Jamal Awar, Author at Charlie Alford

FIFA’s new ‘Mistaken Identity’ law — at the World Cup

Post author:Jamal Awar
Post published:12 July 2026
Post last modified:12 July 2026

The new ‘Mistaken Identity’ rule, introduced by FIFA for the 2026 World Cup, has now been put into practice. Swiss forward Breel Embolo became the first player to be sent off as a direct result of this refereeing amendment, marking a potential turning point in how VAR technology is utilized. During the quarter-final match between Switzerland and Argentina, Portuguese referee João Pinheiro initially issued a yellow card to Argentine midfielder Leandro Paredes, believing he had committed a foul against Embolo. However, a VAR review revealed that the situation was the opposite: the Swiss forward had actually attempted to deceive the referee…

Israel targeted two Canary journalists with stun grenades in south Lebanon

Post author:Jamal Awar
Post published:9 July 2026
Post last modified:9 July 2026

Zahra — a Lebanese citizen from the south of Lebanon — was on her balcony, pouring coffee, telling two journalists — one British, one Lebanese — what it is like to live in a town which has now become inside Israel’s yellow line of occupation, and why she can’t leave. Then BANG!! An Israeli drone had dropped a stun grenade — a flash-bang, the kind police lob to scatter riot crowds — around 30 metres from where they sat. On the recording, you can hear it detonate. You can hear her voice change: https://www.thecanary.co/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Guy-and-Mohamad-—-stun-grenade.wav The translation of the Arabic from the…

Lebanon government signs agreement with Israel in the blood of its own citizens

Post author:Jamal Awar
Post published:30 June 2026
Post last modified:30 June 2026

On Friday, 27 June, in a room at the US State Department, Lebanon’s ambassador to Washington — with zero diplomatic credentials prior to this post — signed her name to a “framework agreement” with Israel. US secretary of state Marco Rubio beamed that it was “the beginning of the beginning.” As usual, in spite of American imperial pomp the ‘agreement’ is not what it appears, as Al Jazeera reported: he agreement does not force Israel to withdraw from the large area of southern Lebanon that it continues to occupy, and Israel also appears to be signalling that it will continue its…

Scottish courts further denigrate rights for trans people with prison ruling

Post author:Jamal Awar
Post published:21 June 2026
Post last modified:21 June 2026

Scotland’s highest civil court has ruled that guidance allowing some trans women to be housed in women’s prisons was unlawful. This is undoubtedly another setback in an increasingly hostile environment for trans people across the UK. It is incredible how fast the legal arguments fall in line once political appetite changes. And now that fascism is creeping across the UK, clearly the most vulnerable communities are facing the sharpest end of oppression. Human rights for some The Court of Session ruled that Scottish prison guidance was unlawful because it allowed some trans women to be accommodated in the women’s estate following…