The Qatar World Cup quarterfinal match between Argentina and the Netherlands has been very controversial, especially with the calls made by Spanish referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz, who has incurred the wrath of Lionel Messi.
An American reporter, who was previously detained in Qatar over an LGBT rainbow shirt, has died while covering the FIFA World Cup. His brother suspects foul play.
With Canada, Mexico, and Costa Rica already eliminated during the Qatar World Cup, the only North American team left is the USMNT after the heroics of "Captain America" himself, Christian Pulisic, who scored that winning goal against Iran.
The World Cup has been controversial thus far, including allegations of Qatar abusing the migrant workers building the stadiums for the games. However, we now have confirmation that these deaths did actually happen.
The soap opera that is sports always rivets for what takes place on the battle field. But often times the stories that take place far away from the pitch are just as unique and special. They make for some interesting conversation and add an element to the world of sports that moves into the social, political and economic realm.
This year featured a number of off-pitch events that continued to elevate the dynamics of soccer and add new elements that are rarely discussed. As part of our Best of 2014 feature series, writer David Salazar and Edwin Molina look at two off-pitch events that really brought the soccer conversation to a new level.
Global financial services company Credit Suisse believes Qatar would only suffer short-term economic consequences if they were to lose the rights to host the 2022 World Cup as FIFA's bribery investigation against the desert nation winds down.
