Riise apologizes to Roma fans for falling down for no reason

Wednesday's Champions League match between Roma and Shakhtar Donetsk was not an enjoyable evening for John Arne Riise. The Roma defender brought back bad memories of past Champions League bloopers when he fell down for seemingly no reason just before the break, setting up Luiz Adriano's goal in the 3-2 Donetsk win.

After the match, Riise couldn't explain what happened, but he was sorry for whatever it was. From Football Italia:

We played fairly well and I made an incredible mistake on the third goal, but I think we can win in Ukraine, Riise told the Italian media.

I know that the fans are against me now and I feel terrible about this. That is football, but this was truly a negative match for me.

"I was going to hit the ball long, but then I thought about it a moment more and lost my balance. I really don't know how I did it. I've had a similar experience with an own goal in the semi-final for Liverpool. I feel just sick, even physically.

I hope the supporters can understand that I always give my all. I apologise to them. I went off at half-time because I made a mistake.

Well, if there's one thing football supporters are known for, it's being forgiving when their team's players make horrific mistakes for no discernable reason.

It wasn't all vertigo and apologies for Roma, though. Jeremy Menez scored the last goal of the match in the 61st minute and it was a beauty. Have a look...

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