Cristiano Ronaldo Meets His Turkish Impersonator and #1 Fan: VIDEO

Real Madrid footballer Cristiano Ronaldo met Gokmen, Akdogan, a 23-year-old man who makes a living impersonating Ronaldo, in a strange and funny moment after a match on Tuesday in Istanbul, Yahoo reports:

Akdogan (below), who also plays semi-professionally for lower-league side Seyhanspor, makes it his business to dress like Ronaldo, have his hair cut like Ronaldo... and apparently he even takes his free-kicks like Ronaldo. And the facial similarity is there for all to see.

Both men were all smiles when they met after Tuesday's match - a meeting which appears to have been engineered by Turkish TV - with Gokmen understandably delighted at meeting his idol, having previously said it would be a "dream" to shake the big man's hand.

One place where they don't measure up is height though - the Real Deal is a good three or four inches taller than his lookalike.

Watch the video, AFTER THE JUMP...

Chelsea Footballers Get Covered in Blue Paint: VIDEO

Adidas advertises its new uniforms for the Premier League team by covering nine of its players in blue paint.

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...

Gay Footballer Robbie Rogers Talks About the Closet, Coming Out: VIDEO

Footballer Robbie Rogers, who came out of the closet in February and announced his retirement from football, gives a lengthy interview to The Guardian's Donald McRae about how it felt to be a closeted footballer and what life was like for him then, and now.

Said Rogers:

"I was just fearful. I was very fearful how my team-mates were going to react. Was it going to change them? Even though I'd still be the same person would it change the way they acted towards me – when we were in the dressing room or the bus?"

In all professional sport, dressing room "banter", in that euphemistic phrase, can be callous. "Especially football," Rogers stresses. How did he react when homophobic quips were made – even though his team-mates were oblivious to his sexuality? "There were different emotions. Sometimes I would feel bad for them. Sometimes I would laugh because it was kinda funny. And, sometimes, it got malicious.

"That was when I would get this awful feeling in my stomach. I would turn my head and try to chat about other things. They often don't mean what they say. It's that pack mentality – they're trying to get a laugh, they're trying to be the top guy. But it's brutal. It's like high school again – on steroids."

He's asked if he could face down the hate and abuse shown from fans in the stadiums as an out player:

"Sure," Rogers says. "I've thought about that. I might be strong enough but I don't know if that's really what I want. I'd just want to be a footballer. I wouldn't want to deal with the circus. Are people coming to see you because you're gay? Would I want to do interviews every day, where people are asking: 'So you're taking showers with guys – how's that?'

"If you're playing well it will be reported as: 'The gay footballer is playing well.' And if you have a bad game it'll be: 'Aw, that gay dude … he's struggling because he's gay.' Fuck it. I don't want to mess with that."

Watch part of the interview on video, AFTER THE JUMP...

Read the full piece HERE.

Greece Bans Footballer Giorgios Katidis for Life After Nazi Salute: VIDEO

Giorgios Katidis, a Greek footballer who gave a Nazi salute after making a game-winning goal over the weekend has been banned for life from representing Greece in the game, the NYT reports:

The Hellenic Football Federation met Sunday in response to the incident and decided to ban the player, who has previously captained the national team in youth competitions. “The player’s action to salute to spectators in a Nazi manner is a severe provocation, insults all the victims of Nazi barbarity and injures the deeply pacifist and human character of the game,” the federation said as Greece marked the 70th anniversary of the deportation of thousands of Greek Jews to Nazi death camps.

Reuters adds:

The 20-year-old, a former captain of Greece's Under-19 team, made the gesture in celebrating his winning goal in a 2-1 Super League victory over lowly Veria on Saturday. Katidis apologized and asked to be dropped from AEK's first team.

"I would like to confess that I am totally unacceptable and I feel terrible for those I upset with the stupidity of my act," Katidis said in a statement. "I made the mistake so I will be the one to pay for it, AEK is not responsible. So that is why I have decided to put myself out of the team because I have now realized how much I have offended the history of the club. Also, I understand fully the reasons for the decision made by the Greek Football Federation to which I owe a huge apology as it has helped me to get where I am in the professional game."

Katidis reiterated that he was not a fascist or racist.

Watch the video, AFTER THE JUMP...

Wild Animal Invades Football Match: VIDEO

A wild weasel-like creature called a marten invaded the football pitch during a Swiss Super League match between Thun and Zurich over the weekend, twice, causing chaos, and biting the first player who caught it.

After being captured for the second time it was taken from the stadium (and hopefully returned to its natural environment).

Watch the incident unfold, AFTER THE JUMP...

Pro Soccer Player Robbie Rogers Comes Out as Gay, Retires from the Sport

Former Major League Soccer player Robbie Rogers came out of the closet in a blog post on Friday and also announced that he's leaving football.

Wrote Rogers, in part:

Secrets can cause so much internal damage. People love to preach about honesty, how honesty is so plain and simple.   Try explaining to your loved ones after 25 years you are gay. Try convincing yourself that your creator has the most wonderful purpose for you even though you were taught differently.

I always thought I could hide this secret. Football was my escape, my purpose, my identity. Football hid my secret, gave me more joy than I could have ever imagined… I will always be thankful for my career. I will remember Beijing, The MLS Cup, and most of all my teammates.  I will never forget the friends I have made a long the way and the friends that supported me once they knew my secret. 

Now is my time to step away. It’s time to discover myself away from football.  It’s 1 A.M. in London as I write this and I could not be happier with my decision. Life is so full of amazing things. I realized I could only truly enjoy my life once I was honest.  Honesty is a bitch but makes life so simple and clear.  My secret is gone, I am a free man, I can move on and live my life as my creator intended. 

Rogers said that fear held him back for 25 years:

For the past 25 year I have been afraid, afraid to show whom I really was because of fear. Fear that judgment and rejection would hold me back from my dreams and aspirations.   Fear that my loved ones would be farthest from me if they knew my secret.  Fear that my secret would get in the way of my dreams.

Dreams of going to a World Cup, dreams of The Olympics, dreams of making my family proud.  What would life be without these dreams? Could I live a life without them?

Life is only complete when your loved ones know you.  When they know your true feelings, when they know who and how you love. Life is simple when your secret is gone.  Gone is the pain that lurks in the stomach at work, the pain from avoiding questions, and at last the pain from hiding such a deep secret.

Tweeted Rogers Friday morning: "Just getting some sh*t off my chest."

Writes Goal.com: "The 25-year-old California native became a star in five seasons with MLS side Columbus Crew, winning the 2008 MLS Cup and the 2008 and 2009 MLS Supporters' Shield titles and being named to the 2008 Best XI squad. He made 18 appearances with the United States national team, scoring two goals."