Soccer

Arsenal defender Pablo Marí underwent surgery on his back on Friday to fix injuries suffered in a horrifying knife attack ... but, thankfully, his team says he's now doing well.

A.C. Monza -- the club for which Pablo is playing while on loan for Arsenal -- said the procedure entailed repairing two torn muscles. They added, "the operation went well."

The club also said the 29-year-old will need to remain in the hospital this weekend ... and is expected to be out of action for two months as he recovers.

As we previously reported, Marí was one of six people who were stabbed in a terrifying attack at an Italian supermarket on Thursday.

According to the Associated Press, Pablo told Monza CEO Adriano Galliani that he was fortunate to survive, given the wounds he sustained during the incident.

"He told me he had ‘suerte’ [luck], because, 'Today I saw someone else die,'" Galliani said while he visited Pablo in the hospital.

"He had his child in a cart and his wife next to him. He was probably saved by his height. He was hit in the back, and then he saw this delinquent stab someone in the throat."

Authorities say they arrested a 46-year-old man over the attack. He's still currently in police custody.

Arsenal defender Pablo Marí was reportedly stabbed during a terrifying knife attack on Thursday afternoon ... and he's now recovering in an Italian hospital.

Multiple reports say the 29-year-old -- who's currently playing for A.C. Monza while on loan from Arsenal -- was one of six people who were slashed by a man at around 5:30 p.m. at a shopping center in Milan.

The reports say authorities ID'ed the knifeman as a 46-year-old who is believed to have grabbed the blade from the shelves of a store before lunging at passersby. He's since been arrested, according to the reports, and is still in police custody.

Mari, meanwhile, was rushed to a nearby medical facility following the incident ... but The Athletic reported he's not thought to be seriously injured.

Marí signed a permanent deal with Arsenal in 2020 -- and played sparingly with the club before joining Udinese and Monza this year while out on loan.

"Power" will no longer be played before AFC Bournemouth games this season ... the Premier League team is pulling the plug on the pregame song -- after Kanye West's recent antisemitic remarks.

The Athletic reported Tuesday that the team made this decision this week ... following in the footsteps of multiple huge organizations that have cut ties with the artist over his recent, highly offensive comments.

The Cherries had played the hit before games for YEARS -- running onto English soccer fields to the tune as fans in stadiums roared.

So far, no word yet on what song will replace the Ye beat.

The futbol team's decision comes after Adidas, T.J. Maxx and Balenciaga severed their relationships with West -- and just two days after superstar athletes Jaylen Brown and Aaron Donald dropped from his Donda Sports agency.

J.J. Watt and Kealia Ohai are parents!!

The Arizona Cardinals star and pro soccer player made the announcement Tuesday evening ... saying their baby boy arrived on Oct. 23.

The couple -- who got married in February 2020 -- shared a photo with their bundle of joy in the hospital bed on Instagram.

"Love and happiness have reached heights we never even knew existed," Watt said in the caption.

The couple also revealed their son's name -- Koa James Watt.

The great news had their post swarmed with comments from fans and NFL players ... including Watt's little brother and Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker, T.J.

"Welcome to the family Koa!!!" T.J. said on the post.

The Arizona Cardinals and the NFL also congratulated the 3-time Defensive Player of the Year ... with the league account saying, "KJ Watt! Congrats JJ and Kealia!"

This kid definitely has sports in his blood ... besides his dad being a 5-time Pro Bowler, his mom is a Chicago Red Stars midfielder. Plus his uncles are pros as well.

Safe to say the kid will have a future as an athlete if he wants.

Team USA legend Alexi Lalas says Christian Pulisic shouldn't fight the "Captain America" nickname ... telling TMZ Sports it's only going to make people call him it even more!!

CP has publicly stated in the past he's not a fan of the superhero-esque moniker ... saying he's "not too fond" of it -- especially when his own teammates use it.

We spoke with Lalas about the whole ordeal ... and he says Christian is only making matters worse by making the gripe.

"Christian Pulisic not liking Captain America is gonna make a lot of people call him Captain America more," Lalas joked.

"He needs to read the room. You don't get to pick your nickname. People get to pick your nickname. It's a really good nickname."

Lalas says the nickname is a good thing ... and thinks there are MUCH worse things Pulisic could be called -- so he should feel lucky.

Lalas also thinks it is a money-making opportunity for Pulisic ... saying he could cash in by marketing and branding the nickname.

We also spoke with Lalas about Team USA heading into the World Cup ... and he gives us some guys who could become household names throughout the tournament.

A pro soccer player used every inch of his body to try to gain an advantage over his opponent during a game this weekend ... pulling down his shorts and flashing his junk right in the middle of the pitch.

The NSFW moment went down in a Colombian first division match on Sunday -- when Santa Fe defender Geisson Perera went to the extreme in an effort to get a Jaguares de Córdoba player to miss a free kick.

Broadcast cameras showed that shortly after an attacker lined up to take the shot ... Perera stood nearby, grabbed his pants, and exposed his manhood for all to see.

Unclear if the act affected the play -- the kick didn't end up resulting in a goal -- but fans were furious over it all nonetheless.

Some Santa Fe supporters called for Perera to be sanctioned following the game. Others asked for permanent removal from the team.

The 31-year-old, however, was not penalized during the game over it all.

Brittany Renner dusted off her cleats and hit the soccer field this week ... showing she's still got it when it comes to juggling balls.

The former college soccer star had the camera rolling when she got in a workout ... juggling the soccer ball for a minute straight without letting it hit the ground.

Brittany's skills are truly impressive -- she juggles at her feet and thighs ... and tops it off with a header.

Of course, Brittany -- who has a child with Charlotte Hornets hooper P.J. Washington -- previously showed off her skills while playing with rapper 6ix9ine.

Renner played college ball at Jackson State ... and has remained close to her old stomping grounds, hitting up JSU to talk to Deion Sanders' football team about groupies.

Started from the bottom, now we're on soccer jerseys.

FC Barcelona will pay homage to Drake on Sunday ... by wearing the rap superstar's OVO owl logo on their kits for their big match against Real Madrid, the team announced Friday.

Barca -- whose main partner is Spotify -- explained the idea to honor the 6 God came after Drizzy became the first artist to reach over 50 billion streams on the platform.

"For the first time in our history, we are replacing the name of our main partner on the front of the jersey with an internationally acclaimed artist in Drake," Barca exec. Juli Guiu said.

"This initiative shows our potential to become a unique platform to offer experiences that help bring us closer to our fans while reaching out to new audiences around the world.”

The club will also wear a special version of the customized Drake-themed jersey during pre-game warmups -- which will feature his name on the back, and #50 to honor his stream record.

"We were really excited to celebrate one of the biggest games of the year and mark Drake’s milestone as the first artist to reach 50 billion streams," Spotify exec Marc Hazan said.

"We’ve always said that we want this partnership to be a celebration of fans, players, and artist’s on a global stage -- and there’s no bigger stage than El Clásico.”

Drake spoke about the gesture on Instagram ... saying, "this doesn’t feel real but it is."

Kim Kardashian is still showin' support for her kids while Kanye West appears to be at war on social media ... carrying out soccer mom duties at her son's game in the midst of the drama.

Kim whipped out a folding chair, some sunglasses and a jersey for Saint's soccer game in Los Angeles Wednesday ... parking herself front row as his #1 fan.

The outfit's interesting -- she's got Yeezy slides on, and paired it with an Adidas jersey ... as we reported, Kanye's partnership with that brand was apparently placed "under review" Thursday, in the wake of his controversial "White Lives Matter" fashion statement.

Doesn't look like anything's gonna slow Kim down from giving her kids the support they deserve, even if Kanye's pointing the blame back at her on social media.

For those unaware, Ye echoed his complaints about Kim's "secret" birthday party for their daughter, Chicago, earlier this year as he faces cancel culture for his 'WLM' apparel.

At least 125 people were killed Saturday after a stampede erupted during an Indonesian soccer match.

It was a horrifying scene ... fans swarmed the field and opposing sides squared off as they fought violently.

Police were at a loss, firing rounds of tear gas. In fact, it was a fatal move, because fans ran for the exits ... causing a stampede.

Dozens were reportedly trampled to death. Others died by suffocation.

More than 300 others were injured and taken to nearby hospitals, but a number of them died en route or once they got to the ER.

U.S. Women's National Team legend Abby Wambach is distancing herself from a health company supported by Brett Favre ... after finding out the business has been accused of being involved in the massive Mississippi welfare funds scandal.

ESPN reports Wambach -- a member of the sports advisory board for Odyssey Health -- had her mentions on the company's website scrubbed Thursday afternoon ... after hearing that a lawsuit filed by the state of Mississippi alleged $2.1 million intended for welfare recipients was directed to the health company instead.

Odyssey Health is a drug company developing a nasal spray to treat concussions ... and Favre is reportedly its biggest investor. Kurt Warner, Mark Rypien, David Ross and Steve Mariucci are also members of the org.'s sports advisory board.

Wambach explained her decision to walk away in an email Thursday to ESPN ... saying, "Minutes after learning this new information, I initiated the process to immediately and fully divest myself from any involvement -- financial and otherwise -- with Prevacus/Odyssey Health Inc."

"A process that I insisted be complete by end of day today."

Wambach added she "genuinely believed this company was being transparent about a product that could spare the next generation of athletes from the severe impact of concussion injuries that I endured as a professional athlete."

"I am profoundly angry, disappointed, and saddened by what I learned today."

Wambach's decision to fully divest from the drug company comes on the heels of more troubling allegations for Favre ... whose charity, Favre 4 Hope, is under fire for donating money meant for children and cancer patients to USM's athletic foundation between 2018-2020.

Eugene Quaynor -- a team captain on the Oral Roberts University men's soccer team -- was tragically killed in a fiery car crash in Oklahoma this week. He was just 23 years old.

The Tulsa Police Department said Thursday it received calls around 10:20 PM on Wednesday about a collision at 71st and S. Yale in Tulsa -- five minutes from the university.

According to cops, Quaynor was inside a silver Nissan at a stoplight when it was rear-ended by an SUV. Cops say Quaynor's car was hit so hard, it was pushed through the intersection and struck a retaining wall.

The vehicle then caught fire with Quaynor inside. Cops say bystanders tried to get him out by using rocks to break the vehicle's windows, but the flames became too intense.

Authorities say they found Quaynor deceased in the car when they arrived.

The Tulsa Police Department said the driver of the SUV initially attempted to flee the scene, but was detained by EMSA paramedics until officers came on the scene.

TPD says "charges against the driver who caused the crash will be recommended to the District Attorney's office" after they said the man "was unsteady on his feet, unable to walk, and appeared to be severely intoxicated."

Quaynor transferred to ORU from the University of Ghana and started playing for the Golden Eagles in 2019. He scored four goals during his first three seasons.

Quaynor played his last game for the Golden Eagles on Sept. 24. ORU announced Thursday it has postponed Saturday's game against St. Thomas in wake of Quaynor's death.

"He was a team captain and known for his captivating smile," the team said in a statement. "Eugene's presence is missed."

"Thank you for your prayerful support of the family in this time of bereavement."

Victoria Beckham has people worried her marriage with David Beckham might be on the rocks -- and it all has to do with what appears to be a fading tattoo.

Fans took notice of VB's wrist this week when she did a lipstick tutorial on IG, pointing out that some signature ink she normally rocks on her wrist seemed to be almost totally gone. It's a cursive "DB" ... obviously her husband's initials, and one she's had since their 10th anniversary.

From the video, it looks like the tattoo is in the process of being removed. You can still see traces of it -- but the tat is certainly faded, and there's no explanation thus far.

Of course, this is still a cause of concern for some -- mostly because of Sylvester Stallone's recent tattoo drama -- but the public might be overreacting here.

Fact is, it appears Victoria is still wearing a wedding band on her left ring finger -- plus, her and David were photographed last week holding hands in public. On the flip side, however, he did attend the Queen's wake by himself a couple weeks ago.

It could all be much ado about nothing, but just to make sure ... we've reached out to reps for both David and Victoria about the missing ink. So far, no word back.

Shakira and Gerard Piqué are still practicing social distancing, at least when it comes to co-parenting -- they both showed up to their kid's baseball game, but sat pretty far away from each other.

The exes were out supporting their 9-year-old son, Milan, Saturday in Barcelona ... Gerard was with his mom on one side of the stands, while Shakira came with some of her pals and her mom, sitting on the other side.

The singer even spent some alone time in the dugout, too.

We're told they didn't look at each other the entire game ... it wasn't until their son was saying his goodbyes after the game that they got close.

The icy environment definitely gives "unresolved issues" vibes ... and Shakira's Off-White "keep back" jacket certainly backed that up. She broke her silence on their split last week -- telling Elle she kept quiet on purpose ever since rumors started swirling in June, partially to protect her kids.

This is awesome.

EA Sports -- starting later this month -- is adding Ted Lasso to FIFA '23 ... AND his team, AFC Richmond, the video game maker announced on Wednesday.

"Believe it. #FIFA23 x @TedLasso He's proven he belongs in the game, now Ted Lasso and @AFCRichmond are playable in FIFA 23 starting September 30," EA tweeted.

In an official news release, EA said Lasso -- famously played by Jason Sudekis -- will be a playable manager in Career Mode on FIFA '23.

In addition to Lasso, FIFA players can manage AFC Richmond -- Lasso's team in the hit show -- in FIFA's Premier League or any other playable Career Mode.

The Emmy award-winning show follows the story of Lasso, an American football coach in London charged with leading a struggling English Premier League football (soccer) team.

According to IMDB, the comedy-drama won 11 Primetime Emmys and received 40 total nominations.

Before this cool kid with his flashy shades turned into an international singer and actor, he was just a young dude dribbling and running down the fútbol field while growing up in Medellín, Colombia.

This talented musician has collaborated with some of music's hottest stars such as Madonna, The Weeknd, Ricky Martin and J Balvin. He has taken his on-stage talent to the big screen with his performances in Disney's "Encanto" and "Marry Me" starring alongside Jennifer Lopez.

He won his first MTV Video Music Award for "Best Latin Video" back in 2020.