CSKA Soccer Violence and This Week in World Football Scandals
Wayne Rooney and Ashley Cole can't keep their names out of the scandal news. It's Rooney's elbow and Cole's toy gun that have them embroiled in more controversy.
Luckily for the both of them, football is a sport marred by shenanigans. Violence was a theme this past week as FC Twente's Douglas went after two players and a referee, CSKA Sofia was fined for its fans riots and a Colombian player took aggression out on an owl.
Yes, an owl.
Violence hasn't been the only theme. WAG Frankie Sandford doesn't like being called a WAG, Zlatan Ibrahimovic had disparaging for his former Barcelona manager, Guardiola, and more.
Buckle up. It's another bumpy ride down the world of world football.
CSKA Sofia Fans Riot and Club Pays Fine for It
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Nothing quite says a day at a sporting event like breaking down fences and shooting fireworks at police officers.
Oh, that's not what you do at sporting events? How American of you.
For some reason, the rest of the world, mainly Europe, has it in its head that crowd violence should be a regular part of athletic competition. The latest edition occurred when CSKA Sofia fans decided to riot during their Bulgarian club's derby match with Levski Sofia.
They broke down barriers, peppered the police with objects and lit fireworks—can't they keep these out of stadiums?—during the match. Eventually, the police forced 3,500 fans out of the stadium at halftime where the destructive masses turned to automobiles and store fronts.
The dumbest part of the whole thing is that CSKA won the match 3-1. What exactly were they rioting about?
Now CSKA has to play its next home match at a neutral site and pay fines of 6,000 levs ($4,240). Way to chip in, guys.
Andy Carroll Asked to Lose Weight in Order to Play
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Andy Carroll may be able to make his Liverpool debut on Sunday against Manchester United—providing that manager Kenny Dalglish find his physique acceptable.
After sitting out for two months from a hip injury—sustained from a fall from a bar stool (seriously)—Carroll returned to the training grounds only to be told to lose weight.
The Reds' striker apparently got a little too comfortable on his sofa during the rehab process. But come on, Liverpool. Did you really expect a man you paid £35 million for to keep in shape after skirting you out of two months with a pub injury?
FC Twente's Douglas Victim of His Own Anger and Opponents Theatrics
3 of 10How about those vicious blows that Brazilian defender Douglas delivered? That pat to the first AZ Alkmaar player's arm got him right in the face, apparently. It was so flagrant that it sent his whole body flying against the pitch.
It's clear why Douglas was upset. The opponent got lucky not to make a card-able offense against him, coming in from behind to just get a touch to the ball. Then, he baits the referee into an overzealous red card.
Douglas didn't handle his anger well, though. He tried to head butt the ref. Then had to be dragged away. Along the way, he delivered a slight shiver to another Alkmaar player that sent him flying to the ground.
Those two Alkmaar players resembled foosball figures with the way the flipped over at the slightest touch.
Douglas was given a five-game ban by Twente.
Wayne Rooney Elbows Wigan's James McCarthy in FA Cup Tie
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Just because Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney has found his for toward the later stages of the season doesn't mean that defenders aren't still finding ways under his skin.
That was evident in a FA Cup fixture between Man U and Wigan Athletic. Wigan defender James McCarthy found himself on the end of a Rooney elbow that drew a free kick and nothing more.
McCarthy has played down the incident, calling it a "heat of the moment thing." More candidly, though, he said that the reaction may have been different if he were the one elbowing and Rooney were the one receiving the blow.
Rooney throwing elbows in a 4-0 win shows his fire.
Colombian League Player Helps Animal Control by Booting Owl from Pitch
5 of 10What would happen if Florida quarterback John Brantley kicked Georgia's live bulldog mascot, UGA? Well, that's the equivalent to what happened on Sunday in a Columbian soccer league.
Deportiva Pereira was visiting rival Junior when Junior's live owl mascot ended up on the pitch with a broken wing. Play was stopped and Pereira defender Luis Moreno walked up to the bird and kicked it off the field.
On television, in front of thousands of rival fans, Moreno's thought process deemed it acceptable to kick the rival's mascot. Not only was he kicking an animal, but it was an animal dear to the hearts of people that already don't like him. And he did it in their house. He's lucky to be alive.
The owl was not so lucky.
The bird died later, although it has been reported that its death was not directly related to Moreno's boot.
Moreno was suspended for two matches and fined the equivalent of $500 but may face greater ramifications in court.
Cesc Fabregas Looks to Be Ready to Further Enrage Barcelona
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Cesc Fabregas, a Spanish soccer sensation, will likely be used once again by his Arsenal side to further madden Barcelona.
Barcelona, Fabregas' training club, lost the phenom to Arsenal at the age of 16 and has been feverishly and vehemently trying to regain him ever since. Arsenal has repeatedly sat in its secret lair, twisting its mustache as it declines to sell the Spanish international, driving Barca insane.
After suffering a hamstring injury in a match against Stoke a week ago, Fabregas wasn't readily thought to be available for the second leg of Arsenal's UEFA Champions League tie with Barca. Arsenal holds a 2-1 home decision going into the March 8 away leg.
But Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is now saying there is a great chance that the Gunners captain will be fit to play. Wenger can only hope that Fabregas delivers a key performance in dispatching the Spanish super club.
Frankie Sandford Doesn't Appreciate Being Called a WAG
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Frankie Sandford passes the requirement test for being a WAG: She's dating West Ham defender Wayne Bridge. She passes the eye test as well.
But she doesn't want to be called a WAG.
She may have a point, as WAG has come to mean not just that you are a wife or girlfriend of a footballer but that you suck that footballer dry of money and then move on.
Sandford has enjoyed success as a British pop singer and has her own money. So you've heard it straight from her: Frankie Sandford is not a WAG. She just dates a footballer, duh.
Ashley Cole Shoots an Intern with His Air Rifle
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Interns get their fair share of hazing, from getting coffee to suffering pranks. But what Chelsea FC's intern experienced was beyond a prank.
The details are foggy: Why did star fullback Ashley Cole bring his .22 caliber air rifle to work? How did he not know it was loaded? And how did he end up shooting the intern?
The intern was left with a bloody wound and an official apology from Cole. The intern, Tom Cowan, received medical attention from the team's medical staff after sustaining the wound in the dressing room but had to go to a hospital days later for further treatment.
Cole didn't receive any reprimand from his club. His manager, Carlo Ancelotti, shrugged the incident off as a mistake blown out of proportion.
The rifle is the most powerful gun legally allowed in England without a license.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic Comments on Past Managers
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Zlatan Ibrahimovic has his opinions of his past managers. The AC Milan striker likes Jose Mourinho, who coached him at Inter Milan. But Ibrahimovic doesn't like Pep Guardiola, who coached him at Barcelona.
In his comments, the Swedish dynamo claimed that Barca didn't cater to his play enough, which he believes a club should do after €70 million.
While the logic seems sound there, consider that at that time Barcelona boasted Samuel Eto'o, Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta, Xavi and others. Wouldn't you just be happy to be on the field with that plethora of football genius?
There is no doubt that Ibrahimovic is among the best strikers in the world, but asking the best club in the world with the arguably the best player in the world (Messi) to change its system to fit him is ludicrous.
Glazer Family Has Found Buyers for Manchester United
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Reports are that Manchester United's American owners, the Glazer family, are on the verge of selling the Red Devils to Middle Eastern buyers. Qatar Holdings is reportedly purchasing the club for £1.6 billion. The Glazers purchased the team in 2005 for £790 million.
That's what I call sound investing.
Is there anyway that the Glazers can school the United States government in purchasing and reselling international soccer clubs? A few of those deals and the national debt would be looking a whole lot better.
Once the sale is completed both Manchester English Premier League clubs, City and United, will be owned by Middle Easterners. Manchester City is owned by Abu Dhabi's Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
