19
May

Zenit player scores, swears at fans, gets red card

You stay classy Roman Shirokov.

The Zenit midfielder was subbed on in the 59th minute of a match against Volga, and he certainly made an impression. In stoppage time, Shirokov scored Zenit’s third goal, securing a 3-1 victory.

But then he carried out a bizarre celebration.

After the goal, Shirokov proceeded to flip off the home crowd. The referee wasted no time, and sent him off with a straight red card.

Apparently the fans were booing as he was subbed on because he tweeted “CSKA deserved the championship” after CSKA Moscow won the league, which assured a second place finish for Zenit. This appeared to be his way of repaying them.

H/T 101GG

19
May

Champions League + Europa League spots sealed

The Barclays Premier League has come to an end and the Champions League positions are set. The Premier League will be sending the same representatives as last year but will be hoping for a much better result as none of them made it through to the Quarterfinals in this year’s competition.

There will be a different look for the Europa League representatives this season.

Tottenham will be returning to the Europa League for the second consecutive season and will be joined by Swansea and a relegated Wigan club.

Swansea has secured their birth thanks to a 5-0 victory over Bradford in the League Cup final. Despite the impending relegation, Wigan will be heading to the Europa League group stage courtesy of a 1-0 defeat of Manchester City in the FA Cup Final.

19
May

Thank you fans!

It’s not a good-bye.

Thank you all for watching and for supporting the Premier League all these years on FOX Soccer. It’s been a blast and our pleasure bringing it to you, the fans.

As a reminder, FOX Sports 1, America’s new sports network, will be our new home for soccer starting August 17. Until then, FOX Soccer has next weekend’s Champions League final on tap, as well as this summer’s Gold Cup and plenty more.

18
May

With the 2012-13 Premier League season coming to a close, we review the top ten goals that made our heads swirl through the season.

In reality, there were too many to count this past season. Though we had to leave some out the list, strikes like Robin van Persie’s beauty to seal Manchester United’s Premier League title against Aston Villa or Gareth Bale’s magical strike versus West Ham come to mind.

OK, so we’ll stop and let you relive the best goals for yourself.

18
May

Premier League, Surviving on Top: Part two

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In part two of our examination of the history and impact of relegation from the Premier League, we take a look at the statistical odds and financial impact for each club.

There is still hope for recently-relegated Wigan, Reading, and QPR. Clubs that are relegated to the Championship have a 60% chance of returning to the Premier League the following season — though none that were relegated last year made their way back.

For clubs that are promoted to the Premier League, there is an 82% chance that they will be relegated the following year, evidenced by Reading this year. Newly promoted Cardiff City hopes to channel the momentum to make sure that doesn’t happen next year:

The financial implications of relegation cannot be overstated. Next season, Premier League clubs will receive 30 times more yearly revenue from TV rights than teams in the Championship. Just one year of relegation can cripple a team’s finances.

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Tomorrow, we look at the relegation hardships that teams endure, as well as the compensation received to help soften the financial blow. All of this is leading up to FOX Soccer’s coverage of the final Premier League matchday with nine games live on broadcast across the FOX family of networks.

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18
May

David Beckham’s emotional exit

David Beckham broke down while being substituted in PSG’s 3-1 win over Brest on Saturday.

The 38-year-old left the pitch, in tears, for likely the final time in his career, as it has been suggested that he will not play in PSG’s final match of the season, away at Lorient.

Those tears quickly turned into cheers, though, as his teammates joyously tossed Becks up into the air. It’s a good thing they didn’t drop him — they were not messing around on that last throw.