http://www.memri.org/jihad.html
http://memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=subjects&Area=jihad&ID=IA24505
Inquiry and Analysis Series - No. 245
October 7, 2005 No.245
"Anti-Soccer Fatwas Led Saudi Soccer Players to Join the Jihad in Iraq"
By Y. Admon*.
Introduction
ARTICLE SNIPPET: "The Saudi daily Al-Watan reported recently that Islamic extremists were inciting Saudi soccer players to quit their teams and wage jihad in Iraq. According to these reports, the young athletes were influenced by fatwas forbidding the game of soccer except when played under certain conditions and with the express intention of using the game as physical training for jihad. Saudi sheikhs and intellectuals have criticized the fatwas and the religious authorities that issued them.
On August 22, 2005, Al-Watan reported that the soccer players involved in this affair were from the Al-Taif region, and that some of them belonged to the region's well-known Al-Rashid team." [1] In another article, Al-Rashid captain Ja'far 'Attas said that three of his players had left the team. [2] A few days later, team members confirmed that the three had become devout and, under the influence of various fatwas, had begun to believe that soccer was forbidden by religious law. [3]
One of the three, Majid Al-Sawat, was arrested while planning to carry out a suicide bombing in Iraq. He appeared on Al-Iraqiya TV four months ago, claiming that he had fallen victim to one of the disreputable groups which take those who come to Iraq and hold them against their will in order to make them commit acts of terrorism. [4]
Fatwa from 2003: Soccer is Forbidden Except When Played as Training for Jihad"
http://www.wtop.com/index.php?nid=104&sid=589361
"One Dead After Man Drives Car Into Crowd"
Updated: Monday, Oct. 10, 2005 - 1:25 PM
ARTICLE SNIPPET: "ELMWOOD PLACE, Ohio (AP) - Police were searching Monday for a man who allegedly drove his car into a crowd of people on a sidewalk, killing one and injuring five, after getting into a fight about a soccer match.
Rey Serrano, 19, of Elmwood Place, drove his Lincoln Town Car into the crowd Sunday, striking six men and hitting a utility pole before running away, police said.
Authorities in the Cincinnati suburb said Serrano may have run down the men in retaliation for a confrontation about a soccer match between Mexico and Guatemala. Mexico won 5-2 in Saturday night's World Cup qualifying game.
"We were told that there was some type of dispute over the match," said Steve Barnett, a spokesman with the Hamilton County sheriff's office.
Serrano, who also goes by the names of Ilario Vasquez and Angel, was charged with one count of murder and five counts of attempted murder. Barnett said he knew the men in the crowd, but their relationships were unclear."