The Hairdryer

Nutmeg: Or is that Fatso? The official mascot of the Asian Cup. Photo: AFP

Tim Cahill has done some amazing things in his career. Score at three different World Cups. Score at three different Asian Cups. Score goals in three different league competitions. But how about scoring his son an official Asian Cup 2015 ball before kick-off last Friday night?

The Hairdryer was standing just a few metres away at Melbourne's AAMI Park when Cahill produced an extraordinary piece of skill after hearing the cry of his son in the stand. The New York Red Bulls forward, having just completed his warm-up, looked up to the second tier and chipped a perfect pass to his progeny.

We were going to mention it before but thought nobody would believe us. However, Cahill himself found a video of the incident, which we understand he will upload to his Twitter account some time this week. It will be worth watching.

Saudi Arabian team refuses to get on bus driven by woman The Asian Cup is one of the most diverse tournaments staged anywhere in the world, meaning plenty of different sensitivities need to be catered for. However, it's not always possible to please everyone.

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The Saudi Arabian contingent have been doing a fair bit of travelling around recently doing their pre-camp on the Surf Coast, playing their first match in Brisbane and their next match in Melbourne so you might have thought the last thing on their mind was the gender of their bus driver.

However, when the team was due to board a bus with a female at the wheel, the team initially refused to get on. Women aren't allowed to drive their own cars in Saudi Arabia, let alone chaperone a delegation of testosterone-charged male athletes. Eventually, they agreed to board, but requested that only male drivers greet them thereafter.

Saudi Arabia is the only nation in the world which maintains this rule, with Muslim clerics claiming "licentiousness" will spread should the law be changed which, apparently, the government is considering.

More here:

Tim Cahill kicks perfect goal into crowd at Asian Cup opener