Sports thread: Everything sport related here.

bd popeye

The Last Jedi
VIP Professional
Who are those guys?? ^^^

Eny who..

Question from a person, ME..popeye, that is NOT a soccer fan...

After all the violence at this soccer tourney, EURO 2016 in Marseilles, why don't the officials cancel this tourney? Someone could be killed..

Why are there such violent clashes at these matches? What is the trigger to this violence? National pride? Stupidity? Alcohol? or a combination of these factors?

This is much worse than the mini riots that take place in North America after a team wins or loses a championship.

Asking those of you that are soccer fans just is what wrong in European Football that allows this level of violence?

Thanks!
 

Janiz

Senior Member
Asking those of you that are soccer fans just is what wrong in European Football that allows this level of violence?
Well, it's complicated when it come to this matter. There are people who just want to fight each other to prove themsleves that they're stronger than the other group everywhere. In Europe those guys are concentrated around football (or soccer as you call that in US) clubs where they can have a sense of common case, feeling strong in the group where everyone stands up for another etc.

So what's happening in Marseille? You have to look at history of hooligan movement all around the continent.

In an organised manner it was first developed in 'football homeland' - England. Those tough guys were organising themselves around English Premier League clubs in big cities - like in London, Manchester, Liverpool etc. They clashed before or after the games wreacking havoc on the streets of English cities - one club against the other. Those groups were formed under informal names - there could be several around each club who didn't like each other but when they met other club's supporters they joined their forces for a fight. It became a huge social problem. There's a good English movie called 'Hoolingans' starring that guy who played Frodo in 'Lord of the Rings' that shows how this culture is created and is still alive in Europe. You should watch it. Other guys around Western Europe picked up the idea pretty fast so that this movement scattered around Western European countries like Holland, Western Germany, Sweden etc.

After the fall of iron courtain it spread fast through Central and Eastern European countries. A group of tough guys wandering around the Europe wherever their club was playing in the cups or league games facing their rival's supporters. They're beating crap out of each other whenever there's occasion for that. They have some kind of code - basicly not atacking normal fans who come to the stadiums to watch the games, only fight in one group against each other and other stuff like that.

When it comes to national team games the rules are gone. English fans were known for their behavior - they were following their team all around the Europe for drinking beer, occasional fights and watching games scince the 80's. They weren't forming any groups of hooligans under some given name - it was more about adventure and supporting English national team all around the Europe having a good time and beating local football fans who didn't like to be pushed around.

English fans retained this model up to these days. But in Central and Eastern Europe those hooligan groups concentrated around single clubs started to form some kind of militias - those guy were realy into fighting each other under their club's name than supporting it on the stadium. It started in mid 90's I think.

So it evolved in two ways - the classic English hooligans who will drink beer in the city center being on an away game, singing and looking for someone to get a beat up for a wrong word about them and more fighting oriented groups in Central/Eastern Europe.

What happens when it comes to national team games? There are no rules at all! You can throw beer bottles, chairs, stones or whatever you have under your hands in those fights. Organised groups have rules - we meet each other in a given number, outside of the stadiums, just bare fists and beat each other to see who's better in fight.

So in Marseille you had old-school English crowd enjoying their time with beer in the city center which they 'rule' and much smaller groups of organized hooligan groups from Russsia which are fight-oriented and not much into supporting their team on the stadium to prove 'who's stronger'. Just imagine a group of 300-400 men formed under Zenit Sankt Petersburg who are ready for everything in fighting others and you would avoid such crowd as much as you could just by looking at them. In Marseille they started to 'hunt down' English fans on the streets of the city. As I mentioned before - when it comes to club vs club fights there are some kind of rules usually - when it comes to supporting your country there are no rules. You can throw everything and beat someone until he's unconscious. And that's what heppened there.

Some of the groups concentrated around clubs will put up a representation. They can hate each other on a normal club vs club way but will unite under their country's flag. Russians work like that. Germans on the other hand don't. So the strongest countirs when it come to hooligan movements are Russia, Croatia, Sweden, Poland and Holland. Theu will fight on the streets of the cities where their national teams play no matter what. It doesn't matter if you're just there for a game - you can get a beat up just for wearing a shirt or whatever.

That's why French police is more concerned about football hooligans than terrorism during Euro.
 

Equation

Lieutenant General
Whata "Messi" situation. Sad because I kinda like the guy too. He should be more careful in regards to who is taking care of his money.:eek:

Barcelona's Messi sentenced to 21 months for tax fraud

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Barcelona (AFP) - Barcelona striker Lionel Messi and his father were sentenced Wednesday to 21 months in jail for tax fraud by a court in Spain where the taxman has set its sights on footballers.

But these prison sentences are likely to be suspended as it is common in Spain for first offences for non-violent crimes carrying a sentence of less than two years.

The Barcelona court found the Argentina international and his father Jorge Horacio Messi guilty of using companies in Belize, Britain, Switzerland and Uruguay to avoid paying taxes on 4.16 million euros of Messi's income earned from his image rights from 2007-09.

The income related to Messi's image rights allegedly hidden includes endorsement deals with Danone, Adidas, Pepsi-Cola, Procter & Gamble or the Kuwait Food Company.

Messi, 29, a five time FIFA World Player winner, was fined 2.09 million euros while his father was fined 1.6 million euros.

They can appeal the decision to Spain's Supreme Court.

Both Messi and his father, who has managed his son's affairs since he was a child, were charged with three counts of tax fraud.

Messi told the court during the four-day trial that wrapped up on June 4 that he trusted his father with his finances and "knew nothing" about how his wealth was managed.

Prosecutors had asked for Messi to be absolved, arguing there was no evidence that the player was aware of how his income was managed.

But the state attorney representing tax authorities in the trial, Mario Maza, said he found it unlikely that Messi knew nothing about the situation.

"There is no deliberate ignorance here, it's fraud and that's all there is to it, because he didn't want to pay his taxes," he said.

"It's like a crime boss. At the very top is the bigwig who doesn't want to know about the details."

The court agreed, arguing in its ruling that Messi "had decided to remain in ignorance".

"Despite all the opportunities available to the player to show interest in how his rights were managed, he did not," the court added.

Messi and his father made a voluntary payment of 5.0 million euros -- equal to the amount of the alleged unpaid taxes plus interest -- in August 2013 after being formally investigated.

After the court delivered its verdict, Barcelona issued a statement "giving all its support to Leo Messi and his father".

"The club, in agreement with the government prosecution service, considers that the player, who has corrected his position with the Spanish tax office, is in no way criminally responsible with regards to the facts underlined in this case," it added.

Messi is Barca's all-time leading goalscorer. During his time with the club, he has won the European Champions League on four occasions and eight Spanish league titles.
 

Miragedriver

Brigadier
..........Asking those of you that are soccer fans just is what wrong in European Football that allows this level of violence?................

Thanks!


I think it just boils down to many of these “Hooligans” do not have proper employment which leads them to have less of the nicer amenities in life, which in turn makes them angry. The only identification with self-worth and pride come from their identification with the futbol team. When a loss is incurred and expectations are not met it is an attack on their self-worth and identity.

This then manifests itself in violence.

That is my 2 cents as an armchair psychoanalyst.
 

bd popeye

The Last Jedi
VIP Professional
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A Chinese consortium could be set to launch a bid for English Championship soccer club Leeds United.

The offer, which is likely to include an injection of working capital, could involve a payment for the club of more than 100 million pounds ($131 million).

The move follows Chinese conglomerate Fosun's acquisition of Wolverhampton Wanderers and the purchase of Aston Villa by Tony Xia's Recon Group.

The consortium is believed to consist of leading but as yet unnamed Chinese entrepreneurs as well as a private equity group.

It has been put together by Steve Tappin, the chief executive officer and founder of consultancy Xinfu, who has been holding talks in Beijing this week.

Tappin, who is also the presenter of the CEO Guru series on BBC World, declined to comment on the details of the potential offer.

"I have had a series of meetings with related parties all this week, and there is definite interest in buying Leeds, but I want to ensure it would be with long-term investment, significant working capital and the right governance so it can be a stable platform for sustainable Premier League success," he said.

"Leeds United is a big club with a very strong fan base and huge potential for investors, particularly if it can be returned to the Premiership."

The club, which finished 13th in the Championship last season, is owned by Italian businessman Massimo Cellino, whose family trust controls 81.58 percent.

Cellino bought it in April 2014 but has had a difficult period in charge, even agreeing to sell the club to its fans last year before calling off the deal.

He told The Times in May he would sell if he got the right offer.

"If somebody doesn't come in then I have no choice but to run it. A lot of people have called me, but they are just fishing. I don't see the money," he said.

The consortium could make its move before the transfer window closes on Aug 31.

The club is likely to have a value of between 50 million and 60 million pounds, but will probably also need an injection of working capital of a similar amount from the new owners.
 

B.I.B.

Captain
After all the negativity connected to the Olympic games between events, I sore I would not bother to watch another one again.
So here we are another games about to start and my eyes will be glued to the screen.
What do folks here think about China's chances in topping the medal count in gold/or overall?. Will the depleted Russian team improve the USA chances of beating China in the medal count?
One thing that interests me though, is if the Russian athlete were in a program of performance enhancers that increased their chances to win medals,what can be said of the atheletes from other countries that beat them?
 

SteelBird

Colonel
Olympics starts today. Here are ten strange sports you might not know in Olympics.
(CNN)Basketball, track and swimming have been staples at the Olympics for decades, drawing thousands of spectators. But solo synchronized swimming or live pigeon shooting?
They are among the strangest events that have, at one time or another, taken place at the Games.

Here are the 10 oddest sports that have actually graced the modern Olympics:
Solo synchronized swimming
Oxymoron alert! Yes, this sport features one female swimmer synchronizing with herself. The sport made its debut in the Los Angeles Games in 1984, with U.S. swimmer Tracie Ruiz winning the gold medal.

Similar to the group event, a swimmer performs a kind of water ballet. A lonely water ballet.
Despite the seemingly misleading title, organizers of the sport say the swimmer is actually in sync with the music.
Will we see this sport in Rio?
No. But there will be the team synchronized swimming events that most people are familiar with. The solo event was discontinued after 1992.

Club swinging

Club Swinging debuted in 1904. The athlete stands erect, holding clubs that resemble bowling pins in each hand. He then twirls and whirls them around. The more complicated the routine, the more points he wins.
Historians say the sport was the precursor to rhythmic gymnastic events that use ribbons and hoops
.
Will we see this sport in Rio?
No. Sadly. Club Swinging was only in the Olympics twice, ending in 1932.

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AssassinsMace

Lieutenant General
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Not surprising since the Olympics have become as political as ever. It's just another round of sore losers and bad winners and hypocritical fingers pointing to doping. I was watching Real Sports on HBO and they did a corruption at the Olympics special. One segment was on the Beijing Olympics and they accused China of using the Olympics to cover-up some scandal over something causing kidney stones in children. The claim was because China didn't want to look bad during the Olympics, little coverage of this was disclosed on TV to warn parents. I thought China covers-up everything so the Olympics had nothing to do with it. They also used the precision of the drummers in the opening ceremony as something sinister in the way they were that precise and coordinated. It was explained back then there was a computer program sending signals to the drummers through earpieces you can see they were wearing. How convenient for them to leave that part out. In the end they concluded why the Olympics are so corrupt is because of how much money is being made. And who's fault is that? According to them it's all these corrupt countries bidding for and running the Olympics. And not reported that was a result of seeing how much money can be made from the corporate commercialization of the Olympics and their endorsements which was the criticism of the Atlanta games.
 
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