Soccer

Three men in hoods broke into soccer star Chris Smalling's home in Italy on Thursday night ... held him at gunpoint and robbed him of his watches, jewelry and other valuables.

The horrifying incident all went down sometime before 5 AM in Rome, according to multiple reports, when Smalling was jarringly awoken by the assailants.

Per the reports, the men forced Smalling to go to his safe and hand them Rolex watches, cash and a bunch of his other prized possessions.

The men reportedly took off after that ... and Smalling -- who was at the home with his wife and son -- quickly called authorities.

Cops arrived and launched an investigation ... though no arrests have been made yet.

According to reports, Smalling and his family were unharmed during the incident ... though the 31-year-old was obviously emotionally shaken up by it all.

"Thinking about you @ChrisSmalling and your lovely family," Smalling's former teammate, Marcus Rashford, tweeted after learning of the incident on Friday.

"So sorry to wake up to the news this morning. Can’t imagine how you’re feeling but I hope you’re ok."

Smalling's Roma team had played earlier Thursday night ... but the star defender did not participate in the game due to a knee injury.

Talk about dedication!!!

The dude you're looking at hid in a soccer stadium for 14 HOURS before streaking BUCK NEKKID at a Manchester United soccer match in Spain!

He was taken into custody by police. And photos are circulating all over the world -- begging the question, WORTH IT?!

The nude dude is 37-year-old Olmo Garcia -- fittingly known as "The Naked Man of Granada" since he NEVER, EVER wears clothes.

He's basically become a local celebrity in Spain thanks to his penchant for public nudity.

So, when Manchester United came to town to play Grenada at Los Carmenes Stadium, Garcia decided he would use the opportunity to showcase his ... uh ... talents (?) to the world.

Roughly 6 minutes into Thursday evening's match, Garcia went sprinting onto the pitch -- with his arms spread wide and his genitals flopping all over the place.

Shocked players, coaches and refs could barely believe their eyes. Garcia looked to be in his element.

What he lacks in shame, Garcia also lacks in cardio ... because he tuckered out pretty quickly and began rolling on the floor.

That's when security swooped in and escorted him off the field.

Officials were left wondering ... how did Garcia manage to sneak into a stadium that's blocked off to the common man due to COVID-19 protocols??

Pretty simple actually ... he got there REALLY early and waited.

Police say Garcia quietly sneaked through a security perimeter and entered the stadium grounds around 7 AM -- 14 hours before kickoff.

Once inside, Garcia spent the entire day hiding under a large canvas ... waiting for his time to shine!

The rest ... is naked history!

Megan Rapinoe is firing back at Draymond Green ... ripping the NBA star for his "unacceptable" comments on women's pay, and saying he showed his "whole ass" with the remarks.

Rapinoe went off on the Warriors player during a conference call with reporters Wednesday ... explaining Green's take on the gender pay gap in sports was just "really disappointing."

"It's really unfortunate, in the position [Green's] in," the soccer superstar said, "having all of the resources that he has and the ability to have a much more educated opinion, that he just hasn't."

In a Twitter thread last month, followed by a subsequent double down on the take just days later, Green essentially pinned women's sports' financial problems on women themselves.

The 31-year-old said professional female athletes need to stop "complaining" ... and think of more effective ways to bring in more revenue to their leagues -- and thus, boost their pay.

Rapinoe had a major issue with all of that ... saying, "You obviously showed your whole ass in not even understanding what we all talk about all the time -- WNBA players and us on the national team."

She continued, "You don't think we asked for more money? I mean, what are we screaming about? Nonstop!"

Rapinoe says it's actually men in power who need to help women and aid in the funneling of funds to women's sports ... telling reporters, "We know all this, about all social movements and all people who are marginalized, whether it's by race or gender, religion, sexuality, whatever it is, it is not just their job to be the ones fighting oppression."

"We need all of the other people as well."

Can you imagine an NBA ref chasing down Zion Williamson for an autograph after a game??

That's pretty much what happened after a Champions League match on Tuesday ... when a ref ran after 20-year-old Borussia Dortmund star Erling Haaland -- and got him to sign his yellow card!!

The whole interaction was caught on video after Dortmund's 1-2 loss to Manchester City ... with assistant ref Octavian Sovre tailing the striker as he headed to the locker room.

In the footage, Sovre catches up with Haaland, whips out his card and a pen and asks for a quick John Hancock ... and the BVB star obliges!!

Of course, Haaland is regarded as one of the most promising young talents in the sport ... and all the top soccer clubs are lining up in hopes to sign the guy.

In fact, the Norwegian striker has 10 Champions League goals and 21 more Bundesliga goals.

While a Haaland auto is understandably in high demand, Sovre's move has been criticized as unprofessional ... and some folks are pissed.

But, Man City manager Pep Guardiola defended the ref ... saying, "Maybe he's a fan. Why not? The referees were brilliant, the game was not a problem."

"And after, maybe [the autograph] was for his son or daughter, I don't know," Guardiola continued.

"I've never seen it before but it's happened. Listen, they did a good job so that's it. Nothing happened."

Wanna own a piece of Cristiano Ronaldo history AND potentially save a child's life???

Good news ... the armband thrown by the soccer legend in a fit of rage last weekend is hitting the auction block, and the cash it nets will go to helping a 6-month-old who's battling a serious illness.

You'll recall ... Ronaldo threw a temper tantrum last Saturday after his apparent game-winning goal in Portugal's World Cup qualifying match with Serbia was disallowed.

The 36-year-old lost his mind ... he stormed off the field before the game had officially been called -- and spiked his captain's armband to the ground in disgust before he hit the showers.

Well, turns out a stadium worker at Rajko Mitic stadium in Belgrade picked up the piece, gave it to a charity group in Serbia ... and it now can be all yours for the right price.

Bidding on the piece is about $10,000 at the moment ... but the charity group behind the sale is hoping to raise far more than that.

The group says it's trying to come up with $3 million to help a 6-month-old baby get the treatment it needs to battle spinal muscular atrophy.

Here's the caption from the auction site (translated into English)

"The funds are intended for the treatment of a 6-month-old baby Gavrilo Djurdjevic from Kragujevac, Serbia, who was diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy and needs 2,500,000 euros for the treatment that can save his life."

With the sports memorabilia market still ON FIRE combined with the fact the item was involved in a high-profile incident, don't rule out a 7-figure haul for the armband!

There are three days left to lock in bids ... good luck!!!

Cristiano Ronaldo was enraged after his team was robbed of a win ... and he showed his displeasure by storming off the field during a World Cup qualifying match.

Portugal was playing Serbia and the game was tied 2-2 when -- during a last-buzzer attempt -- Cristiano made what sure looked like a winning goal ... despite the fact the shot was cleared by Serbia's Stefan Mitrovic. The TV cameras caught it, but the ref did not, so the shot was declared a miss.

The Portugal captain was furious ... slamming his armband into the ground and then marching off the field, but not before protesting the call.

Ronaldo was booked for protesting the referee's call.

After the match, Ronaldo said, “I always give and will give everything for my country, that will never change. But there are difficult times to deal with, especially when we feel that an entire nation is being harmed.”

Another global superstar is saying goodbye to social media -- this time, it's soccer superstar Thierry Henry, who says he's logging off until the platforms do a better job of combating racism and bullying.

Of course, Chrissy Teigen deactivated her Twitter account on Wednesday ... saying, "This no longer serves me as positively as it serves me negatively, and I think that's the right time to call something."

Now, Henry -- who has 2.3 MILLION followers on Twitter and another 2.7 mil on Instagram -- is throwing up the deuce to all his social media platforms, penning one last message on Friday.

"Hi Guys. From tomorrow morning I will be removing myself from social media until the people in power are able to regulate their platforms with the same vigour and ferocity that they currently do when you infringe copyright," the Arsenal legend said.

"The sheer volume of racism, bullying and resulting mental torture to individuals is too toxic to ignore. There HAS to be some accountability."

He added ... "It is far too easy to create an account, use it to bully and harass without consequence and still remain anonymous.

"Until this changes, I will be disabling my accounts across all social platforms. I'm hoping this happens soon."

"I've been devalued, I've been disrespected and dismissed because I am a woman and I've been told that I don't deserve any more than less because I am a woman."

U.S. soccer superstar Megan Rapinoe gave a powerful speech demanding equal pay at the White House on Wednesday ... calling out the blatant discrimination women face every day.

Rapinoe's visit to D.C. comes on "Equal Pay Day" ... which is meant to bring awareness to the pay gap that exists between men and women throughout the country -- not just sports.

Rapinoe and fellow USWNT star Margaret Purce spoke alongside President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden minutes ago ... describing what it's like to reach ultimate success in their field, but still make a fraction of what men make.

"I've helped, along with all my teammates virtually here, one teammate literally here today, win 4 World Cup championships and 4 Olympic gold medals for the United States," Rapinoe said.

"Despite all the wins, I'm still paid less than men who do the same job that I do."

She continued ... "I know there are millions of people who are marginalized by gender in the world and experience the same thing in their jobs ... and I and my teammates are here for them."

"We on the U.S. Women's National Team today are here because of them. We also know what it means to not only have allies but to be allies. We know what it means when people kneel, to kneel with them."

POTUS echoed their statements ... calling the players heroes for speaking out against the pay gap and fighting for equality.

"It doesn't matter if you're an electrician, an accountant or part of the best damn soccer team in the world -- the pay gap is real," Biden said.

"This team is living proof that you can be the very best at what you do and still have to fight for equal pay."

The Belize men's national soccer team was stopped by gunmen in Haiti just minutes after it had arrived in the country for a World Cup qualifier -- and video from the scene is beyond troubling.

The Belize national team officials said in a statement Monday they were making their way from the airport to their hotel 3 days prior to their big soccer match ... when a band of armed insurgents on motorcycles pulled them over at gunpoint.

You can hear the soccer players in the bus describing the demands the insurgents were making -- "They said, 'Pull over or else!'"

The footage shot from inside the team bus shows dozens of men -- some armed with large firearms -- order the driver to pull to the side of the road, despite the team having a 4-man police escort.

Belize officials said cops were forced to "negotiate" with the men in order to leave unharmed -- and, thankfully, they were allowed to move forward with no one getting hurt in the confrontation.

No word on what the team had to give the men in order to leave.

"The situation is one that the team should have never faced," team officials said after the incident, "but we are pleased to report that our Jaguars, although shaken by the terrible experience, are safely at their hotel."

The team added it's "currently in contact with respective authorities from FIFA and Concacaf and are doing everything possible to get them to safer grounds."

"It is unfortunate that our Jaguars faced such a traumatic experience."

Belize is slated to play Haiti in Port-Au-Prince on March 25 -- a key game for Belize as it attempts to qualify for the World Cup (set for 2022 in Qatar) for the first time ever.

If you ditched the Tuesday lecture at Florida International University ... YOU MISSED DAVID BECKHAM!!!

The international soccer superstar dropped in as a special guest lecturer at the Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management ... and offered up his recipe for success to the students. And, the video is awesome!

The class -- "The David Grutman Experience" -- is led by hospitality guru David Grutman ... where students learn directly from the hospitality icon himself about "how to succeed in a competitive, constantly changing marketplace."

A big part of the course is teaching students about how to build and sustain a successful brand -- and since David Beckham is doing just that as the co-owner of the new Inter Miami CF pro soccer team, Grutman called him in to share his knowledge.

The 45-year-old talked about the importance of hard work and dedication to one's craft -- but also focused on surrounding yourself with a solid team.

"I try to work harder than everyone else," Beckham told the students ... "But, I also surround myself with great people that also are hard workers."

Beckham also spoke about the importance of giving back to the community and working with young kids.

After the lecture, Beckham said he hoped he inspired some of the students ... especially those who braved the cold 70-degree weather (gotta love Miami!).

Oh, one more thing about the class ... NO BOOKS REQUIRED!

The class outline on the official school website says, "This experiential course will take students from the classroom to Grutman’s clubs and restaurants. No books will be required, but students will need to research topics discussed."

A soccer journalist was smashed by a falling wall on the set of a live TV show Tuesday ... but somehow, the guy miraculously escaped without injury.

The analyst's name is Carlos Orduz ... and just seconds into his appearance on ESPN FC Radio -- he was blindsided by a piece of the set that clearly hadn't been secured properly.

In video of the incident, you can see the wall fell on Orduz with so much pace ... his face lurched straight into his desk.

His colleagues, who were trying to move on with the show professionally, expressed immediate concern -- and the network cut straight to commercial to check in on Orduz.

Fortunately, the sports reporter says nothing major happened to him as a result of the accident ... in a video update, he explained, "I want to tell you that I'm fine."

"They've already checked me, absolutely nothing happened apart from the scare."

Orduz added after further medical checkups Tuesday night, he suffered no fractures and nothing more than bumps and bruises.

"I must tell you that I am fine," Orduz wrote on Twitter. "Thank God."

Zlatan Ibrahimovic is not backing down from his criticism of LeBron James -- reinforcing his belief that athletes should stick to sports and stay out of politics!

"Athletes unite the world, politics divide it,” the soccer superstar said at a news conference Tuesday morning.

"Our role is to unite the world by doing what we do best. Athletes should be athletes and politicians should do politics."

Ibra -- one of the most famous athletes on the planet -- has been under fire for going after LeBron last week during an interview with Discovery+ in Sweden.

At the time, Zlatan said, "[LeBron] is phenomenal at what he's doing, but I don't like when people have some kind of status, they go and do politics at the same time."

"Do what you're good at. Do the category you do. I play football because I'm the best at playing football."

"I don't do politics. If I would be a political politician, I would do politics. That is the first mistake people do when they become famous and they become in a certain status. Stay out of it. Just do what you do best, because it doesn't look good."

LeBron clapped back in a big way -- saying he'll NEVER just shut up and dribble because he understands his voice can make a real impact for those who aren't being heard ... and feels it's his responsibility to use his platform to make positive change.

Scary moment for Barcelona's Ronald Koeman ... the star soccer coach suffered a profuse nosebleed during a news conference -- and had to cut the talk with reporters short over it.

The bizarre scene all went down Friday when 57-year-old Koeman began bleeding from his nostril while he was trying to help media members preview Barca's Saturday game against Sevilla.

You can see in the clip ... as journalists asked Koeman questions, he began to wipe at his nose.

Suddenly, a streak of blood poured down to his lips ... and Koeman struggled to get it to stop, despite using multiple tissues and paper towels.

Eventually, Koeman had to rush out of the news conference to take care of the issue.

The most terrifying part? The same thing had reportedly happened to Koeman just a few weeks ago.

Fortunately, Barcelona officials told reporters later Friday that Koeman was okay ... and the bloody noses were just a side effect of the blood-thinning, heart medication that the coach takes.

Pro soccer player Jonathan Suarez -- who just signed a deal to play in the MLS -- was arrested on Tuesday after a woman claims she was sexually assaulted by the athlete and his brother at the same time.

Officials confirm the 24-year-old Orlando City SC player and his older brother Rafael Suarez Jr. were taken into custody late Tuesday after an alleged incident at Rafael's apartment in the Orlando area.

According to an arrest affidavit from the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office, obtained by the Orlando Sentinel, the alleged victim and a friend met with the Suarez brothers at a local Topgolf driving range ... and later went back to Rafael's apartment to play beer pong.

The alleged victim told police she went to Rafael's room to engage in consensual sex -- but Rafael let his brother in to "get in on the fun" and that's when things went sideways.

The woman claims she REJECTED both men and tried to stop the sexual activity -- but she claims the soccer player forced her to perform a sex act on him and then told his brother to resume having sex with the woman against her will.

After the incident, the woman went to police -- and the case was kicked over to a Special Investigation Detective.

Officials say, "The victim provided more information and evidence supporting the allegation to the Detectives. Based on the information provided by the victim, Detectives were able to positively identify Jonathan Suarez-Cortes and Rafael Suarez Jr., as the suspects involved in the incident and developed probable cause for their arrest."

Jonathan and Rafael were arrested and booked into the Osceola County Jail for sexual battery ... where they are being held without bond.

The OCSO posted video of the arrest ... showing the two men in handcuffs and white jumpsuits as they are taken to jail.

Major League Soccer released a statement on Jonathan's arrest ... saying he has been immediately suspended from play as the league investigates the situation.

"Major League Soccer will remain in close communication with the Orlando City SC, local law enforcement, and the MLS Players Association during this investigation."

"MLS will make further determinations concerning the player’s status as more information becomes available."

Jonathan Suarez was a high school soccer star in Fontana, CA and signed a pro contract to play in Argentina when he was 18.

He went on to play professionally in the top soccer leagues in Mexico -- with teams like Cimarrones de Sonora, Querétaro FC and Pumas UNAM.

He arrived in Orlando in February to begin a stint with the Orlando City SC team -- but now, obviously, those plans are on hold.

Cristiano Ronaldo's pet cat is down to 8 lives ... it's currently recovering in Spain after being hit by a car.

The animal, Pepe, is a hairless Sphynx cat -- the beloved family pet who travels everywhere with the Ronaldos on private jets, fancy cars and stays in mansions all over the world. Pepe has been a part of the Ronaldo family for about 2 years.

But, Pepe was badly hurt recently -- after leaving the family residence in Turin, Italy and getting run over by a car.

"It was close to death and after a month and a half in intensive care at the vet’s, we’ve decided my sister Ivana should look after it," CR7's girlfriend Georgina Rodriguez told the Spanish magazine InStyle.

"Pepe’s now in Spain recovering ... now he's in the best hands."

Sphynx cats only have an average lifespan of 8 to 14 years ... and it sounds like the Ronaldos are doing everything they can to help little Pepe get to double digits.