Soccer

FORMER Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg has revealed he once told Rio Ferdinand to send an expletive-filled message to Sir Alex Ferguson.Clattenburg refereed in the Prem between 2004 and 2017 before stints in Saudi Arabia and Europe.Mark Clattenburg revealed he asked Rio Ferdinand to tell Fergie to ‘f*** off’ onceCredit: PAFerguson and his players had a reputation for putting pressure on refereesCredit: AFPHe oversaw cup finals and crunch matches but was also famous for his occasional clashes with players.The ex-ref was ever-present when Ferguson was at his pomp in the noughties and whose Manchester United team forged a reputation for putting pressure on refs.On one occasion Clattenburg decided to try to get back at Fergie after realising his stars were trying to influence his decisions one-by-one.Clattenburg said in an appearance on The Overlap: “I remember Manchester United and how they used to do it.READ MORE IN FOOTBALL”Fergie I’m convinced used to send one player at a time because he knew if he kept sending the same player, eventually he is going to get cautioned.”I remember saying to Rio [Ferdinand] once, ‘go and tell your f***ing manager to f*** off'””And you know what he turned around and said, he said ‘I’m not telling him’.”Because you knew what they were doing. It was one after another. It wasn’t the decision, they couldn’t change that decision. It was the next one. They wanted that next decision.”Most read in FootballBEST FREE BETS AND BETTING SIGN UP OFFERSClattenburg also had a memorable altercation with Adam Lallana after telling the midfielder he had changed since playing for England.He shared the story, saying: “I remember I had a fight with Adam Lallana. I was going back to Everton after so many years, and Adam gave us dog’s abuse.Gary Neville tells Mark Clattenburg to RESIGN from Nottingham Forest role after club’s ’embarrassing’ VAR statement”I think he was frustrated at the end of the game. I used to take into account a bit if they got beat, a bit of frustration, it was Christmas so he probably had too much turkey and stuff like that. He was a bit upset.”There were some choice words said and I said to him, ‘Look, you’ve changed since you’ve played for England’. I wanted to defuse the situation. ‘You’ve f***ing changed since you’ve played for England’.”And he looked at us, and walked off. And that was that, nothing was said anymore and I thought, well I diffused that quite well, I’m happy with myself.”Next day I read the newspaper and the headline was ‘Mark Clattenburg says this to Adam Lallana’. So I get a call from Mike Riley, my boss (former head of PGMOL), and he said, ‘Did you say that?’ and I said, ‘I did, but tell him next time I’ll f***ing send him off’.”Now you see, you can’t have it both ways. If he’s giving us dog’s abuse and I’m not sending him off, why was it in the media the next day? And it could only have come from Adam Lallana, even though he’s used his club to make a complaint.”Clattenburg has switched roles since quitting refereeing and is now bossing Gladiators around on BBC1 on Saturday nights. More

MANCHESTER UNITED have responded to a fan backlash after halving pensioner discounts for next season.The Red Devils announced their season ticket prices for 2025/26 last week and confirmed that discounts for OAPs would be reduced.Manchester United have issued a statement on recent season ticket changesCredit: GettyFans have hit back after the OAP season ticket discount was slashedCredit: RexUnited increased season tickets by five per cent but have frozen Under-16 prices. The club offered pensioners a 50 per cent discount last year.But that will reduce to 25 per cent next season, a move branded a “total disgrace” by United’s 1958 fan group. United claim the 50 per cent discount was “not justifiable” due to the growing number of season ticket holders within the OAP category, which now features fans over the age of 66.READ MORE ON MAN UTDA representative for the club told The Manchester Evening News: “With a growing proportion of our season ticket-holder base within the senior category, it was not equitable, justifiable or sustainable to preserve a 50 per cent discount.”Our focus has been on ensuring affordability for the next generation of fans through our price freeze on U16 season tickets, while taking a fair approach with other concessions.”United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has recently defended his sweeping cuts at the club.Hundreds of staff have been made redundant at Old Trafford over the past few months.Most read in FootballBEST FREE BET SIGN UP OFFERS FOR UK BOOKMAKERSWhile Ratcliffe claims the club would have “run out of money by Christmas” this year without his investment. The statement continued: “Our 25 per cent senior discount is broadly consistent with most other Premier League clubs, and unlike some, we do not limit the number of concessions or areas of the ground where they are available.Paul Scholes says ‘it’s about time Manchester United caught up'”While we understand and regret the disappointment for those seniors currently receiving the higher discount, we believe this change is the best way to preserve concessionary prices for all senior fans.”We did consider phasing in the change, but felt that, having given existing recipients an additional two seasons at the 50 per cent level, and with growing numbers of fans receiving the 25 per cent discount, it was no longer sustainable nor fair to continue with a two-tier system for the same age group.”The changes to senior concessions were part of a package of measures designed to be fair and balanced for all fans when viewed in their totality, while contributing to the club’s need for increased revenues.”Had we kept the 50 per cent discount or phased in the reduction, it would have meant higher price increases for other groups to make up the lost revenues.”Man Utd ratings vs LeicesterMANCHESTER UNITED leapfrogged Tottenham into 13th in the Premier League by beating Leicester.Rasmus Hojlund was left to run in behind and shoot low into the bottom corner from an angle to open the scoring on 28 minutes.The Danish striker had not found the net since December 12 – a run of 21 matches.Alejandro Garnacho saw a goal chalked off for offside but there was no taking his snap-shot finish off him on 67 minutes.And skipper Bruno Fernandes rounded off the comfortable 3-0 win in style in the closing stages.Here’s how SunSport’s Graham Hill rated the Man Utd stars.The 1958 group staged a 15,000-strong demonstration against United’s owners before a recent home clash with Arsenal.And the group believes more price rises are on the way after Ratcliffe promised a new 100,000-seater, £2bn stadium earlier this month.In a statement, they wrote: “This also paves the way for there never being any new season tickets issued now.READ MORE SUN STORIES”It is also a stay of execution to put them up to whatever they want to if we ever move to a new stadium.”These are all stealth increases to change the optics of the 5 per cent increase across all season ticket holders. Again, penny-wise and pound foolish.” More

ROY KEANE left Ian Wright in stitches after making a joke about Thomas Tuchel’s England tactics.The Irishman was on punditry duty for ITV last night as England beat Latvia 3-0 at Wembley.Roy Keane left Ian Wright in stitches with a hilarious joke after England’s win over LatviaCredit: ITV SportIt saw new Three Lions boss Tuchel record his second win from as many games, having also beaten Albania 2-0 on Friday.The win over Latvia saw England make several changes to their starting XI, with goalscorer Reece James and Marc Guehi replacing Kyle Walker and Dan Burn in defence.Further forward, Jarrod Bowen and Morgan Rogers came in for Phil Foden and Curtis Jones.While Ebe Eze finally came off the bench before netting England’s third goal.READ MORE IN FOOTBALLTalking after the game, Keane and fellow pundit Wright discussed Tuchel’s rotation tactics.But Keane – who also picked up a prestigious award on the night – left his pal in stitches after cracking a funny joke in the process.The former Manchester United captain declared: “I’m a great believer in squad rotation.”I believed in that as a player… but once I played?Most read in FootballBEST FREE BETS AND BETTING SIGN UP OFFERS”(Rotate me?) No, not in my position. You can rotate everybody else.”Look, I see the bigger picture. But do you enough that you can’t leave me out.Man Utd legend Roy Keane is named Pundit of the Year at SJA Awards “You rotate the others, not me.”As Wright continued to laugh, fans also reacted with delight.One posted a series of chuckling emojis.While another declared: “Keane and Wrighty are the best about.” More