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    Former Aston Villa striker John Carew facing two years in prison and £45k fine after pleading guilty to fraud charges

    FORMER Aston Villa striker John Carew is facing TWO YEARS in prison and a £45,000 fine after pleading guilty to fraud charges.The punishment was requested by the prosecution in his case at the Oslo District Court. 
    Carew is facing two years in prison and a hefty fineCredit: PA:Empics Sport
    The prosecution insist Carew, 43, had plenty of opportunities to correct information given to the authorities, but chose not to. 
    Police attorney Ragna Flaekoy Skjakodegard said: “Carew has had many, many opportunities to correct the information given to the tax authorities.”
    However, Carew says his actions were the result of poor advice from friend, lawyer and former agent Per A. Flod. 
    The ex-Norway international said Flod’s advice led him to not disclose income and assets from outside of his home country.
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    In his most recent court appearance, Carew said: “I trusted him blindly.
    “I have been convinced that he was right. He controlled me almost like a puppet.
    “I understand that it is grossly negligent of me to trust him so much, but that is why I have done it.”
    Carew spent over 15 years as a professional footballer.
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    The overwhelming majority of his earnings were made abroad, having played for the likes of Valencia, Roma, Lyon and Besiktas. 
    However, the ex-striker is best known for his time in England.
    He played for Aston Villa for four years, West Ham for one, and spent half a season on loan at Stoke. 
    Carew represented his nation 91 times, scoring 24 times.
    He also won Norwegian footballer of the year on three occasions. More

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    Holland legend Mark van Bommel ‘feared for his life’ after smashing £100k Porsche escaping carjacker armed with a GUN

    FORMER Holland star Mark van Bommel has smashed up his £100,000 Porsche – while escaping a gun-toting carjacker.The Royal Antwerp boss has led his side to second in the Belgian league this season.
    Mark van Bommel coaches Royal AntwerpCredit: EPA
    But the 45-year-old reportedly feared for his life when parking in the garage below his city apartment on Monday night.
    Former Bayern Munich midfielder Van Bommel told police a man pointed a pistol at him and told him to get out of the car.
    The panicked manager tried to reverse out of the garage, slamming into a parked Mercedes and setting off the cars’ alarms.
    The would-be robber fled amid the confusion.
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    Antwerp police have seized Van Bommel’s Porsche Panamera to check whether criminals fitted it with a tracking device.
    Spokesman Wouter Bruyns said: “Our teams searched the area, but they were unable to find a suspect.
    “Nobody was injured in the incident.”
    A tight-lipped Van Bommel admitted: “It was quite a shock, that’s for sure.”
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    Prosecutors have opened an inquiry.
    World Cup star Van Bommel also played for Barcelona, AC Milan, PSV Eindhoven, Wolfsburg and Fortuna Sittard.
    The 79-cap midfielder went on to manage PSV and Wolfsburg before taking charge of Antwerp in May.
    His squad includes former Premier League stars Toby Alderweireld, Vincent Janssen, Ritchie de Laet and Bjorn Engels. More

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    Benjamin Mendy’s ‘fixer’ took teen girl, 17, on ‘date to Nando’s before asking her about his penis size’

    A FRIEND of Premier League footballer Benjamin Mendy raped a teenage girl after a first date at Nando’s, a court has been told.Louis Saha Matturie told the then-17-year-old he was a football agent and, after the meal, took her to his flat, exposed himself and asked if he had the “biggest d***” she had seen, Chester Crown Court heard.
    Louis Saha Matturie at Chester Crown Court where he is charged with multiple rapes and sexual assaultsCredit: Andy Kelvin / Kelvinmedia
    Manchester City footballer Benjamin Mendy also faces several chargesCredit: Andy Kelvin / Kelvinmedia
    Manchester City defender Mendy, 28, and his pal and “fixer” Matturie, 41, deny a series of rapes and sexual assaults.
    The jury watched a police interview of the last of 13 complainants, who told officers about the alleged rape between July 22 and August 30, 2012.
    She said she saw Matturie while clubbing in Manchester, swapped numbers with him and arranged a date at the chicken restaurant.
    She said he later drove the pair to his south Manchester flat, where they sat on a bed and kissed before he took his penis out.
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    “He just had it out, fully exposed,” she said.
    “I just remember saying, ‘No. I don’t want to have sex.’
    “I wasn’t really feeling it. I didn’t really fancy him.
    “I just remember him wanting to have sex. I felt like I had to have sex with him because he had it out.
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    “I just thought, ‘It’s got to this stage now.’ I felt obliged.
    “I remember him saying, ‘Is this the biggest d*** you have ever seen?’
    “And I remember looking at him and saying, ‘No.’
    “Like, I’m disgusted and numb. Repulsed.”
    The woman said she went to the toilet, cried and texted her mum to say she would be back soon.
    Matturie later drove her home.
    After news of Mendy and Matturie’s arrest last August, the woman said a friend sent an article about it to a group chat on her phone.
    She told officers: “I thought, ‘Oh, my God!’ I felt sick and knew that I needed to say what I know.
    “I just replied and said, ‘I went on a date with him once.'”
    ‘I FELT SICK’
    Earlier, the court heard from a friend of another woman, 18 at the time, who alleges Matturie sexually assaulted her at the home of a footballer in Sheffield in 2016.
    She said Matturie was the organiser of parties in Manchester, sometimes involving footballers, and contacted young women through Snapchat and Instagram.
    She said there would be “no more” than five men at the events, with 10 or 15 girls invited and around 10 parties held during lockdown at a flat near Manchester city centre.
    After Mendy’s arrest, she said Matturie rang her.
    She told the jury: “He said, ‘Don’t believe what’s in the newspapers. These are girls, not women’ – something along those lines – and he’s told his boys to keep their heads down.”
    Prosecutors say Mendy is a “predator” who “turned the pursuit of women for sex into a game”, while Matturie allegedly had the job of finding young women for sex.
    Mendy, of Mottram St Andrew, Cheshire, denies seven counts of rape, one count of attempted rape and one count of sexual assault against six young women.
    Matturie, of Eccles, Salford, denies six counts of rape and three counts of sexual assault relating to seven young women.
    Both men say if any sex did take place with women or girls it was consensual.
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    None of the women involved, as sexual assault complainants, can legally be identified.
    The trial was adjourned until next Monday morning. More

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    Man denies murdering Tyson Fury’s cousin Rico Burton, 31, after he was stabbed outside bar

    A MAN has today denied murdering Tyson Fury’s cousin in a knife attack outside a bar.Rico Burton, 31, was stabbed to death in a 3am “bloodbath” in Altrincham, Greater Manchester, in August.
    Rico Burton was stabbed to death after a night out
    Liam O’Prey has been charged with murderCredit: Facebook
    A 17-year-old man, believed to be a relative, suffered significant life-changing injuries.
    Liam O’Prey, 21, appeared at Manchester Crown Court today to deny a charge of murder.
    He also pleaded not guilty to wounding with intent in relation to the teen.
    O’Prey, wearing a grey jumper, admitted possession of a bladed article and possession of cocaine.
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    He was remanded in custody ahead of a provisional trial date of February 6 next year.
    Ex-youth boxing star Rico had been watching the Anthony Joshua and Oleksandr Usyk fight with pals on August 20 before they moved to a different pub in leafy Altrincham.
    Emergency crews were scrambled to the Goose Green area early the next morning after a fight allegedly broke out.
    Rico was rushed to hospital but sadly couldn’t be saved and was declared dead shortly after.
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    Officers arrested O’Prey and a 20-year-old man on suspicion of murder following the horror.
    The second suspect has been released on bail pending enquiries.
    Fury previously called on the government to “bring higher sentencing for knife crime” after his cousin was “stabbed in the neck”.
    The heavyweight boxing champion wrote on Instagram: “My cousin was murdered last night, stabbed in the neck.
    “This is becoming ridiculous… idiots carry knives. This needs to stop.”
    He added: “ASAP, UK government needs to bring higher sentencing for knife crime.
    “It’s a pandemic and you don’t know how bad it is until one of your own.
    “Life is very precious and it can be taken away very quick. Enjoy every moment.”
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    Steve Egan, 60, chief coach at Jimmy Egan’s Boxing Academy where Rico trained, described him as a “lovely lad” and a “fantastic boxer”.
    He added: “We are all devastated.”
    Tyson Fury paid tribute to his cousin after the horrorCredit: Getty More

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    Benjamin Mendy ‘victim’ claims she was branded fat by England star Raheem Sterling

    AN alleged victim has told the Benjamin Mendy rape trial she was branded fat by England star Raheem Sterling.The woman said the pair clashed at a party, one of several she attended along with Premier League players.
    An alleged victim has told the Benjamin Mendy rape trial she was branded fat by England star Raheem SterlingCredit: Andy Kelvin / Kelvinmedia
    Asked if former Man City star Sterling called her fat, the alleged victim responded: ‘Yes’Credit: Reuters
    Asked if former Manchester City star Sterling, 27, called her fat, she responded: “Yes.”
    Her friend was said to have retaliated by calling the star, now with Chelsea, a “four-foot gnome”.
    The incident was referred to at the trial of Man City ace Mendy and his pal Louis Matturie, 41.
    The woman says she was 18 when Matturie groped her at one party.
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    Both Mendy, 28, and Matturie deny a string of rape and other charges.
    The trial continues at Chester crown court.
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    Girl ‘screamed “rape, rape” at Benjamin Mendy party before being told to “shut up” by Louis Saha Matturie’

    A WOMAN told the trial of Premier League footballer Benjamin Mendy she saw and heard a girl screaming “rape, rape” at a party attended by the player.His co-accused, Louis Saha Matturie, then started shouting at the woman to “shut up” as police banged on the door to break up the lockdown-busting gathering last year.
    Premier League footballer Benjamin Mendy is currently on trial after denying multiple rape and sexual assault chargesCredit: Andy Kelvin / Kelvinmedia
    Mendy’s co-accused Louis Saha Matturie also denies a number of chargesCredit: Andy Kelvin / Kelvinmedia
    The witness has accused Matturie of sexually assaulting her at a property in Sheffield in late 2016, the jury at Chester Crown Court heard.
    Both Manchester City footballer Mendy and his friend and “fixer” Matturie deny a series of rape and sexual assaults on young women.
    The woman told the jury the party took place at an apartment on Chapel Street near Manchester city centre at the end of January last year.
    She said the young woman had been in an upstairs room with other people, but she did not know who.
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    She told police the woman came out of the room “screaming her head off, shouting, ‘rape, rape'”.
    The witness told officers Matturie, who was downstairs at the time then, “grabbed the girl and told her to shut up”.
    The court heard the police arrived and were banging on the door as the party was during lockdown.
    Officers were asking other party-goers about the girl but she had left the flat before police got in, the witness told the jury.
    Most read in The Sun
    Earlier, the witness told the jury she was 18 and living and working in Sheffield when she began to socialise with footballers and was then sexually assaulted by Matturie.
    Later she began to socialise in Manchester from 2020 onwards and went to numerous parties, some attended by footballers, the “majority” of which took place during lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic, she said.
    The court heard of a different party at the same apartment on Chapel Street in December 2020 attended by Mendy and his then team-mate, Raheem Sterling.
    She was sat on a sofa and ex-Liverpool, now Chelsea winger, Sterling was passing by and tripped over her foot.
    Lisa Wilding KC, defending Matturie, asked the witness: “He tripped over you and he was aggressive with you?”
    The witness agreed and said Sterling called her “fat”.
    Ms Wilding continued: “And you were cross about that?
    “One of your friends called him a four-foot gnome and properly insulted him and you felt better?”
    The witness replied: “Not cross but confused as to why anyone can be aggressive to someone when tripping over a foot. Non-intentional.”
    Prosecutors have alleged Mendy is a “predator” who “turned the pursuit of women for sex into a game”, while Matturie, his friend and “fixer”, is alleged to have had the job of finding young women for sex.
    Mendy denies seven counts of rape, one count of attempted rape and one count of sexual assault against six young women.
    Matturie of Eccles, Salford, denies six counts of rape and three counts of sexual assault relating to seven young women.
    Both men say if any sex did take place with women or girls it was consensual.
    Most read in Football
    None of the women involved, as sexual assault complainants, can be identified.
    The trial was adjourned until tomorrow morning. More

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    AC Milan ace Hernandez’s ‘house burgled while wife and baby son are indoors’ just days after Juventus’ Di Maria targeted

    THEO HERNANDEZ has become the latest Serie A star to have his house burgled. It comes after Juventus’ Angel Di Maria saw his home broken into earlier in October.
    Theo Hernandez pictured with wife Zeo CristofoliCredit: Splash
    Hernandez’s wife and child were present when the break-in occurredCredit: https://www.instagram.com/p/CjLAtQMjjHq/?hl=en
    According to a report from Italian outlet Repubblica, a gang of thieves entered the home of the AC Milan star while he was absent from the property on Tuesday night.
    However, it is understood Hernandez’s wife, Zoe Cristofoli, and their six-month-old son were present during the ordeal.
    Once inside the robbers are said to have forced her to open a safe.
    Repubblica have reported that while the full amount is yet to be revealed, the sum is likely to be worth in the thousands of euros.
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    Thankfully, Hernandez’s family are not thought to be physically hurt – although they are shaken up.
    Investigators in Milan have since spoken to Cristofoli and are now looking into the details.
    Initial findings indicate the plan was well-organised, with the perpetrators waiting until Hernandez had left his home before climbing over the fence and breaking in.
    Ex-Manchester United star Di Maria was also targeted by thieves this month, with one of the suspects being arrested following an alarm sounding.
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    FREE BETS AND SIGN UP DEALS – BEST NEW CUSTOMER OFFERS
    Di Maria has also been a victim of break-ins during his spells at United and Paris Saint-Germain.
    Specialised thieves are understood to frequently target luxurious homes in Milan, Turin and Naples. More

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    Mason Greenwood is released on bail after facing a month behind bars before trial over attempted rape and assault

    MASON Greenwood has been released on bail ahead of his trial for attempted rape and assault.On Monday the Manchester United striker, 21, was told he would spend over a month behind bars after initially being denied bail.
    Mason Greenwood has been granted bail ahead of his trial for attempted rape and assaultCredit: AFP
    The Manchester United striker was initially denied bailCredit: PA
    A black Audi sports car is driven away from HMP Berwyn after Mason Greenwood is granted bailCredit: CHRIS NEILL
    But his lawyers overturned the order following a brief private hearing at Manchester’s Minshull Street Crown Court today.
    The footballer, who didn’t attend the hearing, has been released from prison after the decision by judge John Potter.
    His bail conditions state that he’s not to contact witnesses and must reside at his home address in Bowden, Greater Manchester.
    The footballer will make his next appearance at the same Crown Court on November 21.
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    The striker had been held in custody since he was charged on Saturday.
    On Monday Greenwood’s alleged victim was seen being supported by a female pal as she sat outside the courtroom.
    The alleged offences relate to one woman and are said to have taken place between November 1, 2018, and October 15, 2022.
    Greenwood is accused of “repeatedly engaging” in controlling and coercive behaviour for almost four years.
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    These include making threats and derogatory comments on social media.
    He is also charged with attempting to rape her on October 21, 2021.
    Attempted rape carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment if convicted.
    The striker also allegedly assaulted her between December 12, 2021, and December 31, 2021.
    Police swooped on the footballer’s £15,000-a-month rented home in Trafford on Saturday.
    Greenwood was held on suspicion of being in contact with his alleged victim in a breach of his bail conditions.
    The Crown Prosecution then authorised Greater Manchester Police to charge the footballer.
    The striker has been waiting to discover his fate since he was first held in January this year.
    Manchester United released a statement after Greenwood’s charge was announced.
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    A spokesperson said: “Manchester United notes that criminal charges have been brought against Mason Greenwood by the Crown Prosecution Service.
    “He remains suspended by the club, pending the outcome of the judicial process.”
    Greenwood will make his next court appearance on November 21 More