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Fort In Sport (Odd Sports & Sporting Incidents)

MrRING

Android Futureman
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A catch-all for weird sporting occurances (at least, I couldn't find a general thread currently in existance)

LINK
Coach Resigns After Branding Incident

Reported By: Suzanne Marques
Web Editor: Michael King

Assistant football coach Mario Hansbrough resigned from Roswell High School after being accused of encouraging his high school football players to brand themselves.

Fulton County school officials say more than a dozen football players at Roswell High branded themselves as a show of solidarity for their team, encouraged by Hansbrough. Player Morten Mathiaseen bears a scar which he says he does not regret. Mathiaseen says the players heated up inch-long paper clips, and placed them on their chests, creating an oval scar.

Hansbrough resigned shortly after the school began investigating the incident. “There were allegations made by several students two weeks prior to the winter break, regarding students who were involved in the branding, and an investigation took place at that point,” said Roswell High principal Dr. Ed Spurka.

Eight years ago, Hansbrough resigned from another local high school after allowing a profane rap song to be played at a basketball game. After resigning from Cherokee High School, Hansbrough was hired at Roswell High. “I learned of that Thursday, after he resigned,” Spurka said. “I didn’t hire Coach Hansbrough, so I wasn’t aware of that allegation or the situation.”

Despite his troubles with the school, some students remain loyal. But some feel that the impression he left should not have been so permanent. The players say they were inspired by a fraternity Greek letter they saw branded on Hansbrough’s arm.
 
Body surfers retreat from waves

Three body surfers from Cornwall who admitted 'blagging' their way into the sport's world championship have been eliminated in the first heat.
Tim Bawden, Mark Craze and Andrew Whitworth entered as British champions after setting up their own competition in St Agnes 10 years ago.

However, when the trio were confronted by Hawaii's 25ft waves, two of them decided not to venture into the water.

The men's training regime included pasties, lager and five-foot surf.

Sun tan

The men, all in their late 30s, are the first to represent Britain at the event, held at the infamous Banzai Pipeline reef on the north shore of Oahu where huge waves slam into shallow water.

When Tim Bawden and Mark Craze saw the size of the waves, they decided to top up their sun tans instead.

Oil rig worker Andrew Whitworth appeared to be made of slightly sterner stuff, but despite swimming out to take part in the contest, he finished last in his heat.

The British "champions" are due to return to Cornwall on Sunday.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cornwall/4681498.stm

Same story in the WMN
Larry File, spokesperson for Ginsters, the team sponsor, said: "Everyone in Cornwall's very proud of the lads for getting so far.

"We applaud their real honest attitude, besides, it's not the winning that counts, it's the taking part."
:D :D
 
Row of ducks bowl cricketers over

A cricket team which lost without anyone scoring a run is blaming a "dodgy wicket" for its failure.
Statisticians are checking the record books to see if Goldsborough Seconds' dismal performance against local rivals Dishforth is the worst ever recorded.

The team scored a total of five in their Nidderdale Amateur League clash at Dishforth, North Yorkshire.

But all the runs were extras and none of the batsmen troubled the scorers - with 10 ducks and a nought not out.

Goldsborough chairman Henry Webster defended his team, saying the wicket was terrible and pointing out that the league-topping opposition also struggled.

'Character-building'


Mr Webster said: "It was a very, very dodgy wicket.

"When Dishforth came in to bat, they only needed six but they were nought for two at one point - and we dropped two catches as well.

"It could have been nought for four."

Mr Webster said there were a number of youngsters in the side and he hoped the experience would be "character-building".

He went on: "This team were 210-2 a few weeks ago. They can bat.

"One of the players hit 109 not out. They really are not that bad.

"It's not something we're proud of but we have to look on the funny side of it."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/nort ... 216506.stm
 
From the sublime to the ridiculous...

Footballer puts wind up referee

A referee ordered a penalty to be retaken in a Sunday league football game when an opposition player broke wind as the ball was kicked. :shock:

The Chorlton Villa player got a yellow card for the noise which was classed as "ungentlemanly conduct". :D

.....

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manc ... 984554.stm
 
With sumo in crisis over allegations of rigged bouts, a new national sport might just be emerging in Japan: competitive hole-digging.

By Julian Ryall in Tokyo 7:00AM GMT 08 Feb 2011

More than 1,000 avid fans descended on a camping site on the outskirts of Tokyo on Sunday, with more than 200 teams competing in the Japan All-National Hole Digging Competition. At stake was the much-coveted Golden Shovel award.

The majority of the teams taking part in the 11th annual event were made up of professional hole-diggers, such as road maintenance crews and gas company employees, organisers told Reuters, although there were a number of all-female teams and squads of school children.

Competitors were given 30 minutes to dig as deep a hole as possible, although extra points were also awarded for "the most creative hole" and the most original costume worn by the diggers.

All shovels were measured to make sure they met width regulations, while the other rules of the sport included the penalty of disqualification for any team that tried to put earth back into a competitor's hole.

The winning team managed to reach a depth of 3.26 metres (10 feet 8 inches) in the allotted time, taking home the first prize of Y100,000 (£753) and the Golden Shovel.

The competition began as a way of bringing day-trippers to the Narita Dream Dairy Farm, which operates the camp site, during the winter season.

Once the winners had been awarded their prizes, staff of the farm filled the holes back in to return it to a camping ground and levelled the area for next year's contest.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/8310220/Japanese-embrace-new-sport-of-competitive-hole-digging.html

maximus otter
 
As the current sport thread in chat seems to be obscured by football results, I thought I'd set this up for the purpose of posting Fortean Sporting Events or Fortean Events in Sport.

Psychic octopusses, medals made from bits of crashed UFO, monstrous angling catches could go here.

Just no transfer market news or score updates please.
 
Chile: Costumed wrestlers inspired by cult 70s TV show
News from Elsewhere...
By News from Elsewhere...
...as found by BBC Monitoring
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-news-fr ... e-26341465

Women wrestlers in costume

The women don't only wrestle each other, but fight men in the league as well

Costumed men and women battle it out in Santiago, Chile, where an underground wrestling scene has sprung up, inspired by a cult 1970s TV show, it appears.

Wearing extravagant costumes, a league of 20 wrestlers - including six women - re-enact scenes from the show Titanes en el Ring, the Santiago Times reports. Over the course of three hours the wrestlers fight, sometimes in mixed matches, until there are three champions, the newspaper says.

The original Argentinian programme was hugely popular, spawning spin-off shows across the region. In Chile, viewers followed heroes like Mr Chile as he wrestled adversaries such as La Momia in the ring.

Titanes en el Ring ended its run in 1973 but was resurrected in a new form in 2010, when dedicated fans who loved the show as children launched a wrestling league based on it - known as the Xplosion Nacional de Lucha Libre.

Women wrestlers in costume

In the ring, wrestlers act in the style of the characters from the TV show
Men wrestling in costume

The wrestling events are attended by fanatic crowds, including families with small children
 
Well, I think this thread was a grand idea!

Just the other day, after going on about, 'haunted football boots'. I found a copy of, De Wondersloffen van Sjake, the Dutch version of, Billy's Boots. All about a young lad who's football skills are all down to a pair of haunted football boots! :)
 
Pietro_Mercurios said:
Well, I think this thread was a grand idea!

Just the other day, after going on about, 'haunted football boots'. I found a copy of, De Wondersloffen van Sjake, the Dutch version of, Billy's Boots. All about a young lad who's football skills are all down to a pair of haunted football boots! :)

Ah! I remember Billys Boots. Wasn't there a great athlete called Wilson? Of indeterminate age, perhaps very old.

Even Alf Tupper had an encounter with a Witchdoctor.
 
Last edited:
ramonmercado said:
The women don't only wrestle each other, but fight men in the league as well

Andy Kaufman is alive after all!
 
The French international football player who went in for a knee op. and has been in an ageless coma for the last 32 years.
http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/feb/27/jean-pierre-adams-footballer-coma

The footballer trapped in 'The House of the Beautiful Sleeping Athlete'

In 1982 the French international Jean-Pierre Adams went to hospital and was given anaesthetic that should have knocked him out for a few hours. 32 years later, he has yet to awake

theguardian.com. Robin Bairner. 27 February 2014


The following is an extract from Robin Bairner's article from the forthcoming Issue Eleven of the Blizzard. The Blizzard is a quarterly football journal available from http://www.theblizzard.co.uk on a pay-what-you-like basis in print and digital formats.


On 17 March 1982, the former France international footballer Jean-Pierre Adams, at the age of 34, was admitted to a Lyon hospital to undergo a routine knee operation. He was given anaesthetic that should have knocked him out for a few hours but, more than 30 years later, he has yet to awake.

Adams is a figure who drifts in and out of the consciousness of the French public but who is largely forgotten outside his homeland, despite being a highly-regarded figure as a pioneer for French-African footballers. With 22 caps to his credit, he turned out more regularly for Les Bleus than David Ginola, Ludovic Giuly and even Just Fontaine, carrying himself with a humble spirit and a ceaseless smile.

His story begins in Dakar, Senegal, where he was born on 10 March 1948, the oldest child of a large family. Although football was in young Jean-Pierre's blood – his uncle Alexandre Diadhiou played for the celebrated Jeanne d'Arc club – education was made the priority in his life by his devoutly Catholic family and he was not allowed to play the sport he loved unless his grades in school were of a sufficient standard.

With this in mind, Adams was sent alone to continue his schooling in France, where he was ultimately fostered by the Jourdain family in Loiret, a department a little south of Paris.

Football proved to be a vital release for the adolescent Adams. It also provided him with an environment in which to socialise in what was still a white-dominated society as he swiftly gained respect for his physical prowess and his endearing personality. He would very quickly become popular at Collège Saint-Louis, where he was affectionately known as the "White Wolf".

Away from the pitch, Adams completed his initial schooling but elected to drop out of a course studying shorthand as it did not interest him. Instead, he worked in a factory as his game progressed to Montagris.

However, there was a hint of problems to come as he suffered a serious knee injury that could have ended his dreams of becoming a professional footballer.

Even after moving to l'Entente Bagneaux-Fontainebleau-Nemours (EBFN) misfortune continued to follow him. Adams was involved in a serious car crash, and though he escaped with only cuts, his close friend Guy Beaudot was killed.

To have been touched by such troubles at the age of 19, it was little surprise that Adams' appetite for the game was briefly diminished. Military service, however, proved to be a turning point. Adams had always been a physically imposing specimen but his time in the army meant his talents started to become recognised in a broader sphere. He was selected to play for the military squad, from which he would be recommended to Nîmes.

Adams's desire to become a professional had been further fired by his marriage to Bernadette. Even this had been no straightforward pathway, though, as his blonde bride's mother had initially refused to give her daughter's hand to the young African.

At this point, Adams took a path similar to that of Lilian Thuram, who rose through the amateur ranks to become one of the game's most celebrated players. Thuram also turned out for the latter-day version of EBFN, yet it was during the era of Adams that the club became prominent in the nation's amateur game.

In three successive years, with Adams their driving force, they would lose the Championnat de France Amateurs final, before earning the right to play in an expanded Division 2 in 1970. Although EBFN were coming up short as a team on the big occasion, Adams's career was taking off. The strides he made during his military service persuaded the Nîmes trainer Kader Firoud to offer Adams a trial match in Rouen. Bernadette drove Jean-Pierre north for the friendly in which her 22-year-old husband impressed sufficiently to earn his first professional contract.

Firoud would be one of the key influences on Adams' career. He was a terrific motivator, although his training methods were unorthodox. However unconventional the coach, his methods were highly effective. Only the Auxerre legend Guy Roux has overseen more top division matches than Firoud's 782, and in 1971 he was named France Football's Coach of the Year. Crucially for Adams, he was particularly effective at bringing through unknown quantities from the youth ranks.

After making his debut in a new No4 role against Reims in September 1970, Adams would become a permanent fixture in the team.

It was no mean achievement to become established so readily. Nîmes's side at the time was one of the best in the club's history and Adams was a fulcrum as Les Crocodiles qualified for Europe for the first time. He was decisive in the club's first Uefa Cup win, though Nîmes lost the tie on away goals to Vitória Setúbal of Portugal.

Such a narrow defeat was the prelude to a frustrating second season in which the club finished as runners-up to Olympique Marseille. Nîmes paid for a poor spring run that saw them win one of seven league matches and rendered futile their eight wins from nine at the campaign's conclusion.

On a collective level, Adams's third and final season at the club was disappointing as Les Crocos finished only seventh, yet the midfielder remained "in international form". "In the rugged defence of Nîmes, there is a pillar, a kind of force of nature, a colossus of uncommon athletic power: Jean-Pierre Adams," said the former Argentina captain Ángel Marcos, who played for Nantes. "I always dreaded the two annual confrontations [with Adams]."

When Adams moved to Nice in the summer of 1973, Marcos didn't have life any easier. By then a France international, Adams was at the peak of his powers. Nice at the time were ready to spend. An ambitious bid to sign Jairzinho failed narrowly as they attempted to re-establish themselves as a major force after dropping out of the elite in 1969.

Despite their spending, their return was marked with a disappointing 14th-place finish but, by the time Adams arrived, Nice were rueing a failure to win the title the previous season, having thrown away a five-point lead to allow Nantes to overhaul them.

Life for Adams on the Côte d'Azur started with some promise as two goals from Marc Molitor and another from Dick van Dijk helped Nice secure a 3-2 win over Barcelona in the Uefa Cup. By the time their European run was emphatically ended with a 4-1 aggregate defeat to Köln – a tie played without Adams, who had been suspended after a red card against Fenerbahce in the previous round – the head coach Jean Snella found his position becoming increasingly uneasy. League results were not good and after a fifth-place finish he was dismissed.

His replacement was Vlatko Markovic, an ill-fated appointment. Markovic was never popular among the Nice fans. "If spectators want a spectacle, they should go to Marineland," he said following criticism of his dour playing style.

Despite the coaching sideshow, Adams remained a consistently strong performer and was named in France Football's team of the season. "Adams remains without a rival in his role, where his extraordinary athletic qualities can match the best," the magazine gushed.

In the subsequent campaign, Nice finished second behind Saint-Etienne, a series of injuries to their best players probably robbing them of the title. Adams was one of the men who suffered most and those issues would mark the end of his personal peak after dropping out of the national team.

Adams' introduction to Les Bleus had come five years earlier during the Taça Independência, a competition played in Brazil to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the nation's independence from Portugal. Fittingly, his debut came against an Africa select team, as he arrived off the bench to replace Marius Trésor, the man with whom he would form the fabled Garde Noire in years to come.

Five days later he was handed his first start against Colombia. It began inauspiciously as Adams conceded a penalty from which the South Americans took the lead but he showed his resilience thereafter.

The coach Georges Boulogne was sufficiently impressed to pair Adams with Trésor in defence for a decisive encounter with Argentina that would decide which country progressed to the second round. A scoreless draw meant disappointment for France, who were eliminated on goal difference. They were compensated with the birth of La Garde Noire.

Like all good double acts, Trésor and Adams complemented each other. The former was regarded as the technical defender while Adams was noted for his athleticism.

While Trésor was born in Guadeloupe, Adams's sub-Saharan roots were something of a novelty in the France team of the time. Of course, France had seen other such "foreigners" turn out for its national team previously; the great ball juggler Larbi Ben Barek hailed from Morocco but won 17 caps, while Xercès Louis (12 caps in the mid-50s) and Daniel Charles-Alfred (four caps in the mid-60s) were both born in Martinique. And of course there were Just Fontaine, Rachid Mekhloufi and Mustapha Zitouni, who came from North Africa.

Adams was laying a pathway from west Africa to France for the likes of Marcel Desailly and Patrick Vieira to follow.

France may have been welcomed back from Brazil warmly but it was not until they met the USSR in a World Cup qualifying match that their new central defensive pairing really came of age. The Parisian venue had been something of a bête noire for Adams in the past. He had lost two previous CFA finals at the ground, leading the press to dub it his Stade du Désespoir – Stadium of Despair.

A free-kick from Georges Bereta proved decisive for France but it was the performance from the centre-backs that was truly match winning. Franz Beckenbauer held the duo in particularly high regard, remarking to Onze: "Adams and Trésor have formed one of the best centre-back pairings in all of Europe."

Once again, however, injuries had a telling impact on Adams. His persistent troubles saw his partnership with Trésor broken up in 1975 and Adams never again turned out in France's blue.

Adams soon moved back north to the familiar surrounds of the Paris region. The ambitious PSG president Daniel Hechter had been seduced by him amid the club's first period of big spending. Hechter was a very astute businessman and played a key role in the early development of the club, lifting them from the amateur ranks to overtake Paris FC as the capital's primary power.

As the 29-year-old's experience at Nice had shown, big spending did not necessarily equate to big rewards and Adams' time in Paris was subdued, with two mid-table finishes before he was released from his contract, ending his time at the top level.

A brief and unsuccessful stay at Mulhouse followed before Adams took the decision to step into coaching.

Adams had elected to take the first stage of his coaching degree in Dijon, which meant going on a week-long course in the Bourguignon town during the spring. On the third day, however, he suffered a knee problem and the following morning quit the course for a hospital in Lyon. An initial scan showed damage to a tendon at the back of the knee but a chance meeting with a surgeon en route to the exit proved critical. After a discussion, it was decided that the best course of action would be to operate. Adams agreed to an operation a matter of days later on 17 March.

"It's all fine, I'm in great shape," were his parting words to Bernadette as he left on the morning of the operation.

His wife was worried and only more so when it took three calls to the hospital before she was passed on to a doctor. "Come here now," she was told gravely.

Adams had slipped into a coma. Bernadette remained by his bedside for five days and five nights hoping for a change in his condition while the couple's two young boys, Laurent and Frédéric, were at home with their grandparents.

There had been a problem with Adams' supply of anaesthetic, which was exacerbated by the fact the anaesthetist was overseeing eight operations at once, including one particularly delicate procedure involving a child that got much of his attention. To complicate matters further, Adams was not on the correct type of bed, the drug used was known to be problematic and the operation was overseen by a trainee.

Adams has never woken.

It would be November before he was moved north to Chalon, where Bernadette was by his side on a daily basis. That did not prevent Adams from being neglected by the staff at his new institution. After finding an infected bed sore, Bernadette exploded with rage and, after her husband had undergone another operation as the infection had reached his bones, she sat with him continuously, still holding out hope he one day might wake.

When the hospital said they could no longer look after Adams, he was moved home. For Bernadette this was a great undertaking. She would sleep in the same room as her husband and get up in the middle of the night to turn him.

Bernadette had a house custom-built, which she named Mas du bel athléte dormant — the House of the Beautiful Sleeping Athlete. It had been a struggle to get a loan in place, however, as she had fallen into difficult financial circumstances.

Various bodies came forward to help, with Nîmes and PSG both offering 15,000 francs, while the French football federation gave her F6,000 per week after an initial contribution of F25,000 in December 1982.

In addition, Adams's former clubs played charity matches. The Variétés Club de France, a charitable organisation still running today and backed by Platini, Zinedine Zidane and Jean-Pierre Papin, played a fixture in the comatose player's honour against a group of his footballing friends.

The media, meanwhile, kept his memory alive with glowing testimonies. "[Adams] was the prototype of a modern-day midfielder," wrote the journalist Victor Sinet. "He was always available, omnipresent and just as effective going forward as he was defending."

Meanwhile, the courts deliberated upon the case in a sluggish manner.

Pierre Huth, Adams's former doctor at PSG, led the case, which went on for seven years before the Seventh Chamber of Correctional Tribunal in Lyon found the doctors guilty of involuntary injury. It was only at that point that the family's dues could be calculated, yet four years later a definitive decision had still to be made.

Life, such as it is, continues for Bernadette and Jean-Pierre. Hospitals cannot commit staff to looking after Adams for long periods of time, which prevents his wife from taking holidays. Each day Jean-Pierre is washed and dressed by Bernadette, who maintains that her husband still has some cognitive function.

"Jean-Pierre feels, smells, hears, jumps when a dog barks. But he cannot see," his wife said in 2007.

Even after all these years she remains relentless in her support and love for her husband. "I have the feeling that time stopped on 17 March 1982," Bernadette explained in a discussion with Midi Libre in 2012. "There are no changes, either good or bad. While he does not need respiratory assistance, he remains in a vegetative state.

"Last year, we met a neurologist specialising in brain injury from Carémeau [the hospital in Nîmes] through an acquaintance. He ran his tests and examinations at the hospital, which confirmed very significant damage. There was a lot of damage in the brain. But he does not age, but for a few white hairs."

Despite confirming that her daily routine is "killing her", euthanasia is not an option she would consider. "It's unthinkable!" she said. "He cannot speak. And it's not for me to decide for him."

Jean-Pierre, whose son Laurent briefly followed in his footsteps by signing for Nîmes in 1996, is now a grandfather and has been introduced to all of his grandchildren. The rest of the world has moved on, but Adams lives on as a pioneer, whose unlikely journey to prosperity has been replicated by so many since he was sent from Senegal to France as a young boy.

The Blizzard is a 190-page quarterly publication that allows the best football writers in the world the opportunity to write about the football stories that matter to them, with no limits and no editorial bias. All back issues are available on a pay-what-you-like basis in both print and digital formats from http://www.theblizzard.co.uk, with digital issues available from just 1p.
 
I think this belongs here.

India drops sedition charge for Kashmiri students in cricket row
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-26463140

Pakistan won their match against India by one wicket on Sunday

The Indian authorities in Uttar Pradesh have dropped sedition charges against a group of Kashmiri students for apparently cheering the country's arch rival Pakistan in a cricket match.

But state officials said they would continue to investigate allegations of disrupting communal harmony.

More than 60 students were suspended at the weekend after the Asia Cup match in which Pakistan defeated India.

The students said they only clapped when Pakistan won.

The district magistrate of Meerut city, Pankaj Yadav, confirmed to the BBC that after investigating the complaint they found no evidence to support the sedition charge.

But he said officials would continue to investigate allegations of other offences, including disrupting communal harmony and causing damage to public property.

The sedition charge carries a three-year prison term in India.

Earlier, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah promised to speak to the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh and intervene on the students' behalf, describing the charge as "unacceptably harsh"

Swami Vivekanand Subharti University
The incident took place in a private university in Uttar Pradesh
The incident happened at the Swami Vivekanand Subharti University in Meerut city on Sunday where a group of students allegedly "celebrated Pakistan's win", leading to arguments with other college mates, reports say.

The university administration then ordered an inquiry and decided to suspend the students as a "precautionary measure".

Some of the Kashmiri students denied any wrongdoing in their statements to the media.

Cricket matches between India and Pakistan are tense, dramatic affairs and are passionately followed in both countries.

Claimed by both countries in its entirety, Kashmir has been a flashpoint for more than 60 years.

The South Asian rivals have also fought two wars and a limited conflict.
 
Bet the 'Elvis' impersonator was singing T-R-O-U-B-L-E.

Celtic star Anthony Stokes charged with assaulting 'Elvis' impersonator
http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/co ... 70930.html

Ireland and Celtic football star Anthony Stokes (25), of Bellhaven Terrace, Glasgow, leaving court where he appeared charged with assault causing harm to Anthony Bradley. Pic: Courtpix

ANDREW PHELAN – UPDATED 07 MARCH 2014 03:33 AM

Ireland and Celtic football star Anthony Stokes was remanded on bail after appearing in court charged with assaulting an Elvis impersonator in a nightclub.

Mr Stokes (25) was arrested by appointment and brought before Dublin District Court accused of attacking the man in a Dublin club last year.

He was remanded on bail after Judge Michael Walsh was told he made no reply to the charge when it was formally put to him. The footballer has not yet indicated how he intends to plead.

Mr Stokes was in the squad for this week's international friendly match against Serbia and met investigating gardai by appointment yesterday.

The accused, with an address at Bellhaven Terrace, Glasgow, is charged with assault causing harm to Anthony Bradley (42) at Buck Whaley's nightclub on Leeson Street on June 8, 2013.

Garda Noel Gibbons told the court he met the defendant by arrangement at Chancery Street. Mr Stokes was taken to the Bridewell where he was charged.

Judge Walsh granted bail in the accused's own bond of €1,000, with no cash lodgment required. He is to appear in court again on May 29.

He reminded Mr Stokes he must appear "for each and every remand until the matter is disposed of".

The incident is alleged to have happened last June, several hours after an international between Ireland and the Faroe Islands at the Aviva Stadium.

Ballyfermot Elvis impersonator Anthony Bradley was treated for a suspected broken nose and chipped teeth following an incident in the nightclub.

Mr Stokes was first arrested by gardai and questioned in relation to the incident in August last year. He had been released without charge at the time and a garda file was sent to the DPP, who decided to prosecute him.
 
I reckon the Disappeared and Voodoo connections earns it a place here.

Joe Gaetjens - the footballer who disappeared
By Alison Gee
BBC World Service
http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-26515082

Joe Gaetjens after the match

One of the biggest shocks in World Cup history happened in 1950, when the US beat England, thanks to a goal scored by Haitian Joe Gaetjens. After Gaetjens returned to Haiti a hero, he later disappeared and was killed, possibly by the president himself.

Joe Gaetjens made his name on 29 June 1950. "Out of nowhere apparently, my father came and went head first and hit the ball hard enough to change its direction - so the goalie from the England team was going one way and the ball went the other way," says his eldest son Lesly.

The 15,000 football fans in Brazil's Belo Horizonte stadium went wild - moments earlier they thought the US didn't have even the slightest chance of beating England. Even the US coach had described his side as sheep ready to be slaughtered.

While the England players were professionals, the Americans were part-timers - one was a teacher, another drove a hearse for a living and Gaetjens was an accountancy student.

Jo Gaetjens, Paris 1951-52
He was born in the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince, in 1924 to a relatively well-off family. He loved football and by the age of 14 was signed up to the Etoile Haitienne team where he became known for his goal-scoring headers.

But his parents felt he couldn't rely on a football career to make a living, so in 1947 they sent him to New York's Columbia University.

While he was there, he took a job washing dishes in a restaurant - partly for the money but mostly because the owner also owned the Brookhattan soccer team. Gaetjens was their star striker and he soon came to the attention of the US national coaches.

"During those days, as long as you were willing to sign a paper saying that you will become a citizen of the United States then you will be included on the team," says Lesly.

Continue reading the main story
Find out more

Lesly Gaetjens spoke to Whistledown Productions for the BBC World Service programme Sporting Witness.

Listen via BBC iPlayer from 16:30 GMT
Browse the Sporting Witness podcast archive
More from BBC World Service
Gaetjens was included in the World Cup line-up and was sent to Brazil where the US team faced England.

When one of his team-mates took a shot at the goal, Gaetjens was ready to finish it off. There's no footage of the winning goal - most of the cameras were at the other end of the pitch where they expected the action to take place.

Back home, his family didn't even know he was in the team until they heard he had scored on the radio. The glory didn't last though - the US lost their next game and were eliminated.

In the end, Gaetjens decided not to take US citizenship and pursued his football career in France where he spent two relatively unsuccessful seasons. By 1954 he had returned home to Haiti.

Gaetjens (centre) in New York
Joe Gaetjens (centre) with friends in New York
"In Haiti everybody was happy and partying - apparently all the players from all the teams gathered at the airport to receive him - it was like a national holiday kind of thing," says Lesly.

Injury soon brought Gaetjens' playing career to an end but he became a successful coach, helped young people get involved in soccer and also ran a chain of dry-cleaners. He married Liliane Defay and the couple had three children.

Continue reading the main story
Haiti: key facts

Map of Haiti
Gained independence from France in 1804
The poorest nation in the Americas
Voodoo recognised as a religion on a par with other faiths in 2003
Presidents unseated by coups in 1988 and 1991
2010 earthquake was Haiti's worst in 200 years
An outbreak of cholera later that year killed more than 8,000 people triggering violent protests
Haiti country profile
"The thing that I really think a lot about is the fact that he never had money in his pocket because he gave it all away to people that were in need... he loved his family and he really wanted to help Haiti," says Lesly.

"I remember seeing him play and I remember kicking a soccer ball with him before the games... I remember planting trees - he loved planting all kinds of fruit trees at the house."

But these were politically troubled times. In 1957, Francois "Papa Doc" Duvalier was elected president. He set about consolidating power by force, establishing his own personal militia to target rivals - the Tontons Macoutes took their name from the Haitian slang for bogeymen.

It's estimated that around 30,000 people were killed during Duvalier's 14-year rule as he brutally stamped out opposition. In 1964, against a backdrop of fear and paranoia, Duvalier declared himself president for life.

Gaetjens was not politically active but others in his family were agitating for change. Two of his brothers, Jean and Freddie had gone to neighbouring Dominican Republic where they were involved in a scheme to overthrow Duvalier.

Francois Duvalier, 1969
Francois Duvalier, 1969
Their plans were never realised but the Gaetjens name was brought to Duvalier's attention. "In those days, Duvalier would go after the whole family and is known to have killed entire families of people that went against him," says Lesly.

Gaetjens didn't realise the danger he was in until it was too late. On 8 July 1964, when Lesly was seven, "they sent two Tontons Macoutes to one of my father's dry cleaning [shops]… when he approached, the Tontons Macoutes got [him] in the back of the car and put a gun to his head. Then he disappeared."

His wife, Liliane did everything she could to find him but people were too scared to help or ask questions. All she managed to find out was that he had been taken to Fort Dimanche, a prison notorious for torture.

Continue reading the main story
The Duvaliers in power

Jean-Claude Duvalier, 1982
Francois Duvalier survived at least six assassination attempts in his 14-year rule
He practised voodoo and in later years only left the presidential palace on 22nd of the month when he believed he was protected by spirits
His successor and son, Jean-Claude (above), returned to Haiti in 2011 and now faces charges over human rights abuses while in office
She and the children stayed in Haiti, living in fear, until 1966. In January that year, they boarded a plane to Puerto Rico pretending they were going on holiday - in fact they were going into exile to start a new life.

For years they lived in hope that Gaetjens was alive, only receiving official confirmation of his death in 1972 - the year after Duvalier died.

It's not known exactly how or when he was killed but over time the family managed to piece together fragments of information.

"The version that I hear the most is that Duvalier himself went that night to Fort Dimanche… and he himself killed my dad," says Lesly. He adds that he has a CIA document confirming that both men were at the prison that night.

After Duvalier's death in 1971, his son Jean-Claude, known as Baby Doc, took over the presidency and ruled until 1986 when he fled the country amid popular discontent.

Since then Haiti has faced coups, corruption and natural disasters - the 2010 earthquake killed more than 250,000 people. One hundred and fifty thousand are still living in temporary accommodation.

Lesly lives in the US but has visited Haiti and written a book about his father. "I sometimes think that they could even make a movie," he says.

"Not so much about the goal because that was one moment but a movie about all the things that happened before and after... it's still the poorest country in the western hemisphere and people are still in misery."

Lesly Gaetjens spoke to Whistledown Productions for the BBC World Service programme Sporting Witness. Listen via BBC iPlayer Radio from 16:30 GMT or browse the Sporting Witness podcast archive.

Follow @BBCNewsMagazine on Twitter and on Facebook
 
Definitely belongs here.

'Dead grandmother' makes plea to Roy Keane
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-26764130

Republic of Ireland assistant manager Roy Keane during a training session in Dublin

Roy Keane was approached by Stephen Ireland's grandmother on a flight to County Cork and she reportedly asked him to recall the former international player to the Irish squad

A grandmother, who footballer Stephen Ireland claimed was dead to get out of playing, has urged Roy Keane to help him return to playing for his country.

Ireland has not played for the Republic of Ireland since September 2007, when he pulled out of the squad claiming his maternal grandmother had died.

When the media discovered she was still alive, Ireland changed his story and said his paternal grandmother had died.

But this was also untrue, and Ireland later apologised for his false claims.

At the time, Ireland said he had made up the story because his girlfriend had suffered a miscarriage and he wanted to go home to see her immediately.

Guy Demel of West Ham United battles with Stephen Ireland of Stoke City during the Barclays Premier League match between Stoke City and West Ham United
Stephen Ireland (right), who now plays for Stoke City, said he falsely claimed his grandparents had died so he would get compassionate leave
On Wednesday, one of Ireland's grandmothers met Roy Keane on a flight to his native County Cork.

She asked Keane to consider recalling her grandson for international duty.

Keane was appointed as assistant coach of the Republic of Ireland international team last November, as Martin O'Neill took over as manager.

'Difficult spell'
The Corkman spoke about the in-flight encounter on stage at University College Cork on Wednesday night.

He was in his home city to attend a public event and took part in a question and answer session.

"Well, I spoke with the grandmother this morning - she was on the flight coming over - and she asked me would he get back involved," Keane told the audience.

"I couldn't lie to her. I said he'd have a chance if he's playing well. I think Martin had a conversation with him, and all that needs to fall into place.

"We all know how talented Stephen is and Martin will look at that. We wouldn't be shutting the door on any player.

"What is important for any player, and Stephen is the same, is it does help to be playing week-in week-out.

"He's obviously had a difficult spell. He's only just got a run of games at Stoke now. So I certainly wouldn't be ruling anyone out," Keane said, according to the Irish Independent.

'Massive mistake'
The incident, which has been dubbed 'grannygate' happened before the Republic of Ireland's Euro 2008 qualifier against the Czech Republic in September 2007.

At the time, Ireland said he thought the Irish team's management would be more likely to grant him compassionate leave if they believed his grandmother had died.

The Football Association of Ireland (FAI) hired a private jet to fly him home.

In a statement dated September 2007, Ireland said his false death claims were a "massive mistake on my part" offered his "profound apologies" to his family and the FAI.

The 27-year-old currently plays for English club Stoke City.

In November 2009, he ruled out a return to the national team, saying he had never enjoyed playing for the Republic of Ireland, adding: "No manager would sway my decision now."

But last September, two months before O'Neill and Keane were appointed, Ireland said he would "like to have a chat" when a new international manager was in place.

Last month, Martin O'Neill indicated that he planned to meet Ireland in person in the coming weeks to hold talks.
 
Australian triathlete injured after drone crash
http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-26921504

Drone crash aftermath

Triathlete Raija Ogden was treated for a head injury
'
Australia's air safety body is looking into reports that a triathlete has been injured by a falling drone.

Raija Ogden reportedly sustained minor head injuries after the drone's operator lost control of the device.

The videographer operating the drone claimed the craft had crashed because an attacker managed to wrest control away from him.

The drone was being used to film competitors in the Geraldton Endure Batavia triathlon in western Australia.

Ms Ogden was treated at the scene of the accident before being taken to hospital where stitches were required to close a head wound.

Hack attack
The drone was being piloted by local photographer Warren Abrams who set it hovering about 10m above the race route to capture images of competitors completing the 10km run section of the triathlon.

Geraldton Triathlon club has apologised to Ms Ogden who was only metres away from the finishing line when she sustained her injuries.

Conflicting reports about the incident have emerged in local media. Some witnesses said the drone fell directly on to Ms Ogden but others said she tripped and fell after being startled by the plummeting device.

Mr Abrams told ABC news that video footage shot by the drone clearly showed it missed Ms Ogden and fell just behind her. In later reports Ms Ogden disputed this version of events saying she only sat down as she thought she was going to faint after the craft hit her.

The incident is now being investigated by Australia's Civil Aviation Safety Authority whose rules dictate that unmanned aircraft must fly a minimum of 30m away from people. Operators of drones are required to be certified by the agency to fly the unmanned craft.

The Agency is now looking into the incident as news reports raised questions about whether Mr Abrams was certified to operate the drone.

Mr Abrams said his initial investigation suggested that he lost control after someone else briefly took over flying the drone. Determining who in the crowd of competitors had stolen control would be tricky, he said, because smartphones could easily be used to carry out such an attack.
 
Could go under dumb cops - firing CS gas into a crowd. But I think it belongs here.

Deadly stampede at DR Congo football match

At least 15 people have been killed in a stampede at a football match in the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kinshasa, officials say.

Reports say the trouble began after police fired tear gas in the crowded stadium, causing panic. More than 20 people were injured.

Local fans were unhappy after the home team, ASV Club, were defeated 1-0 by Tout Puissant Mazembe from Lubumbashi.

Stampedes are a frequent occurrence at mass events in the country.

"Four policemen were harassed by supporters. When they fired tear gas, the stampede began, causing the deaths," the local minister for central Kinshasa, Emmanuel Akweti, told Reuters news agency.

Last month, at least 14 were crushed to death at a tribute festival for popular Congolese singer King Kester Emeneya
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-27369222
 
This ones a no brainer.

College football players 'have smaller brain volumes'

Given the nature of contact sports, it is no surprise that the players involved are more susceptible to traumatic brain injuries, such as concussion. But new research among college football players finds that those with such head injuries and those who have been playing football for many years are more likely to have smaller hippocampal volumes than players who have fewer years of football-playing experience.

The research team, led by Rashmi Singh, PhD, of the Laureate Institute for Brain Research in Tulsa, OK, recently published their findings in JAMA.

The hippocampus is a brain region involved in regulating emotion and forming, storing and processing memories. According to the background of the study, the hippocampus is particularly vulnerable to moderate and severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). Studies have started to show that it may also be sensitive to mild TBI.

But according to the investigators, few studies have demonstrated the long-term effects that TBI may have on the cognitive function of young athletes. ...
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/276737.php
 
Bolivian President Evo Morales signed by football club

A professional football club in Bolivia has signed President Evo Morales as a midfielder for next season.

The 54-year-old, an avid football fan, will play next season for Sport Boys, a team based in the south-eastern province of Santa Cruz.

The first division club said the president would play for about 20 minutes per match but not in each game, owing to his busy schedule.

He will receive the minimum salary, about $214 (£127).

"He loves football and plays well," said Sport Boys' president Mario Cronenbold. "He'll wear the No 10 shirt."

"We'll send him a list of matches and he'll chose which ones to play in," he said.

A local politician with the governing MAS party (Movement towards Socialism), Edwin Tupa, said playing with a professional football club is a dream come true for President Morales.

The president is said to be fit and very excited with the prospect of playing.

Mr Morales has played in several well-publicised matches with journalists, union leaders and other presidents.

In 2007 he played a match at 6,000m (19,700 ft) above sea level in a protest against efforts to stop Bolivia playing its international fixtures at high altitude.

And in 2006 he suffered a broken nose in a clash with a goalkeeper.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-27463520
 
Comedian tries to board England World Cup plane to Miami

A comedian tried to join the England squad as they prepared to leave for the World Cup from Luton Airport on Sunday.

Simon Brodkin, better known as Lee Nelson, was pictured in an identical suit to the England travelling party and holding a passport.

Brodkin stood next to players and staff ahead of their flight to the US before being taken away by police.

He was dressed as another of his characters, Jason Bent, a fictional Premier League footballer.

Police say he was spoken to by an officer before leaving the area.

A BBC spokeswoman told the Press Association that the stunt was not for a BBC project.

Brodkin's last attempt to mingle with players as Jason Bent ended with his arrest at Everton's Goodison Park in March last year when he joined a Manchester City warm-up routine while wearing the team's full kit before their Premier League match.

He was given a six-month conditional caution at North Liverpool Community Justice Centre last April.

England arrived at Fort Lauderdale airport, 30 miles north of Miami, on Monday morning to begin the next phase of their World Cup preparations.

Roy Hodgson will name his final World Cup squad on Monday.

They will then play friendly matches against Ecuador and Honduras in America before their first World Cup game against Italy on 14 June.

The England manager has said he expects all his players to sing the national anthem in Brazil.

"You very rarely play against opponents and they haven't got their hands on their hearts and singing their anthem as loud as they can," said Hodgson.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/27660700
 
Row over protection for World Cup mascot armadillo

The Brazilian three-banded armadillo serves as the inspiration for this year's World Cup mascot "Fuleco"

Conservationists in Brazil are challenging football's governing body Fifa to do more to protect the animal that inspired this summer's World Cup mascot.

The Brazilian three-banded armadillo is listed as a vulnerable species and is the basis of the Fuleco mascot that will feature on official merchandise and souvenirs.

Scientists have called on Fifa and the Brazilian government to designate parts of the armadillo's dry forest habitat as protected areas.

The government has met with scientists to discuss drawing up a conservation plan, but Fifa has not yet responded directly to the challenge.

The football governing body admits it has "no direct relationship with an NGO", but one of its commercial affiliates gave a one-off payment of 100,000 reais (£27,000; $45,000) to the Caatinga Association, which is trying to protect the species.

The armadillo in question, Tolypeutes tricinctus, is found only in Brazil, where it lives in a type of tropical dry forest known as Caatinga, in the country's northeast.

Fuleco
Critics say Fifa is doing little to help protect the species, despite the body's claims it will raise awareness
Known locally as the "tatu bola" or "armadillo ball", it protects itself by rolling its flexible armour into an almost perfect and impenetrable ball when threatened. But unlike other armadillo species, this one is not adapted to life underground.

The mascot's name is a combination of the words in Portuguese for "football" and "ecology" and Fifa says "as a member of a vulnerable species, the official mascot can play a key role in driving environmental awareness".

Brand licensing for merchandise and souvenirs featuring the official marks for World Cup events is worth millions in revenue for Fifa. But scientists say that more of these earnings should be invested in protection for the species.

In an article published last month in Biotropica, a group of Brazilian scientists wrote: "As football fans and conservationists, we challenge Fifa and Brazil to set an ambitious mark: at least 1000 hectares of Caatinga declared as protected area for each goal scored during the 2014 World Cup". ...
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-27639051
 
Hackers threatens major cyber-attack on World Cup 2014

The football World Cup in Brazil 2014 is coming soon, the infrastructure used for the event are a prime target for each category of bad actors, state-sponsored hackers intent on cyber espionage, cyber criminals intent on information theft fraudulent campaigns, cyber terrorists intent on obtaining information for attacks.

Sporting events could be also an excellent scenario for hacktivists, the wider media audience could allow amplification of their cyber protests. Protest against the World Cup in Brazil are not new, last year, hackers defaced and replaced the FIFA Brazil website with protest footage. The attackers defaced the main page of FIFA’s website and replaced with a YouTube video, showing protesters marching, before riot police release tear gas and fire on the protesters with rubber bullets.


The collective of hacktivists Anonymous is planning a massive cyber-attack on sponsors of the World Cup in Brazil 2014, the hackers are arranging a campaign to protest against spending on the event in a country where people are suffering to get hold of basic services.

“This time we are targeting the sponsors of the World Cup,” “We have already conducted late-night tests to see which of the sites are more vulnerable,” “We have a plan of attack.” revealed a member of Anonymous, known as Che Commodore, in a Skype conversation from an undisclosed location in Brazil toReuters journalist.

As explained by the hacker, members of his team are already making reconnaissance on systems in the country, last week, the popular group hacked into Brazil’s Foreign Ministry computers and leaked highly confidential documents, including emails.

“A hacker known as AnonManifest used a phishing attack to break into the Foreign Ministry’s databases and eventually access its documentation system” Che Commodore told Reuters.

At the time I‘m writing, there isn’t yet confirmed that Che Commodore is a member of Anonymous, but but no denial has come from the popular group.

“Until yesterday afternoon the hacker still had access to the system,” Che Commodore said.

The Foreign Ministry temporary stopped the email service after the data breach, oncerestored he requested to the 3,000 email account holders to change their passwords.



According to the declaration of a Foreign Ministry official only 55 email accounts were hacked and the only documents that were obtained where attached to emails and from the ministry’s internal document archive.

“The problem has been resolved. Nothing important was leaked,” said the official.

The Reuters confirmed that Brazilian diplomats abroad were left without email communications with their headquarters for several days.

Probably the hackers are identifying and compromising the most vulnerable web services of the country for a later major attack.

Che Commodore provided a list of sponsors that will be targeted which include Adidas, Coca-Cola, Emirates airline [EMIRA.UL], Budweiser.

“This time we are targeting the sponsors of the World Cup,”

In time I’m writing there is no news of further attacks against the sponsors of the event, but its a serious error underestimate it, a coordinated cyber attack of large scale to the systems of the event could create important problems to the organization and represents a threat for security of participants.
http://hplusmagazine.com/2014/06/02/hac ... -cup-2014/
 
At last, just the sort of Fortean sport story that you've all been waiting for. It's got everything. A top footballer, an African witch doctor and a voodoo curse.
World Cup 2014: Cristiano Ronaldo injury 'caused' by Ghana's most influential witch doctor named the 'Devil of Wednesday'

The Portuguese FA have confirmed that Ronaldo is suffering from two injuries with Nana Kwaku Bonsam claiming he cursed the forward back in February

The Independent. Jack de Menezes. 05 June 2014


Cristiano Ronaldo’s knee injury that has threatened his World Cup participation has been caused by Ghana’s most influential witch doctor, it has been claimed.

Nana Kwaku Bonsam predicted earlier this year that the Ballon d’Or winner would miss the 2014 World Cup in Brazil due to injury. Having waited the best part of four months for the World Cup to come around, Bonsam’s prediction suddenly appeared a very realistic one after the Portuguese FA confirmed that the Real Madrid forward has two separate injuries.

The statement confirmed that Ronaldo is suffering from tendinosis in his left knee, as well as a muscular problem in his left thigh. Having already missed Portugal’s international friendly against Greece last weekend, he is expected to sit out the first of two World Cup warm-up friendlies against Mexico on Saturday, with his participation in the second fixture against the Republic of Ireland on Tuesday also in doubt.

With Ghana set to meet Portugal in their final Group G fixture on 26 June, Bonsam – whose name translates to the ‘Devil of Wednesday’ – claims to have conjured a special spirit from the gods using four dogs, several leaves and a concoction of powders placed around an image and a caricature of the Champions League winner.

Bonsam serves at the Kofioo Kofi shrine and predicted in February that Ronaldo would be struck down by injury for the showpiece tournament, and he even predicted that the 29-year-old will pick up another injury before the tournament gets underway.

He added: “I said it four months ago that I will work on Cristiano Ronaldo seriously and rule him out of the World up or at least prevent him from playing against Ghana and the best thing I can do is to keep him out though injury.”
Like something out of the Hornet or Hotspur and possibly featuring Bernard Briggs. :lol:
 
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