Soccer Players Suspended Over 'Ugly' Butt Squeeze

Some rear action has landed cheeky soccer players in trouble with Iranian officials. Two players are being fined $37,000 each and suspended from their Persepolis team for a celebratory "butt squeeze" following a goal against Damash Gilan in a televised game. The "shameless act upset, angered, and outraged" Iranian sports fans, said cleric Jalal Yahyazadeh, who is a member of parliament in the nation where homosexuality is illegal. "What happened is absolutely not acceptable because it was a very ugly thing."

The Iranian soccer federation's media committee demanded that "elements who damaged the country's sporting spirit be dealt with firmly," and the federation moved to suspend the two men. The Daily Mail described the butt grab as typical "laddish behavior" among team members, but the Iranian player whose rear was grabbed appears to be annoyed in a video of the incident, and roughly pushes his teammate's hand away. Seconds after the goal, before the butt squeeze, two other teammates embrace and kiss. (More soccer stories.)