Occasionally it’s refreshing to see that athlete stupidity isn’t confined to Americans. Witness Newcastle United striker Shola Ameobi, who returned home to find his mansion in such disarray, he assumed it had been broken into. Only later did he realize that — whoops — he had left it that way.

Ameobi came home to find clothing strewn everywhere, and his checkbook missing. In a panic he called the police and detailed a list of all the things missing. As cops were on their way to investigate the break-in, he stumbled across the “stolen” items and had to sheepishly call the police back, and tell them not to bother, because he had left it so messy it just looked like a burglary.

Read more…

There’s an English saying that sports fans have memories like goldfish, but for soccer supporters who booed an 80-year-old man last week, their memories might be closer to those of elephants.

(Jimmy Hill: OBE, short order cook, and all-around douchebag.)

Jimmy Hill, now a TV analyst, was on hand at a match in London to honor a former teammate. But as soon as he was spotted, thousands of visiting Sunderland fans let Hill, who hasn’t played since 1961, know he wasn’t welcome. Why? A brilliant, machiavellian move more than 30 years old.

Read more…

We’re not suggesting European soccer has a bit of trouble enforcing its goals of respect and mutual understanding between countries, cultures, and ethnicities, but governing football bodies can’t even hold up a punishment for blatant racism that everyone seemingly agrees on.

(Joe Jackson was right; it’s different for girls.  Isn’t that right, Natasha Kai?)

So when former footie star Paul Elliott claims at least a dozen current English soccer players are homosexual and should be encouraged to make a mass outing as part of the FA’s attempt to squelch homophobia, we support the notion but wonder if “safety in numbers” implies that maybe it’s not quite safe to do so yet.
Read more…