Tag: Standard Liege

Steven Defour is bad at roulettes

When we last saw Steven Defour, he was the subject of a giant tifo made by Standard Liege fans featuring his decapitated head. He had done something unforgivable for a former Standard Liege captain by signing with Anderlecht and when he was sent off during their meeting in January, the decision was enthusiastically cheered.

Well, Defour and Anderlecht returned to the Maurice Dufrasne Stadium on Sunday and this time the midfielder was laughed at. With Standard up 3-1 late in the match, Defour tried a little too hard to make something happen for his new side and attempted a Zidane style roulette. But he ended up falling over and gifting the ball to Standard without even touching a defender.

This, my friends, is why you should think twice before committing a betrayal.

Standard Liege supporters welcome back their Judas, Steven Defour, with decapitation tifo

Belgium international Steven Defour spent five years with Standard Liege, serving as the club’s captain for all but his first season with the club. He then spent three seasons with Porto, but returned to his homeland this season with Anderlecht — Standard’s fiercest rivals.

This did not go over so hot with his old club’s supporters. So when Defour returned to the Maurice Dufrasne Stadium wearing the wrong colors, the fans greeted him with a giant banner featuring a Jason Vorhees type holding a blood splattered machete in one hand and Defour’s severed head in the other, along with the words “RED OR DEAD.” It was subtle, but the message seemed to be that Defour is now dead to them.

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Heerenveen abandon friendly after comically dubious series of penalties

Standard Liege and Heerenveen played a friendly in Spain on Friday that came to an abrupt and premature conclusion when the Dutch side walked off after one too many curious decisions from the referee.

Frustrations came to a boil as the ref awarded three penalties (two to Standard Liege and one to Heerenveen, which was saved), but it was the fourth for a phantom offense that pushed Heerenveen to the brink. But when the penalty was saved and the ref called for it to be retaken, they decided they had had enough and walked off the pitch, shaking hand with the Standard Liege players as they went.

Again, this was only a friendly, but it was also the most egregious example of match fixing in recent memory or maybe a Spanish official’s desperate attempt to impress his family in the stands. Either way, there are plenty of better things to do in Spain to wrap up the winter break than whatever this was.