The display of piety is a sure sign of corruption
My latest roundup of football happenings outside the lines.
Does anyone know what came of the supposed trial at La Liga team, Sevilla, by a Nigerian influencer, Ola Great? At the end of January 2025, he scored the tryout because of a viral X (Twitter) “campaign.” The club’s English X account had challenged him to get 100,000 retweets and they’ll consider it, which he surpassed. I haven’t seen a confirmation since that he got to Seville and tried out. We have learned since that the actual team he will be trying out for if he gets into Spain, is Sevilla FC D, the team’s academy that is usually reserved for youth players that compete in Spain's ninth-tier Tercera Andaluza and comprises foreign players aged 18 and above. The whole thing feels like marketing; basically that Sevilla jumped on it for engagement. But I could be wrong.
I have also not seen any updates on the story regarding Radja Nainggolan (30 caps for Belgium between 2009 and 2018), who was reportedly arrested as part of an investigation into cocaine trafficking. According to ESPN, police linked him to the importation of cocaine from South America through the port of Antwerp and its subsequent distribution in Belgium. ESPN felt compelled to remind its readers that Nainggolan was fined for a 2018 video of smoking and drinking while at Roma and suspended in 2022 for vaping on Royal Antwerp’s bench. Nainggolan, a tenacious midfielder, played for several clubs between 2005 and 2024 but primarily built his reputation in Serie A with Cagliari, Roma, and Inter.
Related: Liverpool FC forward, Cody Gakpo, is a born-again Christian and a slumlord. What did Che Guevara’s parents teach him: that the display of piety was a sure sign of corruption. He has scored 23 goals in 82 appearances for Liverpool FC, the club I support in the Premier League, since 2003.
LIV, the golf division of Saudi Arabia’s sports soft power, has received $4 billion in public funding but continues losing money—$395.94 million, up from $243.7 million the previous year. The main reasons, despite an endorsement of Donald Trump (a few of the LIV tour events are played at his resorts) per Sportico (whose subscription is out of my reach): legal costs, insurance, player indemnities, and, crucially, low American viewership and unprofitable broadcasting deals. Adding to its woes, top stars want to leave.
This will still become a major story: Given the increasing nativism in the US, and its government’s open xenophobia and stricter border controls, despite it being a nation built partly on immigration, questions arise about how the US will manage thousands of visitors, including those from countries it considers adversaries, for the 2026 World Cup. At the end of January, the LA Times reported that “there is mounting concern that the U.S. is not ready to welcome the more than 6 million visitors who will flood North America.” The LA Times continued: “Fans, politicians and other stakeholders, including FIFA, the world governing body for soccer, fear rigid immigration rules and long visa wait times will make it difficult for supporters and even players to enter the U.S.” Some of those complaining to the LA Times were Trumpists or Trump adjacent. The story was written before the Trump administration announced more batshit immigration rules and exclusions.
Fans of a few clubs—Cork City in Ireland, Osasuna in Spain, and Deportivo Palestino in Chile—have publicly shown solidarity with Palestinians. But Celtic FC in Scotland sets the standard, drawing criticism from Zionists for its large tifos and Palestinian flags, even in the face of possible sanctions from UEFA (which still allows Israeli clubs and national teams to compete in European competitions). The latest comes from retired Israeli player Eyal Berkovic, who had a brief and unremarkable stint at Celtic in 1999, criticized for being undisciplined and unproductive. Berkovic accused Celtic and the Irish, where the club has a strong following, of harboring a “crazy hatred” for Jewish people. Ireland gets singled out because its government has been outspoken in condemning Israel’s genocidal violence against Palestinians. As Tony Karon, a friend of Eleven Named People, summed it up on Instagram: Apparently, the anti-colonial solidarity of Glasgow Celtic is getting to Israel's footballers. Yes, the whole football world (i.e., fans and players, not administrators) hates apartheid and genocide. Israel has no place in international football.
Johnny Heitinga, a former Everton center-back (115 games from 2009 to 2014) and now on Liverpool’s coaching staff, became the first person of Indonesian descent to manage a Premier League team. He stepped in while Arne Slot served a suspension for telling the referee after a 2-2 draw with Everton in January 2025, “If we don't win the league, I'll f---ing blame you.”
Finally, here’s Karim Benzema: Cristiano Ronaldo is not the best player of all time but he is not even the best player with that name to play the game. "For me, the best is Ronaldo from Brazil."
Is there any discussion at all about R9? There's nothing like him... I was denying his recognition for almost 10 years, until I had to bow down.. There's nothing like il fenomeno...