MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — FIFA said Tuesday it is investigating an incident involving streamer and YouTuber IShowSpeed with a fan in the stands during the World Cup match between Argentina and Cape Verde on Friday.
IShowSpeed was livestreaming the game and could be heard asking a fan in an Argentina jersey what was being said toward him. The fan speaking in Spanish appeared to be telling IShowSpeed, who is Black, to “go cry to the zoo.”
“FIFA strongly condemns racism, hate and discrimination in all forms,” the soccer body said in a statement. “These actions have no place in football, at the FIFA World Cup, or anywhere in society. ... The FIFA World Cup is a celebration of unity, diversity and respect. It brings together people, cultures and communities from around the world, and anyone who acts in a manner that undermines these values is not welcome in our game.”
Messages sent to IShowSpeed and publicists seeking comment were not immediately returned.
IShowSpeed, a 21-year-old American, has more than 50 million YouTube subscribers, 45 million Instagram followers and 47 million on TikTok.
See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here
American YouTuber and online streamer Darren Jason Watkins Jr., known as IShowSpeed, gestures during the World Cup round of 16 soccer match between Portugal and Spain in Arlington, Texas, near Dallas, Monday, July 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
LONDON (AP) — Reform UK leader Nigel Farage announced Tuesday that he will quit his seat in Parliament and seek reelection in an effort to clear his name over financial allegations linked to millions of dollars’ worth of donations.
The unexpected resignation is an effort by the anti-immigration politician to preempt a standards investigation that could have seen him ejected as a lawmaker, and to present himself as the victim of a witch hunt by the media and his political foes.
“I have done nothing wrong. I have not broken the law in any way at all. I have not misused public money,” Farage, a prominent ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, said in a statement broadcast by his party. Media outlets were not allowed to attend the broadcast and he did not take questions.
Farage faces a parliamentary standards investigation about undeclared and potentially rule-breaking donations, including a 5 million pound ($6.7 million) gift he received from a Thailand-based cryptocurrency billionaire. A finding of wrongdoing could lead to Farage being suspended or expelled from Parliament. But he has made the first move by triggering an election for his seaside seat of Clacton in eastern England.
“The people of Clacton should be the judges of my actions,” Farage said. “This will be a people versus the establishment by-election.”
And, he said: “I will fight to win.”
Farage won Clacton comfortably in the 2024 election, taking 46.2% of the vote, and stands a good chance of winning reelection. Reform UK said it was willing to pay for the special election, which may deflect claims it is wasting taxpayers’ money.
Farage’s opponents were unimpressed. Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the announcement “a desperate stunt” from a man “up to his neck in sleaze.” Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch claimed Farage was having a “hissy fit” and triggering an “ego by-election.”
Farage may run almost unopposed. The opposition Liberal Democrats called on other parties not to enter the contest in order to starve Farage’s “vanity project” of oxygen. The Labour party said they would not stand a candidate, as did the Conservatives who also confirmed they would not run.
The gambit may only postpone Farage’s problems. Even if he wins, the standards inquiry is likely to resume.
Scrutiny of Farage’s finances has spurred speculation about the future of a politician some considered the favorite to be prime minister after the next national election.
One of the most high-profile and controversial figures in British politics, Farage has had an outsized impact as a champion of leaving the European Union and foe of large-scale immigration. He was key in securing victory for the “leave” side in the 2016 EU membership referendum.
His rise has echoes of Trump’s nationalist, anti-immigration playbook. Farage has capitalized on — critics say stoked — concerns about migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats, which he has called an invasion, and alleges that white people face discrimination from police.
He also rails against “the establishment” and the media, which he claimed are using “foul means” to stop him.
A skilled communicator whose supporters see a beer-drinking plain-speaker, and whose critics see a populist rabble-rouser, Farage has had a checkered political career and was only elected to Parliament in 2024 after seven failed attempts. Farage also has a history of walking away from parties he led, stepping down from both the UK Independence Party and its successor, the Brexit Party, in the last decade.
Reform UK has only eight of the 650 seats in the House of Commons but consistently leads opinion polls over the governing Labour Party and the main opposition Conservatives.
Farage’s party was the big winner in local and regional elections in May that led to the ouster of Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the hands of his own Labour Party.
But Reform UK has lost three consecutive special elections that it hoped to win, a possible sign its support may be sagging. The most recent loss was to Labour’s Andy Burnham, who is likely to succeed Starmer as prime minister within weeks.
Parliamentary standards commissioner Daniel Greenberg is investigating the 5 million pound donation to Farage from Christopher Harborne, a British businessman based in Thailand. Farage says the money was a personal gift that he used to fund security and came before he was elected to the House of Commons.
U.K. rules state that newly elected lawmakers must declare gifts worth more than 300 pounds ($400) they received in the previous 12 months, except where the gift “could not be reasonably thought by others” to relate to their political activities.
Farage is also facing questions about claims, reported by the Sunday Times, over his financial relationship with George Cottrell, an aristocratic crypto-gambling entrepreneur, convicted fraudster and on-off aide to the Reform UK leader.
Cottrell was arrested at Chicago’s O’Hare airport in 2016, while traveling with Farage, over allegations he offered to launder money for undercover agents posing as drug traffickers. Indicted on 21 counts relating to money laundering, fraud, blackmail and extortion, he agreed to plead guilty to a single charge of wire fraud, admitting attempting to defraud criminals on the dark web by masquerading as a money launderer. He served eight months in prison.
Cottrell, 32, remains close to Farage, and The Sunday Times said he gave the politician funding for staffing and security before Britain’s 2024 general election, as well as the use of a London townhouse near Buckingham Palace.
Britain's Reform UK leader Nigel Farage leaves Milbank Tower after he said he'll quit his Parliament seat and seek reelection in London, Tuesday, July 7, 2026.(AP Photo/Thomas Krych)
Britain's Reform UK leader Nigel Farage leaves Milbank Tower after he said he'll quit his Parliament seat and seek reelection in London, Tuesday, July 7, 2026.(AP Photo/Thomas Krych)
Britain's Reform UK leader Nigel Farage leaves Milbank Tower after he said he'll quit his Parliament seat and seek reelection in London, Tuesday, July 7, 2026.(AP Photo/Thomas Krych)
Britain's Reform UK leader Nigel Farage leaves Milbank Tower after he said he'll quit his Parliament seat and seek reelection in London, Tuesday, July 7, 2026.(AP Photo/Thomas Krych)
Britain's Reform UK leader Nigel Farage leaves Milbank Tower after he said he'll quit his Parliament seat and seek reelection in London, Tuesday, July 7, 2026.(AP Photo/Thomas Krych)
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage gestures as he makes a statement to the media at the party headquarters in Millbank, central London, Tuesday July 7, 2026. (Gareth Fuller/PA via AP)
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage makes a statement to the media at the party headquarters in Millbank, central London, Tuesday July 7, 2026. (Gareth Fuller/PA via AP)
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage makes a statement to the media at the party headquarters in Millbank, central London, Tuesday July 7, 2026. (Gareth Fuller/PA via AP)
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage makes a statement to the media at the party headquarters in Millbank, central London, Tuesday July 7, 2026. (Gareth Fuller/PA via AP)
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage looks on as he makes a statement to the media at the party headquarters in Millbank, central London, Tuesday July 7, 2026. (Gareth Fuller/PA via AP)
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage gestures during a fireside chat at the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship (Arc) annual conference, at Olympia London, Wednesday June 24, 2026. (Jordan Pettitt/PA via AP)
