REPORTS WE COULDN’T MAKE UP
1 MUSICAL PROTEST
It’s been a tough year for Valencia supporters, with fans engaged in a constant battle with unpopular owner Peter Lim and his current board of directors.
For their latest protest, fans hired a mariachi band to follow board members around the city in an attempt to force them out of the Mestalla.
2 VAR-SICAL
It has become an increasingly familiar sight for football viewers: a goal is scored, players on both sides protest and the referee calls for intervention from the VAR.
So it went in the Serie B clash between Ascoli and Reggiana, when the visitors scored a 94thminute equaliser. The problem? Serie B doesn’t have VAR. After an exchange of blank looks, referee Francesco Meraviglia stuck by his original decision to disallow the goal. Fortunately for him, it was correct.
3 FIVE-SECOND FOOTBALL
Next to the amateur leagues of Serbian football, where a game was abandoned after just five seconds. Spartak Ljig arrived at their fixture against Vrelo Sport with just seven players, and looked set for a tough afternoon.
However, from kick-off, one of their players thumped the ball out of play and immediately collapsed with a suspicious-looking injury. Unable to continue, the visitors were reduced to six men and thus forced to abandon the game, with Vrelo awarded a 3-0 victory.
4 WHAT’S IN A NAME?
While Brazil and Real Madrid midfielder Casemiro has become widely regarded as one of the world’s finest holding midfielders, it turns out we’ve all been spelling his name wrong.
“My mother’s surname is spelt with an “i”, not an “e”: Casimiro,” he revealed recently. “When I played in Brazil, there was a game in Sao Paulo when people incorrectly named me Casemiro. I played very well that game and I decided that people should keep calling me Casemiro, with the “e”. It has not changed since.”
5 DON’T YOU KNOW WHO I AM?
Marcus Thuram had an embarrassing moment ahead of Borussia Monchengladbach’s Champions League clash with Internazionale. Attempting to enter the San Siro for a media session, the youngster was denied entry by security, who failed to recognise him. In desperation, the Frenchman was forced to Google his own name and show the image to the security guard.