Stop admiring them: Tweet that spurred Japan to turn on style and run over fancied USA baseball team
For the longest time, even Shohei Ohtani’s teammates looked past him in favour of the North American stars of Major League Baseball. They know now that they only need look to the guy in their own dressing room to see the most complete player in all of baseball. Still, it...
Scars of American jingoism can’t fade from Iraqis collective memory, 20 years after vague war
During the more than eight-year war and ensuing years of violence after the 2011 US pull-out, more than 200,000 civilians were killed and over 9 million others displaced in Iraq. Much of the country’s infrastructure was also destroyed during the relentless bombings launched by the US-led coalition. Although 20 years...
Remembering Escobar: How Colombian star defender was killed by drug gangs for own goal error at USA World Cup finals
Colombia paid tribute recently to football star Andres Escobar, who was gunned down 20 years ago just days after scoring an own goal at the World Cup finals. The killing, widely said to be an act of revenge for the 27-year-old defender’s own goal, set off international controversy and put...
Arsenal put aside Europa League elimination agony to spank hapless Crystal Palace at Emirates
Crystal Palace’ was spelt incorrectly on some of the paper tickets for this clash at the Emirates Stadium. No such errors on the pitch from Arsenal. There are no signs of the capitulation that many predicted would come. No indication of the wheels, however slightly, coming off Arsenal’s title challenge....
How snubbed footballer became destitute, made homeless in England, then rose again to head $1 billion tech firm
When Dean Forbes missed out on a professional football career, he could have been forgiven for thinking his days of making millions would be over. The hard-to-take snub coincided with a difficult time in the future tech CEO’s life, when he was made homeless at 17 when he was also...
Superstar Messi’s run in with his manager suggests he’s in sunset days at PSG…like Ronaldo at Man United
Lionel Messi is keen to return to Barcelona at the end of the season once his contract at PSG runs up, according to reports. Messi’s future is one of the most hotly debated subjects in football, with a number of clubs linked with him, including MLS side Inter Miami and...
Superstitious Arsenal fans blame Gunners’ exit from Europa League on ‘Kim Kardashian curse’, want her banned from Emirates
Kim Kardashian, was in attendance for Arsenal’s Europa League defeat and many fans have jokingly blamed her for losing to Sporting Lisbon. She is a bad omen, they say, and want her banned from future Arsenal matches. A global superstar, thanks to her hit Keeping up With the Kardashians show,...
No St Patrick’s Day! Crystal Palace sack manager Vieira despite transforming Eagles into an entertaining side
Crystal Palace have confirmed that Patrick Vieira has been sacked as the club’s first-team manager after 18 months in charge. The decision comes after a dismal run of form for the Eagles in 2023, who have failed to win any of their 12 matches since the start of the new...
Fifa President Gianni Infantino retains seat unopposed at world football body’s congress in Rwanda
Gianni Infantino has been re-elected as president of Fifa until 2027 after standing unopposed at the congress of world football’s governing body on Thursday. The 52-year-old Swiss lawyer, who succeeded the disgraced Sepp Blatter in 2016, was waved in for a third term by acclamation, just as he was four...
Petrodollar: Lionel Messi lured to Saudi Arabia with $233 per year offer to play for Al Hilal
Lionel Messi is reportedly set to be offered a £194 million ($233.3 million) per year deal to move to Saudi Arabia. The Argentine, 35, will become a free agent in the summer if he does not agree a contract extension at Paris Saint-Germain. But while the French giants remain keen...