Controversy is the key ingredient for a well-seasoned, spicy football match. Flops, red cards and VAR are all ingredients for a debatable match. But the crème de la crème — as Thierry Henry’s hand would say — are controversial goals. Here are the top five most controversial goals ever scored.
The Japanese Football Association announced on Monday that Japan is withdrawing its bid to host the 2023 Women's World Cup, just days before football's world governing body holds a vote to determine the successful candidate.
Colombia's soccer chief and the head of South American football confederation CONMEBOL have written to FIFA complaining of "erroneous and discriminatory conclusions" in the assessment of the country's bid to host the 2023 Women's World Cup.
The Colombian proposal to bring the tournament to South America for the first time received the lowest score in an evaluation of three bids to host the tournament carried out by world soccer's governing body ahead of next Friday's vote.
Football fans will go to the most ridiculous lengths to support their teams. The supporters are a crucial aspect to “the beautiful game,” which is why playing in front of no fans is so odd. Polish side Slask Wroclaw thought it was playing without anyone watching, until one lone fan rose above the wall of the stadium. This super fan is No. 5 on this list of the most dedicated football fans.
Śląsk Wrocław - miłość na całe życie
CAPE TOWN — South Africa's flying winger Siphiwe Tshabalala ignited a nation with his thunderbolt in the opening game of the 2010 World Cup to send the host's supporters into delirium and 10 years on his goal still resonates across the African continent.
Tshabalala’s scorching strike against Mexico at Soccer City in Soweto was one of the iconic moments of the first World Cup in Africa — his pace, technique and power on show in a moment of brilliance that brought instant global recognition.
And then there were three. On Monday, Brazil withdrew its candidacy to host the 2023 Women’s World Cup, leaving Colombia, Japan and a joint bid from Australia and New Zealand as the remaining contenders before the final FIFA Council vote on June 25.
CAPE TOWN — Thursday marks 10 years since South Africa hosted a World Cup highly charged with symbolism but dogged by questions about the wisdom of spending billions on a sports event that might have been better used elsewhere.
Hosting the first soccer World Cup in Africa was seen as a coming of age for the embattled continent.
But the month-long tournament, which had a $3-billion (USD) price tag, also came at a time when the country faced an enormous backlog of social needs such as housing, hospitals, water and electricity.
As major American sports leagues plot their respective paths back to action, they are having to balance the requisite safety measures and local stay-at-home restrictions with the formulation of return-to-play scenarios.
While over in Europe the mantra is something like “just get it done” due to the nature of how domestic leagues work (no playoffs, relegation), American competitions like the NBA are being forced to get creative due to both time constraints and the hard truth that no one’s interested in watching the Minnesota Timberwolves and Phoenix Sounds do battle right now.
Mario Götze will bid farewell to his boyhood club for a second time at the end of this season, according to Borussia Dortmund sporting director Michael Zorc.
MILAN — Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini admires Uruguay forward Luis Suarez for biting him during a heated match at the 2014 World Cup, he said in his autobiography.
Suarez, who escaped punishment during the game, was later banned for four months plus nine internationals — but Chiellini said he bore no grudge towards him.
"Malice is part of football, I wouldn't call it illegitimate. To get past a rival you have to be smart," the Juventus captain said in the book "Io, Giorgio".
"I admire his cunning," he added. "If he lost it, he'd become an ordinary forward."