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      in Soccer

      England football legend avoided bankruptcy with 11th-hour payment to HMRC

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      FORMER Liverpool and England footballer John Barnes has avoided bankruptcy with an 11th-hour payment to the taxman.An HMRC official told an insolvency and companies court yesterday that the money he owed had been paid in full.
      John Barnes has avoided bankruptcy with an 11th-hour payment to the taxmanCredit: PA
      A hearing in February was adjourned to allow “settlement negotiations”.
      Megan Vanderhook, who represented HMRC, indicated that Barnes, 59, owed at least £200,000.
      She told that hearing  the ex-Watford ace had repaid £100,000.
      Barnes was not in court yesterday, instead represented by his barrister.
      Read More on John Barnes
      The Jamaica-born midfielder has since tried his hand as a manager, author, commentator and pundit.
      He was declared bankrupt in 2009 over tax debts just days after being fired as head coach at Tranmere Rovers.
      At the time, Barnes said the issue was a “tax oversight”.
      The order was later rescinded.
      Most read in Football
      According to Land Registry documents, the World in Motion rapper was also the subject of bankruptcy petitions in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2019. More

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      in Athletics

      I was an Olympic sprinter but my career unravelled when a friend used my flat as a crack cocaine lab – he betrayed me

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      A FORMER Olympic sprinter has revealed how his career unravelled when a friend used his flat as a cocaine lab.Leon Reid, 28, said he felt deceived and betrayed by pal Romaine Hyman, 31, after being sentenced following a drugs bust.
      Leon Reid has revealed how his career unravelled when his friend used his flat as a cocaine labCredit: Police Handout
      The former athletics star once competed at the Tokyo Olympics
      The talented sportsman once represented Ireland at the 2021 Olympic games, reaching the semi-finals of the 200m.
      But he was given a suspended sentence in February last year after being found guilty of allowing his flat to be used for the production of crack cocaine.
      Speaking out about his ordeal, Reid told Sky News: “I put my trust in someone and an old training partner, an old friend.
      “I feel like I’ve got really taken advantage of, especially when I was at the height of my career.”
      Read More in Sports
      Running for Northern Ireland, his major event debut came in 2018 where he scooped Bronze at the Commonwealth Games.
      By 2020 he was preparing for the Olympics in Tokyo but had to change his routine after he was delayed by the pandemic.
      Lockdown saw him come back to England, returning to a flat in Bristol that he was subletting to a friend.
      Reid maintains while he was out training, Romaine was using the flat to produce crack cocaine.
      Most read in Athletics
      And he insists that the first he knew about it was when cops arrived.
      In May 2020, Reid was arrested as part of an operation led by the South West Regional Organised Crime Unit, taking down an encrypted communications service.
      The former Olympic star said: “It’s obviously really upsetting.
      “It’s been everything I’ve tried to get away from my whole life (drugs) and getting put back into that sort of that circle, it was just nothing that I had ever dreamed that I’d ever be involved in, ever.”
      While awaiting trial, he was still able to go to the Olympics – after appealing against an Irish deselection decision – and made the 200m semi-finals in Tokyo in 2021.
      But his trial last year saw a conviction for allowing his flat to be used for the production of cocaine and receiving payment, which text messages showed to be £500.
      Reid was ordered to carry out community service while Hyman was jailed for 26 years after being found guilty of 18 offences in the crackdown on his attempt to build a drugs empire.
      “I was there training for the Olympics. I was at the peak of my career,” Reid recalled.
      “I wasn’t really focused on my friend. He was doing his work-out in the apartment, which obviously he said it was forex trading and things like that, which I’ve got no interest in.”
      And Reid said his one-time friend was “making sure I was out of the apartment” before cooking drugs.
      ‘DESTROYED MY CAREER’
      He continued: “I was on a WADA drug list, so even if I touched a door handle that did have traces of drugs on, I would get a positive drug test and I would fail that, and I would lose my career. So I was in no position to risk that on any scale.”
      Reid maintains he was “too nonchalant about the whole situation” while doing a favour for a friend, insisting: “I didn’t need the money.”
      He had gained status, sponsors and success which all abandoned him after his conviction.
      A return to the Commonwealth Games was also blocked last year when he was deemed a security risk by Birmingham organisers.
      A regretful Reid said: “It destroyed my career. And also my reputation.”
      Now, he hopes to use his misfortune to help those still in professional sport by forming a mentoring business.

      “I fought my demons of the past two years,” Reid says.
      “I’ve had the no sleep nights and the cry myself to sleep. But now I’m looking forward to the future.”
      Reid said he was betrayed by friend Romaine Hyman who he had no idea was using his flat to cook drugsCredit: Police Handout
      Bands of cash were also found at the apartmentCredit: Police Handout More

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      in Soccer

      EFL chairman found guilty of fraud and facing prison and losing club ownership after five-year investigation

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      FLEETWOOD TOWN Chairman Andy Pilley has been found guilty on four counts of fraud following an eight-month trial.BES Utilities – the firm owned by Pilley – stood accused of multi-million pound fraud involving the mis-selling of energy supply contracts to small businesses. 
      Pilley has been found guilty on four counts of fraudCredit: Mark Robinson – The Sun
      And on Friday, the 52-year-old was found guilty on all the charges, which include two counts of running a business with the intention of defrauding creditors, one count of false representations, and one count of being concerned with the retention of criminal property.
      Pilley’s sister, Michelle Davidson, 49, as well as Lee Qualter, 52, and Joel Chapman, 38, were also found guilty of a number of fraud offences.
      The Fleetwood Chairman was remanded in custody after the jury delivered their unanimous verdict.
      The presiding judge, Judge Knowles KC, has indicated that he will likely face a prison term when he is sentenced on May 23. 
      Read More on Football
      After the verdict was announced on Friday, Fleetwood Town released an official statement which read: “Fleetwood Town Football Club acknowledges the verdict in the court case involving club Chairman, Andy Pilley.
      “The Chairman would like to reassure supporters the club will continue to operate as normal.
      “Today’s verdicts will not affect the running or future of Fleetwood Town Football Club. 
      “The club is already in talks with the EFL regarding the next steps and will be making no further comment at this time.”
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      An additional statement read: “Fleetwood Town would like to reassure supporters the Club will continue to operate as normal and there will be no risk to the future of the club.
      “The Club’s Senior Management Team and directors have been planning for a number of months for the event of a verdict of this nature.
      “A meeting of the Club’s management has taken place this evening and plans are already in operation to ensure its business as usual.
      “We’d like to reassure supporters charges are solely brought against Andy Pilley and not Fleetwood Town Football Club or any of the businesses attached to the group.
      “Talks have already taken place with the EFL and an announcement regarding the next step will be made in due course.”
      Pilley was charged with the allegations in September 2021 following a five-year investigation into BES Utilities, which has been Fleetwood Town’s main sponsor for 18 years.
      The Fishermen finished the 2022-23 campaign 13th in the League One table. More

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      in Soccer

      Premier League star Odsonne Edouard caught driving with no licence in Audi RS Q8 after 5 speeding offences in 2 weeks

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      PREMIER League star Odsonne Edouard has been caught driving without a licence after raking up five speeding offences in two weeks.The Crystal Palace striker, 25, was snapped illegally behind the wheel of his Audi RS Q8, prompting police to seize the car.
      Crystal Palace’s Odsonne Edouard has appeared in court after being snapped driving without a licence or insuranceCredit: Getty
      Edouard first caught the cops’ attention while driving through London with a French number plate and “heavy” tinted windows.
      The force ran a check on the car and found it had a list of speeding offences.
      When the footballer was pulled over he couldn’t show a licence or insurance.
      Edouard recently appeared in the Bromley magistrates court and was slapped with a fine of more than £1,000 – with points being added to his licence.
      Read more on football
      The Evening Standard reported Sergeant James Stead told the court: “My automatic number plate recognition system alerted me that the vehicle was known for speeding offences.”
      Speaking about when the footballer was pulled over in August, the officer said: “He only had a picture of the front of a French driving licence, but had no sort of insurance.
      “Mr Eduoard showed us a digital image of one side of a French driving licence, but did not have it on him physically, and could provide no other proof of having a driving licence.”
      The Sergeant added that he had trouble explaining what was happening to Edouard as he “spoke limited English”.
      Most read in Football
      A police database showed the car had also built up five speeding offences in just two weeks.
      Edouard, who has landed 10 goals since a 2021 switch to the Premier League, did not enter a plea or engage with the court but was found guilty of driving without a valid licence and insurance.
      He was given eight points, a £660 fine, and ordered to pay £100 in costs and a £264 victim surcharge.
      A lawyer for the player told the Standard that Edouard was unaware of the court proceedings and said that a legal challenge is now being planned.
      He was prosecuted through the single justice procedure, and sentenced in a behind-closed-doors hearing at the end of March.
      Crystal Palace declined to comment on the striker’s court case. More

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      in Soccer

      Ex-Manchester City and England star Micah Richards caught speeding in his Rolls-Royce and fined £1,000

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      FORMER England and Manchester City football ace Micah Richards has been given a four-figure fine after being caught speeding in his Rolls-Royce.The ex-Premier League defender, now a regular BBC and Sky Sports pundit, was nabbed by a camera travelling 5mph over the limit in a 30mph zone.
      Ex-England international defender Micah Richards pleaded guilty to speedingCredit: Rex
      Richards, 34, was caught last August 3 on the B6165 near Knaresborough in North Yorkshire – a short 20-minute drive from his home in the village of Nidd.
      And he has now pleaded guilty before Harrogate magistrates to one count of speeding – receiving a £666 fine, but also told to pay a £266 victim surcharge and £90 court costs, making a total £1,022.
      Rolls-Royce driver Richards also had three penalty points added to his licence.
      The Birmingham-born ex-international, who grew up in the Leeds suburb of Chapeltown, previously revealed how he was frequently pulled over by cops when returning to the city.
      Read More On Micah Richards
      He has also spoken out about the racism his family suffered when he was growing up in West Yorkshire.
      Since leaving life as top-flight footballer and retiring in 2019, Richards has been dubbed “Mr Monopoly” by friends after amassing a multi-million-pound property empire.
      He regularly appears on BBC1’s weekly Match Of The Day football highlights programme as well as podcast shows alongside presenter Gary Lineker and fellow pundits such as Alan Shearer.
      And when featuring on Sky and BT Sport he provides post-match analysis with the likes of former Manchester United and Republic of Ireland captain Roy Keane, Liverpool and Scotland’s Graeme Souness and Tottenham Hotspur and England legend Glenn Hoddle.
      Most read in Football
      Richards was at City’s Etihad Stadium on Wednesday night as a CBS Sports analyst for his old club’s 4-0 triumph over Spain’s Real Madrid, winning 5-1 on aggregate to reach the UEFA Champions League final next month against Italy’s Internazionale who knocked out local rivals AC Milan.
      Richards came through the youth ranks at Manchester City, helping them win the FA Cup in 2011 and the Premier League the following year, before later stints with Italian Serie A club Fiorentina and back in England with Aston Villa.
      He scored one goal in 13 appearances for England and also played for the Team GB football side at the London 2012 Olympics.
      Richards warned budding young footballers last December about the dangers of becoming rich overnight – telling of his lavish spending sprees after hitting the big time.
      He recalled buying supercars such as a Ferrari F430 and a luxury mansion in the footballers’ paradise of Hale in Greater Manchester – as well as splashing out more than £100,000 on a single night out.
      Richards played 245 times for Manchester City and won 13 England caps
      Micah Richards’ luxury car collection has included his Rolls-Royce, an Aston Martin and this £130,000 Bentley ConvertibleCredit: Eamonn and James Clarke
      Richards has also splashed out on a £200,000 Ferrari 458 Speciale, parking it here outside the restaurant Rosso in Manchester city centreCredit: Eamonn and James Clarke More

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      in Soccer

      Brit footballer ‘carried out sex attack on sleeping woman then went to training’, court hears

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      A SCOTS footballer went to training after an alleged sex attack on a sleeping woman.Salim Kouider-Aïssa, 27, is claimed to have inappropriately touched the 23-year-old at a flat in Kirkintilloch, East Dunbartonshire, on October 31 2021.
      Salim Kouider-Aissa in action for AirdrieCredit: SNS
      The star in action for Partick ThistleCredit: The Sun
      The woman said she went to a spare bedroom alone and was “shocked” to wake up to the Airdrie forward with hands on her.
      Kouider-Aïssa told a jury that he initially went in the same bed to have a “good sleep.”
      He added that he believed the woman was awake and consenting before carrying out a sex act on her.
      Kouider-Aïssa, also of Kirkintilloch, denies the single charge of sexual assault at Glasgow Sheriff Court.

      The court heard Kouider-Aïssa played for Airdrie at Alloa that day – picking up an injury.
      He initially went home to Kirkintilloch before picking up friends in Glasgow’s west end.
      The footballer drove the men to friend Scott Spinelli’s flat where they drank and listened to music.
      The alleged victim and another woman later joined the men at the flat.
      Most read in Football
      Jurors were told that the woman went to Mr Spinelli’s spare bed.
      The court heard Kouider-Aïssa was told by Mr Spinelli to stay in the living room.
      The woman said: “I woke up and I could feel someone behind me, that’s when I realised what he was doing.”
      She described that Kouider-Aïssa intimately touched her.
      She added: “I woke up really shocked, I went into bed myself and was shocked to have someone behind me.
      “I was shouting ‘what are you doing’ and he said ‘I thought you were awake, what have I done’.
      “I didn’t really know what to do, he went to get my friends for me.
      “They came rushing in…he told them that he thought I was awake.
      “It wouldn’t matter if I was as there was no consent.”
      Kouider-Aïssa stated in his evidence that he had difficulty sleeping on the couch.
      He said his reason for entering the bed beside the woman was to “get a good sleep.”
      Kouider-Aïssa claimed that the woman brushed his legs and put her leg over his, before he stroked her leg.
      He said: “I was questioning myself if she was awake.”
      Kouider-Aïssa stated the woman turned his back to him before spooning her then kissed her on the neck.
      He added that he went on to carry out a sex act on her stating: “I had belief she was consenting by the way she was moving about the bed, moving her body to me.”
      Kouider-Aïssa stated after the woman woke up and confronted him, he told Mr Spinelli: “I’ve f***ed it, I thought she was awake.”
      Kouider-Aïssa claimed he waited in his car before contacting teammate Max Currie.
      He said: “It was about 8am and Max came and picked me up and we went to get changed (at his flat) for physio.
      “I went to training, it was a Sunday, the football was on so I went to my uncle’s house to watch football.”
      Kouider-Aïssa handed himself into the police that night.
      Mr Allan said “You entered the bedroom of a stranger while she was sleeping?”
      He replied: “Yes.”
      Mr Allan asked what steps Kouider-Aïssa took to check that getting into bed was okay with the woman.
      He replied: “None.”
      Mr Allan said: “There is one easy way to make sure she was awake isn’t there?”
      Kouider-Aïssa: “I suppose so.”
      Mr Allan: “You didn’t ask her if she was awake during any of this?”
      Kouider-Aïssa: “No.”
      Kouider-Aïssa stated that he believes the woman was asleep after hearing the woman’s position at court.
      He later said: “There obviously has to be doubts, to this day, it’s been a while since… I still have a reasonable belief that she was awake for the last part and giving consent as well as that’s obviously why we are here.”

      The trial continues tomorrow before Sheriff Matthew Jackson KC.
      Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page More

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      in Boxing

      Troubled boxing champion Scott Fitzgerald is jailed after KOing man outside pub in drink and drug-fuelled rampage

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      FORMER boxing champion Scott Fitzgerald has been jailed after floored a man outside a pub with a single punch.The Commonwealth gold medallist attacked Leevi Francis in a drink and drug-fuelled rage.
      Scott Fitzgerald has been jailed for punching a man to the ground outside a pubCredit: Reuters
      Leevi suffered a broken jaw and a cut below his eyebrow after being knocked unconscious outside the Grand Junction in Preston, Lancashire.
      Fitzgerald has now been jailed for 46 weeks after he pleaded guilty to GBH on the first day of his trial.
      Preston Crown Court heard how the boxer had been drinking all afternoon and smoked cannabis on November 27 last year.
      CCTV footage showed him “bouncing around the pub” before he went into the pool room.
      Read more news
      Landlady Kirsty Allen kicked him out after he stamped on the floor hard close to the pool table.
      After being shoved outside by a group of drinkers, Fitzgerald first confronted another man.
      Seeing this, Leevi stepped in to help and was punched to the ground by the British light-middleweight champion.
      He lay unconscious for around a minute before being taken to hospital.
      Most read in Boxing
      In a victim impact statement, Leevi said a plate inserted into his jaw causes him pain at night as he told how he lost two stone after being left unable to eat.
      He also revealed he has suffered socially since the attack and feels anxious about his son’s boxing hobby.
      Ayaz Qazi, defending, told the court how Fitzgerald’s successful career, which saw him win a gold medal for his country in 2014, was blighted by his drink and drug use.
      The lawyer said he is now banned from professional boxing but has remained sober while being kept on remand in custody.
      Mr Qazi added: “He is utterly aghast and ashamed of the way he was behaving, this loutish and disorderly behaviour in public.”
      Sentencing, Judge Richard Archer said Fitzgerald using his fists was the equivalent of using a weapon in a fight.
      He said: “You know, as somebody who is supposed to be trained to control aggression and channel it for the purposes of professional sport, that when to behave that way – even by your own admission under the influence of drink and drugs – is entirely unacceptable.
      “You risk very serious consequences for your victim.
      “A professional boxer who under the influence is unable to charge the power in those fists could all so easily have rendered a man not just unconscious, but dead.
      “It is fortunate you are not facing a much more serious charge. There are many people who face those charges based on a single blow.”
      The sentence is the latest drama in the boxer’s troubled personal life.

      In 2021, worrying pictures emerged of super-welterweight champ lying on the street outside a pub.
      Fitzgerald took to social media to reassure fans after promotor Eddie Hearn voiced his concerns over the pictures.
      The boxer had been kicked out of a pub after drinking and taking drugsCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd
      The British light-middleweight champion pleaded guilty to GBHCredit: Getty
      He has struggled with drinking and drugs, his lawyer saidCredit: Getty More

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      Cardiff WILL lodge £80million legal action against Nantes over Emiliano Sala death as club look at Tevez precedent

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      CARDIFF CITY have confirmed they will lodge an astonishing £80million-plus legal action against Nantes over the transfer of Emiliano Sala – just as The Sun first revealed.The club has been taking detailed legal advice for many months on this landmark case, more than four years after the tragic death of the Argentinian striker in the plane crash in January 2019.
      Cardiff are lodging an £80m legal action against Nantes over the transfer of Emiliano SalaCredit: Getty
      The striker tragically died in a plane crash travelling from the France to Wales in 2019Credit: AFP
      After failure to get satisfaction with Fifa, the Sport of Arbitration and the Swiss Federal Tribunal, the Championship club will next week lodge their legal papers in the French courts.
      A Cardiff statement said yesterday: “The Swiss Federal Tribunal has decided the Court of Arbitration for Sport does not have jurisdiction to deal with Cardiff City’s claim for damages against FC Nantes.
      “This is not a surprise and the club has already prepared separate legal action against them which will be started straight away.”
      They maintain that “FC Nantes must be held responsible for the accident” which they allege was “organised by their agent” Willie McKay who organised the ill-fated flight with a pilot who did not have a commercial licence, did not have the appropriate papers to fly at night, and who was actually a part time DJ and plumber!
      READ MORE EFL NEWS
      The Welsh club added the legal action will be to “recover what the club paid for Emiliano and additional damages for further consequential losses”.
      They were forced by Fifa to pay the full £15m transfer fee, despite claims that he was not properly registered as a Cardiff player, but the main compensation claim will be the cost of relegation from the Premier League £100m minus the £20m parachute payments.
      Fifa originally imposed a three-window transfer embargo when Cardiff refused to pay the first instalment of the £15m fee.
      Cardiff failed in their appeal to CAS in January and agreed to pay £7m to enable the embargo to be lifted.
      Most read in Championship
      Now, as first reported in The Sun, the club’s legal team will formally go ahead with a massive compensation claim on the basis that Sala’s death was negligent, and their legal documents might even refer to the tragic death as ‘manslaughter’.
      The Carlos Tevez affair at West Ham is a precedent Cardiff City believe backs their £80m ‘relegation’ compensation claim.
      Sheffield United won £26m compensation 15 years ago, the cost they claimed for relegation.
      Cardiff feel their case is strengthened by the tape recording where pilot David Ibbotson revealed the plane was in such a “dodgy” state that he feared for his life in the journey from Nantes back to Cardiff.
      Ibbotson was so scared that he said he wanted to wear a life jacket as he had no idea why a loud and scary bang had occurred on the first flight and he told a friend that would be the last chat between them such was the shoddy state of the the Piper Malibu plane.
      Ibbotson had been hired by pilot David Henderson, who served a jail sentence for his part in the scandal, who had in turn taken instruction from Willie McKay, whose son Mark, had the mandate for the transfer from Nantes.
      Cardiff dropped out of the Premier League by just one point, and they argue that a new striker would have saved them from the drop, the cost of relegation was £100m plus, minus parachute payments of £20m.
      The Sala tragedy came too late for Cardiff to buy an alternative striker as the transfer window closed.
      Only a few Sala goals might have kept Cardiff up, just the way that vital Tevez goals saved the Hammers. More