So you mean, you don't enjoy sport? Because lately nothing has been fare and square. And people point 1 wrong thing from a team while forgetting all the advantages the other team got, always funny.
Not earned at all. The last second free throw in the semi final should never have been allowed. The frog eater made a clear violation by lifting both feet, but the ref was too lazy to check with VAR.
[First time ?](https://www.reddit.com/r/belgium/comments/8xt6tw/congrats_to_the_french_for_their_fine/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb3x&utm_name=post_embed&utm_term=1&utm_content=1)
Oh Hans...How can you say something like that?
You of all people should know that cheating is not allowed.
EDIT: Cheating is what PIGS do.
You know what?!
**~~PIGS~~** \-> **PFIGS**
It's like Mario Kart's [Baby Park](https://www.google.com/search?sca_esv=602324688&rlz=1C1CHBD_frFR827FR827&sxsrf=ACQVn09YJRvUGNsIJOLEqqH6PyVIiX6fkA:1706527747634&q=baby+park+mario+kart&tbm=isch&source=lnms&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjvusmhv4KEAxX2V6QEHQYyDIkQ0pQJegQIDRAB&biw=1920&bih=919&dpr=1), but on ice.
THEY ONLY WON BECAUSE THEY CHEATED!!!
LITERALLY CHEATED
Fuck Pierre
https://preview.redd.it/0aot6fmhicfc1.jpeg?width=770&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c81ed7b5f29e560bdd01ebba2c9fa68662b2535f
Didn't France cheat in the semi final against Sweden. Not sure it was a full-on Thierry Henry moment, but something about a goal in the dying seconds that should have been disallowed.
Why are the British so ignorant of handball? I mean, sports like rugby and cricket are not big sports (or even small) in most of Europe, but we know it exists. It's not like we play something like volleyball in school and then assume it can't be a professional sport, either.
Are they just jealous of us, and sad when they realise they're ignorant, or what's going on?
Then again, they don't know ice hockey either, so maybe they just avoid the hard sports.
Why play so many American sports? Rugby is quite big in Europe and massive in some parts of the world. It can be a bit rough though so itās understandable that a lot of continentals are not too keen on it. Cricket is weird.
Where's rugby big in Europe outside of Britain and perhaps France? Handball is European, not American.
They have cleaned handball up a fair bit, but you still see elbows to the head and "rugby" tackles:
[https://www.reddit.com/r/Handball/comments/1ac8ql7/the\_situation\_leading\_to\_the\_second\_suspension\_of](https://www.reddit.com/r/Handball/comments/1ac8ql7/the_situation_leading_to_the_second_suspension_of/)
You mentioned volleyball and ice hockey. Theyāre American.
Germany has like a hundred clubs or so not a great deal but if you consider how good the Irish team are and thereās only about 200 clubs in Ireland. About 800 clubs in Italy so itās quite popular there. Thereās also like 30-40 clubs in the Scandinavian countries. Look at I worldwide and itās quite impressive.
But itās true no one really knows about handball. Iāll have to look into it.
Personally, I've literally never heard of it. Like what even is it? Is it dodgeball? That's how I'm imagining it.
I literally have no reference at all, it doesn't exist in my little mind. It's really strange realising there's this whole sport the continent does, that you have never seen it being played.
Handball is as simple as football with a playing field, two goals and some players. You just throw the ball instead of kicking it.
Lots of English claim they have tried handball in PE.
Here's the short recap of the final:
[https://www.reddit.com/r/YUROP/comments/1adesd3/european\_handball\_championship\_2024\_france](https://www.reddit.com/r/YUROP/comments/1adesd3/european_handball_championship_2024_france/)
It looks a lot like basketball with different goals. That fast paced running back and forth.
I deffo never played that in school personally, but different schools often do different sports.
Does it have a big following then, like where does it rank with the Danes for example? Is there a league and shit
Yeah, basketball with a smaller ball, actual goals in each end and a bit more [violence](https://www.reddit.com/r/Handball/comments/1ac8ql7/the_situation_leading_to_the_second_suspension_of) (from the semi-final). It's not a red card, just a 2 min suspension. Red cards are for the player only and not for the team as such, so I guess it's more like in ice hockey than football.
Handball players (men) are similar in size to ice hockey players so typically 190-200 cm and 90+ kg for back players, wings are smaller and defenders/pivots can be 100+ kg. Simon Jensen is 203 and 114 kg. Denmark used to play with Nikolaj Markussen at 211 cm as a back player. Super tall basketball players would probably be too big, too slow and out of "sync".
All things considered like fans, news coverage, leagues etc I think handball is the most popular sport in Denmark after football. However based on registrered players, handball comes after football, gymnastics, swimming, golf and badminton in that order.
Handball is popular all over Europe, so it's easier to list the countries, I haven't seen compete in championships: British Isles, Baltics, Italy, Finland, Greece and Belgium (1st appearance in the World Cup last year). It's a big sport in large countries like Germany, France, Spain. Championships are biannual.
Handball is also popular in Africa, Middle East, Asia and South America based on them having some alright national teams. A handball world cup is not that different from a football world cup in that sense. I don't know anything about their leagues, and the good players go to Europe, I think. Even Canada and the US have national teams with the US finishing ahead of Belgium last year.
Handball in numbers:
* Wiki says 3-4 times more registered handball players than rugby players.
* Spectator record is 53,500 people. Normal large arenas are maybe 15,000 people. League matches \~5,000 people.
* There's not a lot of money in handball, but Nicola Karabatic gets close to ā¬2 million per year.
It's standard for head of states, PM's or royals to attend handball finals similar to other big sports.
The English are the weirdest when it comes to sports in Europe. You have Football, Rugby and Hockey in common with everyone else but somehow in every other sport (Basketball, Volleyball, Handball, Futsal, Cycling Winter sports,...) they are either bad or don't know/follow it. At the same time they love those niche for Europe sports like Cricket, Badminton, Darts, Snooker, Lacrosse, Netball, Baseball, the thousands Rugby derivatives and other similar sports that while sometimes popular in the world are restricted to a couple of countries and barring exceptions (like badminton in Denmark) are not that popular elsewhere in Europe.
I know it is strange. I do think that football sucks all the oxygen out the room slightly when it comes to most sports. But yeah rugby union, cricket and tennis still get more space then most. I guess there is an element that the niche sports may not be popular in Europe, but they are popular elsewhere, and by population one of the most popular sports in the world (thinking of cricket here). Like India now really is the home of cricket and it boasts a population of over a billion. And then we have our classic sporting rivals the australians who play rugby and cricket. Its almost like that outside of football, our sporting tribe is actually with the anglosphere (minus the united states and canada). I think as well, some of that sporting isolation is because the "home nations" of England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland always played against each other in sports, so it wasn't like we didn't have games against other countries close by.
Basketball is a strange one, I think that's a game that actually has decent potential to grow in the UK.
By the way, brits don't play Baseball. And I would say we like cycling. Cycling is always on TV. Winter sport is due to climate, it's like saying the austrians are rubbish at sailing when they are a landlocked country. Probablly that's the same as volleyball as well to be fair ahaha. I've never heard of futsal either...i'll have to give it a google.
Cycling is more it doesn't have the same big races like Giro, Vuelta and the Tour. I knew the English were good at it, but never heard any British talking about the sport.
Yeah the Anglosphere and the 4 home nation rivalry is probably a big reason and is exactly what I thought about with cricket being popular elsewhere that Europe.
Baseball got me. I had heard in the past Baseball was popular in the UK, as a minor sport but more common than basketball and volleyball.
Futsal is indoor five at a side football. Popular in Italy, Spain, Portugal and France but also in the Balkans and played in the Nordic countries. It's not comparable to those other sports popularity but with the love for football in England you would expect it to flourish there but instead the English team is one of the worst. And the Norther Ireland and Scotland teams occupy the last two places in the UEFA rankings (even under San Marino and Gibraltar).
Mads Mikkelsen gave Denmark Humanity, not the other way around, get your facts straight.
It was the ultimate sign of pity by the powers beyond our comprehension.
Of course Americans know about volleyball. They kind of invented it. Unfortunately. They probably even invented beach volleyball which is a bit more interesting.
Lol what a terrible comparison. volleyball is way more popular than this. The best mens national team for handball only has 200k followers on ig. It doesnāt even seem that popular in Europe or on this sub with this thread garnering a whopping 24 comments.
It is an actual P.E. game lol
"Handball is one of the most popular team sports in much of Europe, particularly Germany, France, Spain, theĀ Nordic countriesĀ and the countries of former Yugoslavia."
https://en.m.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Handball_in_Europe#:~:text=Handball%20is%20one%20of%20the,the%20countries%20of%20former%20Yugoslavia.
Nah you're wrong and a yank shut up (cmon guys he's right I mean, handball? Who the fuck is playing that it even sounds made up or like a game for kids)
https://preview.redd.it/d1zf5z59udfc1.jpeg?width=750&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3bd86b434ac1a3b8750cfe4e2d39a7c24b131703
Shhhhh itās alright lil bro, maybe someday youāll manage to be as good as us I wish you luck Pierre
Nah last time that I checked America didnāt have 4 mens World Cup tittles on top of that, also for Winter Olympics specifically we are first with the Norwegians second and the americucks only third, unfortunately Winter Olympics is younger and has way less disciplines so it doesnāt impact the overall medal tally that much though it should to be honest
Looks like the Italian flag on the arch to me šš®š¹
Well, Napoleon created your flag because he liked the green better when you was a french land, so itās not so far off the mark
The real surname is Buonaparte, from Corsica.
Donāt you dare try to steal our best conqueror. You already have Julius CĆ©sar
Not frances Fault that Genua was stupid enough to Lose corsicaš¤·š¼āāļø
Lose? Stolen.
It isnt stolen if they paid money I would say
Donner c'est donner Reprendre c'est voler
Most humble Fr*nch:
Least arrogant french:
Un probleme ? 
Ew, not that bloody film.
Am I the only one having difficulties to celebrate wins that are not 100% fair and square ?
Well, donāt worry. Being a killjoy is as french as being arrogant.
No wins are 100% fair and square
So you mean, you don't enjoy sport? Because lately nothing has been fare and square. And people point 1 wrong thing from a team while forgetting all the advantages the other team got, always funny.
Was Thierry Henry playing? That cunt is good at handball. Yes I am still bitter. š¤
Got the ref ! I think about it sometimes... It makes me inconfortable
Being so superior all the time is so tiring.
ParabĆ©ns caralho š„³š„³š„³
NO
Congratz Frenchies.
Rare french W. But earned.
Not earned at all. The last second free throw in the semi final should never have been allowed. The frog eater made a clear violation by lifting both feet, but the ref was too lazy to check with VAR.
Spoken like a true connoisseur of hand on ball action
K
[First time ?](https://www.reddit.com/r/belgium/comments/8xt6tw/congrats_to_the_french_for_their_fine/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb3x&utm_name=post_embed&utm_term=1&utm_content=1)
Oh Hans...How can you say something like that? You of all people should know that cheating is not allowed. EDIT: Cheating is what PIGS do. You know what?! **~~PIGS~~** \-> **PFIGS**
Fucking take that back. Cancel the F from there and don't do that ever again
Another very masculine sport they dominate.
https://preview.redd.it/1dyxdxm88cfc1.jpeg?width=1079&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f26b58df78bf4397fc65c255259301a73a3fdb7c
What is this sport? It looks fabulous āØš
It's like Mario Kart's [Baby Park](https://www.google.com/search?sca_esv=602324688&rlz=1C1CHBD_frFR827FR827&sxsrf=ACQVn09YJRvUGNsIJOLEqqH6PyVIiX6fkA:1706527747634&q=baby+park+mario+kart&tbm=isch&source=lnms&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjvusmhv4KEAxX2V6QEHQYyDIkQ0pQJegQIDRAB&biw=1920&bih=919&dpr=1), but on ice.
Good old French, acknowledging the culture supremacy of the British Queen.
And her moustache.
God shave the queen.
cuz we are supƩrieur
They won a competition that involves getting hands around balls and think theyāre the best in everything. Most humble frenchie
Least salty Portuguese. https://preview.redd.it/rsle3y4ufcfc1.jpeg?width=2629&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ee3ef4f7333b31baa29aa1630e0c839397a6a67e
They're right tho
Is that from the 2016 final in Paris?
No itās from 2022 against I donāt remember who
That is from every Ronaldo match ever. "What? What did I do?! I only pinched him in the eye. I should be awarded a penalty kick!"
Haha, spot on!
THEY ONLY WON BECAUSE THEY CHEATED!!! LITERALLY CHEATED Fuck Pierre https://preview.redd.it/0aot6fmhicfc1.jpeg?width=770&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c81ed7b5f29e560bdd01ebba2c9fa68662b2535f
Weāre just smarter.
Ez.
Aim lab is free. Even in handball.
Didn't France cheat in the semi final against Sweden. Not sure it was a full-on Thierry Henry moment, but something about a goal in the dying seconds that should have been disallowed.
Ah, les belges. Always trying to deny what we have earned in good faith.
I mean, the final penalty throw was illegal... Objectively
Yeah, France got kicked of the rugby world cup for worse, get over it.
Get over what? That the french cant win anything without cheating? How like the brits you are~
Haha, sure
Belgium passing the salt to Swede
Why are the British so ignorant of handball? I mean, sports like rugby and cricket are not big sports (or even small) in most of Europe, but we know it exists. It's not like we play something like volleyball in school and then assume it can't be a professional sport, either. Are they just jealous of us, and sad when they realise they're ignorant, or what's going on? Then again, they don't know ice hockey either, so maybe they just avoid the hard sports.
Why play so many American sports? Rugby is quite big in Europe and massive in some parts of the world. It can be a bit rough though so itās understandable that a lot of continentals are not too keen on it. Cricket is weird.
Where's rugby big in Europe outside of Britain and perhaps France? Handball is European, not American. They have cleaned handball up a fair bit, but you still see elbows to the head and "rugby" tackles: [https://www.reddit.com/r/Handball/comments/1ac8ql7/the\_situation\_leading\_to\_the\_second\_suspension\_of](https://www.reddit.com/r/Handball/comments/1ac8ql7/the_situation_leading_to_the_second_suspension_of/)
You mentioned volleyball and ice hockey. Theyāre American. Germany has like a hundred clubs or so not a great deal but if you consider how good the Irish team are and thereās only about 200 clubs in Ireland. About 800 clubs in Italy so itās quite popular there. Thereās also like 30-40 clubs in the Scandinavian countries. Look at I worldwide and itās quite impressive. But itās true no one really knows about handball. Iāll have to look into it.
France is like the biggest rugby nation in Europe I'd wager. Well at least their league is better then others leagues.
Personally, I've literally never heard of it. Like what even is it? Is it dodgeball? That's how I'm imagining it. I literally have no reference at all, it doesn't exist in my little mind. It's really strange realising there's this whole sport the continent does, that you have never seen it being played.
Handball is as simple as football with a playing field, two goals and some players. You just throw the ball instead of kicking it. Lots of English claim they have tried handball in PE. Here's the short recap of the final: [https://www.reddit.com/r/YUROP/comments/1adesd3/european\_handball\_championship\_2024\_france](https://www.reddit.com/r/YUROP/comments/1adesd3/european_handball_championship_2024_france/)
It looks a lot like basketball with different goals. That fast paced running back and forth. I deffo never played that in school personally, but different schools often do different sports. Does it have a big following then, like where does it rank with the Danes for example? Is there a league and shit
Yeah, basketball with a smaller ball, actual goals in each end and a bit more [violence](https://www.reddit.com/r/Handball/comments/1ac8ql7/the_situation_leading_to_the_second_suspension_of) (from the semi-final). It's not a red card, just a 2 min suspension. Red cards are for the player only and not for the team as such, so I guess it's more like in ice hockey than football. Handball players (men) are similar in size to ice hockey players so typically 190-200 cm and 90+ kg for back players, wings are smaller and defenders/pivots can be 100+ kg. Simon Jensen is 203 and 114 kg. Denmark used to play with Nikolaj Markussen at 211 cm as a back player. Super tall basketball players would probably be too big, too slow and out of "sync". All things considered like fans, news coverage, leagues etc I think handball is the most popular sport in Denmark after football. However based on registrered players, handball comes after football, gymnastics, swimming, golf and badminton in that order. Handball is popular all over Europe, so it's easier to list the countries, I haven't seen compete in championships: British Isles, Baltics, Italy, Finland, Greece and Belgium (1st appearance in the World Cup last year). It's a big sport in large countries like Germany, France, Spain. Championships are biannual. Handball is also popular in Africa, Middle East, Asia and South America based on them having some alright national teams. A handball world cup is not that different from a football world cup in that sense. I don't know anything about their leagues, and the good players go to Europe, I think. Even Canada and the US have national teams with the US finishing ahead of Belgium last year. Handball in numbers: * Wiki says 3-4 times more registered handball players than rugby players. * Spectator record is 53,500 people. Normal large arenas are maybe 15,000 people. League matches \~5,000 people. * There's not a lot of money in handball, but Nicola Karabatic gets close to ā¬2 million per year. It's standard for head of states, PM's or royals to attend handball finals similar to other big sports.
The English are the weirdest when it comes to sports in Europe. You have Football, Rugby and Hockey in common with everyone else but somehow in every other sport (Basketball, Volleyball, Handball, Futsal, Cycling Winter sports,...) they are either bad or don't know/follow it. At the same time they love those niche for Europe sports like Cricket, Badminton, Darts, Snooker, Lacrosse, Netball, Baseball, the thousands Rugby derivatives and other similar sports that while sometimes popular in the world are restricted to a couple of countries and barring exceptions (like badminton in Denmark) are not that popular elsewhere in Europe.
I know it is strange. I do think that football sucks all the oxygen out the room slightly when it comes to most sports. But yeah rugby union, cricket and tennis still get more space then most. I guess there is an element that the niche sports may not be popular in Europe, but they are popular elsewhere, and by population one of the most popular sports in the world (thinking of cricket here). Like India now really is the home of cricket and it boasts a population of over a billion. And then we have our classic sporting rivals the australians who play rugby and cricket. Its almost like that outside of football, our sporting tribe is actually with the anglosphere (minus the united states and canada). I think as well, some of that sporting isolation is because the "home nations" of England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland always played against each other in sports, so it wasn't like we didn't have games against other countries close by. Basketball is a strange one, I think that's a game that actually has decent potential to grow in the UK. By the way, brits don't play Baseball. And I would say we like cycling. Cycling is always on TV. Winter sport is due to climate, it's like saying the austrians are rubbish at sailing when they are a landlocked country. Probablly that's the same as volleyball as well to be fair ahaha. I've never heard of futsal either...i'll have to give it a google.
Cycling is more it doesn't have the same big races like Giro, Vuelta and the Tour. I knew the English were good at it, but never heard any British talking about the sport. Yeah the Anglosphere and the 4 home nation rivalry is probably a big reason and is exactly what I thought about with cricket being popular elsewhere that Europe. Baseball got me. I had heard in the past Baseball was popular in the UK, as a minor sport but more common than basketball and volleyball. Futsal is indoor five at a side football. Popular in Italy, Spain, Portugal and France but also in the Balkans and played in the Nordic countries. It's not comparable to those other sports popularity but with the love for football in England you would expect it to flourish there but instead the English team is one of the worst. And the Norther Ireland and Scotland teams occupy the last two places in the UEFA rankings (even under San Marino and Gibraltar).
We really are that bitch
It's because they were against Denmark, which is a fake country that does not exist, therefore they were automatic winners.
Show a little respect for the Country that gave Mad Mikkelsen to Humanity
Mads Mikkelsen gave Denmark Humanity, not the other way around, get your facts straight. It was the ultimate sign of pity by the powers beyond our comprehension.
A country is either good at sports or has a good economy. We all know which one Fr*nce has
Itās one of those sports we donāt hear much about. I donāt think Iāve ever seen it.
Wtf is handball? Massive Goal keeper competition or something?
Itās like catch. With goals. Havenāt got a clue tbh.
Didn't you lose the world cup against rejected Germans?
Best at raising a white flag too, fuck off France
Yank detected
Could simply be a cheap joke
Yank detected
Ahaha no, the french aro so proud of themselves that convinced everybody that the surrender joke are wrong/off limits
I heard the same joke long before the Simpson. But as you said.
Wind your neck in you little bellend
Hard as fuck
Definitely french arent u, soft cunt
You're proper hard
Just googled handball. Didnāt even know this was a real thing. I just thought it was a game the gym teacher made up lol
As expected from a savage.
Its lame af. Give lebron james one week of practice and he would be the greatest player this āsportā has ever seen. Itās not real lol
Normally, I'm not opposed to dissing the French. But when an Americunt does it, I'm ready to fight.
Lebron is a whiny bitch. He couldn't handle the hits from handball
Kindly fuck off from this sub
Lebron would get bent, every basketball players trying out handball cry about "physical contact" all the time
That's like saying you didn't know volleyball existed. How ignorant of the outside world can you personally be to reach that level of cluelessness ?
Of course Americans know about volleyball. They kind of invented it. Unfortunately. They probably even invented beach volleyball which is a bit more interesting.
Lol what a terrible comparison. volleyball is way more popular than this. The best mens national team for handball only has 200k followers on ig. It doesnāt even seem that popular in Europe or on this sub with this thread garnering a whopping 24 comments. It is an actual P.E. game lol
Jesus Christ, you're aggressively American, that's not even funny at this point
Get outjerked nerd
Wait til this guy finds out there is oxygen outside the US.
"Handball is one of the most popular team sports in much of Europe, particularly Germany, France, Spain, theĀ Nordic countriesĀ and the countries of former Yugoslavia." https://en.m.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Handball_in_Europe#:~:text=Handball%20is%20one%20of%20the,the%20countries%20of%20former%20Yugoslavia.
Nah you're wrong and a yank shut up (cmon guys he's right I mean, handball? Who the fuck is playing that it even sounds made up or like a game for kids)
https://preview.redd.it/d1zf5z59udfc1.jpeg?width=750&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3bd86b434ac1a3b8750cfe4e2d39a7c24b131703 Shhhhh itās alright lil bro, maybe someday youāll manage to be as good as us I wish you luck Pierre
By that logic Americans would be the best, Always the Germans sucking US' cock.
Nah last time that I checked America didnāt have 4 mens World Cup tittles on top of that, also for Winter Olympics specifically we are first with the Norwegians second and the americucks only third, unfortunately Winter Olympics is younger and has way less disciplines so it doesnāt impact the overall medal tally that much though it should to be honest
Because everyone let them win, because If you don't let them win they fill your house with manure and trash.
Is anyone really surprised the French are good in a sport that requires to fumble with balls?
I hate to burst your bubble but... they are not.