Gaza City, Palestinian Authority | Some of the most contested, densely populated land on earth offers little space for football on grass. Even less so now that a massive crater remains near the center of the Palestine national stadium in Gaza City, the result of an Israel Defense Forces bomb attack on Apr 1.
London and San Francisco | Dave Eggers states the facts straight in a book excerpt published last weekend in the Observer. In yet another permutation of the “Why Americans don’t like soccer” argument, Eggers mentions, first, the Cold War–era “commie” taint and, second, the prevalence of diving (aka “simulation”).
Rome | Paolo Di Canio and Lazio teammates abided yesterday by the request of Rome Mayor Walter Veltroni to meet with Nazi death-camp survivors. Three survivors addressed the players at Michelangelo‘s Piazza del Campidoglio; afterward, Di Canio sounded contrite, saying “we heard the stories of people who went through something terrible.” Although still attached to right-wing [...]
Limassol, Cyprus | With clubs reeling from debt, persistent fan violence and racism, Cypriot football managed to hit “rock bottom” Saturday with a policeman’s death, 27 injuries and six arrests stemming from a post-match riot between supporters’ groups, the Cyprus Mail reports. Marios Malekkou, 43, died of a heart attack while carrying an injured police officer [...]
Milan | Messina and Ivory Coast defender Marc Zoro picked up the ball in the 66th minute of a Sunday match at Inter Milan and started to leave the pitch to protest the monkey sounds with which spectators greeted his touches. The match continued, with Zoro’s participation, but the display at least has galvanized Italy’s soccer [...]
Decatur, Georgia | In the first in a series of Thanksgiving-timed editorials on immigrant leaders in the Atlanta area—titled “New American Heroes”—the Atlanta Journal-Constitution profiles Jordanian Luma Mufleh (see 6 April). Through soccer and the creation of a refugee-staffed cleaning service, Mufleh, 30, has helped give new arrivals to Atlanta a sense of belonging as well as [...]
Matupi, Burma | Two people—including a 7-year-old boy—were killed and six wounded when Burmese soldiers opened fire on football spectators on Nov 12, according to the Democratic Voice of Burma. The attack, which occurred during an awards ceremony at a stadium in Burma’s northwest, was attributed by state news sources to the Chin rebel army. But [...]
Istanbul | Having scaled heights in the esteem of world football, Turkey perhaps made a serious misstep Wednesday given post-game violence directed against the native country of the FIFA president. Sepp Blatter promised an inquiry into the mêlée that hospitalized Swiss defender Stéphane Grichting following a wild 4–2 Turkish victory that nevertheless delivered a World Cup [...]
Fort-de-France, Martinique | On the Rue du Moulin de la Galette, on Square Van Gogh, in the Plain de Neauphle sector, in Trappes, south of Paris, Nicolas Anelka was raised. Rioting reached Trappes on Nov 3, and players on the France national side—presently on the Caribbean island of Martinique for a friendly, versus Costa Rica, to benefit [...]
Belfast, Northern Ireland | With a goal of building understanding and “a shared space for football fans on this island,” the governing associations of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland plan to discuss housing an all-Ireland soccer museum in Belfast. The idea originates with Sport against Racism Ireland (SARI), based in Dublin. Ken McCue of [...]
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