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      in Soccer

      Gay former England footballer planning to come out blasts Qatar for being World Cup host

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      A GAY former England footballer planning to come out has blasted the decision to let Qatar host the World Cup.The ex-Premier League ace is considering openly discussing his sexuality on TV.
      As well as anti-homosexuality laws, Qatar has also been blasted over the deaths of migrant workers building football stadiumsCredit: Reuters
      And he believes the Gulf state’s anti-homosexuality laws should have prevented Fifa from staging the tournament there.
      A source said: “He thinks it was wrong to decide the tournament should be played in Qatar when they criminalise gay sexual relationships.
      “Obviously England will be taking part but he doesn’t blame them.
      He’s heartened to see the current squad of players will support the LGBTQ movement and captain Harry Kane will wear the OneLove rainbow armband.
      READ MORE ON WORLD CUP
      “He’s hoping there will be many acts of protest against Qatar’s stance on homosexuality.”
      The decision to host the showpiece, kicking off next month, in the strict Muslim country has sparked fury from LGBTQ campaigners over its appalling human rights record.
      Qatar has also been blasted over the deaths of migrant workers building football stadiums.
      Earlier this month, Gary Lineker said he knew of two gay Premier League footballers and commented it would send a strong message to Qatar if they came out during the tournament.
      Most read in The Sun
      The ex-England striker turned TV presenter added: “I know for a fact that some have been very close and contemplated it.”
      Last week, campaigner Peter Tatchell, 70, said he was “arrested and detained on the kerbside” while staging a protest in Qatar’s capital Doha, although the state’s government denied it.
      Read More on The Sun More

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      in Boxing

      Boxing can be a tough sport – but I just find it hard to walk away, reveals Tyson Fury

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      MY boxing life has been made up of two careers.The first took place between 2008 and 2015, a period in which I was unable to recognise the psychological demons dragging me down.
      Walking away from boxing is the hardest thing I have ever tried to do, says Tyson FuryCredit: instagram
      The boxer’s new autobiography Gloves Off, is out on November 10
      Tyson Fury says boxing will have a void of charisma when he finally hangs up his glovesCredit: Reuters
      They pulled on me like a rucksack full of stones, despite the fact I was on my way to becoming the heavyweight champion of the world.
      The second career kicked off in 2018 after a brutal battle with my mental health, a war I’m still locked into today.
      Through sheer will I was able to overcome my issues and return as the planet’s most entertaining pugilist.
      But then I started to think I should leave the stage while still at the peak of my powers.
      READ MORE TYSON FURY
      While I’ve long been admiral of HMS I Don’t Give A Crap, the most entertaining showman since the days of Muhammad Ali and the greatest fighter of my generation, it’s important to know that, as far as I’m concerned, boxing has always been a business with a shelf life.
      Statistically the people that stay in the game for too long have a tendency to get damaged, really damaged, and I don’t want that happening to me.
      There’s also a risk that my career has been shortened by the way in which I’ve lived my life.
      Health and nutrition was not exactly a priority for large chunks of my time as a pro: I ballooned in weight between bouts and then, during the mental health breakdown that started in 2015, I boozed, binged and tried cocaine.
      Most read in The Sun
      There was even an attempt at ending it all a year later when I pointed my Ferrari at a bridge and slammed on the accelerator, though I changed my mind at the last second and pulled ­away — thank God.
      When I eventually asked for help I was diagnosed as bipolar, paranoid and suffering from anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD).
      I later recovered, but my mental health issues remain a constant work in progress — from time to time I can have suicidal thoughts, though I now understand what’s needed to keep my demons at arm’s length.
      So while getting my face punched in for a living has put millions of pounds in the bank, a fighter needs to know when their time is ­up — and mine is near.
      Walking away from boxing may be the hardest thing I ever do.
      All I know is that I don’t want to overstay my welcome, ruin my legacy, or die from a big right to the side of the head.
      And believe me, an ending like that has felt worryingly real at times.
      I even experienced short-­term memory loss following that bruising encounter with Wilder in 2021, when, in the hours after the win, my head covered in tennis ball-­sized lumps, it was impossible to remember how many times I’d gone down.
      Everything was foggy, and the experience frightened me.
      No way do I want to end up living out my days in a wheelchair, or eating my dinners through a straw.
      I wanted to leave boxing at the peak of my powers, but have been tempted back, says Tyson FuryCredit: EPA
      Tyson Fury fully intended to quit boxing for good after beating Deontay Wilder in 2021Credit: Rex
      After that fight with Wilder, I told my promoter Frank Warren that I planned to retire.
      But then…Bang! he approached me with the opportunity to fight at Wembley Stadium in April 2022.
      Wembley was a showcase venue, an opportunity to bow out in style.
      And after the hardship and pain of the coronavirus pandemic, I felt I owed it to the fans.
      Boxing deserved a hell of a party, and with my triumph over Dillian Whyte, I gave them a showdown for the history books.
      I told the world it would take half a billion to drag me back into the ring.
      At one point, I was so confident that nobody was going to cough up the cash that I threw down a bet with Piers Morgan on live TV.
      He said, ‘How about if you do fight again, you have to give me a million pounds?’ Piers couldn’t believe his luck when I agreed, though I also knew that if there was a £500million fight on the cards, I wasn’t going to feel that sad about giving him a million of it. (Though he’ll get it in pound coins and fivers.)
      The other fight I’ve been interested in is a showdown to stop the nation in its tracks.
      Tyson says his battle with mental health is a never ending fightCredit: PA
      A match with Anthony Joshua would fall into this category, and in September 2022, I even offered to battle him in the UK with a 60-40 split in earnings.
      I wanted it to be a moment in sporting history, a fight for Britain.
      But so far we haven’t been able to make it happen.
      Now I’m due to fight Derek Chisora on December 3 — having already beaten him twice.
      Chisora and I used to be pals but when it came to my Wembley showdown against Dillian Whyte, Chisora tipped the other bloke to knock me out.
      I couldn’t get my head around that. How can you claim to be someone’s friend and then back another fighter to send him to the canvas?
      I really had no idea what was eating him at the time. Perhaps it was jealousy.
      I have a potential meeting with Oleksandr Usyk next year. I don’t rate his chances against me either.
      Sure, Usyk has beaten AJ twice now, but he’s hardly a killer.
      When I do finally retire, there’s bound to be a void in boxing, in the same way athletics got boring once Usain Bolt had disappeared from the scene — there’s no one around with the same charisma.
      With that in mind, staying on the stage is bloody tempting.
      You might be wondering, ‘Well, hang on, what about those risks you were talking about earlier — the ones that made you consider retirement in the first place?’ And sure, a purse is worthless if you die or get seriously injured in the process, but the thing is, I don’t plan on doing either of those things. I plan on winning.

      ADAPTED from Gloves Off by Tyson Fury, published by Century on November 10 in hardback and audiobook.

      MY PAL ROBBIE
      TYSON says he’s not impressed by celebrity but has bonded with stars like Robbie Williams — after he recorded a song on the singer’s Christmas album.
      Fury said: “Robbie’s a top bloke and we had plenty in common.
      Tyson says he has forged a bond with singer Robbie WilliamsCredit: instagram
      “Robbie and me are both people that have hit the top, having worked hard for something all our lives — him: pop stardom; me: the world heavyweight championship — only for the realities of our success to become massively destructive and very different to what we’d expected at the beginning.”
      Read More on The Sun
      Tyson said another “genuine” person was singer Ed Sheeran, who he met after a gig.
      He said: “We are both very similar in character. Ed is grounded.” More

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      in Boxing

      I held my baby for first time, then midwife plucked her from me – her fight inspired me to win mine, says Tyson Fury

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      TYSON Fury has revealed for the first time how the near-death of his baby daughter sparked his greatest win in the ring.Athena was born prematurely last year — just weeks before the Gypsy King’s epic 11th-round KO of Deontay Wilder.
      Tyson Fury says his daughter Athena’s fight for health inspired his boxing success
      Wilder punches Fury during the WBC Heavyweight Championship in 2018Credit: Getty
      The Gypsy King and wife Paris never gave up on daughter AthenaCredit: Richard Dash for GoPr
      Here, in exclusive extracts from his new book Gloves Off, Tyson reveals the incredible tale…
      I am The Gypsy King — a bona fide legend and a once-in-a-lifetime superhero.
      But boxing isn’t my entire world. The reality is I’m a husband, a dad, a son, a brother, an uncle.
      My family are my armour and Paris and my six beautiful kids are always in my thoughts because they’re so precious to me.
      READ MORE ON TYSON FURY
      On the eve of my 2021 fight with Deontay Wilder I slept on a hospital floor as our youngest child, Athena, fought for her life shortly after being born.
      I had a split draw with Wilder in 2018 and beat him in 2020.
      I hoped that my rematch against him in 2021 would be a Hollywood-style ending to my dark days of depression.
      But then Athena was born prematurely at the beginning of August 2021 in the Royal Lancaster Infirmary, just two months before the fight.
      Most read in The Sun
      At first everything went well with the birth. I held my new daughter for the first time, and everything was perfect.
      There had been no signs of anything being wrong during the pregnancy.
      Then the midwife plucked her out of my arms and within minutes everything was kicking off.
      Apparently her heart was beating too quickly, and at first I didn’t think anything of it.
      Then everybody around us seemed to be panicking.
      My baby’s life was hanging in the balance and my name and what I did for a living wasn’t going to change a thing.Tyson Fury
      Athena was hooked up to a machine, doctors were pushing buttons and taking readings and her heart rate had rocketed to 300 beats per minute, when it should have been closer to 120bpm, and there was nothing the nurses could do to fix the problem.
      They injected her with something that seemed to slow everything down, to around 140bpm, but then she spiked all the way up again.
      The consequences were terrifying.
      If Athena’s heart rate couldn’t be steadied she would probably die from a cardiac arrest.
      Watching the medical staff rushing around her and Paris was horrible, though I knew they were both in safe hands.
      After being born, I’d died and been resuscitated three times – the NHS had kept me going well enough.
      Still, that did little to ease the sense of total helplessness I was experiencing.
      I saw nurses sedating Athena; someone was putting a tube down her throat to assist her breathing; and while everybody seemed to be acting calmly amid the chaos, there is nothing a parent can do in a situation like that, other than to watch and pray.
      I’d been reduced to nothing.
      My baby’s life was hanging in the balance and my name and what I did for a living wasn’t going to change a thing.
      ‘TERRIFYING’
      In the end, it was decided that Athena should be blue- lighted to the Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool, and once there, her heart rate was stabilised.
      It was so hard to see her on an incubator, with several tubes and wires coming out of her body.
      She looked so tiny and vulnerable, and even though her situation had improved, the doctors were warning us we weren’t yet out of the woods.
      Athena’s heart rate was still all over the place, and at any given moment she might die.
      As Paris recovered and Athena started her battle, I bedded down in the Ronald McDonald House, an accommodation for parents attached to the hospital.
      Nothing could dissuade me: I was crashing there until Athena had stabilised. But every day my head span.
      Though it was the last thing on my mind, at some point, I was going to have to think about the upcoming fight with Deontay Wilder.
      If it was to go ahead, my preparation would have to happen at breakneck speed.
      Athena was in ICU weeks before the showdown with Deontay WilderCredit: Instagram
      Little Athena was fighting for her life while Tyson was trying to prepare for his title bout
      The boxer’s new autobiography Gloves Off, is out on November 10
      Once my schedule was pieced together, I estimated I had around four weeks to get into fighting form. It wasn’t long, but I could still make it.
      At the Alder Hey Hospital the doctors were giving Athena ­life-saving treatment.
      The good news was that she’d been taken off the incubator and there were some signs of improvement, so whenever Paris and Athena were resting, I went to work.
      To tackle Wilder, I needed to make the most of every opportunity, and a day or so after the birth, I started a jog around the hospital with Dad.
      I wasn’t in the best of shape at the time because I’d been struggling to eat well, what with being in and out of Alder Hey.
      I’d also not long recovered from Covid and my lungs felt like two sheets of sandpaper whenever I put in a shift.
      Puffing a little, I’d probably only done around three miles when my phone started ringing. It was Paris. She was hysterical.
      ‘The baby’s died,’ she screamed. ‘The baby’s dead. She’s dead. She’s dead . . .’
      I sprinted to the ward as fast as I could, fearing the worst.
      My chest burned, my legs were in agony, and as I ran I tried my best to console Paris.
      ‘It’s going to be alright,’ I panted down the phone. ‘Let the doctors do their job. Don’t worry . . .’
      It hurt me to see her in the cot, attached to a bleeping machine. Tyson Fury
      When I made it to her bedside, there seemed to be a hundred medics crowding around Athena.
      Apparently, she’d become completely unresponsive while Paris was holding her, then her heartbeat had faded away to nothing.
      Athena was resuscitated, but Paris was now losing it.
      A nurse was trying to calm her as the specialist staff went to work. I couldn’t believe what was happening.
      Eventually, to our enormous relief, and with the grace of God the doctors were able to steady Athena.
      We were told she would have to remain in hospital until she’d made a full recovery.
      In the end it would take three weeks before she was allowed home and for much of the time I slept at the Ronald McDonald House, or on the floor of the hospital ward, feeling exhausted, praying for her to pull through safely, knowing that some parents never got to take their babies home.
      It hurt me to see her in the cot, attached to a bleeping machine.
      A lot of the time Paris and me would sit there, staring at our baby.
      Keeping the worrying news from the kids was a tough job too.
      All of them were excited to meet their new sister – Venezuela, Prince John James, Prince Tyson Fury II, Valencia Amber and Prince Adonis Amaziah. We didn’t want to tell them that Athena had nearly died because we didn’t want to worry them.
      After what felt like an age, Athena had recovered enough for us to leave hospital at the end of ­August.
      I immediately went back to work, even though I probably could have postponed the fight.
      It’s not as if I didn’t have a good reason for requesting a delay.
      Sleeping rough on the floor of a hospital wasn’t the best way to prepare for anything, let alone a world heavyweight title bout against a man who was talking up my murder.
      But what was the point in looking for excuses? It was now or never. I’d had a tough time for sure, but not as tough a time as Athena – and she’d shown the strength and willpower to fight her way back to life.
      I would turn her battle into fuel.
      Read More on The Sun
      And I did. I beat Wilder with an eleventh round knockout – in one of the most epic fights of all time.
      It was Athena’s successful battle which inspired me to win mine.”

      Adapted from GLOVES OFF by Tyson Fury, published by Century on 10th November in hardback and audiobook.

      Tyson Fury v Derek Chisora for WBC & lineal Heavyweight Championship of the World will be broadcast exclusively on BT Sport Box Office. Tickets for the event at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Dec 3 are available now at ticketmaster.co.uk

      Tyson Fury and his family
      Fury recording his debut single – the Neil Diamond classic Sweet CarolineCredit: PA
      The couple with their six children More

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      in Soccer

      Ex-Man Utd player forced to close bar in Spain due to soaring costs

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      EX-footballer Lee Sharpe has been forced to close his Irish bar in Spain over soaring costs.The former Manchester United winger, 51, set up Sharpey’s when he emigrated last year.
      The former Man Utd winger has announced that his bar in Spain ‘just wasn’t working’
      But he has stepped away from the business, announcing: “As a family it just wasn’t working.”
      The property in Javea on the Costa Blanca is being advertised for rent at £2,845 a month.
      Sharpe moved as a new lockdown threat emerged in the UK.
      Renting a villa in the hills above the seaside town, he spent much of the winter playing golf.
      READ MORE ON MAN UTD
      Tourist numbers were badly hit by Covid and soaring cost of living in Britain means they have not yet recovered.
      Sharpe spent much of the winter playing golf.
      He said: “I’ve many exciting projects due to be announced this month but unfortunately I can’t talk about them yet.”
      He played for United from 1988 to 1996 and won eight England caps before retiring in 2004.
      Most read in The Sun More

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      in Soccer

      Prince William ‘has no plans’ to travel to Qatar to watch England play in World Cup next month amid human rights row

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      PRINCE William will not travel to watch England play in the World Cup next month amid a growing row over Qatar’s human rights record.The FA President, 40, had been expected to attend games in the Middle East in November.
      Prince William, the FA president and new Prince of Wales, has ‘no plans’ to travel to QatarCredit: Getty
      The news comes amid a human rights row in the Islamic stateCredit: Reuters
      Sources close to the future king blamed a busy diary during the World Cup, with England’s first game on November 21 against Iran.
      The hosts have been dogged by protests over poor conditions for stadium workers and criminalisation of same-sex relationships.
      Friends say a trip to the final if Gareth Southgate’s team get there on December 18 is unlikely and would likely only be part of a government delegation.
      Last night LGBT rights activists hailed his decision to stay away from Qatar.
      READ MORE ON WORLD CUP 2022
      In 2016, William became the first royal to appear on the cover of gay magazine Attitude, where he praised the bravery of gay, lesbian and transgender youngsters who have suffered bullying. He told the mag: “No one should be bullied for their sexuality.”
      Same-sex relationships are illegal in Qatar due to its strict Islamic rulers.
      Foreign Secretary James Cleverly was accused of being “shockingly tone-deaf” this week after warning gay fans to be “respectful” in the Middle Eastern country.
      England skipper Harry Kane is among several captains planning to wear a rainbow “OneLove” armband during the tournament.
      Most read in The Sun
      Amnesty International has also urged Fifa to pay compensation of at least £350million to stadium workers for “human rights abuses”.
      William and wife Kate’s diaries are laid out six months in advance but no space was found for Qatar.
      The couple are in Boston, US, for William’s televised £50million environmental Earthshot Prize on December 2.
      They also have a string of unannounced engagements during the tournament.
      Read More on The Sun
      Footie-mad William visited England’s training HQ in Staffs this month, and chatted with Southgate.
      A spokesman declined to comment.
      Activists have slammed Qatar for poor treatment of stadium workers and criminalisation of same-sex relationshipsCredit: Getty
      Prince William’s diaries means he is to be in Boston in early December for environmental Earthshot PrizeCredit: Getty More

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      in Soccer

      Moussa Sissoko must cough up £60,000 after footy star failed to pay energy bills at £3m London pad

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      EX-PREMIER League star Moussa Sissoko must cough up more than £60,000 after failing to pay his energy bills.The France international, who spent five years at Tottenham and played for Newcastle and Watford, racked up the debts at his £3million pad in Mayfair, London.
      Moussa Sissoko must cough up more than £60,000 after failing to pay his energy billsCredit: Richard Pelham / The Sun
      Sissoko, 33, was pursued by Yu Energy in the County Court Business Centre, which ruled he must pay £61,700.
      He and wife Marylou Sidibe moved out of the flat earlier this year.
      Sissoko, reported to earn £4million a year, is now back in France playing for Nantes.
      The company plans to pursue him in France.
      A source said yesterday: “There’s no way he can avoid the liability.”
      Most read in Football More

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      in Soccer

      England’s World Cup Wags plan mega bling holiday to Qatar – including camel racing

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      ENGLAND’S Wags aim to have a ball and shop for bling in Qatar while their fellas try to win the World Cup there.The players’ partners have already eyed up a £40,000-a-night stay at the Ritz-Carlton’s five-star Sharq Village and Spa in Doha.
      The Wags, including Sasha Attwood, plan to watch camels race on the sands
      Sasha is the glamorous girlfriend of England’s Jack GrealishCredit: Getty
      Other Three Lions family members will be holed up at the five-star Marsa Malaz KempinskiCredit: KEMPINSKI
      Up to ten aim to share its Royal Villa with ocean views, a chef’s kitchen and 24-hour butler service.
      Spa treatments include a £170 stress relief massage, should the Three Lions be taken to penalties, and a £400 facial to ease tension.
      The Wags — including Harry Maguire’s wife Fern, Jordan ­Pickford’s missus Megan, Kyle Walker’s other half Annie, Jack Grealish’s girlfriend Sasha Attwood and Declan Rice’s partner Lauren Fryer — also plan to watch camels race on the sands.
      A planned trip to Pearl Island will include visiting high end jewellery and clothing outlets.
      READ MORE WORLD CUP 2022
      A source said: “They want to see everything Doha has to offer. They’re excited about going and want to make the most of it.
      “They are going to behave themselves but this is going to be a no expense spared trip of a lifetime for them all.”
      The Wags will be staying on a £1billion cruise liner during the tournament — with other family members holed up at the five-star Marsa Malaz Kempinski.
      Their secret plans emerged after a presentation by the Football Association warned them to be on their best behaviour in Qatar where rules are strict.
      Most read in The Sun
      They were told that in public they must “dress modestly” and avoid displays of affection.
      They must not drink alcohol or swear in public, play loud music, sing, shout or act “inappropriately” during prayer calls.
      The FA delivered the non- negotiable rules at a secret ­presentation ahead of England’s 3-3 draw with Germany at Wembley last month.
      England boss Gareth Southgate is expected to name his World Cup squad in the coming days.
      Read More on The Sun
      His side are among the pre-tournament favourites.
      The Three Lions’ first group match will be against Iran in Doha on November 21 — the day after the tournament starts. More

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      in Soccer

      England ace John Stones is expecting a World Cup baby with pregnant girlfriend

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      ENGLAND ace John Stones is expecting a World Cup baby with his entrepreneur girlfriend.The Man City centre-back, 28, is expected to be named in the Three Lions squad for Qatar.
      A source said nothing would top the birth of their child, but winning the World Cup would be a way to celebrate
      It’s unlikely that Stones’s girlfriend will fly to Qatar, but he could be given permission to fly back for the birthCredit: PA
      And he could be lifting more than the Jules Rimet trophy if Gareth Southgate’s boys win it.
      Stones’ partner, Olivia Naylor, 33 — who has just launched her children’s clothing brand, Moosh — is due to give birth to their first child together towards the end of December.
      A source said: “They’re over the moon.
      “Family means the world to them. They always wanted children together and so this is incredibly special.
      READ MORE WORLD CUP 2022
      “Nothing will top the birth of his children — but winning the World Cup would be some way to celebrate.”
      Southgate is set to shortly name his 26-man squad for Qatar.
      Their first match will be against Iran on November 21 in Doha — the day after the tournament starts.
      And the final will take place on December 18.
      Most read in The Sun
      It is unlikely Olivia will travel to Qatar to watch Stones.
      But he could be given permission to fly home for the birth — as Fabian Delph was with his wife during the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
      Stones began dating Olivia months after that tournament.
      Read More on The Sun More