Fuck ESPN (12th April, 2017)

The title really should be "The history of ESPN screwing over Rayo and good journalism in general" but, you know, what the hell.

So here's a list - and bear in mind, this is just Rayo, a club few news outlets even bother reporting about.

Count the first!

Rayo win against Getafe 2-0. The headline? "Rayo Vallecano hang on with 10 men to defeat Getafe". Guess what? The player who was sent off was Yoel, the substitute goalkeeper who was ON THE BENCH.

Yeah, RAYO NEVER PLAYED WITH TEN MEN. Talk about shoddy reporting.

The link to it still exists - it's here.

Count the second!

When Rayo lost 10-2 against Real Madrid, Craig Burley went off on a rant about how it's shameful for the league that Rayo lost by a heavy scoreline.

That's his opinion. I disagree, and that's OK. What's not OK is that it's a misinformed opinion. Rayo attack not to win but to play, in a country where the aesthetic is valued, where playing de tú a tú is appreciated, where managers are revered for being brave.

At least know the background story before ranting and looking like a boiled potato. And that, really, is what's shameful.

The video has been taken down.

Count the third!

Defending Zozulya with the false equivalence that "Zozulya is not a neo-Nazi, he's a patriot". He's both - there are tweets by him showing that he loves Ukraine, and other tweets of him making Nazi salutes and supporting Ukrainian leaders who supported Hitler.

There is an article (here), as well as a video to defend the articles (here, although don't be surprised if it's taken down), calling it fake news. JUST BECAUSE A PIECE OF INFORMATION IS NOT TO YOUR LIKING DOES NOT MAKE IT FAKE.

FFS.

I am currently writing a long form piece about the whole Zozulya case - watch out for it!!

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