Marks & Spencer ran a full-page ad in Tuesday's Metro featuring England Manager Gareth Southgate in his "trademark waistcoat and stripey tie." The spot highlights the fact that the retailer is the official tailor to the England team and uses the hashtag #LuckyWaistcoat. It was created in-house by M&S, with media handled by Mindshare. M&S later ran large digital ads reading "Bring it home" and #LuckyWaistcoat at Wembley Stadium, where it held its AGM (CAMPAIGN LIVE, 7/10).
It has been a few days since Brazil was eliminated from the World Cup, but "escaping Neymar's diving antics will take much longer." The Brazilian forward is "still being ridiculed for his over-the-top theatrics" during his team's run to the quarterfinals, particularly on social media. The Neymar Challenge -- where people video themselves or others emulating the player rolling around -- has "spread like wildfire" (STUFF, 7/10).
FIFA is "looking into" a new video of Croatia defender Domagoj Vida in which he appears to again say "Glory to Ukraine!" The video was posted online after the win against Russia that took Croatia into a semifinal against England. The 29-year-old was already warned by FIFA for a previous clip, which led to coach Ognjen Vukojevic being sent home by Croatia (BBC, 7/10). ... Ukraine supporters flooded FIFA's Facebook page with over 158,000 comments, most saying "Glory to Ukraine," after Croatia's assistant coach was fined for a video in which he used the same slogan. FIFA hit Vukojevic with a $15,000 fine and a warning for posting the clip, which included Vida. Relations between Ukraine and Russia "remain highly charged" following Moscow's '14 annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region (ESPN.com, 7/10).
Activists from several countries "strolled around Red Square and elsewhere in Moscow" during the World Cup wearing their national teams' football jerseys to form a rainbow flag to champion gay rights. The activists from Spain, the Netherlands, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina and Colombia said that they released images of their performance "after they had left Russia to ensure their safety." Police did not immediately respond to a request to comment on the performance, but activists said they "did not encounter hassle from police or attract their attention" (REUTERS, 7/10).
Jorge Sampaoli's future as Argentina manager will be reviewed at the end of July, after the country was knocked out of the World Cup at the last-16 stage. Sampaoli, 58, was expected to depart after the '14 finalist "edged through the group stage" before losing 4-3 to France in its first knockout game (BBC, 7/9).
