Soccer

Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Megan Rapinoe are going to rep Victoria's Secret but instead of flaunting their bods they'll be sharing their minds. Yup, times are changing.

The lingerie giant announced it's brought the actress and U.S. women's soccer legend on board as its newest spokeswomen. The company's rebranding to be more inclusive and appeal to a wider audience -- and it's hired the duo to spearhead the new VS mission: inspiring change and positivity.

The new marketing strategy doesn't call for Megan or Priyanka to put on Angel wings or skimpy lingerie outfits -- instead the duo will appear on a podcast and in other marketing materials.

Some of their guests, as the NY Post first reported, will include South Sudanese-Australian model Adut Akech, freestyle skier Eileen Gu, Brazilian transgender model Valentina Sampaio, plus-size model Paloma Elsesser and journalist Amanda de Cadenet.

It's slated to be a 10-episode podcast.

The women form what Victoria's Secret is calling the VS Collective ... a platform attempting to build deeper relationships with women of all backgrounds.

Priyanka's no stranger to advocating for women's rights ... like speaking on behalf of UNICEF, an org she's worked with since 2006. She also has a namesake foundation that helps sick children around the globe.

Megan's championed women's rights since finding stardom on the pitch. She's advocated for equal pay and LGTBQ+ rights ever since she's had a platform. In fact, earlier this year she testified before Congress, pushing for equal pay.

VS's rebrand comes nearly 3 years after the company's chief marketing officer made a controversial comment to Vogue about transgender models. He's since left the company.

Several Euro 2020 spectators were injured when a parachuting protestor crash-landed into a stadium Tuesday ... and the horrifying scene was all caught on video.

The gliding demonstrator tried to touch down on the field just before France's game against Germany at Allianz Arena in Munich ... but accidentally hit overhead camera wires on his way in.

What happened next was terrifying ... 'cause the collision with the camera setup sent debris falling onto fans -- and nearly sent the protestor crash-landing into the stands.

Check out the footage of it all from near field level, it's jaw-dropping.

UEFA officials say the stunt "caused injuries to several people attending the game who are now in hospital."

They added the whole thing was "reckless and dangerous" and insisted law enforcement would get involved.

German team spokesperson Jens Grittner also added, "The incident is being checked by the police, the authorities here in Munich and at UEFA. But, of course, we also condemn what happened there. It could probably have turned out much worse.''

As for the point of the protest, the guy's chute had the words "KICK OUT OIL!" and "Greenpeace'' written on it.

The man was taken off the field by security after touching down on the grass.

Heidi Klum showed support -- or a lack thereof -- for Germany ahead of their UEFA Euro 2020 opener on Tuesday ... by showing off some serious underboob as she wished the squad good luck!!

The 48-year-old supermodel gave an incredibly sexy shoutout to her home country's football club ahead of their match against France ... saying quite simply, "Good luck today Germany."

Klum threw on a pair of black bikini bottoms, a gold waist chain and a cropped Germany jersey for the special message ... and giving a big smile and two thumbs up to the camera.

Now, Klum's never shied away from showing off some serious skin throughout her career -- after all, she's been on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue and a Victoria's Secret Angel.

Germany may need some more good luck vibes before their next match against Portugal on Saturday -- they just lost its close opener against France, 1-0 ... the first time the German national team has EVER lost an opening game of the Euros.

Cristiano Ronaldo HATES processed drinks so much, he removed Coke bottles from his podium Monday ... all while imploring people to drink water instead.

Ronaldo's rejection of the sweet stuff went down just before a meeting with the media ahead of Portugal's UEFA Euro 2020 game with Hungary ... and the whole thing was caught on video.

You can see in the footage, just before reporters fired questions at the soccer star, he noticed Cokes placed in front of him (Coke is a sponsor of Euro 2020) and immediately gave them a look of disdain.

But, rather than just keeping the products there like tournament officials no doubt wanted -- Ronaldo straight-up grabbed the bottles and moved them out of his sight.

He then held up a bottle of water, screamed, "agua!" ... and then appeared to mumble something about the sodas.

Of course, Ronaldo's famous for his perfect body -- one that was built off of eating healthy and limiting processed foods ... and it's clear, the guy takes that all VERY seriously.

In fact, Ronaldo's been on record saying he absolutely HATES when his son drinks Cokes and eats fries!!

'Cause, after all, abs (and apparently great soccer players too) are made in the kitchen.

Just days after he collapsed on the soccer field, Christian Eriksen is speaking out -- vowing to fight in his recovery while doctors continue to hunt for the cause of the medical emergency.

"'Thank you, I won't give up," Eriksen said in a statement issued through his agent to the Italian media outlet, Gazzetta dello Sport.

"I feel better now -- but I want to understand what's happened."

The statement continued, "I want to say thank you all for what you did for me."

As we previously reported, the 29-year-old went into cardiac arrest during Saturday's Denmark vs. Finland game in Copenhagen.

Emergency medial personnel raced onto the field to treat him -- and he was eventually resuscitated with a defibrillator.

Eriksen was transported to a nearby hospital where he continues his recovery. He's currently in stable condition.

The Denmark team doctor, Morten Boesen, spoke with the media on Sunday and addressed the seriousness of Eriksen's situation in the seconds after the soccer star collapsed.

"He was gone," Boesen said ... "And we did cardiac resuscitation. And it was cardiac arrest."

He added, "How close were we? I don’t know. We got him back after one defib. That’s quite fast."

As for what caused the incident, Boesen said specialists are still trying to figure that out.

"I’m not [a] cardiologist, so the details about why it happened and further, I will leave to the experts."

Bottom line ... Eriksen seems to be on the road to recovery, which is a miracle considering how scary things looked on Saturday.

Christian Eriksen -- a Danish soccer player, who's one of the stars on the national team -- just had a frightening emergency during the first round of the UEFA European Championship ... collapsing on the field and requiring immediate medical attention.

The 29-year-old midfielder fell to the ground Saturday during Denmark's Euro 2020 match against Finland, toward the end of the first half. He was jogging back and about to receive a ball being thrown to him from one of his teammates, when all of a sudden ... Eriksen toppled over without provocation -- not being touched by another player or anything.

Everyone around him instantly recognized he was suffering an emergency and called for the ref to stop the game -- while also waving on team doctors and other first-responders on hand. Footage was captured from the terrifying moment ... and it's clear he'd lost consciousness.

Reports say CPR was rendered to Eriksen on the spot before he was carried off a stretcher for further treatment. His team -- including players from the other side -- were notably concerned, with a majority of them taking a knee out of respect ... a tradition in soccer.

His teammates also linked arms around Ericksen and formed a wall of sorts -- seemingly to give him privacy while he was being tended to. No word yet on his status or what might've caused the collapse. Of course, everyone is sending their thoughts and prayers.

Team USA Soccer has Mark McKenzie's back ... it released a statement Wednesday saying the racist trolls who spewed hate toward the USMNT player are NEVER welcome in the sport.

The org. stood up for the defender after he claimed that following the U.S.'s huge win over Mexico in the CONCACAF Nations League final in Denver on Sunday, he received tons of racist comments from fans online.

22-year-old McKenzie -- who struggled in the huge 3-2 win -- said the "racial abuse" and "personal attacks" were rampant ... and even affected family members.

But, on Wednesday, his team ripped all of the vitriol ... saying anyone sending the comments McKenzie's way (and any other player's way, for that matter) needs to stop ASAP.

"This type of behavior should not and cannot be allowed to continue," the org. said.

"If you make racist, homophobic, vulgar or disrespectful comments while hiding behind the anonymity of social media, you are not a true fan. And you are not welcome. Ever."

USMNT manager Gregg Berhalter echoed those statements in a meeting with the media Tuesday ... calling the racism flat-out "disgusting."

"We support Mark 100% and we don't stand for any of that stuff," Berhalter said. "We have absolutely zero tolerance for things like that."

Former USMNT star Oguchi Onyewu was forced to issue an apology Sunday night ... after he threatened to choke his female co-host live on air.

The mea culpa all went down during the CBS Sports broadcast of the USMNT vs. Mexico game in Denver ... minutes after Onyewu got verbally aggressive with Mexican soccer star Janelly Farias.

"I will come across this desk and choke you," Onyewu said as part of a segment with his co-host.

Oguchi appeared to be joking, he let out a laugh while unleashing the comment, but still, the remark was immediately criticized on social media.

In fact, the backlash grew so loud, later in the broadcast, Onyewu felt the need to apologize on air.

"Early in the show, you know, throughout our banter back and forth, I got carried away for sure," Onyewu said. "And I said a stupid thing that should've never come out of my mouth."

The 39-year-old continued, "And I am deeply sorry for it and I apologize to you and I hope that you can forgive me and don't take any offense to it. So, I just really want to sincerely apologize for what I said."

The USMNT's soccer game against Mexico turned VERY ugly Sunday night ... 'cause fans in the stands yelled anti-gay slurs and also violently threw objects at players.

The disturbing scenes all went down late in the CONCACAF Nations League final in Denver ... when the game actually had to be paused over homophobic chants.

Fans in the stands could reportedly be heard screaming a Spanish word that translates into an anti-gay insult -- and the chanting grew so loud, refs had to halt play until it stopped.

But, the unruly behavior didn't end there ... 'cause throughout the end of the wild soccer match, players were hit by debris thrown from the stands.

Check out footage that the broadcast picked up ... players on BOTH sides were cracked in the face and head by full cups and bottles.

In fact, US player Gio Reyna was hit so hard in the face by one of the objects ... he collapsed to the grass.

It all got so bad, soccer legend Alexi Lalas said, "The crowd behavior in Denver was a disgrace to our sport and our country."

WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE?!

Two obsessed fans smashed into Neymar as he walked off the Brazil team bus in Rio de Janeiro ... and footage shows the superstar limping away.

The whole situation is absolutely ridiculous and completely unacceptable.

Here's the deal ... Neymar and his teammates had just finished a training session in Rio on Thursday leading up to Brazil's World Cup qualifier on Friday against Ecuador.

When they arrived at the team hotel, there was a large group of fans waiting for the team -- which is pretty common.

But, two fans got through security and sprinted at Neymar -- eventually knocking right into the 29-year-old at full speed!!!

Security raced over to pull the fans away -- and it looks like one of them made off with one of Neymar's shoes.

After the incident, it looks like Neymar limps into the hotel -- though it's possible he's just walking gingerly because he has no shoes on!

The team has yet to give an update on Neymar's condition -- but the entire world is watching.

The man who claims to have found and returned Daniel Sturridge's stolen dog in 2019 is now suing the soccer star ... alleging the athlete has STILL not paid him the reward money he promised.

Foster Washington spelled it all out in a new lawsuit, obtained by TMZ Sports ... saying Sturridge owes him reward money -- which was reported to be around $37,000 -- for helping him get his Pomeranian, Lucci, back nearly 2 years ago.

Washington says after Sturridge claimed the dog had been stolen in a July 2019 burglary in Los Angeles ... Washington found Lucci on the street.

Washington says because Sturridge reportedly offered a reward, he reached out.

In the suit, Washington says he got in touch with Sturridge and ultimately returned the dog expecting the reward money in exchange.

The problem? Washington claims Sturridge -- who's reportedly made over $40 million in his soccer career -- never paid him a dime ... so now he's suing him over it, claiming Sturridge breached a contract by not living up to the reward offer.

Tragedy out of Ohio ... where the University of Cincinnati has confirmed soccer player Ally Sidloski died in a drowning incident over the weekend.

She was only 21.

Sidloski -- a high school star with tons of potential -- had been hanging out at East Fork Lake in Ohio on Saturday when something went terribly wrong.

According to FOX19, Sidloski had been spotted hanging onto a swim platform of a boat -- but ultimately couldn't safely get out of the water.

Her body was found early Sunday morning. Officials say she was not wearing a life jacket.

UC officials confirmed her passing -- and head coach Neil Stafford remembered her as a great player, student and person.

"I am absolutely crushed for the Sidloski Family, our soccer team and the University," Stafford said.

"There's no words for dealing with a tragedy on this scale. Ally was such a pillar of everything that's right about our program. A great student, gritty and resilient player and a phenomenal human being – this is an immeasurable and unspeakable loss."

"Our hearts go out to her family and friends and we will lift them up with our fond memories of Ally."

During her high school career at Strongsville HS, Sidloski was a 3-time All-Greater Cleveland Conference selection.

She made her debut for the UC Bearcats in 2019 -- though she missed the 2020 season due to injury.

In the classroom, the University says Sidloski had earned a 4.0 GPA during multiple semesters -- and received Academic All-AAC honors following the 2019 season.

You down for a World Cup tournament every 2 years instead of 4?!

That's how Saudi Arabia wants to get down ... with officials formally proposing FIFA change the WC schedule -- for both the men's and women's tourney -- ASAP.

Don't get too excited ... even if the proposal is well-received Friday at FIFA's giant meeting of its 211 member federations, it could take YEARS to implement.

In fact, Saudi Arabia is first requesting FIFA launch a "feasible study" to see how shifting the World Cup to every 2 years would affect players, countries, and major soccer organizations around the globe.

The most compelling argument, it seems, is the money -- with the AP reporting the men's World Cup brings in around $6 BILLION in broadcasting and commercial deals.

Not too shabby!

Look, it's not the first time the 2-year plan has been pitched -- former FIFA president Sepp Blatter brought it up back 1999 ... and FIFA vice president Alejandro Dominguez brought it up again in 2018.

But, money talks ... and FIFA has been open to making significant changes lately.

Remember, FIFA agreed to expand the 2026 World Cup to 48 teams ... a big change from the usual 32.

Jim Beglin -- one of the top soccer announcers in the world -- is apologizing after making an "inappropriate and unacceptable" remark when describing a Latino player.

Beglin was calling a Champions League semifinals match between Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City on Tuesday when PSG's Angel Di Maria received a red card for kicking an opposing player.

Di Maria -- who is from Argentina -- was being sent off the pitch, Beglin chalked up the player's outburst on his "Latino temperament."

Yeesh.

There was immediate backlash on social media -- and Beglin apologized during the broadcast moments later.

"When Di Maria was sent off, I described it by using the word Latino," Beglin said on-air ... "For anybody that's taken offense, I do apologize -- sincerely apologize."

After the match, Beglin expanded on his apology ...

"I apologise for my culturally insensitive remarks during the Champions League tie between Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain," Beglin posted on Twitter.

"I wrongly used a racial stereotype. This was inappropriate and unacceptable. Words have a strong impact, and I fully understand the severity of what I said when Angel Di Maria was sent off."

"I will learn from this and be better moving forward."

Madonna's just like any regular soccer mom ... attending a game to cheer on her son, accompanied by her boyfriend, who's a lot closer in age to the players on the field than he is to Madge.

The Material Girl and her family hit up the pitch Sunday in Hidden Hills, CA to support her 15-year-old son, David Banda ... and her 27-year-old beau, Ahlamalik Williams, appeared to revel in the role of soccer "parent."

It was a pretty rare public outing for Madonna, but she arrived in style with a black-and-white getup complete with a cowboy hat with a whale on it ... and it looks like they all had a whale of a good time.

At one point David came over to the sideline and shared a hug with Ahlamalik, so it's pretty clear they're cool too.

If ya didn't know ... Madonna began dating the professional dancer -- 35 years her junior -- about 2 years ago, and hasn't been shy about expressing her affection for him.

Just a week ago for his 27th bday, Madonna wrote ... "Happy Birthday My Love...... Thank you for opening my eyes. How can I explain how I feel? Let's get Unconscious........" referring to lyrics in her 1994 hit "Bedtime Story."

An ex-Virginia Tech women's soccer star is suing her former coach ... claiming she was benched, berated and ultimately forced off the team because she refused to kneel.

Kiersten Hening -- a 21-year-old midfielder/defender who played for the Hokies from 2018 to 2020 -- spelled it all out in a federal lawsuit filed last month ... saying her former head coach, Charles "Chugger" Adair, straight-up hated her political views.

In the docs, Hening claims at the height of the Black Lives Matter movement last summer ... she had differing opinions on social justice protests than most on her Hokies team.

Hening said in her suit that she "supports social justice and believes that black lives matter," but claimed she "does not support BLM the organization."

In the docs, Hening said she disagrees with BLM's "tactics and core tenets of its mission statement, including defunding the police."

As a result, Hening says she was subject to ridicule from Adair ... which only grew louder after she refused to participate in a pregame kneeling demonstration on Sept. 12, 2020.

Hening claims many of her teammates knelt before their match with Virginia during a reading of a "unity statement" ... but she remained standing, and insists she was ultimately singled out for it.

Hening says at halftime of the game, Adair unloaded on her, claiming he "verbally attacked her."

Hening claims Adair pointed a finger "directly in her face" and denounced her for "'bitching and moaning,' for being selfish and individualistic, and for 'doing her own thing.'"

Hening says Adair continued to target her in the ensuing days with verbal rants, and ultimately benched her. She says things got so "intolerable that she felt compelled" to eventually leave the team.

Hening is now suing for undisclosed damages claiming her constitutional rights have been violated. She also wants the judge to order Adair to get training on the First Amendment and let her back on the team.

Hening had been one of the best players on Virginia Tech's squad ... she started 19 games as a true freshman in 2018 and 18 more as a sophomore in 2019.