Tag: West Ham

Already shorthanded, Jamaica sees Antonio withdraw ahead of USMNT clash

If Jamaica is to spring an upset over the USMNT, it will have to do so the hard way

If Jamaica is to spring an upset over the U.S. men’s national team on Thursday night, it will have to do so the hard way.

Already missing a host of key players for the Concacaf Nations League semifinal, the Reggae Boyz will now also be without star forward Michail Antonio.

West Ham said on Tuesday that Antonio had withdrawn from the Jamaica squad, declining to provide a reason. The 33-year-old was originally named to Jamaica’s roster for the Nations League finals, and scored on Sunday in West Ham’s 1-1 draw with Aston Villa.

Antonio joins a growing list of players who won’t be available on Thursday when Jamaica faces the USMNT at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

Leon Bailey and Trivante Stewart were both not selected for the roster after missing curfew at Jamaica’s most recent camp. Center backs Ethan Pinnock and Amari’i Bell also weren’t called up due to injury, while Demarai Gray and Shamar Nicholson are on the roster but will be suspended against the U.S. due to card accumulation.

The USMNT is aiming for its third consecutive Nations League title, while Jamaica is making its first semifinal appearance in the competition.

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West Ham tops arrests table for second year running

Back-to-back arrests champions!

West Ham finished atop a table for the second straight year, but this one may not be worth celebrating.

In figures released by the UK government on Thursday, West Ham supporters finished with 89 arrests for the 2022-23 season — the most across the UK’s top five divisions.

It is, in fact, the second consecutive year that Hammers fans finished in first place, with this year’s number actually an improvement over last year’s total of 95 arrests.

Of the 89 West Ham arrests last season, 27 were for public order offenses, while 23 came for throwing missiles. Additionally, the majority (69 percent) came during home matches.

Manchester United came in second place with 83 arrests, while Leeds was third with 69. Leeds also had the biggest year-over-year increase in arrests (+25).

On the bright side, the arrest rate for fans attending matches is still exceedingly small. With a total of 2,264 of arrests last season, the rate is only 5.0 arrests per 100,000 attendees.

And then there was this fact: “There were no arrests reported in relation to women’s regulated football matches.”

Arrests by club, 2022-23 season

  1. West Ham United 89
  2. Manchester United 83
  3. Leeds United 69
  4. Manchester City 66
  5. Arsenal 51
  6. Tottenham Hotspur 51
  7. Burnley 50
  8. Leicester City 49
  9. Everton 48
  10. Birmingham City 47

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Mate, they turned this football pitch into a baseball pitch

London Stadium has been transformed ahead of the MLB’s London Series

London Stadium, normally home to West Ham, has been transformed into a stadium for a different sport with a slightly harder, smaller ball.

The St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs are in England ahead of the 2023 MLB London Series, which will see the rivals face off in a two-game series on Saturday and Sunday.

It will be only the second time MLB has played games in England, with the inaugural London Series taking place in 2019 when the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees faced off at London Stadium.

The Cubs and Cardinals were set to return in 2020, before the pandemic would eventually delay the series by three years.

The transformation of the stadium into a baseball facility began all the way back on June 7, with more than 400 people working around the clock to build dugouts, change the locker rooms, alter stadium seating and lay over 144,000 square feet of artificial turf.

A time-lapse video from MLB shows the amazing metamorphosis.

Retired West Ham greats James Collins and Carlton Cole could scarcely believe their eyes when they saw what their former home stadium looked like.

Collins said he knew a little bit about baseball but he echoed a common complaint about the sport.

“I’ve been to a game a few years ago, I went to a New York Mets game. I’ll watch any sport that’s on the tele, so I sort of get it and enjoy it to be fair. It’s so long though,” he told Sky Sports.

“If I was coming to watch sports I don’t mind a beer, but it’s a bit too long to get on the beers.”

There’s a pitch clock now, James! Drink up.

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Dallas United player denies racism charges after TST incident vs. West Ham

“I did not use a racist slur towards anyone,” said David Ortiz

A Dallas United player has denied using a racial slur in a match against West Ham at The Soccer Tournament.

A match between the two teams on the first day of the competition was suspended amid allegations of a player directing a racial slur at a West Ham player.

An investigation by tournament organizers concluded that Dallas United violated TST’s code of conduct. After speaking to representatives from both teams, the decision was taken for Dallas United to withdraw from the tournament.

The Dallas United player who was alleged to have used the slur was not named, but now David Ortiz has made a statement on Instagram confirming he is the player in question and denying the charges.

“Racism has never been condoned in my household and it goes without saying that I stand against racism in any shape or form,” Ortiz said on his Instagram story. “I did not use a racist slur towards anyone, and it pains me to have my legacy tarnished in this way.”

Ortiz, 22, came up through the FC Dallas academy before playing professionally in Spain and Colombia. Most recently he’s played in the MASL indoor league and with the U.S. futsal national team.

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TST game involving West Ham suspended amid racial slur allegations

Organizers halted play after allegations that a Dallas United player used a slur

The first day of The Soccer Tournament was marred by allegations that a player used a racial slur.

A match in Group D between Dallas United and a team representing West Ham was halted, with the latter side walking off over the alleged racial slur. The game was suspended pending an investigation from tournament organizers.

“The match between West Ham United and Dallas United has been suspended pending an investigation into allegations of use or intent to use a racial slur,” said a statement from TST. “TST has zero tolerance towards racial abuse, and take these allegations very seriously. After speaking with players and coaches from both teams, officials, and consulting audio from our production team, TST will issue the results of its investigation.”

TST’s roster page for Dallas United bills the team as “a unique partnership” between Twitch streamer Castro_1021 and Dallas Soccer Alliance, an adult soccer league in the greater Dallas area.

West Ham’s team is comprised almost entirely of ex-pros who played for West Ham at some point in their careers, including Luis Boa Morte, Carlton Cole, Marlon Harewood, and Tyrone Mears.

It was not immediately clear what sanctions TST would pose should the investigation confirm the use of racist language

Edit note: Dallas United has since withdrawn from the tournament.

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Forbes ranks 20 most valuable soccer teams in the world

Valuations of the world’s biggest clubs are sky high

Who are the most valuable soccer teams in the world?

With success being more and more tied to an ability to spend, being a “big” club — at least in financial terms — is the clearest indicator of whether a given team is going to contend for trophies in the world’s top leagues.

That said, what defines value doesn’t necessarily require a team to be in the Premier League, La Liga, the Bundesliga, or Serie A. MLS has three teams in the top 20, including LAFC becoming the first club to break the $1 billion valuation barrier.

That said, Europe is still the home of the world’s biggest clubs, and its most valuable. In particular, eight of the top 20 hail from the Premier League, which will not be a particular surprise given the league’s global reach.

Here are Forbes’ 20 most valuable teams in global soccer.

AZ issues apology after fans charge West Ham family section

AZ apologized after West Ham fans were attacked by the Dutch side’s ultras following a Europa Conference League semifinal.

AZ has apologized after fans of the Dutch side mounted an attack on a section full of family members of West Ham players and staff.

An ugly season in Dutch soccer stadiums continued Thursday after West Ham’s late 1-0 win at AZ’s AFAS Stadion sealed a 3-1 aggregate victory in the Europa Conference League.

“While everyone hoped for a historic European match, it turned into a pitch black evening due to the events occurring at the referee’s final whistle. It turned into a night to reflect on with shame,” said AZ in a club statement. “Not because of the football game played, but because of the behavior of some visitors. Unfortunately, we cannot use the word ‘supporters’ for these people.”

“What happened is beyond all bounds. The club again sincerely apologizes to West Ham United and the thousands of well-minded AZ supporters who have also been inconvenienced by the misconduct.”

With West Ham celebrating their first European final since 1976, a large group of AZ fans attempted to make their way into a section behind the visitors’ bench, and could be seen on video clashing with stewards and traveling supporters. West Ham players and staff attempted to jump in, though most remained behind advertising boards or were restrained by AZ players.

ESPN reported that the AZ fans broke down a fence to make their move.

“So far, no arrests have been made,” said Dutch police in a statement aired by Sky Sports News on Friday. “Our aim was to disperse the crowd and restore order as quickly as possible, in which we succeeded. The police will investigate footage of the incidents and try to identify supporters. Arrests may follow from this.”

Reuters reported that West Ham fans “accosted” AZ supporters, including the family of manager Pascal Jansen, after the Dutch side scored in the first leg in London.

“It’s annoying, it doesn’t belong in our stadium. Preferably in no stadium,” said Jansen in quotes published by ESPN. “I feel shame. You have to control your emotions, even on a night with a defeat.”

More violence at Dutch matches

In no way could this be called a one-off for fans in the Netherlands, which has seen a series of violent incidents throughout the 2022-23 season.

A PSV fan attempted to attack Sevilla goalkeeper Marko Dmitrović in February, while Netherlands international Davy Klaassen was left bleeding after being hit in the head by a lighter hurled from the stands by a Feyenoord fan last month.

After Italian police barred Feyenoord fans from attending a Europa League quarterfinal against AS Roma over an incident in 2015, UEFA opted to ban away fans from either leg.

Following the Klaassen incident, the Dutch federation issued new rules requiring referees to halt games immediately upon any fans entering the pitch or throwing objects, and to abandon a game on a second instance.

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Premier League home stretch: Where things stand as season enters its final month

Some teams are having a blast, while others are going through it

The Premier League is getting down to the nitty-gritty.

The end of the season is approaching, with most teams having five or six games left to secure a trophy, a spot in Europe, or just keep themselves in the top flight for another year.

For some teams, the end of the season was expected to be a pressure-cooker, but has instead been something of a celebration. For others, it’s one last chance to fight their way to safety, or at least salvage some pride in an otherwise disappointing season.

Here’s where everyone stands heading into the last month of the 2022-23 season.

Haaland and West Ham honor International Women’s Day in cringeworthy fashion

“This is for all my female fans on this special day!”

It’s International Women’s Day, and Erling Haaland and West Ham are marking the occasion with some well intentioned but very awkward content.

Haaland (or most likely his social media team) posted a special edition IWD word search on Instagram, which was for some reason called a crossword puzzle.

“This is for all my female fans on this special day!” Haaland (or someone paid by Haaland) said. “Here’s my message to each one of you. Can you find it in this crossword puzzle?”

In case you don’t want to actually do the work yourself, we have taken the liberty: “You all make the world a much better place.”

Aw.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CphitVbOkyZ/?hl=en

Joining Haaland in the “good intentions but weird execution” category is West Ham, whose players took to the pitch in training tops with the names of important women in their lives on the back.

Most players opted for their mothers, wives or grandmothers. Great! Who can argue with that? But while “Mum” or “Nan” looks perfectly reasonable, even adorable, on the back of a jersey, this one hits a little different.

Surely she has a name??

Michail Antonio went in a different direction too, though we have absolutely no quibbles with the idea or execution.

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Chelsea can thank their lucky VAR for their win over West Ham

West Ham’s late equalizer was ruled out in a decision Declan Rice called “an absolute disgrace”

Chelsea beat West Ham 2-1 on Saturday, as the Blues were beneficiaries of a late decision that Hammers manager David Moyes branded as “scandalous.”

Kai Havertz gave Chelsea a late lead with an 88th-minute goal but West Ham appeared to have equalized minutes later when Maxwel Cornet found the back of the net after Édouard Mendy came for the ball and was unable to secure it.

But referee Andy Madley was sent to the monitor by VAR Jarred Gillet and deemed Jarrod Bowen to have fouled Mendy in the build-up.

It was, to say the least, a questionable decision, with Mendy coming out and sliding in front of Bowen, who clipped the goalkeeper with his foot as he went over him.

Moyes and Rice slam decision

Moyes was furious with the call after the game, telling the BBC: “It was a scandalous decision — incredible. The goalkeeper spills it, it comes out of his hands about five yards, actually acts like he’s got a sore shoulder because he couldn’t recover the ball, and the referee gave the goal.

“I don’t know who sent him to VAR, but whoever did should get well looked at, as well as the referee.”

West Ham midfielder Declan Rice added: “I can’t say too much because if I say what I think I’ll get fined, but how can you go over to the monitor and call that a foul? It’s an absolute disgrace.”

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