes and the warning had nothing to do with Giants pitchers Landen Roupp, JT Brubaker and Ryan Walker writing a Bible verse on the team’s Pride Night Cap most of the other players wore.
MLB ACCUSED OF ‘DOUBLE STANDARD’ AFTER CALLING OUT PLAYERS’ BIBLE MESSAGES DESPITE BACKING BLM IN 2020
Uthmeier noted that doesn’t ring true and presented in his letter a handful of examples where MLB has been absolutely fine with players adding to their uniform.
“In 2019, for example, a Cincinnati Reds player wrote on his cap in tribute to a nearby mass shooting,” Uthmeier wrote to Manfred. “And in 2020, MLB evidently added new, sweeping exceptions to its uniform rules by allowing players to ‘support social justice and diversity and inclusion.’ These policy changes included permitting players to add Black Lives Matter patches to their sleeves.
“MLB therefore appears to applaud — even change its rules for — the ideological beliefs it prefers, but targets players who express religious views the League doesn’t like.”
Commissioner of Major League Baseball Robert D. Manfred Jr. speaks at the 2024 MLB Draft presented by Nike at Cowtown Coliseum in Fort Worth, Texas, on July 14, 2024. (Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
The Florida subpoena, issued under the Florida Civil Rights Act, demands action from MLB on July 23, 2026, at 9 a.m.. At that time, MLB must deliver to the AG’s office documents including:
- All documents concerning how MLB characterized or classified the June 2026 cap writing, including, for example, whether MLB treated it as religious expression, political messaging, protest, or a violation unrelated to its content.
- All documents concerning what prompted MLB’s review of and warning regarding the June 2026 cap writing, including any complaint, media inquiry, internal escalation, or third-party communication received before the warning issued, and the timing of each relative to the warning.
- All documents concerning the actual June 2026 warnings issued by the MLB to any club.
- All documents, including drafts and internal deliberations, concerning MLB’s decision to issue and publicly announce the June 2026 warnings, and any analysis of whether doing so adhered to the Code or with MLB’s treatment of comparable non-religious expression.
San Francisco Giants pitcher Landen Roupp wrote “Genesis 9:12-16” on his Pride-Night themed hat. (Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
Uthmeier is thus joining Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway, who recently wrote a letter to Manfred asking the commissioner to confirm that no player who has chosen to refrain from “wearing Pride Month paraphernalia or included Bible verses on Pride Month hats” will not be disciplined in any way.
Hanaway’s letter states that if Manfred fails to answer by June 25 or does not confirm that no discipline will be levied, she too will open an investigation of MLB.
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The two attorneys general have authority over their individual states. But it affects four MLB teams.
Florida is home to two MLB teams — the Tampa Bay Rays and Miami Marlins — while Missouri is home to the St. Louis Cardinals and Kansas City Royals.
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Sports
Commentary: Why MLB’s Pride Night cap condemnation isn’t the anti-Christian crackdown conservatives claim
Amid the first days of grief after Alex Vesia and his wife lost their newborn daughter last fall, Vesia noticed something as he watched the World Series on television. He paused the broadcast, then checked the video, then texted another player to make sure.
51.
Dodgers teammates wore his number on their caps. So did players from the Toronto Blue Jays.
“It was awesome,” Vesia said. “It was a very heartwarming moment.”
Moving.
Touching.
And, under baseball’s rules, illegal.
Who knew, really, until this week? Three pitchers from the San Francisco Giants wrote the name of a Bible verse on their Pride Night caps and, amid an uproar, Major League Baseball said it had warned the players that “writing of any kind, with any message” on any playing apparel is not permitted. The issue, the league said in a statement, was not what they wrote on their caps but simply that they wrote on them at all.
Said MLB in the statement: “We have given the same warning numerous times in the past to players for messages such as ‘Dad’, ‘Happy Mother’s Day, I Love Mom’ and names of family members.”
To its credit, the league did not enforce the rule when Vesia’s number started appearing on caps in the World Series. But, if you’re going to draw a line on enforcement, where should you draw it?
In San Francisco, the actions of the Giants’ pitchers were widely condemned.
“They were in for a rude awakening with the response, and it wasn’t just from the gay community,” Giants broadcaster and former pitcher Mike Krukow told KNBR, the team’s flagship radio station. “It was from the Northern California community that supports the gay community.”
In response to media inquiries, and as first reported by Outsports, MLB confirmed it had warned the three players. I asked the league whether warnings had been issued in two other instances in which players had written on their caps, including Clayton Kershaw last year writing the same Bible verse on his Pride Night cap that the Giants’ pitchers wrote this year. MLB declined to comment.
“I got chastised by the league when I put Charlie [Kirk]’s name on my hat last year, because a man was murdered in cold blood,” Dodgers pitcher Blake Treinen told me, “and now these gentlemen who are relievers in San Francisco are getting chastised by the league for putting a Bible verse on their hat. It’s crazy to me.”
Treinen said league officials had told him the rule is strictly enforced.
“I straight up asked Clayton last year, ‘Did they call you when you put that on your hat?’” Treinen said. “He said, ‘No.’”
The Pride caps feature team logos decorated in the colors of the rainbow, a symbol long associated with the gay community. In the Bible verse cited by the pitchers (Genesis 9:12-16), the rainbow represents “the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures.”
That the league would warn players against writing a Bible verse on their caps ignited a wave of conservative outrage, from Vice President JD Vance to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.
Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley fired off a letter to MLB commissioner Rob Manfred, alleging apparent discrimination “against baseball players who profess their Christian faith” and threatening the league’s antitrust exemption. Assistant U.S. Atty. Gen. Harmeet Dhillon said on national television that players might be able to file a claim for employment discrimination.
That is complete nonsense. This is what you want: When employees raise an issue to their employer, the employer listens and addresses their concerns.
In 2023, the year after five Tampa Bay Rays players declined to wear rainbow logos for Pride Night, Manfred said the league would no longer compel players to do so.
“We have told teams, in terms of actual uniforms, hats, bases that we don’t think putting logos on them is a good idea just because of the desire to protect players: not putting them in a position of doing something that may make them uncomfortable because of their personal views,” Manfred said then.
Teammates congratulate Freddie Freeman after his walk-off home run gave the Dodgers a 1-0 win on June 5, when the Dodgers held their annual Pride Night. Blake Treinen, the winning pitcher that night, elected to wear his regular Dodgers cap instead of the Pride version.
(Katelyn Mulcahy / Getty Images)
Manfred said the Pride Night celebrations could go on, however a team wished to stage them — or not, in the case of the Texas Rangers, the only one of the 30 MLB teams that declines to hold a Pride Night. And the league still sells Pride gear on its website for all teams, including the Rangers.
In the cases of the Giants and Dodgers, MLB grandfathered each team’s long-running use of a rainbow logo on the cap, with this accommodation to players: If you don’t feel comfortable wearing the Pride cap, just wear your regular cap.
That is what Treinen and outfielder Alex Call did when the Dodgers celebrated Pride Night. That is also what a fourth Giants pitcher did.
“My job is to abide by the rules,” Treinen said. “Ultimately, the only rule we have is to wear our team-issued uniform. So that’s what I chose to do.”
To Treinen, the decision over whether to wear a Pride cap is not about passing judgment on anyone else but about what he sees as the push “to force something on people that you know that is controversial to their faith — and, in fact, straight up against their faith.”
He expressed his support for the Giants pitchers.
“Kudos to those men over there who are standing strong in their faith,” he said. “It’s a sad thing to corner someone and try to make them feel bad about their convictions.”
I respect Treinen for explaining his viewpoint. To me, wearing a Pride cap for one night does not diminish your faith at all. It might sharpen your convictions. More important, it signals a welcome to everyone in the community that buys the tickets and broadcast subscriptions that help pay your salary.
“I think a few people made it about themselves and not about the community,” San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie told the Bay Area Reporter.
We always proclaim the life lessons of sports. One of them: Sometimes you have to put the team’s interests ahead of your own.
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After its massive 1-0 win over South Korea on Thursday night, Mexico has won Group A and officially clinched a spot in the knockout round.
El Tri will play its Round of 32 game in Mexico City, and will face the third-place finisher in either Group C/E/F/H/I.
This is the fourth time that Mexico has topped the group stage of a World Cup, with the other three coming in 1986, 1994 and 2002.
With the win, Mexico remains unbeaten in World Cup group games at home, going a combined 6-2-0 (W-D-L), with two wins and a draw in 1970 and 1986, and now two wins in 2026.
Before the tournament began, Mexico was listed at +6500 to win the World Cup. Now, after winning its first two games of the tournament, Mexico has surged up the oddsboard to +5000.
Can Mexico build off its first two matches and make a deep run in this tournament? Let’s check out the updated odds for El Tri as of June 19.
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Team Mexico — Stage of Elimination
Last 32: +125 (bet $10 to win $22.50 total)
Last 16: +135 (bet $10 to win $23.50 total)
Quarterfinals: +600 (bet $10 to win $70 total)
Semifinals: +1600 (bet $10 to win $170 total)
Runner-up: +3000 (bet $10 to win $310 total)
Outright winner: +5000 (bet $10 to win $510 total)
Mexico is currently +5000 to win the 2026 FIFA World Cup after winning Group A (Getty Images).
Mexico’s Past World Cup Results:
1930: Group stage
1934: Did not qualify
1938: Withdrew
1950: Group stage
1954: Group stage
1958: Group stage
1962: Group stage
1966: Group stage
1970: Quarterfinals
1974: Did not qualify
1978: Group stage
1982: Did not qualify
1986: Quarterfinals
1990: Banned
1994: Round of 16
1998: Round of 16
2002: Round of 16
2006: Round of 16
2010: Round of 16
2014: Round of 16
2018: Round of 16
2022: Group stage
2026: TBD
What to know: Mexico has made a habit of being in the running, but never really being in the running. Make sense? Consider this: El Tri made it out of the group stage in seven consecutive World Cups (1994-2018), but never made it past the Round of 16 in any of those years. In 2022, Mexico failed to make it out of the group stage, and it will look to get back to its winning ways in 2026 after a great start to the tournament. With its win Thursday night, Mexico has now advanced to the knockout stage in eight of the last nine World Cups. It is important to note, however, that Mexico has never made it past the quarterfinals at a FIFA men’s World Cup.
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