Controversial

ATLANTA — Canada coach Jesse Marsch said Argentina should be fined after the defending champions emerged late from the dressing room for the second half in their Copa América opener on Thursday.

After the first half ended goalless, Argentina opened the scoring four minutes after the restart through Julian Alvarez while Lautaro Martinez scored a late goal in a 2-0 win.

Argentina emerged for the second period around five minutes after Canada.

Jesse Marsch Argentina complaint

Argentina’s 2-0 victory vs. Canada on Thursday in Copa América wasn’t smooth sailing. It literally wasn’t smooth because the Mercedes-Benz Stadium grass put in place caused issues for both teams.

Members of Argentina and Canada said that the grass put in place wasn’t up to par. Atlanta United and the NFL’s Falcons play on turf inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium, however the artificial turf was replaced with grass on Sunday.

Copa América grass issue

The replacement grass was basically placed over concrete creating a uniquely bad surface to play on.

Racism is still the biggest plague of the “Beautiful Game”, and it reared its ugly head on Thursday as Argentina and Lionel Messi fans racially abused Canada’s Moïse Bombito on social media.

Fans weren’t happy about the tackle on Messi from the Colorado Rapids star during the Copa América opener between Canada and Argentina. During the second half Messi went down and received treatment following this tackle from the Canada defender.

May 29 (Reuters) - One in five professional players who took part in a study commissioned by the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) said they were using nicotine pouches, tobacco sachets (snus) or both, research showed on Tuesday.

One in five players from EPL, ELF and WSL consume nicotine

The study, conducted by Loughborough University, surveyed 628 male players in the Premier League and EFL, as well as 51 players from the Women's Super League.

No Messi, no party.

Fans in attendance for the Vancouver Whitecaps match against Inter Miami last Saturday, who were most certainly expecting to see Lionel Messi on the pitch at the time of buying their tickets, were not impressed with the Argentine’s ‘unexcused’ absence.

Vancouver fans' reaction to Lionel Messi's absence vs. Whitecaps

Brazil and Palmeiras superstar Endrick caught fans’ attention with his goal celebration against Liverpool during Thursday’s Copa Libertadores match. The Endrick Kong celebration is already iconic.

The 17-year-old phenom’s goal and celebration started a small skirmish as he extended Palmeiras’ lead to 3-0 in the 82nd minute and pounded his chest after finding the back of the net.

Endrick Kong celebration

Real Madrid pulled off another stunning last-minute comeback victory against Bayern Munich to win 2-1 (4-3 on aggregate) in the Champions League semifinal on Wednesday. One major talking point is a late Bayern offside call.

In the dying seconds of the game with Real Madrid leading 2-1, Bayern’s Matthijs de Ligt thought he’d netted a dramatic equalizer. He’d be denied as the linesman raised his flag for an offside call just before his goal.

LONDON — Liverpool's slim Premier League title hopes faded further on Saturday when Michail Antonio's late header earned West Ham United a deserved point with a 2-2 draw.

Liverpool, reeling from a 2-0 loss at Everton in the Merseyside derby on Wednesday, were marginally the better side in a flat first half. The visitors had a penalty denied for an offside in the build-up before Luis Diaz hit the post.

They again conceded first, however, when Jarrod Bowen nodded home shortly before halftime, his 20th goal of the season in his 200th game for the Hammers.