AS Roma’s Bryan Cristante has fallen victim to Italy’s strict ban on taking God’s name in vain on the pitch, picking up a one-match ban for blasphemy, Serie A announced on Monday.
The 25-year-old Italy international midfielder was sanctioned for swearing after he conceded an own goal during Roma’s 5-1 win over Bologna on Sunday.
“[Cristante] pronounced a blasphemous expression in the 23rd minute of the first half,” Serie A said in a statement without specifying the nature of the offending remark. “The player in question was clearly framed by the television footage while uttering a blasphemous expression that is identifiable and audible without margin of reasonable doubt.”
Photo: EPA-EFE
As a result Cristante is to miss tomorrow’s league game against Torino in Rome.
Since 2010, the Italian Football Federation have taken disciplinary action against several players and coaches heard disrespecting God or the sacred.
Former Italy and Juventus captain Gianluigi Buffon has in the past been forced to apologize for uttering the word “Dio” (God), although he once claimed he had said “Zio” (uncle).
Udinese’s Italian international Rolando Mandragora also previously picked up a one-match ban, while AC Milan goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma escaped punishment because of “lack of absolute certainty” over what he had said.
According to the Italian Football Federation’s rules, players who show T-shirts with personal messages to their family, or which make a reference to their religious beliefs, would also be punished.
Fred Kerley is competing unaugmented against drug-fuelled athletes at this weekend’s Enhanced Games and still hopes to race in the 2028 Olympics, the suspended former 100m world champion said on Friday. Arguably the biggest name at the divisive event in Las Vegas, where doping is permitted, the US sprinter said he had chosen not to take any of the banned substances including testosterone and steroids that his competitors have been using. “I don’t need it. God gave me fast feet for a reason. And I’m here to showcase my talent,” Kerley said. Kerley last September became the first US competitor and first track
MLB is experiencing an epidemic of guys being dudes. At ballparks all across the US, groups consisting of mostly young men are joining in on the “Tarps Off” trend that is loud, goofy, infectious and new to the baseball world. Joining in on the fun is simple: Go to the section where the party is happening, take off your shirt and start twirling it above your head. Soccer-like chants or singing usually follow — injecting a jolt of energy for a sport that is occasionally chided for its lack of energy inside the stadium. After getting its start in St Louis, Missouri, on
Hull City AFC are to play Middlesbrough for a place in the Premier League after Southampton on Wednesday failed in their appeal against expulsion from the Championship playoff final for spying on opponents. Southampton were thrown out of the final on Tuesday and handed a four-point deduction for next season after they had beaten semi-final opponents Middlesbrough. “The original sanction of expulsion ... remains in place, as does the four-point deduction to be applied to the 2026/27 Championship table and the reprimand in respect of all charges,” the English Football League said in a statement. The final is to be played at Wembley
INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL: Officials, players and fans winging across all of North America are likely to make this the most polluting World Cup ever, say scientists The largest and likely most lucrative ever World Cup this summer could set a record for the most-polluting sporting event in history, environmental experts say. “Unlike the case of the Olympic Games, where the carbon footprints have been reducing over the last several editions, this is totally opposite in the case of FIFA men’s World Cup,” said David Gogishvili, a geographer at the University of Lausanne (Unil). The summer’s World Cup has been expanded to 48 teams for the first time. It is being played in three countries — Mexico, Canada and the US — for the first time. It is going to
RSS