Lion Links: 6/4/18

Merry Monday morning, Mane Landers! Well, it might not have been the best weekend for those of us that support teams in purple, but it wasn’t all bad thanks to the Orlando Pride. It was a bit like Solo: A Star Wars Story in that respect. You had to watch, and you were somewhat disappointed, but ultimately you’re still a fan. Or maybe that’s just me. Anyway, on to the links!

Pride Draw Reign On the Road

The Pride overcame a not-so-great first half, with a much better second half to bring home a point against the Seattle Reign after a scoreless 0-0 draw.The Pride are unbeaten in their last five away matches, garnering 11 points over that time. The Pride had their chances, but just as importantly, Haley Kopmeyer showed why she’s the best back-up goalkeeper in the NWSL with several key saves to keep the Pride in the match. The Pride don’t play again until June 16 when they host Sky Blue FC,

Orlando City’s Next Opponent

Just in case you’ve buried your head after Orlando City’s loss to NYCFC the other night, the Lions do have another match on Wednesday. Orlando City will be starting its Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup play against Miami United FC. Miami play in the National Premier Soccer League, and only have one loss in six games so far this season. The NPSL team also had a good run to make it to the fourth round of the Open Cup, where Orlando City awaits. Take a minute and learn about this South Florida opponent.

FIFA is Still Evil

You may remember that FIFA fined Russia for racial chants from its fans during a match against France. That fine was £22,000. Now, FIFA has fined England £16,000 for a violation. However, it was not for racial chants, fighting or anything of the sort. It was because a young English player took a drink from a Red Bull energy drink. One of FIFA’s sponsors is Coca-Cola and, as such, Powerade is the official sports drink for the organization. Drinking the wrong energy drink is an offense with a punishment almost as bad as the punishment for racism, according to FIFA. I wish I could say I was surprised.

Russian Hooliganism Raises Concerns

Back in the day, English soccer supporters got a bad name for fighting and generally being poor examples of human beings. They were known as hooligans, and eventually they became less prominent. Now, hooliganism is on the rise again, this time in Russia. This new brand of hooligan doesn’t limit fighting to the matches or the stadium, they actually head out to the forest to fight groups that support other teams. With the World Cup heading to Russia, it is almost certain these new soccer hooligans will be making news as all eyes are on them. If you’re going to the World Cup, be safe.

Free Kicks

• While it might not be good news for Orlando City’s depth, it seems that Yoshimar Yotún is making an impact with Peru heading into the World Cup.

• It seems that Palestinian officials are calling for fans to burn jerseys or anything related to Lionel Messi if the star player decides to play for Argentina in the upcoming match against Israel in Jerusalem.
• Famous birthdays for today include: actor Angelina Jolie (43), actor/comedian Russell Brand (also 43), King George III (1738-1820), Deadpool actor T.J. Miller (37), Gotham actor Robin Lord Taylor (40), German footballer Lukas Podolski (33), and The Walking Dead actor Josh McDermitt (40).

That will do it for the first Monday links of June. Here’s hoping that Orlando City gets Dom Dwyer back healthy soon. It’s pretty obvious that he’s badly needed.