It's Friday Freedom Kicks. I know you're still hungover from Wednesday night. But you gotta pull it together.
Kevin Spacey says he gave a pep talk to D.C. United before they won their elimination game - WaPo: This was mentioned by a commenter yesterday, prompting dreams of D.C. United visiting President Underwood for a photo op in the East Room.
Montreal Impact 3, Toronto FC 0 - MLSsoccer.com: And with Montreal bouncing Toronto out of the playoffs, we'll be facing the Red Bulls at RFK on Sunday, and in Harrison, New Jersey, on November 8.
Why Jermaine Jones faces suspensions for both MLS matches and U.S. World Cup qualifiers - WaPo: It sounds like MLS may manipulate Jones' suspension so that its interference with USMNT games is minimized.
Jermaine Jones apologizes for handball incident, insists "it was 100 percent a penalty" | MLSsoccer.com: Does Jones sit around on suspension with New England for several weeks next year or does this prompt him to head back to Europe (or Turkey)?
Toronto Police Issue Warrants for 2 Brazilian Soccer Players - ABC News: They're accused of sexually assaulting a woman during the Pan Am Games in Canada. One of them currently plays for Reading FC, which has no comment.
NYC teenage soccer player dies after being injured in game - NY Daily News: A very sad reminder that these in-game collisions can be fatal. One day, headgear will be common. One day.
No limits: Glendale's one-legged soccer player beams in final season - Springfield News-Leader: Last week, FFK featured a goalkeeper with no legs. This week, we feature a forward with one leg.
Turkish soccer club takes revenge on referees by locking them in the stadium - SBNation.com: "We've all been upset with refs at one time or another, but have you ever been 'lock them inside the stadium until the president calls and tells you to stop' mad at refs?"
Eritrea's Soccer Team Defects En Masse Again, This Time to Botswana - Vice: "The issue is simple: they must go back to their country. You don't come here to play football, lose, then say you want political asylum. There are proper steps that should be followed if you want to be a refugee," said Botswana's defense minister. And if they had won? What then?
Qatar’s labour law "reforms" a sham - International Trade Union Confederation: Qatar promised to reform their labor codes to improve the situation for World Cup stadium guest workers. International organizations are calling the reforms a sham. The bottom line is the guest workers can't leave the country without their employer's permission, and they can't form a union, but they can appeal to a ministry that terrifies them. When you're not allowed to go home, doesn't that make you a hostage? A prisoner? A slave?
Qatar Exposed - ITUC: This is a very snazzy multimedia presentation on the working conditions of the World Cup workers in Qatar.
Protesters ask FC Barca to rediscover its soul - ITF Aviation Blog: More Qatar labor issues hit international soccer as activists press FCB to drop its Qatar Airways sponsorship. An example of the wonderful work rules at Qatar Airways: "female staff can't be dropped off or picked up from company premises by a man other than their father, brother or husband."
And today's Friday Freedom Kicks treat is I don't know what this is actually, so I'll double down with an 80s video dating montage. YEESH.
Commentariat, trick or treat?