The Chinese Super League was home to some despicable scenes yesterday as Shanghai Shenhua striker Demba Ba was reportedly subject to racist abuse from Changchun Yatai midfielder Zhang Li. The former Newcastle United and Chelsea striker could be seen confronting Li in the 77th minute while Yatai striker Odion Ighalo — who spent three seasons in England with Watford — restrained him.
Arriving in Newcastle upon Tyne as a traveler, it won’t be long until your attention is captured by the Castle Keep and Black Gate, a well-preserved medieval fortification which rises 81 feet into the air, towering over the Cathedral Church of St. Nicholas to the north and the High Level Bridge running over the Tyne to the south.
Sepp Blatter’s former FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke received a ban appeal rejection on Friday, July 27. The 57-year-old was ordered by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to complete his 10-year suspension from all football activities. Additionally, the Frenchman is to pay an approximate fine of $100,500.
Qatar’s 2022 World Cup just can’t seem to stay away from controversy. First it was the allegations of bribery, then it was the deaths of workers building the stadiums (still an ongoing issue), and more recently it was the decision to host the 2022 World Cup during November and December.
It’s a commonly held belief in professional sports that visiting teams automatically have a disadvantage. They have to deal with rowdy crowds who often hate their guts, a dearth of supporters in the stadium, hotel living and sleeping, and the discomfort of planes and buses.
There are a lot of reasons as to why playing an away game is not ideal but just imagine having to play a road game that is 21,303 miles (for our non-American readers, I’ll spare you the mental math calculations and just tell you that’s a whopping 17,142km) round trip.
Ezequiel Barco, the 19-year-old Argentine phenom who became Major League Soccer’s most expensive transfer when he joined Atlanta United for $15 million back in January, was withheld from Saturday’s match against DC United and will miss this weekend’s game against Montreal for “an act of indiscipline.” Now, SB Nation blog “Dirty South Soccer”
What do R&B singer R. Kelly, plastic surgery-obsessed Los Angelenos and Cristiano Ronaldo have in common? For them, age is nothing but number. Certainly, the 33-year-old has shown he can more than hang with the the best of young bucks as he finished as Champions League top scorer this past season and helped to bring home the third trophy in a row for Real Madrid.
At this point, it’s hard to imagine Mo Salah being picked last for anything. He’s already a Liverpool hero having scored 43 goals in all competitions in his first season at Anfield. And, well, Egypt is so obsessed with him after he led the Pharoahs to their first World Cup in 28 years that schools have been renamed after him. If you want to win, if you need a clutch performance, Salah is probably your first choice.
Mesut Ozil has retired from international football at the age of 29, citing “racism and disrespect” from the German football federation (DFB). Ozil had 92 caps for Germany and helped the nation capture third place at the 2010 World Cup before lifting the trophy in 2014. The Arsenal playmaker issued a detailed statement on Twitter with the main contents concerning the fallout of his meeting with Turkish president Recep Tayyip before the World Cup.
Here are his statements in full, read them (click/tap) before commentating:
An Andrés Iniestra vs. Ronaldo duel may sound like a classic clash between two of LaLiga’s most historic figures.
But read carefully: It is not Barcelona’s Andrés Iniesta but rather Pumas UNAM Andrés Iniestra we are talking about.
Similarly, it is not Juventus’ Cristiano Ronaldo but Veracruz’s Ronaldo Prieto.