"It's clear that both we and football need another way to combat racism." This is the response from the England national team after learning of Jess Carter's complaint about racist comments during the European Championship. Sarina Wiegman's team was the only one, along with Switzerland, to take a knee before the referee's whistle. A gesture that spread across the Premier League following the murder of George Floyd at the hands of a police officer in the United States.

The Spanish women's national team had been eliminated in the quarterfinals of three consecutive European Championships. This happened in the 2013, 2017, and 2022 editions. In fact, they had only reached the semifinals once in the tournament's history, in 1997, but the format was different back then, and this round involved reaching the semi-finals directly from the group stage. In other words, Spain had never won a Euro Cup knockout match until this Friday, when the team led by Aitana Bonmatí, from Sant Pere de Ribes, and Claudia Pina, from Montcada i Reixac, defeated the host nation, Switzerland, 2-0, in Bern. It was their two moments of brilliance that decided the match.

The Women's Euro Cup kicks off this Thursday with Iceland vs. Finland (6 p.m.). Sixteen teams will battle it out to face Finland in the final on July 27th at Sankt Jakob-Park in Basel, with Spain one of the main contenders for the title. Montse Tomé's team will be looking to lift the only trophy they have yet to win after winning the Nations League and the World Cup. England and France are the other two big names to watch.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has identified the European Football Championship as the main focus of new covid infections in Europe, which have soared by 10% after many weeks of decline. The rapid spread of the delta variant, coupled with crowds at football stadiums and in bars in cities hosting matches, is facilitating the spread of the virus, according to the WHO. The agency's European chief, Hans Kluge, has stressed the need for "organisers and local authorities to drive initiatives to reduce transmission". And it is not just the situation in stadiums - which can have the effect of "super-spreaders" - but Kluge has also pointed to football-related events as one of the other hotspots that need to be monitored.