Soccer

MANCHESTER UNITED fans are convinced they’ve spotted a cut on Ruben Amorim’s hand after it emerged yesterday that the Red Devils boss had launched a furious outburst on Sunday.It was claimed yesterday that Amorim had damaged a TV screen used for tactics in the Man Utd dressing room during an angry dressing down of his players after their 3-1 defeat to Brighton.Fans convinced they’ve spotted cut on Ruben Amorim’s finger in interview that gave away Man Utd boss’s furious outburstCredit: XHe appeared to have a small nick on his handCredit: XAmorim didn’t appear to have the mark on his hand during the gameCredit: GettyThe TV was allegedly damaged as collateral during Amorim’s passionate reaction to United falling to their third defeat in their last six Premier League games.And fans think they may have spotted an injury picked up from Amorim during his outburst after noticing what appears to be a cut on his finger during his post-match press conference.Supporters on social media pointed out the small nick on the 39-year-old’s hand and claimed that it wasn’t present prior to kick off.One fan wrote: “Is that a cut on his finger?”READ MORE IN FOOTBALLWhile another added: “Yep, that’s a cut!”A third commented: “Definitely looks like he punched something”.And a fourth speculated: “He’s punched the TV screen because of his anger”.Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola was left covered in scratches himself earlier this season after his side gave up a three goal lead during a frustrating draw against Feyenoord in the Champions League.Most read in FootballAmad Diallo is pictured in the dressing room with a TV seen behind him in video taken on the day of the match vs BrightonCredit: The SunPep Guardiola was left covered in cuts and scratches after Man City drew 3-3 with Feyenoord earlier in the seasonCASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITSMan Utd ratings vs BrightonBy Ken LawrenceANDRE ONANA was back to his worst as Manchester United fell to another Old Trafford defeat.It appeared Ruben Amorim’s side had turned a corner in recent weeks with a draw at Anfield and an FA Cup penalty shoot-out win at Arsenal.But dreadful individual mistakes cost them yet again with Onana the chief culprit.The keeper dropped a huge clanger as he palmed a simple cross straight to Georginio Rutter under no pressure whatsoever.There were few positive notes for the Red Devils as Amad once again provided a spark.Here is how SunSport’s Ken Lawrence rated the United display…ANDRE ONANA: 2 – No chance with either of the Seagulls’ first two goals. But an awful howler to gift them their third.MATTHIJS DE LIGT: 5 – Certainly doesn’t look like he likes players running at him as Kaoru Mitoma constantly did. Looked unsure of himself throughout.HARRY MAGUIRE: 6 – The one member of United’s three-man central defence who looked like he knew what he was doing. Beginning to believe in himself again.LENY YORO: 5 – The £52m youngster is still settling into the Premier League to be fair to him. But he is certainly taking his time about it.NOUSSAIR MAZRAOUI: 4 – Has been one of the few consistent successes of Amorim’s tactical revolution. Yet he had a real shocker this time around.MANUEL UGARTE: 5 – Supposedly “tired” in the 3-1 win over Southampton the midfielder looked brighter here. Yet he still doesn’t look that switched on.KOBBIE MAINOO: 4 – Where is last season’s Kobbie? Looks nothing like the buzzing homegrown midfielder who burst on the scene last season.DIOGO DALOT: 5 – Did his duties as a left wing-back to the best of his abilities. Another United player, however, who looked nothing like sharp enough.AMAD DIALLO: 7 – Thursday night’s 12-minute treble hero on a high again – unlike, again, so many team-mates. Sometimes his footwork is just dazzling.BRUNO FERNANDES: 6 – Ultra-cool from the spot but that goal didn’t do much to raise his performance level. Had one of those days where nothing really clicked.JOSHUA ZIRKZEE: 5 – “Won” the penalty after being brought down although Carlos Baleba’s challenge would have looked good in a wrestling ring. There’s a footballer in there somewhere…SUBSALEJANDRO GARNACHO (for Mainoo 64): 5 – Struggled to make an impact in a team that was being taken apart.TOBY COLLYER (for Ugarte 64): 5 – Plenty of youthful commitment but still too inexperienced to lift a side as poor as Amorim’s.ANTONY (for Mazraoui 84): 4 – Talk about a last throw of the dice by Amorim…RASMUS HOJLUND (for Zirkzee 84): 4 – Given a thankless task in the closing moments of another depressing display.Amorim, who is known to have a quiet approach to post-game reaction, was clearly still reeling from his team’s performance after the match.The Portuguese gaffer slammed his side as the worst Man Utd team in history after the defeat.Man United players don’t trust Amorim’s tactics or each other – the utter humiliation by Brighton proved itHe said: “We are being the worst team maybe in the history of Manchester United.“I know you want headlines but I am saying that because we have to acknowledge that and change that. So there you go, your headline.”In ten games in the Premier League we won two, I know that. Imagine this for a fan of Manchester United, imagine this for me.“You are getting a new coach who is losing more than the last coach. Imagine that. We need to survive this moment. I know that.”United’s record at home this season is the club’s worst in the league in 131 years.They have not lost six games at Old Trafford in 12 opening league appearances since the 1893-94 season, when they lost seven.Amorim’s side are 13th in the table after 22 matches and sit closer to the relegation zone (10 points) than they do the top four (12).United were dismantled by Brighton on SundayCredit: Rex More

IT IS one of the most gripping sporting scandals in memory. John Terry’s alleged affair with the ex-girlfriend of his former pal and team-mate Wayne Bridge, Vanessa Perroncel.John Terry and Wayne Bridge’s friendship crumbled amid allegations of an affair in 2009Credit: Action ImagesBridge’s ex Vanessa Perroncel allegedly had an affair with John Terry – but they both deny itCredit: RexBridge famously snubbed Terry’s offer of a handshake as the saga hit boiling pointCredit: EPAFifteen years on, all three involved remain unavoidably linked by the events that unfolded.For Terry, his reputation would never be the same.For Bridge, it arguably remains what he is most famous for. So much so the feud has just been thrown back into the forefront of the public’s consciousness.READ MORE ON WAYNE BRIDGEYouTuber KSI trash-talked Bridge with taunts about Terry to set up a Misfits Boxing fight that the former defender has since withdrawn from because the “deeply personal comments crossed a line”.But aside from the allegations of the actual affair – always denied by both Terry and Perroncel – the entire saga led to a whole load of mad moments.From helicopter flyovers to T-shirts of support, from YouGov polls to a sociologist’s paper –  here is the bizarre story of what went on.Bridge started dating Perroncel in 2005, the year after meeting the French model and actress when she was working in a Soho nightclub.Most read in FootballThe couple had a son together, Jaydon, in 2006 and were good friends with Chelsea team-mate Terry, who married childhood sweetheart Toni in June 2007. Best new sign-up offersSunSport exclusivesBut Bridge and Perroncel split up in the summer of 2009 following his transfer from Chelsea to Manchester City in the January.Then Terry started visiting Perroncel and son Jaydon at their Surrey home – although she has maintained it was purely “friendship” and “cannot be described as an affair”. I followed the money joining Chelsea and Man City – they only signed me because they couldn’t get my England team-mateInitially, the press were blocked from reporting on the case after Terry’s lawyers got an injunction imposed.But it was lifted in January 2010 when the judge claimed the injunction was put in place not to safeguard Terry’s privacy but “to protect [his] reputation, in particular with sponsors”. And with that, the floodgates opened. The saga really was the talk of Britain.As the story dominated the front pages of the newspapers, Toni and the three-year-old twins flew out to Dubai to get away from it all – though she was soon snapped in her designer bikini relaxing by the swimming pool.JT would eventually join them when the dust finally settled – but that would not be for a while.Toni faithfully stood by her man – despite the views of the British public.That is because a YouGov poll was launched to ask what she should do, with just SEVEN PER CENT supporting the idea of her taking him back. Within football, there was a real split – even inside the Chelsea dressing room Terry still led and Bridge had already left.Messages of support were sent to Bridge – both digitally but also literally.If you acted like Terry did in Argentina, you’d be deadCarlos TevezHis City team-mates Carlos Tevez, Stephen Ireland and Nigel de Jong all wore ‘Team Bridge’ T-shirts under their kits for a match.Tevez himself was not afraid to make his views clear.The Argentine said: “If you acted like [Terry did] in Argentina, you’d be dead.“In my opinion, Terry has no moral code for what he did to Bridge. In my neighbourhood, if you do that, you lose your legs.”On February 5, Terry was stripped of the England captaincy he had inherited from David Beckham – and Sky News were determined to keep on top of the dramatic showdown with boss Fabio Capello.A helicopter with TV cameras followed Terry on his journey all the way to Wembley.Once at the FA’s HQ, his meeting with no-nonsense Capello lasted just 12 minutes and he was shown the door having handed back the armband – which he would have reinstated the following year. Capello said: “It’s not normal, what happened between Terry and Bridge. I have never experienced it.”Toni Terry stood by her husband despite the advice of YouGov poll votersCredit: PAShe whisked herself off to Dubai during the height of the dramaCredit: InstagramCarlos Tevez was among the players to come out in support of BridgeCredit: Sky SportsAnd the major decision even forced the Prime Minister to weigh into the row.Gordon Brown was quizzed upon leaving a cabinet meeting and replied: “He had to make a decision quickly.“He couldn’t let it go on. But he alone can know what effect this is having in the dressing room.”And the rise of social media meant plenty of fans and organisations could have their say with very little repercussions. But one of the most surprising tweets came from the popular football stats account, OptaJoe.They wrote: “John Terry has scored more often away from home than at home. Cheeky.”Bridge quit the England team on February 25, citing his place in the squad was “untenable and potentially divisive”.And that decision only ramped up the excitement and anticipation for Chelsea’s home clash with City just two days later.’PECULIAR KIND OF NATIONAL TRAUMA’For a match that would have major implications on both the title race and City’s hopes of qualifying for the Champions League, all of the pre-match talk was about two men, two former close friends set to face off for the first time since the scandal broke.One question was on everyone’s lips: would Wayne Bridge shake John Terry’s hand?City chiefs were still urging Bridge in the tunnel to do so, wanting to avoid pouring more fuel on the fire.Bookmakers were offering various odds on the incident – one having every City player to refuse Terry’s hand at 7-2 and another having either player to receive a card for a tackle on the other at 10-1. A ‘Team Terry’ banner was displayed at the Shed End of Stamford Bridge as the players walked out and lined up – then came the key moment.In one of the most famous snubs of all time, Terry put out his hand and Bridge completely ignored it.It was the defining image of the entire narrative.A narrative which – combined with Terry’s racism trial with Anton Ferdinand that was triggered by taunting over the Perroncel accusations – led to Dr Neil Ewen writing an entire paper on the topic.The sociologist labelled the two controversies as a “peculiar kind of national trauma”.Terry and Bridge had been team-mates for England and ChelseaCredit: AFPTerry was stripped of the captaincy by Fabio CapelloCredit: Getty Images – GettyThey lined up alongside each other in the back line at Stamford BridgeCredit: News Group Newspapers LtdTrauma seems the right word, too, for the personal impact and toll it took for everyone involved.For Terry, despite his undeniable footballing prowess, his reputation as a bloke was shredded in the eyes of the public.For Perroncel, her life would never be the same – her name still intertwined between the two ex-Chelsea defenders. For Bridge, his football career remembered for something he did on the Stamford Bridge pitch on February 27, 2010 before the referee even blew for kick-off to start the match.And a decade-and-a-half of vile and hellish abuse and vitriol, most recently from KSI, despite his best attempts to move on and put it all behind him, sharing two children with his The Saturdays singer wife Frankie Sandford. Bridge said: “The most disappointing aspect of it all is that I’m probably more famous for not shaking someone’s hand than I am for playing football. “I get abuse walking down the street. I still don’t think anyone knows the full story.”Somewhat ironically, the Bridge family, the Terry family and Perroncel with son Jaydon all still live in close proximity in Surrey. But long gone are the days of friendship – instead replaced with an awkward ongoing silence both in private and in public.READ MORE SUN STORIESThe two former mates and team-mates still refuse to speak to each other.And understandably, none of Terry, Bridge nor Perroncel want to talk about the alleged affair that captured the nation.The former friends still live close to each other with their families in SurreyCredit: GettyBridge has two children with The Saturdays singer wife Frankie SandfordCredit: GettyTerry was reinstated as England captain in 2011Credit: News Group Newspapers LtdKSI brought up the Terry saga to Wayne Bridge when they faced off in the ringCredit: X formerly Twitter / @@MF_DAZNXSeries More

FORMER Chelsea star Florent Malouda has joined up with the military in French Guiana.The former winger, 44, spent six seasons with the Blues, winning the Champions League in 2012.Florent Malouda has joined up with the militaryCredit: https://www.instagram.com/fmaloudaMalouda, 44, posted a series of snaps with his colleaguesCredit: https://www.instagram.com/fmaloudaThe former winger beamed as he served in the Amazon rainforestCredit: https://www.instagram.com/fmaloudaMalouda was born in French Guiana before moving to Paris as a teenCredit: https://www.instagram.com/fmaloudaMalouda played 80 times for France, having moved from Cayenne, French Guiana to Paris as a teenager.His birthplace still holds a dear place in his heart, however, as illustrated in his latest Instagram post.The former Stamford Bridge favourite posed wearing his military gear in the Amazon rainforest.Malouda has joined the 3rd Forest Infantry Regiment’s citizens’ reserve.READ MORE IN FOOTBALLThis department is described by the French government as “system that enables civilians (often recognised in their fields) to make a voluntary contribution to promoting the values and missions of the military institution, without being military personnel themselves.”Malouda captioned his post: “While passing through the Amazon in my home territory, I was able to follow an initiation during the CEFE Authorities course of the 3rd REI at the Equatorial Forest Training Center.”Thank you to @3e_rei for this moment of cohesion and for these values of team spirit in the face of adversity. These are essential values in high-level sport.”Malouda played four times for French Guiana in 2017.Most read in FootballSUN BINGO GET £50 BONUS & 50 FREE SPINS TODAYMalouda was a brilliant winger for Chelsea across five seasonsCredit: PA:Press AssociationAs the territory is classified as part of France, the French Guiana team is not deemed a nation of its own – allowing Malouda to play for them.The winger hung up his boots in 2018 following a spell in Luxembourg with FC Differdange 03.Chelsea player ratings: Chalobah back with a bang but Sanchez drops 2/10 horror show in Wolves winHe enjoyed an incredibly decorated career, winning 12 major trophies.His Chelsea career ended in disappointing fashion, however, as he was frozen out for the entire 2012-13 campaign.Despite the manner of his exit, Malouda still appears to have plenty of love for the Blues.Just three weeks ago he posted a picture of himself wearing this season’s Blues away shirt.Malouda poses in this season’s Chelsea away shirtCredit: www.instagram.com/fmalouda More