Free Republic

CHANT 'HEIL HITLER' AT ISRAEL'S OLYMPICS SOCCER GAME 7/29/2024. Pro-Palestine protesters made their presence known at the Olympics in the worst possible way ... invoking the biggest antisemite known to human history straight from the stands.

A professional soccer game was suspended in Norway when fans threw fish cakes and other objects onto the field to protest the use of a Video Assistant Referee, or VAR. The Norwegian Eliteserien game between Rosenborg BK and Lillestrom was initially stopped mere minutes after kickoff due to the fish cakes raining down on the field. Players returned to the field from the locker room, but the game was stopped a second time when fans from both sides continued to throw fish cakes, and started adding tennis balls and smoke bombs into the mix. The game was officially suspended after...

The Euro 2024 soccer tournament is under way in Dusseldorf, and in the U.K. there has been less attention to the games than hand-wringing over the likelihood of English fans singing “Ten German Bombers.” Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has denounced the song as “offensive” and urged Brits not to sing it, as has England’s team manager. A German police chief has warned British fans, “Don’t be dicks.” Only a few voices have been raised in defense of English fans and their chant. So, seeing such consternation, I wanted to hear the song. As you no doubt assumed, it counts down,...

''We know we're at a very important moment in the history of our country, an unprecedented situation. That's why I really want to address the French people and especially the young generation. I think we are a generation that can make the difference. We see today that the extremists are at the gates of power. We have the opportunity to choose the future of our country. That's why I call upon the youth to go out and vote, to really be aware of the importance of this situation. I hope to use my voice as best I can because you...

This is one of the weirdest stories of the year.Allegations in Bucharest have spawned one of the most bizarre stories the world of soccer has ever seen. It’s been alleged that former Portugal back Edgar Ié, who rose to prominence playing for Barcelona might have sent his twin brother Edelino Ié to play in his place when he was transferred to Dinamo Bucharest back in February. Rumors of the identity switch began in early May when things about Ié simply weren’t adding up. Not only did the player Bucharest sign not really play like Edgar Ié, but members of the...

When the Mexican national soccer team, otherwise known as El Tri, visits Soldier Field, it’s cause for celebration on the lakefront. Fans tailgate and play loud music in the parking lots, and the matches are full of color and passion. Unfortunately, something unsavory frequently accompanies the festivities. During the 2019 Gold Cup final against the United States and a 2022 friendly with Ecuador, El Tri fans chanted a homophobic slur at the opposing goalkeeper. Two years ago, the Ecuador match was paused in the 81st minute as part of FIFA’s three-step system aimed at eliminating discriminatory incidents by fans, specifically...

Monaco's Mohamed Camara has been suspended for four matches, the French football league (LFP) said on Thursday, after an LGBTQ+ support logo on the Mali international's shirt was covered up during a Ligue 1 match. The badge on Camara's shirt was covered with white tape in Monaco's last league match of the season on May 19, in which he netted a penalty in their 4-0 home win against Nantes. "After hearing the player Mohamed Camara, and noting his refusal during the meeting to carry out one or more actions to raise awareness of the fight against homophobia, the Commission decided...

A high school soccer game at a public field in East Harlem was canceled after a group of migrants refused to leave the pitch so the kids could play. “I directly asked them to leave and some of them kind of took it into consideration, but then four or five of them said, ‘You know what, f–k it, we don’t have to leave, we can do whatever we want,'” said Erik Johansson, the coach of the Manhattan Kickers 17-year-old boys travel team. About 40 boys from both teams showed up on Sunday, April 14 at Thomas Jefferson Park for the...

Concerns over the physical safety of female-born football (soccer) players competing against transgender athletes have compelled at least 20 players to quit, according to a source from within a Sydney-based league.Calling itself the “biggest LGBTQIA+ women’s and non-binary football club in the world,” the Flying Bats FC has made international headlines for fielding 5 self-identifying transgender players, with at least nine transgender players in the wider NorthWest Association.Critics have said the Bat’s domination of the four-week pre-season Beryl Ackroyd Cup, which followed an undefeated season in 2023 that produced scorelines disproportionate to other teams’ results, was a direct result of...

A massive Queens redevelopment project that includes a 7-story soccer stadium for the professional New York City Football Club and 1,400 “affordable” apartments was expected to receive final approval from the City Council on Thursday. Queens Borough President Donovan Richards will join Mayor Eric Adams and local Councilman Francisco Moya on Thursday to celebrate the breakthrough on the project in the Willets Point section of the borough. “We’ve scored a goal!” said Richards, a staunch proponent of the project. “We’re bringing the world’s sport to the world’s most diverse borough. I’m rooting for NYCFC to win the championship. Queens is...

Two dozen young women have quit an Australian soccer league after officials allowed one team to add five transgender athletes, some of whom went on to injure girls on other teams. Parents rose up in anger last month after the Flying Bats Football Club added the five male-born players to their girl’s soccer team and then went on a tear winning every single game for the pre-season Beryl Ackroyd Cup tournament in the Sydney, Australia-based league. “Flying Bats FC won every game they played over the course of the four-week competition, winning the grand final 4-0 at Macquarie Park on...

“The Boss” is back. The video player is currently playing an ad. It was announced early Wednesday morning that music legend Bruce Springsteen has returned to the E-Street band and launched his 2024 tour. This is great news for everybody, unless you are former U.S. Women’s soccer star Megan Rapinoe and had no desire to start trending on X. Once again, social media did not miss. — T. Becket Adams (@BecketAdams) March 20, 2024 Rapinoe was a large part of the 2012 U.S. Women’s National team at the Summer Olympics in London, the 2015 FIFA U.S. Women’s World Cup team,...

New York lobbyists have hit the jackpot alongside a push to open casinos in the Big Apple — raking in bundles as they try to woo Mayor Eric Adams and council members, a new city report reveals. Compensation for lobbyists shot up 8% last year — up from $121.15 million in 2022 to $130.96 million, according to the annual study prepared by the City Clerk’s Office, which regulates the lobbying industry. Entities tied to Mets billionaire owner Steve Cohen and Seminole Hard Rock Entertainment led the charge — spending more than $2 million combined on a stable of lobbyists last...

The story of two Greek immigrants in Colombia serves as a lesson of what the nation can achieve when united. Petros Gkrilis and George Sitaras come from Thessaloniki. They are fanatic supporters of the city’s eternal rivals PAOK and Aris respectively. They proudly wear their club’s jerseys in Colombia, speak with passion about their love for their idols back in Greece and they both claim their team is the jewel in Thessaloniki’s sports crown. Yet they have managed to show to the entire world that football rivalries are nothing compared to all the other things in life which unite people...

German football legend Franz Beckenbauer, who won the World Cup both as a player in 1974 and as a manager in 1990, died on Sunday at the age of 78, the German Football Association (DFB) announced on Monday. Former captain of the West German national team in the 1970s, manager of the Mannschaft from 1984 to 1990, and later an executive at Bayern Munich, Beckenbauer had limited his public appearances in recent years due to his health and was living in retirement in Salzburg, Austria. “A legend of German and world football. The Kaiser was a great person, a friend...

A British male athlete who identifies as trans quit a women's soccer team and is considering legal action after opponents refused to compete against him following an incident where a female athlete suffered a broken knee while attempting to block his shot. Francesca Needham, 30, resigned from the Rossington Main Ladies, a soccer team in South Yorkshire. After the female athlete's knee injury and ongoing refusal from opposing teams to play against Needham, upcoming matches were canceled.In a statement to The Daily Mail this week, Needham indicated that he is considering pursuing a discrimination case. The trans athlete hopes the...

Israel and Poland’s under-21 national soccer teams played a match on Friday, but its start was interesting. No one played for the first minute of the game. They remained in their starting positions, responding to the Union of European Football Associations’ decision not to hold a moment of silence for the Israelis massacred in the October 7 attacks committed by Hamas. It’s not a good look for UEFA, but the players found a workaround (via The Guardian): UEFA refused to organize a minute of silence before the start of the match between #Israel and Poland (under-21 team). In response, the...

Hey, folks. God here. I'm writing in response to recent comments from Megan Rapinoe, a human female best known for playing the so-called sport of soccer, or "Satan's Folly" as we call it up here. Rapinoe invoked my name on Saturday after injuring her Achilles tendon in the opening minutes of the National Women's Soccer League Championship. It was the final game of her professional career. "I'm not a religious person or anything and if there was a God, like, this is proof that there isn't," Rapinoe told the demonic cretins you call journalists during the post-game press conference. "This...

U.S. soccer star Megan Rapinoe did her best to laugh off an injury she suffered in the final match of her career on Saturday. Rapinoe went down in the sixth minute as OL Reign lost to Gotham FC in the National Women’s Soccer League Championship on Saturday night. Rapinoe said she believed she tore her Achilles. In the post-match press conference, Rapinoe said she was going to get the "Aaron Rodgers treatment" to try and recover from the injury. She said she’d reach out to him or whoever did his surgery. "I’m not a religious person or anything and if...

A former US National Women’s Soccer League player was filmed allegedly flashing a Nazi salute at pro-Israel demonstrators in Los Angeles. Stefany Ferrer Van Ginkel, who previously played for the Angel City Football Club based in LA, signed the “Sieg Heil” salute from the passenger seat of a vehicle, video posted online by watchdog group StopAntisemitism shows. “Shame on you,” the demonstrators at the Beverly Hills rally shouted at her. It’s not clear what occurred before the recording began. Behind the wheel was another professional soccer player — identified by the group as Samim Haydari.