Soccer Watch
By Nick Barbaro, Fri., May 18, 2018
Lots to mull over this week on the Columbus Crew stadium site, as Precourt Sports Ventures released their preliminary site plan; for more, see "Soccer Sites," May 18.
It's trophy time in Europe. This Saturday is the English FA Cup final, Manchester United against Chelsea (May 19, 11:15am on Fox)... Atlético Madrid claimed the Europa League championship, beating Marseille on Wednesday, 3-0... Next week: Real Madrid and Liverpool in the Champions League final, Sat., May 26.
It's less than a month before World Cup kickoff – can you feel the excitement? Actually, neither can I. It's the first WC I can really remember that hasn't had a U.S. entry, and I fear I've underestimated how much of a difference that would make. Go Iceland?
Israel's most famously anti-Arab football club announced Sunday that they've renamed the team Beitar Trump Jerusalem, to honor the "courageous" American president for recognizing Jerusalem as the Israeli capital, the day before the U.S. Embassy officially moved to town, and as rioting continued to intensify in Gaza. Beitar has been punished many times for their fans' racist behavior, and proudly remains the only club in the Israeli Premier League to never field an Arab player. When they signed a pair of Chechen Muslims in 2012, some fans set fire to the club's offices; others staged a walkout when one of the players scored his first goal for the team.
