LONDON (AP) — Former England midfielder George Eastham, a member of the country’s 1966 World Cup winning squad who was better known for his social activism, has died. He was 88.
Soccer club Stoke City announced Eastham’s death late Friday, saying it was “immensely saddened" to lose a “club legend.” It did not specify a cause of death.
Eastham made 19 appearances for England, following the path set by his father, George Eastham senior, though the last of those games was before the 1966 World Cup. He did not feature at the tournament itself, where he was the only Arsenal player in the ultimately successful England squad.
Eastham had to wait for a World Cup winner’s medal until 2007, when FIFA ruled that medals should be awarded retrospectively to non-playing squad members of previous finals.
Eastham was signed by Stoke shortly after the World Cup and went on play for the club for eight seasons including loan spells elsewhere. His personal highlight with Stoke was scoring the winning goal in a 2-1 victory over Chelsea to win the 1972 League Cup at Wembley Stadium.
Eastman started his playing career in Northern Ireland for semi-professional side Ards, where his father, a former Bolton and Blackpool forward, was the player-coach. Both father and son made their debuts for the club in the same match because of injuries to first-team players.
Eastman joined Newcastle United in 1956, Arsenal in 1960, then Stoke in 1966. He also later coached the latter.
But Eastman was better known for his role in ending the so-called “slavery rule,” by which a club could refuse to allow a player’s transfer even if his contract with the club had expired. Newcastle had refused to allow his transfer to Arsenal. Eastman’s campaign saw the retain-and-transfer regulations altered in favor of players.
Eastman finished his playing career in South Africa, where he also coached. He became a vocal critic of apartheid, the racist system of segregation in the country at the time.
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George Eastham looks on in London, Aug. 1, 1966. (PA via AP)
MAGDEBURG, Germany (AP) — Germany on Saturday was still in shock and struggling to understand the suspect behind the attack in the city of Magdeburg.
Identified by local media as 50-year-old Taleb A., a psychiatry and psychotherapy specialist, authorities said he has been living in Germany for two decades. He was arrested on site after plowing a black BMW into a Christmas market crowded with holiday shoppers Friday evening, killing at least five people and wounding about 200 others.
Prominent German terrorism expert Peter Neumann posted on X that he had yet to come across a suspect in an act of mass violence with that profile.
Taleb’s X account is filled with tweets and retweets focusing on anti-Islam themes and criticism of the religion while sharing congratulatory notes to Muslims who left the faith. He also described himself as a former Muslim.
He was critical of German authorities, saying they had failed to do enough to combat the “Islamism of Europe.”
He has also voiced support for the far-right and anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.
Some described Taleb as an activist who helped Saudi women flee their homeland. Recently, he seemed focused on his theory that German authorities have been targeting Saudi asylum seekers.
Neumann, the terrorism expert, wrote: “After 25 years in this ‘business’ you think nothing could surprise you anymore. But a 50-year-old Saudi ex-Muslim who lives in East Germany, loves the AfD and wants to punish Germany for its tolerance towards Islamists — that really wasn’t on my radar."
On Saturday, German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser told reporters: “At this point, we can only say for sure that the perpetrator was evidently Islamophobic – we can confirm that. Everything else is a matter for further investigation and we have to wait.”
A German-based organization called Athiest Refugee Relief said the alleged attacker was not a part of the group and claimed that he made “numerous accusations and claims” against it and former board members, which it said were false.
“We distance ourselves from him in the strongest terms," the group said in a statement on its website, adding that members of Atheist Refugee Relief filed a criminal complaint against him in 2019 following “the most foul slander and verbal attacks."
An image taken from a video shows police officers arresting a suspect after car drove into a crowd at the Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, Friday Dec. 20, 2024. (TNN/DPA via AP)
A person stands by flowers and candles placed outside St. John's Church near a Christmas Market, where a car drove into a crowd on Friday evening, in Magdeburg, Germany, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
