Soccer

Manchester United held a moment of silence for the victims of the arena attack during practice Tuesday ... and have vowed to help emergency services "in any way that may be required."

Wayne Rooney, Paul Pogba and the rest of the club paused for a minute to honor the families and victims of the terrorist attack at the Ariana Grande concert Monday night.

At least 22 people have been killed and 59 others were injured by the nail bomb attack.

Rooney's current and former teammates voiced their reactions on Twitter this morning.

Rooney: "Devastating news this morning. Thoughts and prayers are with all those affected."

Pogba: "My condolences to all families of the victims in Manchester and to all families who are losing loved ones in so many countries due to acts of violence."

Danny Higginbotham: "I'm a proud Manchester lad. What happened last night was truly horrific but won't break the great city. Thoughts with all affected"

Ashley Young: "Absolutely shocked to hear the news this morning. Thoughts with all that lost loved ones & prayers for those being treated in hospitals"

Daley Blind: "Can't believe what happened last night, My thoughts go out to all those affected. #PrayForManchester"

Man. United plays in the Europa League final against AFC Ajax on Wednesday, but UEFA says "there is currently no specific intelligence which might suggest that any of the UEFA Europa League final activities in Stockholm may be the target of attacks."

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

Here's Argentinian soccer stud Ezequiel Lavezzi striking that stupid pose racist people do when trying to impersonate a Chinese person.

The photo was part of a promotional shoot for Lavezzi's pro team in the Chinese Super League. EL says he was just trying to make "funny faces ... for entertainment purposes."

Once the pic surfaced online, people were pissed -- saying the pic is racially insensitive ... because it is.

Lavezzi says he had "no intention of insulting the Chinese people and did not do it with any bad intentions."

He added, "I deeply apologize if this photo has offended the Chinese public and fans. I will be more careful in the future."

Lavezzi clearly didn't learn from Pau Gasol's mistake -- when Pau and the Spanish basketball team struck the same pose before the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

Abby Wambach and Christian mom blogger Glennon Doyle Melton got hitched Sunday ... and the retired USA soccer star rocked a flashy red jacket down the aisle!!

The couple made their marriage public Monday morning with pics from the ceremony ... showing off Wambach's sharp red and white outfit and the writer's silver dress.

Wambach and Melton started dating last November after both divorced their previous partners ... and announced their engagement in February.

To make things official, Wambach posted a shot in a custom hoodie labeling her "Christian Mommy Blogger's Wife."

Congrats!!

A Denmark soccer team was fined some serious cheese after fans pelted opposing players with dead rats ... giant dead rats.

It all went down when the Brondby IF football club was playing rivals F.C. Copenhagen on April 17 -- and Brondby fans started throwing massive dead rodents at the opposing team.

Brondby immediately hit the rat-chuckers with a 1-year ban -- but now the Denmark Football Federation has stepped in to fine the club 150,000 kroner (roughly $17,000).

The question ... where did the fans even get the dead rats in the first place??

What's worse for Brondby, they didn't even win the game ... they lost 1-0.

Neymar's international teammate, Gabriel Barbosa, just scored big time ... with his hot model sister.

21-year-old Rafaella -- who has been rumored to have a thing with the Inter Milan star for several weeks -- pretty much confirmed the relationship by posting a pic of the two sharing a smooch on Wednesday.

Neymar and Gabigol have been teammates on the Brazilian national team for years ... and it's sure seems like the soccer superstar approves of the couple if they decided to take things public.

GOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!

Ya win some, ya lose some ...

Here's Neymar -- one of the greatest soccer players on the planet -- proving even juggling masters screw up every now and then.

Neymar has a reputation of being an excellent ball-handler ... but he biffed it while trying to bust out a trick Thursday morning.

Go ahead, laugh ... he's still wayyyy better than you.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic vows to return to professional soccer after his recent knee injury -- and he posted a photo of his insanely vascular legs to make his point.

The Manchester United star destroyed his knee Thursday -- and the team is describing it as "significant ligament damage." There are reports it's so bad, the 35-year-old might never play again.

But Zlatan says that's a bunch of crap ... he'll be back.

In a social media post, Zlatan acknowledged he'll be "out of football for a while" ... but added, "I will go through this like everythings else and come back even stronger."

Cristiano Ronaldo is adamant he did NOT rape a woman in Las Vegas back in 2009 -- and then pay her a fortune in cash to keep her quiet ... this according reps for the soccer superstar.

Ronaldo's personal team is responding to a story in a German newspaper which claims CR7 paid a woman roughly $375k in hush money after she claimed he raped her in a Vegas hotel room.

FILE UNDER: "You know you've made it when ..."

Cristiano Ronaldo quieted all the passengers on his private jet so they could hear the moment the captain announced they were departing from the newly renamed Cristiano Ronaldo International Airport in Portugal.

Lionel Messi has been suspended 4 games by FIFA -- and slapped with a $10k fine -- for "directing insulting words" at a ref during a match last week ... the soccer federation announced.

Messi got into with a referee during the Argentina vs. Chile match on March 23. Messi, who was frustrated he wasn't receiving calls, blew up on an official late in the game.

FIFA's disciplinary committee investigated Messi's actions, and found him guilty Tuesday ... before handing down the suspension and fine.

There was a new sheriff in town at the U.S. Women's Soccer Team practice -- a 9-year-old girl named Ashlyn who kicked off practice this week by breaking the team huddle!

Ashlyn is the team's V.I.P. guest for their big game at the SheBelieves Cup Tuesday night -- and it was all made possible by the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

We're told Ashlyn -- who's battling leukemia -- is a HUGE soccer fan and really wanted to meet her favorite player, Alex Morgan.

Well, guess what!??! Alex -- along with other stars like Ali Krieger and Alyssa Naeher -- welcomed Ashlyn to the squad and promised to practice extra hard as they ready to take on France at RFK Stadium in D.C. tonight.

#IBelieve

Breathe, ladies (and some fellas) ... we're about to show you pics of Cristiano Ronaldo in his underwear ... several pics, in different colors for your ogling pleasure.

The soccer hunk is releasing his SS17 CR7 Underwear campaign ... and this time, he's devoted to making sure his skivvies make ya feel good on the inside.

“People mostly see the more serious, focused side to my personality so I wanted this campaign to show my more relaxed side," Ronaldo says.

Disclaimer: CR7 underwear will not help you get a body like Ronaldo.

One of Egypt's most famous soccer players EVER has been put on the country's terror watch and no-fly list over allegations he contributed money to the Muslim Brotherhood.

The player is Mohamed Aboutrika -- who was an absolute STUD before retiring in 2013. In fact, he was named African Footballer of the Year FOUR TIMES!

But now, Egypt is putting the screws to Mohamed -- after officials say he helped finance the Brotherhood.

FYI, Egypt has designated the Muslim Brotherhood a terror organization. American politicians have introduced legislation to deem it one in the U.S. as well.

Two Scottish soccer stars -- including a former member of the Scotland national team -- have been branded rapists by a Scottish judge after the victim sued their asses in civil court.

The players -- David Robertson and David Goodwillie -- were accused of raping a drunk woman at an apartment in 2011 after a night of heavy boozing.

The two men were teammates for the Dundee United soccer team and had gone out drinking after a game earlier in the evening. They allegedly took the woman to a nearby flat and had sex with her despite the fact she was too drunk to give consent.

The woman says she doesn't remember anything after leaving the bar ... until she woke up naked in a strange apartment.

Prosecutors had previously investigated the incident but no criminal charges were filed and the victim was reportedly "devastated" ... so she decided to take her case to civil court.

The judge ruled that both men "each raped her" -- and ordered them to pay roughly $124k in damages.

Bad news for LA Galaxy fans, it's all over for your soccer franchise ... that's according to departing superstar Robbie Keane who says the Galaxy are SCREWED now that he's leaving.

Keane's been an absolute badass for the squad since he came over in 2011 ... becoming the fastest MLS player to score 100 goals ... and winning 3 titles with the team.

But when we got him out at Delilah in L.A. he made it clear ... THE JOYFULNESS IS OVER ... saying the team can't possibly replace everything he's done.

Usain Bolt ... NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The greatest sprinter in the history of man joined the guys at French soccer club JS St-Jean Beaulieu for a workout ... and got two pretty wide open shots on goal -- and blew 'em both.

It wouldn't be a big deal if Usain was just a casual footballer ... but he's said he wants to focus on a soccer career after he retires from track in 2017.