Sports
David Beckham: ‘I hated almost every moment of making’ Emmy award-winning Netflix documentary
Soccer legend David Beckham’s Emmy award-winning Netflix documentary, “Beckham,” took fans around the globe behind the curtain for one of the most polarizing athletes of the century.
But Beckham himself revealed to Variety that he “hated almost every moment of making it.”
“It worried me and it made me nervous and it made Victoria nervous,” Beckham said about the documentary, which was broken down into four parts last year.
David Beckham “hated almost every moment of making” the documentary. (Samir Hussein/WireImage)
“It took me a long time to come to terms with the fact that I was going to make it, but there were a few reasons why we wanted to make it. When I retired, I wasn’t ready to talk about my career and what had happened. Through the pandemic, it’s when documentaries really exploded, and it was coming up to the 10-year anniversary of my retirement from football.”
Beckham did have his Studio 99 produce the documentary, which got deep into his personal life with his wife and family as well as his legendary soccer career, starting at Manchester United and ending with Paris Saint-Germain in 2013. And of course, his international games with England were on display as well.
KING CHARLES MET WITH DAVID BECKHAM AFTER DECLINING TO SEE PRINCE HARRY: REPORT
But the four-part series dove deep into his trials and tribulations, both personally and professionally, which required “the right director” to portray, and Beckham ended up choosing Fisher Stevens to do so.
Variety spoke to Stevens, who said Leonardo DiCaprio recommended him for the director role.
But Beckham wasn’t looking for someone that would sugarcoat his life’s journey up to that point. He wanted someone unequivocally raw.
“When I met Fisher, I knew this is the man that will make me feel really uncomfortable and I knew I had to feel uncomfortable to make the documentary we made,” said Beckham.
So, the hatred that he felt wasn’t because he didn’t like the finished product. It was the material, reflecting on tough personal moments and reliving his most traumatizing times on the pitch that made him and his family nervous.
The four-part series dove deep into Beckham’s trials and tribulations. (Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)
Some, however, did criticize the lack of content regarding Beckham’s rumored affair with his former assistant Rebecca Loos, who, in April 2004, alleged that she and him had a four-month affair during his time playing for Real Madrid. Beckham would go on to say the rumors were “ludicrous,” but there is still doubt in some camps that was the case.
But, for this documentary, Beckham said he did not see the finished product until it was released.
“Through the whole documentary, from Day One I said, ‘I don’t want to see anything until it comes out,’” he said regarding his influence on Stevens’ work. “I didn’t go into the edit. I didn’t see any cuts. I wanted to let Fisher have that control. It took quite a bit of convincing to get him on board.”
In the end, both Beckham and his wife “loved the results,” and the documentary being critically acclaimed shows how well it was received.
Both Beckham and his wife “loved the results” of the documentary. (JONATHAN BRADY/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Beckham’s Studio 99 has an untitled documentary in the works with Netflix that focuses on Victoria’s life as well.
Sports
England’s Jordan Henderson officially ruled out after freak fall causes fracture, opts for surgery
A freak mishap Sunday night abruptly ended England midfielder Jordan Henderson’s 2026 World Cup.
Henderson, 36, spent the match on the bench in England’s 3-2 win, but quickly drew attention after falling over an advertising board, leaving him writhing in pain during a moment of victory for England.
England’s Jordan Henderson is stretchered off after suffering an injury during World Cup Round of 16 victory. (Photo by Bradley Collyer/PA Images via Getty Images) ((Photo by Bradley Collyer/PA Images via Getty Images))
Harry Kane celebrates with Jordan Henderson after England’s thrilling World Cup victory over Mexico Sunday. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images) ((Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images))
On Monday, Henderson opted to undergo surgery, bringing an unusual ending to the World Cup campaign of one of England’s veteran leaders.
ENGLAND PLAYER INJURES WRIST HOPPING OVER AD BOARD DURING TEAM’S WORLD CUP VICTORY CELEBRATION VS MEXICO
As the stadium speakers blasted Oasis, Henderson tried to climb over a pitch-side advertising board to celebrate with the traveling supporters. He lost his footing and landed awkwardly on his wrist.
WATCH:
England captain Harry Kane reacted to Henderson’s injury Sunday night after the match.
ENGLAND STUNS MEXICO 3-2 IN INSTANT WORLD CUP CLASSIC, HANDS TEAM FIRST WORLD CUP LOSS AT ESTADIO AZTECA
“Yeah Hendo just fell over there. I think he’s OK. Something to do with his arm,” Kane said, unaware of the severity of Henderson’s injury at the time.
Dan Burn helps injured Jordan Henderson during England’s World Cup victory celebrations over Mexico Sunday. Surgery required for English vet. (Photo by Martín Fonseca/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images) ((Photo by Martín Fonseca/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images))
The celebrations quickly turned to concern as medical staff rushed onto the field, administered oxygen, and stretchered Henderson off the pitch.
Before the accident, Estadio Azteca hosted a World Cup classic. Jude Bellingham sparked England with a first-half brace before Harry Kane added a penalty. Mexico answered through Julian Quinones and a late Raul Jimenez penalty.
ENGLAND STUNS MEXICO 3-2 IN INSTANT WORLD CUP CLASSIC, HANDS TEAM FIRST WORLD CUP LOSS AT ESTADIO AZTECA
Henderson watched the thriller from the bench, picking up a yellow card in the 98th minute for his touchline protests. The match fell into chaos when England defender Jarell Quansah was shown a straight red card, forcing the Three Lions to desperately hang on.
While manager Thomas Tuchel and the squad flew to Kansas City to prepare for a quarterfinal clash against Norway, Henderson remained hospitalized in Mexico City. England next faces Erling Haaland’s Norway on Saturday without the suspended Jarell Quansah.
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Henderson’s World Cup had its ups and downs. The last one ended it.
Send us your thoughts: alejandro.avila@outkick.com / Follow along on X: @alejandroaveela
Sports
U.S. hopes of a historic World Cup run on home soil shattered in loss to Belgium
SEATTLE — For three weeks, it was the best World Cup ever for the U.S.
The Americans scored more goals, won more games and generated more interest than any U.S. team in history. But all that glory gave way to grief Monday when a 4-1 loss to Belgium brought the U.S. crashing back to Earth.
Belgium never trailed, getting two first-half goals from Charles De Ketelaere and two in the second half from Hans Vanaken and Romelu Lukaku to clinch a spot in the tournament quarterfinals, where it will face Spain on Friday at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood. For the U.S., whose lone goal came from Malik Tillman, its World Cup ended in the round of 16 for a fourth straight time.
U.S. players Tim Ream, center, Malik Tillman, left, and Folarin Balogun react after Belgium’s third goal on Monday.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
The U.S. did win a knockout round game in the tournament for just the second time, but that came in a round of 32 necessitated by the World Cup’s expansion to 48 teams. All three tournament hosts, the U.S., Canada and Mexico, were eliminated in the round of 16.
The run-up to Monday’s game was clouded by the controversy surrounding U.S. striker Folarin Balogun, the Americans’ leading scorer, who wasn’t officially cleared to play until about seven hours before kickoff after FIFA rejected an appeal from the Royal Belgium Football Assn. The association was seeking to overturn an unusual ruling from the FIFA disciplinary committee, which on Sunday made Balogun eligible to play despite the fact he was shown a red card and expelled from his team’s previous game.
The red card also carried with it a ban from the team’s next game — in this case, the Belgium match — but FIFA suspended that penalty and imposed a one-year probation instead. It was just the second time in World Cup history — and the first since 1962 — that FIFA has held a red-card suspension in abeyance and allowed a player to participate in his team’s next game.
Balogun was active Monday, going the full 90 minutes, but Belgium kept him from getting on the scoreboard.
Belgium, in fact, was on the front foot from the start, taking six shots and putting two on target in the first eight minutes before going ahead on De Ketelaere’s first goal in the ninth minute. De Ketelaere, starting over the more physical Lukaku, Belgium’s all-time leading scorer, got free on the edge of the six-yard box and ran onto a centering pass from Nicolas Raskin, then made the easy tap-in for his first World Cup goal.
The sequence followed Sergiño Dest’s decision to let a headed clearance attempt from Chris Richards bounce inside the penalty area, allowing Raskin to scoop up the loose ball and send it on to De Ketelaere, whose goal marked the first time the U.S. trailed in the first half hour of a game in this tournament. It was also the earliest goal the U.S. had allowed in a World Cup game since Nani scored for Portugal in the fifth minute of the second group stage game in Brazil in 2014.
The U.S. matched that in the 31st minute when Tillman deflected a free kick in off the head of Vanaken following a foul on Balogun. It was Tillman’s second free-kick goal in as many games, making him the second player since 1966 to score twice off direct free-kick goals in the same World Cup.
But the draw was short-lived, with De Ketelaere putting Belgium in front, where they would stay, two minutes later with his second score of the first half, this one a header over the back of U.S. captain Tim Ream. Leandro Trossard got the assist, bending a perfect back-post cross from the end line to his waiting teammate.
Belgium dominated the opening half, outshooting the Americans 11-3 and putting five of those tries on goal, an edge U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino tried to address by subbing Dest off at halftime for Gio Reyna. It didn’t work, however, with Belgium expanding its lead on a major gaffe from U.S. keeper Matt Freese in the 57th minute.
Freese, who had given up just one goal in his first three starts, came well off his line to beat De Ketelaere to a loose ball, chesting it to the turf. But De Ketelaere poked a toe out to knock the ball back to Vanaken, who skipped a shot from about 30 yards past a retreating Ream and into the vacant goal.
After the goal, U.S. star Christian Pulisic was subbed out after sustaining an apparent leg injury while attempting a shot. He was limping on the field before being replaced by Sebastian Berhalter.
Lukaku, who came on in the 67th minute, closed out the scoring with a goal in stoppage time.
The U.S., which was eliminated by Belgium in the round of 16 of the 2014 World Cup, hasn’t beaten the Red Devils since its opening match of the first World Cup in 1930.
U.S. goalkeeper Matt Freese reacts after Belgium midfielder Hans Vanaken (not shown) scored against him in the second half of Belgium’s 4-1 win at the World Cup on Monday.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Sports
FIFA president addresses Trump call amid scrutiny over decision on USA World Cup star
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FIFA President Gianni Infantino released a statement on Monday addressing his interactions with President Donald Trump amid USA World Cup star Folarin Balogun’s suspended one-game ban.
Trump told reporters he asked Infantino if FIFA would review the play. Infantino said in his release that “FIFA’s judicial bodies are independent” and “operate autonomously, apply the FIFA Disciplinary Code, and decide cases based on the applicable regulations and the specific facts before them.”
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FIFA President Gianni Infantino answers questions during a 2026 soccer World Cup news conference Thursday, June 16, 2022, in New York. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)
“Yes, I regularly discuss matters related to the FIFA World Cup with the President of the United States, and on this matter, I did receive a call from President Donald Trump, just as I receive calls from heads of state, government officials, football stakeholders and business executives from around the world on many different issues,” he said. “During our conversation, I explained that there was an ongoing legal process involving FIFA’s independent judicial bodies and that the case would be decided in due course by the competent bodies. That is how FIFA’s system works, and it is a principle that I will always uphold.
“I read the decisions of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee when they are issued. Sometimes I am surprised by them. Sometimes I agree with them, and sometimes I disagree.
“What I always do, however, is respect those decisions and the autonomy of the bodies that make them. Whether we personally like a decision or not is irrelevant. Respect for independent institutions and the rule of law is what protects the integrity of our competitions and the credibility of FIFA at all times.”
Gianni Infantino, President of FIFA, shakes hands with U.S. President Donald Trump as he receives the FIFA Peace Prize during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Official Draw. (Hector Vivas – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
Balogun was given a red card after a VAR review to look at a play in which Balogun stepped on the ankle of a Bosnia and Herzegovina defender. He would have been suspended for the team’s match against Belgium but FIFA decided to suspend the one-game ban.
Trump addressed the controversy in the Oval Office.
“All I did was, I asked for a review, because I didn’t think it was a foul,” the president said. “And again, I’m good at this stuff. I didn’t think it was a foul. I thought it was two great athletes who crashed into each other and got entangled. That was not a guy punching somebody in the face or anything that would be different.
“I think it’s a terrible … if they wouldn’t allow a top player, maybe the best, maybe among the best on the team, to play, I think it would have had a big stain. I relayed it. I didn’t tell him what to do. I don’t believe he made the decision. I think it was a committee that made the decision and they made the right decision because, No. 1, it wasn’t a foul and you want to see a game with your best players.”
Trump said the feeling would be the same if Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo or Harry Kane would have been given a red card in a similar way.
He also took issue with the call itself.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino speaks during a news conference at the stadium in Mexico City on June 10, 2026, a day before the opening FIFA World Cup match between Mexico and South Africa. (Eduardo Verdugo/AP)
“If you would have taken him out, I think it would have really stained this incredible championship,” Trump continued. “We gotta have our best players and Belgium, Belgium’s got a great team by the way. We have our best players and they have to have their best. If we win or we lose, it’s fair. Otherwise, let’s say we lost to them, then we lost the game. It would be a terrible thing. I think they made a really brilliant decision.
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“I think the referee’s call was horrible and nobody talks about that. They talk about the red card like it’s fine. The referee’s decision to red card, I didn’t know what the hell a red card was and when I found out I said, ‘You gotta be kidding.’ … I said, ‘Wow, that’s a lot of power, that’s terrible.’ And then I looked at his past and it wasn’t so great.”
Belgium’s appeal was dismissed later Monday.
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