Shocking

Partizan's Brazilian midfielder Everton Luiz was seen leaving the pitch in tears after his side’s match against local Belgrade rival FK Rad. After being subjected to monkey noises and an insulting banner during the game, Luiz approached Rad supporters at the end of the match and gave them the finger after Partizan clinched a 1-0 victory.

In Iran, women are banned from attending soccer games in a co-ed setting. Even though the sport is popular across both sexes and there is no official ban on women going to sporting events, soccer stadiums are a male-only affair. Women are regularly denied access at the door, making it impossible for them to attend any sporting event. 

Iran argues that the ban against women in the same sporting stadiums as men is necessary because it protects them from fighting and rude language that might spread within the stands.

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the foundation launched by the International Olympic Committee to combat performance-enhancing drugs in sports, has spoken out against Spanish football over its “alarming” lack of drug testing.

Match fixing has rocked international soccer to a disturbing degree. The 2006 Italian football scandal will forever remain a dark mark on the histories of clubs like Juventus and Fiorentina, among others. Portugal, Germany and Brazil have also had their league's sporting integrity compromised by corrupt referees.

Following a blatant attack of racial abuse on Mario Balotelli during Nice’s match against Bastia last Friday, the Italian striker took to Instagram and said, “Is it normal that Bastia supporters make monkey noise [and] ‘uh uh’ for the whole game…?” Balotelli then criticized the French League’s disciplinary committee for failing to address the situation, summarizing the entire incident as “a real shame.”

China has big plans for 2017. The Chinese Football Association gathered in Beijing to go over financial details in hopes of transforming the country into a soccer powerhouse. President Xi Jinping is the country’s number one soccer fan and intends to have China perform in future World Cups, an achievement they've only managed once. 

Everyone, in lazy idleness, allows their mind to drift. You might start thinking about what a cat’s face might look like on the body of an elephant or if we had arms where our legs should be and legs for arms. The mind just wanders into strange territory.