UEFA has, once again, failed to punish racism.
After a slew of racially charged incidents took the spotlight this season, UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin promised tougher punishments for despicable, racist fan behavior. Bulgaria was already serving a partial stadium ban for previous racist incidents and still managed to hurl monkey chants at the England team during Euro qualifiers just a few weeks ago.
The second division of Germany, the 2. Bundesliga, seems to be one of those leagues that no one really cares about outside of Germany. But after a few weekend incidents, maybe we should be watching it more.
The first incident was a substitute giving up a penalty. You read that right: A substitute for Holstein Kiel gave up a penalty.
It’s a mutiny, folks. It's a mutiny.
Arsenal blew a two-goal lead to Crystal Palace on Sunday at the Emirates Stadium, settling for a 2-2 draw despite early goals from centerback pairing Sokratis and David Luiz. While manager Unai Emery has come under intense criticism for Arsenal’s recent displays and for his standoff with the increasingly beloved Mesut Özil, supporter fury today was aimed at club captain Granit Xhaka.
In September, the Mexican Football Federation (FMF) unveiled a plan to stamp out the use of the homophobic “puto” chant. Scared of further punishment from FIFA — from fines to forfeiting World Cup qualifiers — the FMF finally decided to do the right thing.
The fans? Not so much.
In the race for second place behind Manchester City in Group C of the Champions League, Shakhtar Donetsk really needed to hold serve at home against Dinamo Zagreb on Tuesday. But because of some sheer lunacy from Shakhtar keeper Andriy Pyatov, Dinamo escaped with a share of the spoils in a 2-2 draw.
The life of a goalkeeper is a difficult one. If any other player on the field makes a mistake, they are usually forgiven pretty quickly. Goalkeepers, on the other hand, are expected to be perfect. Even the smallest mistake could ruin a keeper's entire career. Robert Green is a perfect example of this.
UANL defeated Veracruz 3-1 on Friday night in Liga MX. Veracruz vs Tigres 2019 was anything but a normal match.
Veracruz protested unpaid wages — some players having gone five or six months without pay — by refusing to play the opening four minutes, standing still as Tigres players scored two uncontested goals, which proved to be the difference in the match.
Josh Sargent sprinted to the sideline, thinking his race had been run. Alas, even substitutions proved too difficult for the USMNT on Tuesday: The substitution board read 15, not Sargent’s No. 19; the striker was to suffer through the full 90, just like all the fans watching on TV.
Despite having a portion of the Vasil Levski Stadium closed by order of UEFA for “racist behavior” from Bulgaria supporters during a June qualifier against Kosovo, the buildup for today’s match between England and Bulgaria in Sofia was centered around how Three Lions players would respond to the inevitable racist abuse that would come their way.
On Sunday, during a crunch Euro 2020 qualifier between Wales and Croatia in Cardiff, there was a terrifying moment in the 14th minute when highly touted Welsh winger Daniel James — somewhat stooping to win a header in the middle of the park — caught a flying knee to the back of the head from Croatian defender Domagoj Vida.