Shocking

Italian penalty specialist Simone Zaza has issued a public apology through his Instagram account after his ridiculous penalty kick sailed over the bar against Germany.

Zaza, who was introduced in the 120th minute for Giorgio Chiellini, has become a viral sensation for his scampering approach to a spot-kick. It was an unorthodox technique that was ultimately humiliating from start to finish.

However, none of that is funny anymore.

We’ve seen many odd career choices made by soccer players after hanging up their boots. Ronaldo tried his luck as a poker player. Maradona got a TV show. Countless went into politics – and the list of post-retirement career choices goes on and on. Nevertheless, no soccer player has taken a path quite like former Coventry City and Hereford United goalkeeper David Icke. 

First, a little background on David Icke.

In the biggest story to come out of European football this summer, a Swedish defender was sent off while playing in a ninth-tier match for farting near the opposition striker. 

According to The Guardian, Adam Lindin Ljungkvist, the left-back for Jarna SK’s reserve team, was shown a second yellow card for “deliberate provocation” and “unsportsmanlike behavior” after farting in the general direction of opposition striker Kristoffer Linde.

England took on Portugal today in an internatinoal friendly. The match was really more of a tune-up game for the imminent Euro 2016 tournament than anything else, and so both sides were looking to learn more about their players, try out some new things, and generally just finish off the day better than they started it.

Except for Bruno Alves. Bruno Alves almost killed Harry Kane.

Alan Pulido has been found safe by Mexican authorities, Reuters reported.

Armando Pulido, the brother of Mexico and Olympiakos striker Alan Pulido, confirmed to Mediotempo that his brother was kidnapped in the city of Victoria in Tamaulipas, Mexico on Saturday. 

Barcelona is back on track to retain their La Liga crown after they handed out a 5-0 thrashing to city rival Espanyol in the Derbi Barceloni on Sunday. The victory was especially sweet for Barcelona, as during the last meeting between the two clubs, Espanyol keeper Pau Lopez stomped on Messi after the Barca star went down in front of the goal.

January 6, 2016 – Copa del Rey: Pau Lopez Stomps On Messi

It sucks to be Romeo Parkes right now. The Pittsburgh Riverhounds’ leading scorer just got his contract terminated; he’s fired, something that you rarely hear about in the world of sports. Suspensions, yes. Fines, all of the time, but straight up contract termination is a step above the punishments you normally hear about. Parkes arguably deserved his termination as well.

On Friday, Liverpool FC defender Mamadou Sakho was named in a UEFA investigation concerning a possible anti-doping violation.

Amnesty International published two new videos that show in gruesome detail the true nature of conditions for migrant workers working on the Qatar 2022 World Cup. The Qatar World Cup is set to be held in the winter, and has been subject of criticisms from almost every angle imaginable. 

A crunch meeting between French national team manager Didier Deschamps and the president of the French Federation, Noel Le Graet, has yielded the decision to omit striker Karim Benzema from selection for the French squad at Euro 2016.