A teammate and fans have paid tribute to a goalkeeper for his “strength and hope” after he tragically died at the age of 28 following a long battle with a brain tumour.
Caserta-born Daniel Leone was registered for Reggina when he was diagnosed with the tumour in 2014, keeping his thousands of fans updated on his journey while often making light of his grim situation on social media.
The fun-loving number one had surgery in Milan and later returned to professional football, joining Catanzaro before a recurrence of the disease forced him to retire.
Leone underwent more chemotherapy recently, keeping his spirits up by posing with friends and his partner, model Martina De Sarro.
Former top-flight goalkeeper Christian Puggioni recalled how Leone had asked him to teach him the “secrets of the trade” during their time together at Reggina.
“I have always appreciated your tenacity and I have been rooting for you, always,” Puggioni said in an emotional post after learning of Leone’s untimely death.
“Your every victory was my victory. Then the news you never want to have.
“In silence, from afar, always respecting your dignity and fortitude, I kept rooting for you, even stronger.
“After four years of battle, however, today you’re gone. The emptiness you leave is immense, and some might think you lost the most important game of your life.
“Poor, silly boy – because yes, Daniel, you won. You won, teaching many, the dignity of facing life’s real problems.
“You taught the courage to live through suffering with strength and hope. You taught, that you can leave your name, branded in people’s memory, with example and courage.”
Posting in June, Leone said he had received so much support from members of the public that it was hard to thank everyone individually.
“I can only say thank you for everything,” he added. “You have made me the happiest person in the world with all the problems and difficulties that I am going through.”
Leone also thanked his parents, relatives and De Sarro, who posted a tribute to him after his death was announced.
Writing on New Year’s Eve, she had described her year as “troubled”, “at times terrible” and admitted that it had left her “afraid of not being able to face it”.
“I realized that, despite everything, I must consider myself lucky,” she added, sharing a photo of her and Leone kissing.
A reader told Puggioni: “Thank you, Christian, for this heartwarming memory of Daniel, your former teammate, and for your great sensitivity.
“This proves that, with certain feelings and values, we can improve the society we live in.”
Another said: “Thank you for the beautiful words. Daniel will remain in the hearts of the people who have known him.”
Napoli’s Senegal defender, Kalidou Koulibaly, has called for racist fans to be banned from stadiums in Italy after he says he received a torrent of racist abuse online following his side’s 2-1 win at Fiorentina on Sunday.
Koulibaly, who has long been considered among the top defenders in the Italian top flight, took to social media early on Monday to detail a litany of abuse he received from the stands while conducting his post-match interview at the Stadio Artemio Franchi.
The 30-year-old wrote on Twitter of the various racial insults he says were hurled his way, and called for Italian football chiefs to take action against the ongoing scourge of racist abuse in the game by banning offenders from attending games.
“‘Monkey of sh*t’, ‘Putain de singe’, ‘F*cking monkey’. They called me that,” he wrote on Twitter, via translation.
«Scimmia di merda». «Putain de singe». «Fucking monkey». Mi hanno chiamato così. Questi soggetti non c’entrano con lo sport. Vanno identificati e tenuti fuori dagli stadi: per sempre.
“These subjects have nothing to do with sport. They must be identified and kept out of the stadiums forever,” he added.
Koulibaly’s outburst was matched by his Nigerian teammate Victor Osimhen, who called for parents to educate their children about the evils of racism.
It was also reported that Osimhen was subjected to racist abuse during the same game.
speak to your kids,your parents make them understands how disgusting it is to hate an individual because of the color of their skin NOTORACISM❌
parla con i tuoi figli, i tuoi genitori fanno capire loro quanto sia disgustoso odiare un individuo per il colore della sua pelle pic.twitter.com/sV8udBXzBU
“Speak to your kids, your parents – make them understands how disgusting it is to hate an individual because of the colour of their skin. NO TO RACISM,” he wrote online.
The vitriol in the stands was also noted as being “unacceptable” by Fiorentina director general Joe Barone, who was reported to have issued personal apologies to both Koulibaly and Osimhen, as well as Fulham loanee Andre-Frank Zambo-Anguissa, who was also targeted by the crowd.
The nature of the abuse hints that racism still festers within Italian football and comes shortly after AC Milan filed an official complaint with league authorities over alleged racial abuse directed at two of their players, Franck Kessie and Tiemoue Bakayoko.
Meanwhile, the mayor of Florence, Dario Nardella, has issued a public apology to the trio of Napoli players.
Victor, André-Frank, Kalidou: a nome di #Firenze vi chiedo scusa. Chi ieri ha offeso i calciatori del @sscnapoli allo stadio non rappresenta la città e non rappresenta la @acffiorentina, che ha subito preso le distanze. Negli stadi non c’è posto per l’ignoranza e la stupidità. pic.twitter.com/g2j9jpwZRQ
“Victor, Andre-Frank, Kalidou: on behalf of #Firenze I apologize,” he wrote on social media, again via translation.
“[Those] who yesterday offended the Napoli players at the stadium do not represent the city and does not represent [Fiorentina], who immediately distanced [themselves from it]. There is no place in stadiums for ignorance and stupidity.”
And it seems as if the latest racial storm in Italian football might affect change of some description after the Italian Football Federation announced that an investigation into the allegations of abuse.
“In relation to the racist expressions addressed by Fiorentina fans to the Napoli player Kalidou Koulibaly, the Federal Prosecutor, having acquired the reports of its inspectors and having listened to the player, has opened an investigation,” it said in a statement.
“In the next few hours, further investigative acts will be carried out by acquiring the relevant documents from the Florence Police Headquarters.”
Khabib Nurmagomedov has won praise for his coolness after a man leapt towards him during an event in England. The ex-UFC champ was more worried by his experience watching football at Liverpool, which he called “very dangerous”.
Hugely popular Nurmagomedov was nearing the end of a talk in the Yorkshire town of Harrogate when the unknown man jumped on to the stage, initially looking as if he wanted to confront the Russian before holding a camera up in a desperate bid for a photo.
As befits one of the greatest fighters of all time, Nurmagomedov did not appear remotely unsettled by the faintly concerning finale, and several members of his entourage moved in to remove the over-enthusiastic fan from the stage, including one wearing a hat with the Russian flag on it.
“At the end of the interview, the situation was a little tense,” reported one account that has been following Nurmagomedov on his mini-tour of the UK, which has taken in Manchester United’s Old Trafford home and Liverpool’s Anfield as part of a promotion in support of orphans worldwide.
No no no brother don’t do this has anyone ever been less concerned about being attacked https://t.co/r0lVLDDcxj
“Some did not want to sit down and everyone wanted to ask their own question.
“After that, one fan jumped onto the stage. Despite this, Khabib thanked everyone present and said parting words at the end.”
The unflappable-seeming former lightweight champion told the man: “No, no, no, brother – don’t do this.”
He then told the crowd: “Let me talk. I have come from another part of the world to see you guys and I deserve some respect.
“I just want to say… I feel like around the world, big, big support from my people, who have the same views that I have, and I really believe that here we have the same views.
“Please take care of your kids. This is our future. This is most important.”
“When I go to McDonald’s, I feel pressure: ‘who’s filming me?’” he confessed, earning laughter for his endearing honesty.
“If I go with friends, I say, ‘you have to have my back.’ Today, when we came out at Anfield, I was stuck with thousands of drunk Liverpool fans.
“I could not walk. It was people traffic. I felt pressure. And a lot of people were like, ‘ooh, Khabib’ – but they don’t understand who I am. Of course, I feel a lot of pressure. I was ready to fight.”
The teetotal Real Madrid supporter is obsessed with the game and does not feel the tribalism that fans in England are renowned for.
Nurmagomedov acknowledged that a photo with legendary United boss Sir Alex Ferguson may have made Liverpool fans a little wary of him – and footage has also emerged of the powerhouse larking around with star midfielder Paul Pogba and engaging in a good-humored face-off with former captain Rio Ferdinand.
“I go to the stadium to watch and enjoy this beautiful game,” he explained. “Today was very dangerous when I was with Liverpool fans but it was fun. And I was ready to fight.
“It was an amazing atmosphere today but the game was even better. I was rooting for Man City. I just love this sport.
“Manchester, Liverpool, I don’t care. I just love football, sport. I was watching this game – I don’t even blink. You guys can support whoever you want.”
Sharing a snap of himself with $122 million World Cup winner Pogba, Nurmagomedov told the France poster boy: “Be ready for the next time, bro.”
Ex-Manchester United and South Korea star Ji-Sung Park believes he “has to educate the fans” about a chant he says they sing which contains what he describes as a racial insult involving a lyric about eating dog meat.
United supporters sang the song towards Hee-Chan Hwang, the South Korea international who plays for Premier League side Wolves, when they traveled to Molineux for a match in August, according to the former Old Trafford favorite.
The Seoul-born midfielder says that he believes the chant will have made Hwang feel as deeply “uncomfortable” as he does about it, adding that the racial stereotype about Korean people is based on an outdated premise that does not reflect his country.
“I’m really sorry for him to hear that,” the Champions League and four-time Premier League winner told United’s podcast.
Park Ji-sung has asked @ManUtd fans to stop singing that song about him. Tells UTD Podcast: “I have to educate the fans to stop that word, which is usually these days a racial insult to Korean people. In Korea things have changed a lot. I really request the fans to stop.”
“I know the United fans didn’t mean any offense to him but I have to educate the fans to stop that word [dog meat], which these days is a racial insult to the Korean people.
“I have to ask the fans to stop singing that word because it’s not cheering up someone anymore – it’s going to be more discomfort when they hear that song.”
Park acknowledged that he initially liked the song after he joined the club in 2005 because he felt “very proud” by the show of his popularity among the faithful.
The song is crass, at best. Perhaps if they outlawed the consumption of dog meat in Korea it would help.
“But when I heard about the lyric – about eating dog meat – it was very uncomfortable for me,” the midfielder said.
“I was young, I didn’t know the culture here, so it was probably one of the things I had to accept.
“I never thought the fans created the songs with bad meanings. They always make a song to give some energy to the players. That’s my thought. That’s why I accepted it.
Sang it loads yesterday but out of respect to Park I'll try to not sing it anymore
It was sang a lot yesterday and after I was like fuck me this is so racist. There was a Korean lad behind us when it was being sang and I felt so sorry for him
“But time has changed and it is 15 years later. Probably, last summer, listening to one of the Korean players who joined Wolves, and that time the United fans sang my song, I felt I needed to do something.
“Even in Korea, it changed a lot. It is true that, historically, people have been eating dog meat.
“But these days, particularly the young generation, they hate it. It was there before but these days you really can’t find it. So the culture is changing.”
Now 40, Park made well over 100 appearances for United and played for his country 100 times, including at three World Cup finals, starting with the 2002 edition in which South Korea finished fourth.
A Russian wrestler says he has achieved a lifetime goal after winning gold at the World Wrestling Championships 2021, beating a feared American opponent who had won his first four matches by a combined score of 41-0.
Russian and European freestyle champion Abasgadzhi Magomedov had claimed he was willing to die on the mat before taking on Daton Fix, an Oklahoma fighter who calls himself the ‘greatest ever’ and had whitewashed all of his adversaries on his way to the final in Oslo.
Some analysts had suggested that Magomedov would require an exceptional performance to beat Fix, who had won all of those bouts by technical fall, taking under two minutes in each of his last three encounters.
Behind after the first period, Magomedov took a shot-clock point to make it 2-1 and a takedown with less than 90 seconds remaining as he won his fourth major gold medal of the year and the eighth of his outstanding career.
“I [had targeted] this gold all my life and today this hard long-term work has paid off,” the Dagestan-born star said afterwards.
“Thanks to my family for their support and faith in me, thanks to everyone who participated in my training – coaches, gym partners, all the personnel of the Russian and Dagestan national teams.
“Special thanks to all fans – your support motivates me in the most difficult moments.”
The 61kg king continued his remarkable run this year, winning all 18 of his bouts.
Magomedov had beaten Mongolia’s Tumenbilegiin Tuvshintulga and Turk Emrah Ormanoglu on technical falls on his way to the semifinals, in which he beat Japan’s Toshihiro Hasegawa 10-0.
His victory at the Russian National Championships in Ulan–Ude in March was a successful defense of the title he won for the first time in 2020.
A former US national champion at 57kg, Fix said he was “so thankful for all of the love and support” he had received in the build-up.
“For as long as I can remember, I have wanted to be the best in the world,” added the 2019 Pan American Games winner.
“Although I have to settle for second this year, I know that I am right there. God’s plan for me has always been bigger than my own. I am more motivated than ever and cannot wait to get better.”
Magomedov is now aiming to help Russia win again in the team event at the championships.
