Germany captain Bastian Schweinsteiger is taking legal action against a Chinese company that manufactured a doll bearing the midfielder’s resemblance and dressed in Nazi military uniforms.
The figure named ‘Bastian’ and seen wearing various German World War Two military uniforms, including the swastika and eagle, symbol of Nazi Germany is on sale through the Hong-Kong based DID company.
The resemblance to the Manchester United playmaker Schweinsteiger is striking.
German media were enraged by what they perceived as Nazi depiction of the player.
Dynamo Kiev face charges for racism
UEFA opened disciplinary proceedings against Dynamo Kiev yesterday over alleged racist behaviour caused by their fans during the Champions League match against Chelsea.
The Ukrainian champions face the charges following a prolonged attack towards black supporters caught on camera by FARE, the anti-discriminatory Football Against Racism in Europe body.
The video footage, posted by The Guardian newspaper, shows how four black fans were attacked by one set of fans and were prevented from leaving the stand, and were then attacked by other fans who also blocked the exit staircase.
Martinez relieved after Astana goal
It was not the best goal he has scored by any means but Jackson Martinez said his deflected effort for Atletico Madrid in Tuesday’s 4-0 win over Astana was like a “release”.
The Colombia forward has struggled since joining Atletico from Porto in July and his goal against the Kazakhstan champions was only his second of the campaign in all competitions.
“It was like a release because of what had been happening in previous games,” Martinez said.
“I was calm even though the goal wasn’t coming. Now I want to keep going the same way.”
Two Brazilian Cup semi-finals halted
Both semi-finals of the Brazilian Cup were halted within minutes of the kick-off on Wednesday, one because the two teams wore similar playing strips and the other because the floodlights failed.
At the Maracana, home side Fluminense wore their traditional red, white and green stripes while Palmeiras used an all grey strip.
The clash bothered players and fans and with just seven minutes played, the Palmeiras players changed into a white shirt at the side of the pitch.
Fluminense won 2-1.
Fans at the other game between Sao Paulo and Santos had even more difficulty when the floodlights failed with less than a minute of the match gone. The lights returned 20 minutes later and Santos went on to win 3-1.
Ramsey out for at least three weeks
Arsenal will be without Welsh midfielder Aaron Ramsey until the end of November after he suffered a hamstring injury during his side’s Champions League win over Bayern Munich on Tuesday.
Ramsey, who struggled with hamstring problems last season, was forced off in the 57th minute and manager Arsene Wenger said the midfielder was “very down” about his latest setback.
He had just begun to regain his best form, scoring in his previous two matches for club and country.
Wenger suggested Ramsey may have picked up the injury as a result of his busy schedule.
“He had a scan today but he’s out. I believe he will be out until after the next international break. With the (last) international break, the fact that he played against Andorra certainly cost (Gareth) Bale and him as well,” Wenger said.
High-scoring youth match replayed
Italian youth teams Ponte Ronca and Persiceto 85 have replayed a match which ended 31-0 three weeks ago after the result was annulled because the referee blew for time several minutes early to save the home side further embarrassment.
Persiceto ran out 9-1 winners in Wednesday’s rematch of an Under-14 championship tie, which attracted a television crew in the wake of the publicity that followed the first meeting.
La Gazzetta dello Sport also carried a full report of the game.
“My lads played with their hearts,” Ponte Ronca coach Arturo Ginosa told the Gazzetta.
“I didn’t expect them to do this well, and I didn’t think we would score a goal.”
City reported after fans boo anthem
UEFA have opened disciplinary proceedings against Manchester City following a report from their official match delegate that their fans booed the Champions League anthem before the kick-off of Wednesday’s 2-1 win over Sevilla.
City fans have booed the anthem both home and away for the last two seasons after City were penalised by UEFA under Financial Fair Play rules.
But UEFA’s Icelandic match delegate Geir Thorstelnsson has reported the latest outbreak of booing to UEFA’s Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body.
A case has been opened against City and will be dealt with on Nov.19.