After decades of political tension between the U.S. and Iran, a new layer has been added ahead of their winner-moves-on World Cup match on Tuesday.

The group-stage finale begins at 2 p.m. ET.

Over the weekend, the U.S. Soccer Federation briefly displayed a banner on Twitter with Iran’s flag purposely altered to exclude its center emblem — a stylized representation of the word “Allah.”

The organization also included the graphic in Facebook and Instagram posts — all of which have since been deleted.

• In a statement Sunday, the U.S. Soccer Federation said it chose to exclude the symbol for a brief period to show “support for the women in Iran fighting for basic human rights.”
• There have been widespread protests in the Islamic Republic of Iran ever since the death of Mahsa Amini, who died after being arrested by Iranian morality police for wearing an “improper” hijab on Sept. 16.
• At least 416 people have been killed in the protests, per Iran Human Rights.

In response to the U.S.’s social media posts, the Iranian Football Federation is filing a complaint with the FIFA Ethics Committee, alleging that the U.S. violated Section 13 of FIFA’s charter, which prohibits offending the “dignity or integrity of a country,” per Iran’s state-affiliated Tasnim News Agency.

High Stakes

The penalty for such an offense is a 10-match suspension — which would keep the U.S. sidelined for the remainder of the World Cup.

On Monday, the banner for the Tasnim News Agency’s Twitter page featured a group of people burning an American flag.

The USMNT is not the only organization criticizing the Iranian regime. Before the tournament, a human rights group called for FIFA to ban Iran from the competition.

A stake sale from France’s top soccer team could have reverberations across Europe.

Qatar Sports Investments is seeking more than a $4.1 billion valuation for Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain in a stake sale.

• QSI is looking to offload a 15% stake in the team which it purchased for around $72.3 million in 2011. 
• The $4 billion figure would easily top the $2.6 billion valuation given to Chelsea in its sale to a consortium led by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital Group. The Chelsea deal also included a pledge to invest billions in the team and its stadium.
• The club earned $574.6 million in revenue last year, sixth among all European clubs.

PSG is exploring options to own its own stadium. The club looked into purchasing Parc des Princes from the city of Paris, but said the French capital’s asking price was too high. 

It may instead opt to either build a new stadium or buy the 80,000-capacity Stade de France, which hosts a range of soccer and rugby events.

Soccer Team Inflation?

If PSG’s valuation tops $4 billion, there could be implications for several high-value soccer teams which could be sold soon.

The owners of Manchester United, Liverpool, and Inter Milan are all gauging the market for their teams, respectively ranked the third, fourth, and 15th in value among soccer teams by Forbes. PSG was ranked seventh.

A regulatory push to prevent monopolies in emerging tech sectors could blow up the largest gaming deal in history. 

Microsoft’s $68.7 billion deal to acquire Activision Blizzard faces a fraught path to regulatory approval in both the U.S. and U.K.

• The Federal Trade Commission is reportedly concerned that the deal could allow Microsoft to hold a dominant position in the emerging cloud gaming sector.
• Microsoft may pledge to allow gaming rivals continued access to top Activision Blizzard titles such as “Call of Duty” and “World of Warcraft.”
• FTC Chair Lina Khan hasn’t commented specifically on Microsoft’s deal but said the agency is taking a hard look at cases where companies use mergers to maintain or establish market dominance in times of technological transition.

The deal is also under scrutiny from the U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority and the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission. 

Market Pressure

One of the world’s best-known investors is banking on the deal going through. 

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway has steadily increased its stake in Activision Blizzard to at least 9.5% of the company in the hopes of cashing in at Microsoft’s agreed-to price of $95 per share. Activision’s price of $74.72 still represents some skepticism among investors that the deal will go through.

This year has been rough on Microsoft, as the tech giant’s stock has dropped around 28% in 2022. The company’s market cap has fallen to $1.8 trillion.

Adidas cut its ties with Ye — formerly known as Kanye West — in October, but the pair’s relationship has reportedly been a topic of discussion for a while. 

As far back as 2018, the company’s chief executive Kasper Rorsted and senior leaders discussed the risk of continuing their links to Ye, according to The Wall Street Journal. 

In a presentation to board members that year, a group including Rorsted highlighted mitigation strategies including ending the relationship, but senior executives decided to share various proposals with Ye instead. 

• Analysts estimate around 8% of Adidas’ annual sales came from the Yeezy partnership.
• Ye asked for more money and control during a September meeting this year. 
• Adidas agreed to some of his demands — including offering to continue the partnership through at least 2026. 

During the September meeting, Ye allegedly showed executives clips from an adult video and accused Adidas of stealing his designs. 

Not So Yeezy

Adidas decided to end the relationship just one month later after Ye made antisemitic comments — and not long after he wore a “White Lives Matter” T-shirt at his fashion show. 

The company called his comments “unacceptable, hateful, and dangerous, and they violate the company’s values of diversity and inclusion, mutual respect, and fairness.” 

Dropping Ye is expected to bring a $247 million hit to Adidas’ net income. 

Rorsted stepped down earlier this month.