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Here are some of the best fan banners and displays from around the world.

An Indian footballer has died after a backflip goal celebration went tragically wrong during a match last week in north eastern India.  Peter Biaksangzuala attempted to perform the acrobatic celebration after scoring for Bethlehem Vengthlang FC against Chanmari West FC in the 62nd minute. Biaksangzuala fell on his head badly damaging his spinal cord. Team-mates immediately rushed to his aid and he was immediately rushed to local hospital. Unfortunately,  after five days of intensive treatment, as doctors attempted to heal his injuries, the footballer passed away on Sunday morning after being put on a ventilator.

A group of Sarıyer supporters attacked coach Turhan Özyazanlar on Oct. 14 outside the club’s facilities as he was trying to defend trainer Erdal Elgörmüş (L). The coach of Sarıyer, a third-division football team headquartered on Istanbul’s Bosphorus, was beaten by fans after the team’s goalkeeper trainer posted messages on social media decrying atrocities committed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Kobane. A groups of Sarıyer supporters attacked coach Turhan Özyazanlar on Oct. 14 outside the club’s facilities as he was trying to defend trainer Erdal Elgörmüş. Ergörmüş, who was born in the Kurdish-dominated southeastern...

Serbia's Euro 2016 qualifier against Albania was abandoned on Tuesday evening after a drone flown over the Partizan Stadium pitch carrying the pro-Albanian banner led to a clash between the two sets of players.

Organisers of next year's African Nations Cup have no intention of postponing the event even though hosts Morocco called for a delay of the finals because of fears over the Ebola virus. However, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) said in a statement on Saturday it would meet the Moroccan government next month, sending a high-powered delegation to discuss the issue in Rabat led by its president Issa Hayatou. The host nation's government made a shock announcement on Friday, saying it wanted the 16-team tournament from Jan. 17-Feb. 8 postponed following a report by its health ministry into the possible...

Here’s the deal. There’s a park in San Francisco with a couple of soccer fields in it. They don’t get nearly as much use as they could because they’re grass fields. San Francisco is kinda rainy, it takes a lot of money and resources to maintain real grass fields, and they don’t hold up as well as turf under frequent use. So, after about 19 times the due diligence necessary for determining the relative safety and environmental impact of turf athletic fields in any other city on planet Earth, most of San Francisco’s leaders—covering the spectrum from Democrats to progressives—decided...

Ghana’s national football captain and former English Premier League player Asamoah Gyan has been forced to deny he murdered a local rapper in a ritual sacrifice.

U.S. Soccer is standing by its decision to allow goalkeeper Hope Solo to continue to play while she faces domestic violence charges. Solo is charged with two misdemeanor counts of fourth-degree domestic violence assault in Washington state stemming from a June 21 altercation with her sister-in-law and 17-year-old nephew at a family gathering. ... U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati said Monday the organization will let her play until the legal matter is settled. ... According to the court documents in the abuse case, Solo's 17-year-old nephew told police Solo was upset and appeared to have been drinking when she arrived...

Solo is the starting goalie for the U.S. national soccer team and has amazingly held this position since Bill Clinton was president (2000). Along the way, she’s won two gold medals and has recorded the most shutouts in U.S. women’s soccer history. She can add some distance to that record when the U.S. hosts Mexico in Rochester tonight. Solo is also a 33-year-old woman charged with two counts of misdemeanor domestic violence in the assault of her sister and teenage nephew. The Washington native has pleaded not guilty. Her trial is set to begin in two months. But unlike Rice...

Ever dreamed of having a wedding based around your favourite football team? No? Well this Manchester United fan did. And this week he made his dream come true. The supporter, based in Kenya, went to great lengths to organise a United themed wedding for him and his bride to enjoy, but on the basis of these photos, it didn’t go down well. In truly mad scenes, the groom wore a United shirt – complete with ‘Just Married’ on the back – while every detail was replicated, including a cake slapped with the same sponsors as the Red Devils. But while...

A friendly soccer match against Israel marking 50 years of diplomatic ties has been called off amid security concerns and the escalation of the Middle East conflict, the German Football Federation (DFB) said on Friday. The game had been scheduled for March 25 but was canceled at the request of Israel, the DFB announced on its website. The move resulted from “postponements in the calendar arising from the recent developments of the conflict in the Middle East and resulting security conditions.” …

<p>A star soccer player has died after he was hit in the head by an object thrown from the crowd during a game in Algeria's top league.</p> <p>The Confederation of African Football says 24-year-old striker Albert Ebosse of Cameroon died in the hospital Saturday night.</p>

A priest and close friend of Pope Francis says the pontiff's idea for an upcoming inter-religious soccer match for peace shows his keen interest in promoting the topic on all levels of society. “The hope is that after this football match, this sports event, there will be an impact that raises awareness for peace,” Father Guillermo Karcher told CNA Aug. 25, explaining to other journalists that “the Pope's concern for peace is very great.” “He sees in this event, this punctual message of the match for peace, a very positive element that gives a contribution, because it's necessary to try...

Even at this early stage of the season the car crash that was Louis van Gaal’s first entanglement with the Capital One Cup seems likely to be one of those stand out matches, the sort of set piece horror show that will feature in clip compilations and football documentaries for decades to come. Heck, people like me are likely to be writing about it for years to come, so imagine my disappointment at not getting to witness the carnage first hand, or even watch it on television, but being forced to follow the action through a Steve Claridge co-commentary on...

Manchester United made an impressive debut under Coach Louis van Gaal on Wednesday night, with Wayne Rooney scoring twice late in the first half of a 7-0 victory over the LA Galaxy. Ashley Young and unsung defender Reece James scored two second-half goals apiece as United opened its summer tour with a surprisingly polished win over MLS’ overmatched Galaxy in the Guinness International Champions Cup.

Swedish football coach Pia Sundhage has spoken out, the coaches concerned are under review and gender experts have warned that prejudice remains after two young players were accused of being boys. "Traditional gender roles are in many areas deeply entrenched," Sofia B. Karlsson, who is involved in the Football for All project, told The Local. Football for All (Fotboll för Alla) is a cooperation between Stockholm professional club AIK and Amphi Produktion and aims to develop training materials and methods to tackle racism, homophobia and sexism within the game at all levels. "We want to develop tools so that everyone...

The mother of Real Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo has admitted that she drank alcohol and ran until she ‘dropped’ in an attempt to abort him while she was pregnant. Dolores Aveiro revealed the story in a biography called Mother Courage, which was released in Portugal today. In the book, Mrs Aveiro admitted that she tried to abort Ronaldo – who is the youngest of four children – by drinking warm beer and running ’till she dropped’ following the refusal of doctors to carry out the procedure. She said: ‘I wanted to abort but the doctor didn’t support my decision.’ Mrs...

Peru’s Reimond Manco was once rated better than Colombian superstar James Rodriguez. So where is he now?<Colombian soccer star James Rodriguez appears to have it all. At just 22, he is the World Cup’s current top scorer, with six goals, and viewed by many as the standout player of the tournament in Brazil. He also appears to be a good kid: hardworking, focused and grounded. #176506735 / gettyimages.com Peru’s Reimond Manco But there was a time when James (pronounced HA-mes), as he is known, labored in the shadow of an even more outrageously talented South American player, Peru’s Reimond Manco....

Brazil, Neymar Are Most Commonly Seen in Anguish; Bosnia Is Most Likely to 'Grin and Bare It' One of the most common complaints during this otherwise splendid World Cup is the amount of time players spend embellishing injuries. All too often during matches, seemingly fit men fall to the ground in agony. They scream, wince, pound the grass with their fists and gesture to the sidelines for a stretcher. Some of them clutch a limb as if it was just freed from the jaws of a wood chipper. But after a few moments, just as the priests arrive to administer...

Germany has honoured a Bangladesh farmer and diehard fan for making a 3.5-kilometre-long (2.2 mile) flag of the country in support of Philipp Lahm's World Cup team, officials said on Sunday. The massive flag was on display Saturday at a stadium in the western town of Magura, which the German charge d'affaires, Ferdinand von Weyhe, visited to pay tribute to the farmer. "The 3.5-kilometre-long German flag circled the stadium four times and hundreds of people have turned up to see this amazing sight," said Ishrat Hossain, a German embassy spokeswoman. She said Von Weyhe handed the farmer, 65-year-old Amjad Hossain,...