I do not know why Gayton McKenzie speaks so confidently about things he clearly does not understand. It is embarrassing when a cabinet minister appears unaware of how diplomatic passports work. A diplomatic passport is not reserved exclusively for diplomats, ambassadors or presidents. Around the world, governments have often issued diplomatic passports to individuals who have brought distinction, honour and international recognition to their countries. Outstanding athletes, artists, musicians, cultural icons, business leaders and other distinguished citizens have, on occasion, been granted diplomatic passports or equivalent travel privileges in recognition of their contributions to the nation. In the case of Somali referee Omar Abdulkadir Artan, the Somali government confirmed that it issued him a diplomatic passport to facilitate his travel to the FIFA World Cup after he became one of Africa’s most celebrated referees and was named CAF Men’s Referee of the Year for 2025. Somali officials have publicly stated that the passport was issued because of his historic achievement and to assist him in representing Somalia on the global stage. Artan became the first Somali ever selected to officiate at a FIFA World Cup and has been widely recognised as one of Africa’s top match officials. His achievements have put Somalia on the international football map and inspired millions of young Africans. What is worrying is not that Gayton McKenzie got it wrong. Everyone makes mistakes. What is worrying is that he chose to speak with such certainty about a subject he clearly had not taken the time to understand. Ministers have a responsibility to be informed before making public pronouncements, particularly on matters involving diplomacy and international affairs. A little research would have shown him that diplomatic passports are sometimes awarded as a national honour and a practical tool to assist distinguished citizens representing their countries abroad. That is not unique to Somalia, and it is certainly not unique to Africa. Diplomatic passports have been issued to many people who are not politicians or career diplomats. For example, boxing legend Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines, football stars Didier Drogba of Ivory Coast and Samuel Eto’o of Cameroon, musician Youssou N’Dour of Senegal, long-distance running icon Haile Gebrselassie of Ethiopia, and now Somali referee Omar Abdulkadir Artan have all been granted diplomatic passports or diplomatic status by their governments. The suggestion that only politicians or diplomats can be issued diplomatic passports is therefore incorrect. I have noticed a certain interesting trend with Gayton McKenzie. Most of the time when the American government makes a mistake, he comes out to defend it. I wonder why he does that. From the issue of visas to the political standoff between South Africa and the United States, he has consistently appeared to side with America, even in instances where many believe it is wrong. It is a pattern that is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.

The best images from the 2025/26 season, chosen by you 🫵

This is why. We can't support Xenophobic bastads.

RT @missangeljames: I think you people are getting the South Africa hate incorrect, they don’t hate foreigners. They hate Africans!! They k…

In other countries the government deports illegals. In South Africa, hooligans, vigilante and xenophobic groups, beat, kill, extort and humiliate fellow Africans. This barbaric behaviour is evil and unacceptable

The reason Ethiopia doesn’t win the Super Bowl is because all of their best athletes are in long distance running.

You cannot be serious trying to shutdown genuine grievances with talks of "AID". South Africa hasn't even begun to pay off a multi-generational debt to a continent that spent in excess of $120 billion dismantling Apartheid with Nigeria alone contributing an estimated $61 billion towards your liberation effort. Complaining about donating a fraction of that back to the continent is completely tone-deaf when you have a lifelong debt to "Pan-Africanism". Even the World Cup that's triggering these tantrumsz, without African solidarity & international boycotts, an all-white squad would still be playing for South Africa. There is absolutely no moral high ground for you to stand on.

We don’t beat and kill them, we simply deport them. Thats the difference

I think this video perfectly summarises her entire politics tbh. I have repeatedly said that her "anti-identity" politics schtick is a farce. It's something she always mentions without anyone asking, but it is fraudulent & performative. She's not against identity politics, she's against any identity politics that she feels "benefits" minorities. She's perfectly happy with ethnopolitics that "disciplines" minorities, flatters the right people, or packages Whitelash as respectable politics. When the subject is Black boys & stop-and-search, Badenoch is comfortable being brutally specific. She can call out antisemitism clearly & insist it is named without games. But when it comes to racist WHITE nationalist mobs, suddenly the language softens into "public frustration over illegal immigration," as if parents being chased from their homes with their crying toddlers is only just a policy disagreement getting out of hand. That is the double standard. It's not race-neutrality at all because neutrality would mean applying the same moral standard everywhere. If antisemitism should be named, anti-Black racism should be named & If Islamist extremism should be named, white nationalist racism should be named.If group hatred is dangerous, then she should be able to say that consistently. The most revealing thing about the clip is not just what she says but what she cannot bring herself to say plainly, b/c if your politics can say "more Black boys should be searched" but struggles to say "white nationalist racism is driving this," then your problem is not identity politics, your problem is which identities you think should be named & which identities deserve special protections.

Nigeria alone spent more than 200 times that amount so you can walk on the same pavement with white people. SHUT UP!!

Yesterday’s FIFA World Cup Opening showed what this handful of hateful Ntelezi idiots have done for South Africa’s international reputation and decades of goodwill. All the genuine outrage against illegal immigration has drowned under their violent acts, human rights violations and threats while they run around the country barefoot telling us they are “men” Decades of goodwill built on international solidarity, opposition to Israeli genocide in Palestine, cooperation with other nations, gone to dust. Football is a global language where even politics find expression, and these jokes about how SA at the World Cup is in a “rush to go home and defend their jobs and women” or how “They can’t attack Mexico because they are not African and Black” - this is not only banter, it’s political satire It shows how the world view is shifting towards viewing South Africa as a hub of hate, something that has never been part of our identity. I mean we are being compared to Argentina and Morocco, who have committed human rights atrocities against Africans respectively. The State should take responsibility for allowing hate groups which stop children at clinics, schools, beat people and in some instances incite murder, to define our international identity. It’s not a joke, and we cannot banter our way out of it. It’s a stain. South Africa being regarded as the hate capital of Africa at a FIFA World Cup would have been unimaginable in 2010. Israel is smiling wherever it is, because its mission accomplished. We have lost our moral authority on the global stage.

At least we’re at the World Cup. Wena! Bathong!

A few issues, the reclined seat will block the evacuation of those behind you as their space will be restricted. This space restriction may also cause injury to the traveller behind if there’s an abrupt stop (they’d get thrown forward and strike the reclined chair/person in it). Lastly, in the event of a more serious incident the chair design is such that it gives most strength in the upright position, up to 16G deceleration. It’s a certification thing.

Saka and Palmer are 24, Foden is 26, but: G/A: 🥇Foden 190 🥈Saka 185 🥉Palmer 89 (Yikes) Non Pen G/A: 🥇Foden 190 🥈Saka 172 🥉Palmer 69 (Yikes!) Premier League G/A: 🥇Saka 118 🥈Foden 101 🥉Palmer 69 Champions League G/A: 🥇Foden 34 🥈Saka 21 🥉Palmer 4 (Yikes!) NT G/A: 🥇Saka 23 🥈Foden 12 🥉Palmer 3 (Yikes!)

Benjamin White. The most expensive defender in Arsenal's history at the time (and possibly still today), a price tag that immediately put a target on his back. His transfer came after Arsenal had finished 8th, while Manchester United signed Varane for less. The media quickly painted Ben White as the poster boy of an erratic, overspending Arsenal rebuild. It became so toxic that people would stop him in the street and shout, *"£50 million? You're sh*t!"* He formed an excellent CB partnership with Gabriel before later developing a formidable understanding with Saka at right-back. His relentless work ethic, tactical intelligence, willingness to overlap, consistency, and commitment made him an indispensable part of a squad that regularly challenged for the Premier League title and returned to the Champions League. And now, finally, a Premier League champion. I love him.

I COMPLETELY UNDERSTAND ARSENAL FANS NOW- Van Persie Deserves treatment Arsenal fans give to him. I used to wonder why Arsenal fans hated Robin van Persie so much. I genuinely thought it was just football rivalry and that some supporters were being overly emotional about a player who decided to move on. Then I actually looked into what happened. This was a club that stood by him through countless injury setbacks. Season after season, Arsenal showed patience when he spent more time in the treatment room than on the pitch. The club believed in him, protected him, gave him opportunities, made him captain, and continued backing him when many would have moved on. The moment he finally became fit, reached his peak, and started delivering consistently, what did he do? He left. Not only did he leave, but he joined Manchester United, one of Arsenal's biggest rivals, and helped them win the league. That alone was enough to leave a bitter taste. But what makes it worse for me is the statement he made years later: "For me, only Manchester United is home." Home? After everything Arsenal did for him? After the faith, patience, support, and opportunities Arsenal gave him when his career was constantly interrupted by injuries? I'm sorry, but I completely understand Arsenal fans now. Football fans can forgive transfers. They can forgive players seeking trophies. What they struggle to forgive is when a player appears to erase the club that stood by him during the hardest periods of his career. So yes, after learning the full story, my opinion changed. Van Persie, you deserve the treatment Arsenal fans give to you. Not because you left. Because of how you left, where you went, and the way you chose to speak about Arsenal afterwards. Some players leave a club and remain legends. Others leave and become villains. Robin van Persie chose the second path.

Imagine if this was the other way round?

Who does football remember more now; Nedved or Thierry Henry?

This tweet just shows our absolute inability to hold multiple thoughts simultaneously. First, the people saying he doesn't have a valid impairment are ignorant of the medical & social realities of his condition, especially in our environment. Second, throwing himself as a target into a deeply serious conversation that's centred around profound, life-altering developmental disorders that often require 24/7 medical dependency is a spectacular failure of self-awareness by him. Almost the same way it would be completely out of touch for someone with dyslexia or mild hearing loss making a conversation about severe lifelong genetic anomalies all about themselves. Both things are true, his struggles are incredibly valid, & his attempt to insert himself into a totally different stratosphere of medical trauma is frankly manipulative & blindly insensitive.

Everybody who calls 13 year old children hoes are paedophiles.