The Russians are coming! Or possibly going…
Paddy Power doubles LGBT+ causes donation to £20,000 per goal for Sunday’s knockout stage
By Steve Brown
For every World Cup goal Russia have scored this summer, Paddy Power has donated £10,000 to the Attitude Magazine Foundation for LGBT+ causes.
On account of a 5-0 trouncing of Saudia Arabia, a 3-1 win over Egypt and a 0-3 defeat to Uruguay (which nonetheless included a hapless own goal generously included by the Irish bookmaker) that’s meant a whopping £90,000 donation so far!
Why? To make accidental allies of the host’s national football team, to highlight the dreadful LGBT+ rights record in a country many say should never have been awarded the World Cup in the first place.
So, however unwittingly, the #RainbowRussians have been delivering for all of us all tournament long.
But, come the knockout stage on Sunday afternoon, things are about to get BIGGER and BETTER still…
On Sunday July 1 at 3pm, Russia – anti-gay propaganda law, terrible human rights record and all – play Spain for a place in the quarter-finals. It’s a tough ask for Putin’s boys, not least as they will be carrying the weight of community expectation.
So, by way of added incentive, Paddy Power has upped the ante – to £20,000 per goal for the Attitude Magazine Foundation and the LGBT+ causes they represent!
Your heart may say Viva Espana, but a goal or two at £20k a pop for good causes can’t hurt. From Russia, with equal love.
#RainbowRussians
Russia v Spain is live on BBC1 from 3pm on Sunday July 1.