HALLOWEEN is here, and even football gets into the festivities.
The American tradition has seeped into European culture, with footballers and clubs getting into the spooky spirit.
And it’s not just the players and teams, it’s their Wags too who enjoy dressing up.
SunSport looks at when football and Halloween collide.
Be prepared to be spooked!
Napoli’s seasonal shirt
In 2022, Emporio Armani embraced Halloween with a seasonal footy shirt for the Italian giants.
That kickstarted a trend for the club, who at that point wore an all-black shirt with spiders on it.
Last season, their traditional blue shirt featured a load of bats flying up on the bottom of the jersey.
As modelled above by Victor Osimhen, it gives you quite the fright.
Barcelona’s creepy masks
In 2015, the Catalans got into hot water when they took their Halloween celebrations too far.
Several donned creepy masks, including of Shrek and Frankenstein, before gatecrashing a Getafe player’s post-match interview wearing them.
Getafe captain Pedro Leon was miffed and told Marca that they saw the trick as disrespectful.
However, Andres Iniesta reportedly called to apologise on behalf of the club, and all was forgiven.
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Jack Grealish and Sasha Atwood do Grease
Jack and his very own ‘Sandy’ dressed up as characters from Grease in Halloween, back in 2022.
Grealish perfected the look which included a slicked-back black quiff and a leather jacket slung over his shoulder.
The winger even shaved off his beard to get as close to Danny Zucko as he could.
Girlfriend Sasha pulled out all the stops too as she dressed up as Sandy, who was played by the late Olivia Newton-John.
The model wore her blonde hair in curls and paired her black outfit and leather jacket with red heels.
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Chantelle Heskey is Catwoman
In 2014, footballer’s Wag Chantelle – wife of England legend Emile Heskey – hosted her own Halloween Ball at Alderley Edge’s Festival Hall in Cheshire.
The do was done in order to raise money for charity, and was attended by dozens of footballers and their Wags.
Tanya Bardsley dressed as slasher villain Freddy Krueger, but it was the host who stole the show.
She looked incredibly glam as Catwoman, paying homage to Halle Berry.
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Scary Tigres
Mexican football is mad, and their players and fans are passionate people.
So when it comes to Halloween, of course they’re going to get into the spirit.
Tigres were playing a game against Toluca on Halloween night, which prompted the players to take action.
Before posing for a pre-match photo, they put on masks ranging from Batman to a frightening clown, and a werewolf.
Amusingly, not all the players were on board with the idea – with some appearing quite bemused by the whole situation.
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Witching hour
Benevento Calcio are a Serie C club with a badge befitting of Halloween.
On the club’s crest, front and centre, is a witch riding a broom.
It references the legend of the witches of Benevento, a city it has been said witches met at during the 13th century.
Thus the club is also nicknamed ‘Stregoni’ and ‘Streghe’ – which translates to sorcerers and witches.
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Valencia’s bat
Like Benevento Calcio, LaLiga giants Valencia have also embraced Halloween culture within their badge.
A huge bat features on top of the club’s crest, which incidentally also appears on the city’s coat of arms.
This is because bats occupied Valencia well before people did, according to historians.
Valence was also built upon a swamp, where mosquitos are prevalent. What do bats feast upon? You guessed it. How gruesome.
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