Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (AFP): Cristiano Ronaldo recovered from a punch in the face to score twice against Paris Saint-Germain in a lively reunion with his great rival Lionel Messi that demonstrated the financial power of the resource-rich and wealthy Gulf region. Ronaldo, 37, was decked by PSG ‘keeper Keylor Navas’s flailing fist but...
BASRA, Iraq (AA/AFP) – At least one person was killed and 60 others were injured in a stampede at a stadium in Basra, southern Iraq, on Thursday. The crush took place outside the Jaza’a Al Nakhla Stadium, ahead of the final of the 25th Arabian Gulf Cup, the Iraqi News Agency (INA) reported. Medical officials […]
ANKARA (AA) – A Saudi business tycoon has won an auction charity ticket for $2.66 million for a friendly match between football superstars Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi in Riyadh. A so-called “ticket beyond imagination” to attend the friendly match between the Saudi Al-Nassr FC and Al-Hilal SFC teams and France’s Paris S...
ISTANBUL (AA) – Five people including three police officers stood trial on Monday for Indonesian football tragedy that killed more than 100 people last year. The court hearing was held in Surabaya district, East Java province, which saw three police officers, a security officer and a soccer match organizer charged with “criminal negligence” at...
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (AFP): Crowds flocked to a football kit store in Riyadh to buy Cristiano Ronaldo’s new club jersey after the five-time Ballon d’Or winner penned a two-year contract with Saudi Arabia’s Al Nassr. Abdulmohsen al-Ayyban, 41, and his nine-year old son, Nayef, were among those queueing at Al Nassr club’s...
TEHRAN, Iran (AA) – Iranian authorities have arrested a group of current and former players at a mixed-gender party on the outskirts of Tehran. The footballers associated with a prominent club from the Iranian capital were arrested on Saturday night during a mixed-gender party in the city of Damavand, 70 kilometers (43.5 mile) northeast of [&h...
ANKARA (AA) – Brazilian football legend Pele passed away at the age 82, his daughter, Kely Nascimento, announced Thursday on Instagram. “Everything we are is thanks to you,” Nascimento wrote in a post on her official account. “We love you infinitely. Rest in peace.” Seen as the greatest player of all time and even...
ISTANBUL (AA) – World football authority FIFA has chosen, for the first time, a female Palestinian referee to officiate at the upcoming Women’s World Cup matches. The official Palestinian News & Information Agency (WAFA) reported that Heba Saadia would make the calls at the Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand from Ju...
SRINAGAR, Jammu & Kashmir (AA) – Inshah Bashir in Indian-occupied Kashmir repeats: “Where ever there is hope, there is life” to get inspiration to fight the challenges life has thrown at her despite her physical disability. Bashir, 28, is the captain of the Jammu and Kashmir women’s wheelchair basketball team. She recently got a national [...
ISTANBUL (AA) – Despite the zero-tolerance principle against all forms of discrimination at the 2022 FIFA World Cup held in Qatar, a lot of hate speech was used both on and off the field and on social media. According to a report by the US-based Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) published on Nov. 21, […]
