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CAIRO (AP) -- Police shot and killed two protesters in Suez, Egypt, early Friday, a health official said, the first to die in clashes that erupted around the country after a riot at a soccer stadium killed 74, as sports violence spiraled into a new political crisis for Egypt. Protesters blame police for failing to control the riot after the soccer game in Port Said. In Cairo, thousands demonstrated Thursday in front of the Interior Ministry, which oversees the police. Demonstrators threw rocks, and police responded with clouds of tear gas. Hundreds were treated by medics. In Suez, witnesses said...

Egyptian state TV has raised the death toll to 73 after fans of rival soccer teams rushed the field, hurling stones and sticks at each other and sparking a stampede. State TV cited the Health Ministry and says 1,000 other people were injured in Wednesday's melee.

At least 73 people have been killed in fan clashes following a football match in the Egyptian city of Port Said, state television reports. The deaths occurred after supporters invaded the pitch following a match between top-tier clubs Masry and al-Ahly on Wednesday. It is feared the death toll could rise as scores have been injured. Some of the dead were security officers, the Associated Press quoted a morgue official as saying. The BBC's Jon Leyne in Cairo says it appears fans had taken knives into the stadium. Our correspondent says the lack of the usual level of security in...

Mulryne during his Manchester United days A former Manchester United footballer is training to become a priest. Phil Mulryne, who was once a teammate of Ryan Giggs and David Beckham, has enrolled at the Pontifical Irish College in Rome. The former Northern Ireland international midfielder was invited into the priesthood by Bishop Noel Treanor of Down and Connor after leaving the sport and becoming involved in charitable activities. Mulryne, 34, began his career with the Manchester United youth team in 1994, but despite great talent found it hard to find a first team place in one of the most famous...

Former Mexican international soccer player Omar "El Gato" Ortiz has been arrested on suspicion of taking part in a major kidnapping ring, Mexican police announced Sunday. Ortiz, whose nickname means “The Cat,” was accused of aiding a gang which is wanted for the abduction of at least 20 victims, including the husband of Mexican pop star Gloria Trevi, the security spokesman for Nuevo León state, Jorge Domene, told El Universal Saturday.

In a country so proud of its global stature, football is a painful national joke. Perhaps because Chinese fans love the sport madly and want desperately for their nation to succeed at it, football is the common reference point by which people understand and measure failure. When, in 2008, milk powder from the Chinese company Sanlu was found to have been tainted with melamine, causing a national scandal, the joke was: “Sanlu milk, the exclusive milk of the Chinese national football team!” All this hints at something rather unique and powerful about the place of football in Chinese society. It...

In many quarters, the European Championship is the soccer tournament, ahead of the World Cup, because there is no fluff, no Saudi Arabia, no United States, no Paraguay, no North Korea, no Honduras, no New Zealand, but also no Brazil and Argentina. “Tougher than the World Cup,” England Coach Fabio Capello told The Associated Press before the draw. “The teams that finished first, second and third in the World Cup came from Europe.” Friday in Kiev, UEFA staged the draw for next summer’s 16-team tournament, which will be played in Ukraine and Poland and follows the co-hosting scheme used four...

CHICAGO – Using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to study the effects of soccer 'heading,' researchers have found that players who head the ball with high frequency have brain abnormalities similar to those found in traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients. Results of their study were presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). Heading, in which players field the soccer ball with their head, is an essential part of the game and the focus of many training drills. "Heading a soccer ball is not an impact of a magnitude that will lacerate nerve fibers in...

The Jay DeMerit Story is the true story of a young American's impossible journey - a journey never experienced or heard of in the soccer world.

During the Colombia's Independiente Santa Fe match against Brazil's Bitafogo, a dog decided to go streaking around the field as the players and security tried in vane to capture it. The dog interrupted the Copa Sudamericana match when Santa Fe was up 4-0 at the 67th minute. For the next 5 minutes the dog ran around dodging the players and entertaining the crowd, it tired and headed for the bleachers. Columbia would eventually advance to the quarter-finals by defeating Santa Fe up 4-1.Streaker Alludes Capture @ Soccer match

FIFA vice president Prince Ali Al Hussein will propose that soccer's governing body agree on "general principles" for the use of Islamic headscarfs. He'll bring the issue up at the meeting of the Executive Committee in December. FIFA banned the Islamic scarf covering a women's neck in 2007 claiming safety concerns. A statement from the Asian Football Confederation says Tuesday the proposals will ensure "the safe use of hijab in the game..."

Sir Alex Ferguson has described Manchester United's 6-1 defeat at home to Manchester City as the worst he has experienced in over half a century in the game. "It was our worst ever day," Ferguson said. "It's the worst result in my history, ever. Even as a player I don't think I ever lost 6-1. That's challenge for me too." It was Manchester United's worst home defeat since the 1930-31 season, when they were beaten 6-0 by Huddersfield Town amid a run of 12 straight losses in the First Division.

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Oct 11, 2011 / 03:34 pm (CNA).- Saudi Arabia’s religious police detained a Colombian soccer player at a shopping mall on Oct. 7 for not covering up an image of Jesus tattooed on his shoulder.Juan Pablo Pino, 24, who plays with the Al Nasr Soccer Club in Saudi Arabia, was wearing a sleeveless shirt while out with his pregnant wife at a mall in the capital city of Riyadh.Locals who saw the tattoo began insulting him, which drew the attention of the officers from a group known as the Police Force for the Promotion of Virtue of...

Anti-racism groups on Friday called on European football's governing body UEFA to punish Polish club Legia Warsaw after fans brandished a "Jihad" banner during a Europa League match against Israeli side Hapoel Tel Aviv. "This is yet another case of anti-Semitic behaviour by extremist groups active in Polish football stadiums, and it could have been predicted," Rafal Pankowski of the campaign group Never Again and who runs the UEFA-backed Football Against Racism in Europe network. At the start of Thursday night's Group C home game in Warsaw - which Legia won 3-2 - a group of fans unfurled a huge...

ANKARA, Turkey -- Turkey tried a new approach to curbing crowd violence at soccer games -- kick out all of the men, but let women and children attend for free. Under new rules approved by Turkey's soccer association, only women and children under 12 will be admitted to games involving teams sanctioned for unruly fan behavior. On Tuesday, Fenerbahce handed out free tickets and more than 41,000 women and children attended the game against Manisaspor in Istanbul. Women formed long lines around Sukru Saracoglu stadium, some carrying babies in the team's colors, for an opportunity to watch the club. Before...

Didier Drogba Video: Watch Chelsea Striker's Terrifying Collision vs. NorwichBy Josh Martin(Featured Columnist) on August 27, 2011 649 reads 0 Use your � → (arrow) keys to browse more stories NextChelsea suffered a big scare on Saturday when Didier Drogba was knocked unconscious on the pitch during the Blues' 3-1 victory over Norwich in Barclays Premier League play at Stamford Bridge on Saturday. In the 63rd minute, the 33-year-old Ivorian striker went up for an aerial challenge against Canaries goalkeeper John Ruddy while offside, resulting in a sickening collision that sent Drogba spinning laterally in mid-air before landing face-first on...

In almost five years as coach of the U.S. men’s soccer team, a spell that ended with his firing Thursday, Bob Bradley always seemed like the interim choice. U.S. Soccer Federation President Sunil Gulati was constantly flirting with more glamorous candidates, stringing Bradley along as the temporary boss before naming him the permanent coach in May 2007 and looking elsewhere last year before re-signing him. Bradley went about the job in his low-key, cerebral way, and the results were mostly positive: first place ahead of England in the 2010 World Cup group stage in South Africa, a stunning upset of...

For U.S. soccer fans, the scene was tough to watch: Archrival Mexico celebrating a Gold Cup victory on American soil, cheered on by a largely pro-Mexico crowd at the Rose Bowl. A little more than a month later, Bob Bradley has been fired as coach of the U.S. men's soccer team.

Bradley's Tenure as Head Coach of U.S. Men's National Team Ends CHICAGO (July 28, 2011) — U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati announced today that Bob Bradley has been relieved of his duties as the head coach of the U.S. Men’s National Team. “We want to thank Bob Bradley for his service and dedication to U.S. Soccer during the past five years,” said Gulati. “During his time as the head coach of our Men’s National Team he led the team to a number of accomplishments, but we felt now was the right time for us to make a change. It is...

Japan beat the US, taking the Women’s World Cup soccer championship in a penalty shoot-out Sunday night in Germany, a victory that is being savored back home where good news has been in short supply. After coming from behind twice, Japan finally got a win against the US – on their 26th attempt. Japan beat the US on penalty kicks 3-1 after the final ended 2-2. The match was full of the kind of open attacking football that has been conspicuous by its absence in recent men’s World Cup finals. Japanese fans who woke up early, or stayed up late...

For those following the FIFA Women's World Cup, Team Japan beat Team USA in penalty overtime. Final score; 3-2.

A viewer's guide to today's Women's World Cup title match. Team USA will vie for a record third crown (1991, 1999), while Japan will go for its first. (TV: 2 p.m., ESPN)

From Yahoo Sports: "...Here's the official White House photo of the Obama family watching the final, as tweeted by Barack... (Photo: Peter Souza, Yahoo Sports) Looks like a match snack of chips and salsa. And a few troubled expressions over the U.S. hitting the post so many times."

Wohoooo .... it's gonna start within a few minutes !

Moenchengladbach, Germany - The United States is in the World Cup final for the first time since it last won the title in 1999, and once again Abby Wambach came up big for these Americans, scoring in a 3-1 victory over France on Wednesday. Wambach broke a tense tie with a monstrous header

I hope you were watching the Women’s World Cup just now. The U.S. team put on one of the most amazing, determined, come-from-behind performances you’ll ever see in sports, playing a man down and tying Brazil at literally the very last moment possible then winning on penalty kicks — all in the wake of an awful referee’s call in regulation time that nearly threw the game to Brazil by letting them re-try a missed penalty kick. The call was so bad that the German crowd swung wildly in favor of the Americans, with chants of USA!USA! throughout the extra time....

USA beats Brazil

A couple of second-half goals gave the U.S. a 2-0 win over North Korea and a strong start to their Women's World Cup run. The eighth-ranked North Koreans have the youngest team in the tournament with an average age of 20. Still, their discipline and skill gave the U.S. a lot of trouble in the first half before controversial starter Lauren Cheney justified her selection by heading in the first goal in the 54th minute and defender Rachel Buehler scored a second in the 76th minute. After the match, North Korea manager Kwang Min Kim shocked the congregated press by...

-excerpt- After the match, North Korea manager Kwang Min Kim shocked the congregated press by revealing that his side isn't just the youngest team, but it is also the only team in the tournament that's been struck by lightning. From the BBC: "When we stayed in Pyongyang during training our players were hit by lightning, and more than five of them were hospitalised," said coach Kim. "Some stayed in hospital and then came to Germany later than the rest of us. The goalkeeper and the four defenders were most affected, and some midfielders as well. The physicians said the players...

Eight players from the Mexican national team have been sent home in disgrace after allegedly inviting prostitutes into the team's Copa America training camp. The eight - Jonathan dos Santos, Nestor Vidrio, Javier Cortes, David Cabrera, Nestor Claderon, Israel Jimenez, Jorge Hernandez and Marco Fabian - were dismissed on Tuesday, just hours before the team were due to fly to Argentina for the start of the Copa America from their training base in Ecuador. They were caught after some members of the squad reported that some personal items, including laptops, iPads, mobile phones and cash, had been stolen from their...

For those of you who aren’t habitual soccer fans-and I include myself in that category-America’s loss to Mexico in the Gold Cup Final this weekend might not have been an earth-shattering event. However, the importance of the match’s outcome-a 4-2 loss by the United States-was overshadowed by what happened outside of the game, which took place in Pasadena, California, part of Los Angeles. The same city run by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, the rabidly pro-Mexican open borders enthusiast who supports a boycott of Arizona and L.A. remaining a sanctuary city. It’s within this context that the reception our national soccer team...

If the U.S. soccer team were hoping for the home advantage during Saturday's Gold Cup final then they were in for a nasty surprise. Despite being the 'home' side in California's Rose Bowl stadium, the majority of fans - most of them American born of naturalized Mexicans - booed and jeered the U.S. team. The surprising scenes were followed by angry outbursts from U.S. team goalkeeper Tim Howard, who was visibly shaken after the entire post match ceremony was conducted in Spanish. Speaking after the game, Howard said: '[tournament organisers] CONCACAF should be ashamed of themselves. 'I think it was...

It was imperfectly odd. It was strangely unsettling. It was uniquely American. On a balmy early Saturday summer evening, the U.S soccer team played for a prestigious championship in a U.S. stadium … and was smothered in boos. Its fans were vastly outnumbered. Its goalkeeper was bathed in a chanted obscenity. Even its national anthem was filled with the blowing of air horns and bouncing of beach balls. Most of these hostile visitors didn't live in another country. Most, in fact, were not visitors at all, many of them being U.S. residents whose lives are here but whose sporting souls...

After El Tri's 4-2 victory at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., {goalkeeper Tim} Howard blasted CONCACAF officials for conducting the title ceremony in Spanish. "CONCACAF should be ashamed of themselves," Howard said. "I think it was a [expletive] disgrace that the entire postmatch ceremony was in Spanish. You can bet your ass that if we were in Mexico City, it wouldn't be all in English. "But that's not why we lost the game. They've got some special players who put us in some bad situations." In addition to crediting Mexico's talented playmakers for the victory, Howard was complimentary about...

The vast majority of the 93,420 fans gathered at the Rose Bowl for Saturday’s CONCACAF Gold Cup final had absolutely no problem whatsoever with the postgame ceremony. They loved it, in fact, saving their loudest cheers for beloved tournament MVP Javier “Chícharito” Hernández and the moment when Mexico national team captain Rafael Márquez hoisted the enormous golden trophy that symbolized El Tri’s sixth continental title. U.S. goalkeeper Tim Howard felt very differently. Still stinging from the Americans’ 4-2 defeat, Howard ripped organizers for a ceremony designed to cater to what obviously was a pro-Mexican crowd. He emerged from the U.S....

It's not every day you meet a psychic octopus like the one that predicted eight World Cup wins in a row last summer, but that isn't stopping a German aquarium chain from trying. In honor of the Women's World Cup, which begins June 26 in Sinsheim, Germany, the Sea Life aquarium chain is looking for the next incarnation of Paul, the octopus who amazed the world by correctly predicting the results of Germany’s matches in the 2010 World Cup, according to TheLocal.de. Each of the country’s eight aquariums will have one of its octopuses predict the competition’s results by picking...

A Mexico win would serve as convincing evidence that Mexico is once again the unquestioned leader in the region. It would also provide a confidence boost for a talented young team that could wind up ruling CONCACAF for the foreseeable future. And a United States win? If the US team can knock off Mexico’s Golden Boys, it would give the Americans their third Gold Cup title in four tournaments and continued bragging rights in a series they've dominated for the better part of a decade. It would also give the current US team a head start on Mexico as both...

Bribery charges upset Qatar's soccer field of dreams - News Britain's Sunday Times newspaper earlier this month alleged that two members of the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) took bribes of $1.5 million to back Qatar's 2022 bid.

The Iranian women's soccer team was in tears after being forced to forfeit a 2012 London Olympics qualifying match this past weekend because it showed up to play in hajibs. FIFA banned the Islamic head scarf in 2007, saying that it could cause choking injuries -- the same reason it gave for recently banning snoods (neck warmers). FIFA also has strict rules against any religious statements in team uniforms.

FOOTBALL great Diego Maradona says corruption and match-fixing scandals that have hit Fifa will continue as long as the sport's governing body is run by 'dinosaurs.' The Argentine is in Dubai to sign a two-year contract to coach the local Dubai Al Wasl club. Maradona said Fifa had been badly run over the years and attacked Wednesday's re-relection of President Sepp Blatter 'who has never kicked a football.' Maradona, 50, said an ex-footballer should be in charge but did not suggest anyone. Maradona hasn't coached since leading his country to the World Cup quarterfinals last year. The Dubai club has...

Since they were founded in 2002 they have one of the best playing records in English soccer, gaining 5 promotions in 9 years. They have done this with one of the lowest budgets in competitive football – and also excellent onfield discipline. Above all the team is actually owned by its fans.

A soldier praised for his courage in Afghanistan, which saw him awarded the Military Cross for bravery, is to present the FA Cup to the winning side. Cpl Mark Ward was chosen to present Saturday's prize to the winning captain because of his "inspirational leadership" as a section commander. A member of the Mercian Regiment, based in Catterick, North Yorks, he will be guest of honour at the Wembley final between Manchester City and Stoke City. He said he was "extremely proud". Among those who have previously presented the trophy are Prince William, the Queen, Winston Churchill and Sir Bobby...

Nigerian teammates of a teenage soccer player who was shot to death near where the boys were staying on the South Side have been relocated to live with families on the North Shore, their coach said Friday.

Great result for RSL in the First Leg, especially in Monterrey, highly entertaining match. All they have to do in the return leg is tie and not allow Monterrey 2 goals, and they will be CONCACAF Champions League Champions. That would be a huge moment for US Professional Soccer. Return leg is next Wednesday night in Salt Lake.

The violent madness that engulfs Egyptian and Algerian footballing relations exploded yet again, this time during Saturday's African Champions League match between Egpyt's Zamalek and Tunisia's Club Africain. With Zamalek leading 2-1 in the second leg but still down 5-4 on aggregate, they had a vital late goal disallowed after being ruled offside. The home fans decided to blame the match's Algerian referee and in stoppage time, hundreds of them stormed the pitch. The match was abandoned as the officials fled the scene and the crazies on the pitch threw stones, lit flares and attacked both the players and each...

Thousands of Malians turned out to cheer on Libya's football team in an African Cup of Nations qualifier in Mali's capital. The match was held in Bamako because of security concerns in Libya. About 20,000 Malians turned out to watch the game, many carrying posters protesting against the Western-led military intervention in Libya. "We were very touched by the Malian crowd," captain Tariq Ibrahim al-Tayib told the BBC after beating Comoros 3-0.

LONDON -- Fulham unveiled a statue of Michael Jackson outside its stadium on Sunday, with team chairman Mohamed Al Fayed telling fans to support another Premier League club if they don't like the idea. Al Fayed, who was close friends with Jackson, danced with children after unveiling the statue of the "King of Pop" before Fulham's home match against Blackpool. The statue outside Craven Cottage has divided opinion, but Al Fayed launched a passionate defense of his move to commemorate his friendship with Jackson, who died in 2009. "Why is it bizarre?" he said. "Football fans love it. If some...

It was like a scene from "Weekend at Bernie's" when a Colombian soccer team recently got an unexpected fan. Friends brought a coffin with the body of a 17-year-old boy into a soccer match Sunday between Cucuta Deportivo and Envigado, according to Colombia Reports. Christopher Jacome, a big fan of Cucuta, was gunned down Saturday in a local park while playing soccer, according to the paper. Friends of Jacome took his body from the funeral home after the wake and brought it into General Santander Stadium for the game. "They don't let in the fanatics, but yes, a cadaver. This...

A new NBER study of 14 European nations finds that football players tend to locate in countries that have comparatively low income tax rates. This response to tax rates is especially pronounced for the most able and well-paid athletes, and is actually negative for the least able and lowest paid among the professionals. Often, national tax breaks designed to lure top-notch foreign players displace the domestic players in a league. In Taxation and International Migration of Superstars: Evidence from the European Football Market (NBER Working Paper No. 16545), authors Henrik Kleven, Camille Landais, and Emmanuel Saez construct two models of...

A referee at a soccer match at San Francisco's Crocker Amazon Playground on Sunday was kicked in the face by a player who was angry about a foul called against him, police said. . . . the player failed to pick up his ID card that he had left at the registration desk, and the card has now been booked into evidence,