Soccer

After almost three decades together, EA Sports announced Tuesday its iconic partnership with FIFA is now over ... and its soccer video games will move forward as "EA Sports FC."

FIFA 23, which will be released sometime in the fall, is expected to be the last game featuring the two giants together before EA moves on with its new line of games.

EA Sports officials promised the end of the partnership won't impact the '23 version of the game ... and added they expect the game to remain the same -- and, in fact, significantly improve -- in the following years despite the new name.

"Next year, EA SPORTS FC will become the future of football from EA SPORTS," officials said in a statement Tuesday. "Alongside our 300+ license partners across the sport, we're ready to take global football experiences to new heights, on behalf of all football fans around the world."

According to the NY Times, EA and FIFA split after the soccer org. was looking to double the amount of revenue it received in the deal. It had been getting, per the outlet, about $150 million annually.

The Times also reported that the money, albeit important, wasn't the only reason a new deal wasn't reached, but rather, the two sides had different expectations about what should be included in the agreement.

Brazilian soccer star Marcelo lost his first team spot with French club Lyon for raising a stink -- literally -- with reports claiming the defender's "continuous farting and laughing" in the locker room led to his demotion last year.

The 34-year-old -- who now plays for Bordeaux -- was reportedly initially bumped down to Lyon's reserve squad back in August for laughing during teammate Leo Dubois' speech to boost morale after a bad loss to Angers ... which the club called "inappropriate behavior."

As it turns out, there was a lot more gas behind the decision ... with ESPN claiming Marcelo was punished for incessantly pooting in the dressing room and laughing while around team manager Peter Bosz and director Juninho.

Marcelo went on to make 11 appearances for Lyon II ... scoring 3 goals.

Lyon and Marcelo eventually farted parted ways in January, when the club terminated his contract. Two days later, he joined Bordeaux.

There was a massive party in South Beach Friday night ... and just about every celeb in the 305 was there.

The bash was thrown by Major Food Group and American Express in partnership with The h.wood Group and Sports Illustrated during Formula 1 Grand Prix weekend. The party, called Carbone Beach -- after awesome chef Mario Carbone -- drew tons of stars, including, David Beckham, Derek Jeter, Dwyane Wade, Gabrielle Union, LeBron James, James Corden, Patrick Mahomes, Rich Paul, Wyclef Jean, Jorge Perez and Wayne Boich.

But, wait ... there's more ... Chantel Jeffries, Larsa Pippen, Serena and Venus Williams, Fabolous and Food God.

Wyclef Jean performed "Hips Don't Lie" -- the song he's featured with on Shakira. She was MIA from the party.

Now get this ... the sit-down dinner was $3k a person, and that got you shellfish, oysters, caviar, pastas, truffles, tomahawk steaks, veal parm and LOTS of Lobos 1707 tequila.

The 300 partygoers called it a night at around 3 AM.

Absolute wild scene in Germany -- fans of Eintracht Frankfurt stormed the pitch after their beloved soccer club reached its first Europa League Final since 1980 on Thursday ... and it was all caught on video!!

The chaos went down following Frankfurt's 1-0 victory over West Ham at Deutsche Bank Park in Frankfurt, Germany ... when fans immediately rushed the field to celebrate the huge accomplishment.

In the short clip, you can see droves of fans sprint from their seats in the stands and scatter all over the field ... as the remaining supporters in their seats cheered and screamed in excitement.

The image of spectators rushing the field after a big win is not uncommon in soccer ... in fact, storming the pitch, also known as a "pitch invasion," happens more than you think.

Generally, fans will participate in the tradition when they want to celebrate or protest something ... obviously, in this case, Frankfurt fans were elated over their club's win.

Santi Mina, forward for professional soccer team Celta Vigo, was just sentenced to 4 years in prison after being found guilty of sexual abuse.

Mina was also charged with rape ... but was acquitted on that charge.

The sentence was handed down to the 26-year-old in a court in Almeria, Spain, on Wednesday. The Spanish footballer was also ordered to stay away from the victim for at least 12 years.

The state prosecutor lobbied for an 8-year prison sentence, according to ESPN, but ultimately, the Spanish court hit the player with just half.

David Goldar, a former player for Celta Vigo and current defender for UD Ibiza, was charged with failing to prevent the alleged sexual abuse from happening.

However, Goldar was found not guilty of being an accomplice to the crime.

As for the original allegation ... a woman, who allegedly went off with Goldar, accused Mina of sexually assaulting her in a camper van in 2017 in the southern province of Almeria.

LaLiga club Celta released a statement on the sentencing ... saying, "As a result of the ruling of the Provincial Court of Almeria ruling issued today, RC Celta has decided to open a disciplinary file on the player Santiago Mina to elucidate his work responsibilities in view of this resolution."

They continued ... "For this reason and as a precautionary measure, it has been decided to provisionally remove the player from first team training, without prejudice to his continuing to carry out the activities indicated by the club for this purpose."

"RC Celta respects the player's right to defense but is obliged to take measures against those events that notoriously undermine the image of the club and directly attack its values, once again showing its most absolute rejection of the offense defined in the judicial resolution."

Kevin Durant now has as many soccer teams as he does championship rings -- the NBA superstar just invested in Gotham FC!!

The new NWSL club announced KD and his business partner, Rich Kleiman, just made a "significant" investment in the franchise ... joining U.S. women's team legend Carli Lloyd in the ownership group.

Of course, KD's Thirty Five Ventures first dipped its toe into soccer back in 2020 ... when it bought a minority stake in the MLS' Philadelphia Union.

No word on how much KD and Kleiman shelled out for their piece of Gotham FC, but the team hints it was substantial.

KD shares his excitement on Wednesday ... tweeting out, "Let’s get it @GothamFC."

Kleiman commented on the business move ... saying, "As a New York-based company, the opportunity for us to partner with a forward-thinking team like Gotham FC was a no brainer,"

"There’s been so much growth in the NWSL in recent years, and the chance to be a part of that growth and work directly with the Gotham FC executive team and players is really exciting."

KD's company is slated to be hands-on -- helping out with player relations, community outreach, producing content and building a social media presence.

Christina Haack is going all out to prove she's not the crappy mom that ex-husband Ant Anstead wants folks to believe ... sitting on the sidelines for her kids' soccer games.

Christina was in full-on soccer mom mode Saturday, plopping down in her portable chair next to daughter Taylor to watch son Brayden on the field. For Christina, it's her first public appearance since Ant filed for custody of their son Hudson and ripped her mommy skills.

Christina was not only there with her children from her first marriage to Tarek El Moussa, but with his parents, they made a day of it ... watching Taylor compete in a separate game.

It doesn't appear Hudson was there ... so he must've been with dad.

TMZ broke the story ... Ant went OFF on Christina in legal docs filed Thursday, accusing her of being an absent mother, putting Hudson at risk and using the kid as a social media pawn.

Christina fired back in legal docs of her own Friday, seeking to poke holes in Ant's allegations. She told the court there's no need for an emergency order to grant Anstead full custody of 2-year-old Hudson, and so far, the judge agrees.

FIFA just hit Senegal with a $180,000 fine (175,000 Swiss Francs) ... after fans of the soccer federation shined lasers at Egypt's Mohamed Salah during a World Cup qualifying game last month.

It all went down when Egypt was taking on Senegal in a crucially important game in April. The game, tied after regulation, went to penalty kicks to determine who would advance.

Salah, one of Egypt's star players, as well other members of the club, had green lasers repeatedly and intentionally shined in their eyes/face as the team attempted their penalty kicks.

As a result, Salah and his teammates missed their penalty kicks, and Senegal won the match, 1-0 (3-1 PK), advancing to the next round.

Of course, spectators can't bring lasers to soccer matches, as they pose a danger to the public safety of the fans and athletes on the field.

However, that didn't deter fans -- seeking a competitive advantage for their respective soccer club. Now, FIFA officials have lowered the financial boom as a result of the fans' actions.

"As stated in the FIFA Stadium Safety and Security Regulations, laser pointers are considered prohibited items by FIFA and confiscated when the spectators are checked at the outer stadium perimeter," FIFA said after the incident.

"When incidents happen within the applicable scope of FIFA’s Disciplinary Code, disciplinary measures may be taken based on article 16, paragraph 2,” which says teams are liable for inappropriate behavior from their fans."

As for how FIFA came up with the punishment for Senegal, the governing body said its disciplinary panel compared it to other cases from WC qualifying games where similar incidents happened.

Senegal must also play a future game in a stadium with no fans.

Mino Raiola -- agent to soccer's biggest superstars like Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Paul Pogba -- is putting an end to rumors he passed away on Thursday ... tweeting he's definitely not dead, and "pissed off" at anyone reporting otherwise.

There were erroneous reports claiming the 54-year-old superagent passed away from a lung illness just hours ago ... the same story that started circulating back in January.

But, Raiola put an end to all speculation on Twitter ... saying, "Current health status for the ones wondering: pissed off second time in 4 months they kill me."

"Seem also able to resuscitate."

The journalist responsible for the initial report going viral has since apologized for the mistake ... and has suspended his Twitter account.

According to reporter, Fabrizio Romano, Raiola's doctor said his patient is, in fact, dealing with a medical issue ... but as Raiola stated -- he's NOT dead.

"I'm outraged by the phone calls from pseudo-journalists speculating on the life of a man who is fighting to survive," Dr. Alberto Zangrillo said, according to Romano.

ESPN is reporting Raiola was admitted to San Raffaele Hospital in Milan in January ... and his business partner told the outlet he remains in serious condition.

"It's not true. He is not dead, but he is fighting for his life."

Cristiano Ronaldo, Georgina Rodríguez and their newborn baby girl are back home with their family ... and the couple is giving thanks for all the support and sympathy they received after the tragic death of their twin son.

"Home sweet home," CR7 said in an Instagram post on Thursday. "Gio and our baby girl are finally together with us."

The Manchester United superstar shared earlier this week that their baby son had tragically passed away.

Fans across the world showed support for the couple immediately after news of the tragedy hit -- including on Tuesday, when fans at the Man U vs. Liverpool game gave a minute-long applause to pay tribute to the soccer superstar and his family.

"We want to thank everyone for all the kind words and gestures," Ronaldo added in his post Thursday. "Your support is very important and we all felt the love and respect that you have for our family."

"Now it’s time to be grateful for the life that we’ve just welcomed into this world. 🙏🏻❤️🙏🏻"

Lewis Hamilton and Serena Williams could be Chelsea FC's next owners -- both sports icons have reportedly pledged MILLIONS in a bid to buy the club.

The F1 superstar and tennis legend have joined British business mogul Martin Broughton's group of rich and powerful investors hoping to purchase the team from Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, according to Reuters.

There's a report Hamilton and Williams both paid $13 million each ... but the Mercedes driver's rep claims that is not an accurate number. In fact, we're told Lewis contributed tens of millions as part of the bid.

Josh Harris and David Blitzer -- who own the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils -- are also part of the bid.

Of course, Abramovich recently put the team up for sale amid the UK government's sanctions to seize the assets of those close to Vladimir Putin.

While RA has denied being tight with the Russian president, he still put the team on the market ... with a reported $3.93 billion price tag.

Williams made nearly $46 million alone in 2021 ... while Hamilton raked in $82 million.

Cristiano Ronaldo will not play in Manchester United's game against Liverpool on Tuesday ... his soccer club just announced the star is sitting out while he mourns the tragic death of his newborn son.

Man U officially ruled Ronaldo out early Tuesday morning ... saying in a statement, "Family is more important than everything and Ronaldo is supporting his loved ones at this immensely difficult time."

Manchester United is set to kick off its game in Anfield at 12 PM.

As we reported, Ronaldo and his partner, Georgina Rodriguez, announced Monday their baby son passed away. In a statement, they said "it is the greatest pain that any parents can feel."

Ronaldo and Rodriguez -- who announced back in December they were expecting a twin boy and a twin girl -- added that the birth of their daughter "gives us the strength to live this moment with some hope and happiness."

Fans, teammates, celebs and more have poured out support for the soccer player and Rodriguez since the announcement.

It's unknown when Ronaldo will return to the pitch next ... but it's clear his team is going to give him all the time he needs.

"Cristiano," Man U said in its statement Tuesday, "we are all thinking of you and sending strength to the family."

Absolutely devastating news from Cristiano Ronaldo and longtime GF Georgina Rodríguez ... the couple just announced their baby boy -- a twin -- tragically passed away.

Ronaldo and Rodríguez had been expecting twins.

Cristiano made the crushing announcement on Instagram Monday morning ... and it's difficult to read.

"It is with our deepest sadness we have to announce that our baby boy passed away. It is the greatest pain that any parents can feel," the 37-year-old soccer star wrote.

"Only the birth of our baby girl gives us the strength to live this moment with some hope and happiness."

The details surrounding the tragic incident are not clear.

Remember, Cristiano and Georgina announced they were expecting twins in October. Then, they shared their gender reveal in December (with help from the whole family) ... when they found out they were expecting a boy and a girl.

Cristiano ended his post thanking the medical professionals who helped his family.

Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo is being investigated by police after he smashed a young fan's phone following his team's loss on Saturday.

The incident went down after MU lost to Everton 1-0 at Goodison Park ... when Ronaldo, as he was leaving the field, appears to smack something to the ground as he walks through an area where fans were standing in close proximity.

The video circulated on social media ... with many fans calling out Ronaldo for his alleged bad behavior.

A spokesperson for the Merseyside Police confirmed they were looking into the incident, saying, according to ESPN, "As players were leaving the pitch at 2.30 PM, it was reported that a boy was assaulted by one of the away team as they left the pitch."

"Inquiries are underway and officers are working with Everton Football Club to review CCTV footage and are carrying out extensive witness inquiries to establish if an offense has taken place."

Ronaldo has since apologized for his actions in a social media post, saying ... "It’s never easy to deal with emotions in difficult moments such as the one we are facing. Nevertheless, we always have to be respectful, patient and set the example for all the youngsters who love the beautiful game."

He continued ... "I would like to apologize for my outburst and, if possible, I would like to invite this supporter to watch a game at Old Trafford as a sign of fair-play and sportsmanship.🙏🏽"

We reached out to police, who told us they are "aware of the incident and dealing with all aspects of the incident."

Megan Rapinoe clearly believes Dwayne Johnson jacked her fiancée's company's logo for his new XFL brand -- and now, she's demanding the actor changes it before lawyers get involved.

The soccer superstar explained her beef with The Rock on social media on Thursday -- just one day after Dwayne revealed his football org.'s new "X" logo -- saying she thinks his new logo looks a bit too much like Sue Bird's Togethxr's.

And, Rapinoe said if he doesn't change things quickly -- Bird's team will be sending over a cease and desist letter.

"Welp. This is awkward," Rapinoe said. "Only thing @TheRock and @XFL2023 are gonna be cookin up is a response to the Cease and Desist and an ENTIRE new brand ID. @togethxr got this on [lock] boys."

If you're unfamiliar, Bird and other star female athletes started Togethxr -- a company designed to promote equality in the media and highlight the achievement of women in sports -- several years ago, and used a unique "X" as part of their logo.

Rapinoe and Bird clearly believe The Rock's "X" logo too closely resembles Togethxr's -- and they made it apparent, they're not going to let it slide.

"Well," Bird said of The Rock's new design, "doesn’t this look familiar."

No word yet on if The Rock is aware of the two athletes' gripe, or if he has any plans to change the image going forward.

NFL tight end Zach Ertz and his wife, Julie, just shared some exciting news on Monday -- the married couple is having a baby!!

The Arizona Cardinals and USWNT stars dropped the news on Instagram ... with the two posting photos of Julie's baby bump, and Zach kissing her growing tummy.

"Adding to our starting lineup ... Baby Ertz!" Zach captioned the pics.

The 10-year NFL veteran has been with the U.S. women's national team defender for nearly a decade ... and tied the knot in March 2017.

Of course, Julie was there to celebrate with Zach after Super Bowl LVII, which he won as a member of the Philadelphia Eagles.

Ertz had one of the key plays in the game when he caught what proved to be the go-ahead touchdown from Nick Foles ... propelling Philly over New England in the end.

Julie is a star in her own right -- the two-time Olympian and one-time Olympic gold medalist is one of the most decorated in her position.

Although the baby isn't here yet, having a football and soccer star as parents means the sky is the limit when it comes to sports ... if that's what the youngin' is into, of course.