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I’ve never been happier to make an a*** of myself – I was completely wrong about Arteta at Arsenal, says Piers Morgan

by Philippa Kaur 11 January 2023, 19:45

WHAT has been the worst prediction in history?
“A rocket will never be able to leave the Earth’s atmosphere”, declared the New York Times in 1936.
Mikel Arteta has the fans and players believing in a title winCredit: Alamy
The ‘All or Nothing’ series on Amazon helped Arteta show off his processCredit: Amazon Prime
Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka have been key to the Gunners’ success this yearCredit: Getty
Sun columnist Piers Morgan admits he was wrong about Arteta as Arsenal manager
“It’ll be gone by June”, pronounced Variety magazine about Rock ‘n’ Roll in 1955.
“Next Christmas, the iPod will be dead, finished, gone, kaput”, opined Lord Sugar in 2005. (The iPod went on to sell another 400million units).
All worthy candidates. But I’d like to add my own staggeringly bad contribution to the ignominious reverse-Nostradamus list.
In May 2022, after Arsenal lost 3-0 to Spurs in the North London Derby, I said Mikel Arteta should be sacked as manager.
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I complained the massive new three-year contract he had been given the previous week was “a reward for abject failure” and “utterly ridiculous”.
I then spent the rest of the season reiterating that this was a diabolical decision and he just didn’t have what it takes to lead a great club.
For all his tough-guy talk and endless “trust the process’ bulls**t”, I said firmly, “Arteta’s been a demonstrable failure at Arsenal”.
Now, at the time, these weren’t quite the woefully irrational thoughts they appear today.
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Arsenal had dropped out of the top four, been dumped from both domestic cups by February, and had not even qualified for any European competition, not even the one nobody can remember the name of that nobody wants to be in (That’s the Europa Conference League, Ed.)
But then, in the summer, everything changed. Arteta signed top-class proven winners Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko from his old club Manchester City, and brought back a matured William Saliba from loan at Marseille. I was encouraged by these signings but still not wildly over-excited.
In my predictions for this season, on these very pages, I said that Tottenham would finish higher than us in the Premier League.
I explained: “It kills me to put Spurs above Arsenal but I fear they have a stronger, smartly reinforced squad, the best strike-force duo in Harry Kane and Son Heung-min, and, in their magnificently volatile manager Antonio Conte, a natural-born winner who, unlike Arteta, will view coming third as humiliating failure.”

Watch Piers Morgan Uncensored weekdays on Sky 526, Virgin Media 606, Freeview 237, Freesat 217 or on Fox Nation in the US

To be fair to myself, I also predicted Erling Haaland would win the Golden Boot, Cristiano Ronaldo would quit Manchester United, Thomas Tuchel would self-implode at Chelsea, Southampton would fire Ralph Hasenhuttl and VAR would be villain of the year . . .
Well, it’s mea culpa time, and I’m talking a Grand Canyon-sized one.
First, I was completely wrong about Arteta. More pleasingly, I was also completely wrong about Spurs and Conte. And as we head into another North London derby this Sunday, I’m happy to admit I’ve never been happier to make a predictive arse of myself.
Arsenal’s transformation from mid-table mediocrity to a properly competitive team again has been stunning to watch.
And it’s all down to Arteta, who if I’d had my way would have been abruptly sent packing eight months ago.
The Spaniard has shown he most definitely does have what it takes, and we saw his progression first-hand in Amazon’s All or Nothing documentary series about the club.
At the start, when Arteta was making the players shut their eyes and hold each other’s hands, and playing them You’ll Never Walk Alone on a little radio during training before we got thrashed by Liverpool, I totally understood why big names like Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang thought he was bonkers and out of his depth.
But as the series went on, I watched Arteta grow in confidence, and saw his fiery heartfelt passion for all things Arsenal.
I also saw him win the respect of his players and of the fans.
The defining moment for me came when Arteta invited long-time club photographer Stuart MacFarlane to motivate the team in the dressing room before the North London derby in September 2021.
MacFarlane looked at the players and bellowed: “This is my club. I f***ing love this football club. And I f***ing love all of you. When you go out, first f***ing tackle, listen to the crowd. They will f***ing be on you straight away. Win every tackle.
“When you score, look in their faces. Look at their emotion, look how much they love you.
“Show them how much you love them, OK?”
Photographer Stuart McFarlane motivated the players ahead of a North London derby in 2021Credit: amazon prime
Arsenal extended Arteta’s contract last summerCredit: Amazon Prime Video
I loved that and so did the players, who did what they were told and won 3-1, with Arteta hugging MacFarlane at the final whistle.
When I watched all that play out in the Amazon doc, I began to trust Arteta’s process.
I understood he needed more time than I’d been prepared to give him, to build a team in his image — one with discipline, tenacity, flair and a winning mentality. And now he has it.
Arteta’s Arsenal has become a thrilling side, bursting with fabulous youthful talent like Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli, supported by a rock-solid goalkeeper and defence, and the twin towers of Thomas Partey and Granit Xhaka in midfield.
And in Martin Odegaard, he’s found a natural-born leader with Bergkamp-esque ability to run a game.
We may not win the League because City’s oil-rich squad is so vast in comparative world class.
But we’ve got a great chance because Arteta believes we can, his players believe we can and the fans believe we can.
I’ve never heard the Emirates this loud or united.
As for Spurs, they have done what Spurs usually do, but what I thought they’d stop doing under Conte — and bottled it.
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I wouldn’t swap any of their players for our first XI on Sunday, apart from Kane and that’s only because Jesus is injured. I predict a big Arsenal win and Conte to throw his touchline toys out of the pram.
And to Arteta, I say: I’m sorry for doubting you, Mikel. You’re the real deal. Keep up the great work.
Arsenal lead the Premier League by five pointsCredit: Colorsport
The Arsenal squad firmly believe in his methodsCredit: Amazon Prime Video More

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I had a very strong opinion on Southgate when he took over as England manager… but I’ve completely changed my mind
by Philippa Kaur 12 December 2022, 16:34
WHEN Gareth Southgate was appointed England manager six years ago, one pundit was incensed.
“There are legions of better managers than Southgate in the world,” he raged on talkSPORT.
Piers was initially not impressed with Gareth Southgate was appointed England bossCredit: Getty
The Sun columnist had dismissed Southgate as the ‘easy option’
England’s Harry Kane and manager Southgate look dejected after England were eliminated from the World CupCredit: Reuters
“The objective should be dragging the England team out of its abyss and dragging us kicking and screaming under the tutelage of a brilliant, dynamic new manager into the next phase of our existence. Instead, we’ve gone for the easy option, the cheap option by the strict criteria of: he’s got to be English and barely useless, and I don’t get it.”
The furious pundit added: “I only know Southgate as the guy who starred in pizza adverts when England were humiliated in the past.”
Who on earth was this half-witted imbecile, I hear you cry.
Well, confession time…. it was me!
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I wasn’t the only one unimpressed.
“I like Gareth Southgate,” said Harry Redknapp. “He’s a great lad, but what’s he done?”
We were both wrong to doubt him.
Southgate has become the second most successful England manager ever, after 1966 World Cup winner Sir Alf Ramsay.
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He’s managed 81 games, winning 49 of them and boasting a 61.3% win percentage, and he guided us to a World Cup semi-final in 2018 and the 2020 European Championship final.
But now, after England crashed out to France in the quarter-final stage of this year’s World Cup, the criticism has moved from “what’s he done” to “what’s he won?”
It’s a legitimate question.
I’ve always believed that high-level football is about winning trophies, otherwise what’s the point of competing?
Watch Piers Morgan Uncensored weekdays on Sky 526, Virgin Media 606, Freeview 237, Freesat 217 or on Fox Nation in the US
But as we collectively lick our wounds after another bitter Three Lions disappointment, the important questions for me are these:
Could Southgate have done any more to succeed in Qatar?
Can he drive this team to glory in the next big tournament, the 2024 Euros in Germany?’
And I think the honest answers are “No, and yes.”
I thought England were excellent in this World Cup, fully justifying our billing as one of the favourites.
With the exception of our tepid performance against USA, we were thrillingly good in demolishing Iran, Wales and Senegal.
And we went toe-to-toe superbly well with current world champions France, a team packed full of players who’ve won far more big trophies at club and international level than our boys.
In the end, we were done in by a shockingly bad referee, and by a rare moment of technical failure from our captain Harry Kane, who is statistically one of the world’s best penalty-takers and who’d already smashed one in earlier in the game.
I also think the French showed marginally more experience when it really mattered, as you would expect from an older group of players, many of whom won the last World Cup.
Piers was reminded of Southgate’s infamous pizza advertCredit: PA:Press Association
Southgate has become the second most successful England manager ever, after 1966 World Cup winner Sir Alf RamsayCredit: PA:Empics Sport
But there was a lot to be proud of, not least the way we nullified Kylian Mbappe, the best striker on the planet.
Trust me, our defeat won’t look so bad when – as I believe they will – France win it again this time.
So, Southgate has made us a team that can consistently compete with the best out there.
And when you consider how young so many of his brightest stars are – Bellingham, 19, Saka, 21, Foden, 22, Mount, 23, and Rashford and Rice, both 25 – then the future looks very exciting.
It’s not just on the pitch that Southgate has impressed me.
He’s also created a side that behaves impeccably, and respectfully, and shows an awareness of social issues that does them great credit, even if I find some of the armband-wearing virtue-signalling a bit overdone and pointless.
Their team spirit is terrific, and they all seem to carry themselves with a maturity beyond their years.
That’s down to Southgate, a thoroughly decent and thoughtful man who wants his players to do their country proud both with a ball and without it.
Aside from the fact that there are few credible English (I now agree we should have a home-grown boss) options, I genuinely believe he will win us a trophyPiers Morgan
A year into his tenure, I met Southgate at an awards show.
“How’s the world’s most difficult, thankless job going?”, I asked.
“It’s…interesting!”, he smiled.
“What’s been the biggest surprise?”
“When you’re an England player, you return to your club after a game and focus moves to that. But when you’re the England manager, the media attention, criticism and pressure never stops.”
“You realise that unless you win a trophy, you’ll be mocked, abused, deemed a failure and unceremoniously sacked.”
Southgate chuckled. “I do, yes…thanks for reminding me, though.”
I met him again just before last year’s Euros when expectations were running feverishly high that England might finally bring it home.
“Pressure’s on now,” I laughed. “It’s a fine line between hero and halfwit in your job…”
“And in yours,” he retorted.
“Do you really believe we can be Champions?” I asked.
“Yes,” he replied, emphatically, fixing me with a steely-eyed glare of supreme confidence.
The certainty with which he said it made me believe it too, and we very nearly did.
Southgate, still only 52, is not just a nice guy with a good sense of humour and proper values.
He’s also proved himself to be an excellent manager, in charge of a group of very talented young players who want him to continue.
I do, too.
Aside from the fact that there are few credible English (I now agree we should have a home-grown boss) options, I genuinely believe he will win us a trophy.
And despite not winning one in six years, I don’t see many people mocking him, abusing him, branding him a failure – or angrily demanding he be sacked.
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Gareth Southgate’s made a lot of critics, including me, eat our sceptical words.
He’s earned the right to carry on.
When you consider how young so many of his brightest stars are – Mount, 23, Bellingham, 19, and Saka, 21, then the future looks very excitingCredit: Getty
There was a lot to be proud of, not least the way we nullified Kylian MbappeCredit: Richard Pelham / The Sun More
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Disrespectful Man United have betrayed me & made me a black sheep, says Ronaldo in explosive Piers Morgan interview
by Philippa Kaur 13 November 2022, 21:00
CRISTIANO Ronaldo has had enough.
He’s had enough of the sniping, the sneering, and the endless blame-game bulls*** that’s been flung at him over the past few months.
Ronaldo sat down for a sensational 90-minute TV interview with Piers
The footballing superstar has spoken out amid a turbulent season with UnitedCredit: Reuters
In April, Ronaldo and his partner Georgina suffered the unbearable loss of their baby son
It’s come from the media, his bosses, work colleagues and even former team-mates.
Above all, he’s had enough of the lack of basic respect that he feels he’s due after winning 32 trophies, including five Ballon d’Ors, five Champions Leagues, seven league titles in four different countries, and a Euros with Portugal.
Ronaldo, 37, is the highest goal scorer in football history and for me, and many more qualified to pass judgment such as Zinedine Zidane and Carlo Ancelotti, the greatest to ever play the game.
He’s also the most-followed human being on Instagram, the modern-day metric of star power, and is about to pass half a billion followers.
READ MORE FROM PIERS MORGAN
But right now he feels angry, and disrespected, and he’s not going to stay silent any longer.
As he prepares to fly to Qatar for his fifth — and almost certainly last — World Cup, he wants to have HIS say.
We sat down for a 90-minute TV interview for my show Piers Morgan Uncensored that is by far the most explosive he has ever given.
Ronaldo finally sets the record straight about what he calls the “most difficult period of my life”, both professionally and personally.
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He says he feels “betrayed” by the way he has been treated by Manchester United, annoyed that he’s been made a “black sheep” who is blamed for everything that has gone wrong at the club, and believes he is now being actively forced out.
At work, he has had three bosses in just over a year.
For the first, his former team-mate Ole Gunnar Solskjaer who was sacked just weeks after Ronaldo returned, he has nothing but respect.
For the other two, Ralf Rangnick and current manager Erik ten Hag, he has little good to say.
Of Rangnick, who had not managed a football team for over a decade, he says: “If you’re not even a coach, how are you going to be the boss of Manchester United? I’d never even heard of him.”
I don’t have respect for him because he doesn’t show respect for me.Ronaldo on Erik ten Hag
Of Ten Hag, who suspended Ronaldo last month for refusing to come on as a last-minute substitute against Tottenham, he says: “I don’t have respect for him because he doesn’t show respect for me.
“If you don’t have respect for me, I’m never gonna have respect for you.”
As for some of his most vociferous critics, like another former team-mate Wayne Rooney who has publicly attacked Ronaldo for months and urged United to get rid of him, he is witheringly scornful of their headline-grabbing motives.
Watch Piers Morgan Uncensored weekdays on Sky 526, Virgin Media 627, Freeview 237, Freesat 217 or on Fox Nation in the US
He says: “I don’t know why he criticises me so badly . . . probably because he finished his career and I’m still playing at high level.”
Then he chuckles and adds: “I’m not going to say that I’m looking better than him. Which is true . . . ”
At home, back in April, he and his partner Georgina suffered the unbearable loss of their baby son during childbirth, a heart-breaking tragedy in which the boy’s twin sister survived.
Somehow, he found the strength to continue playing, fuelled in part by the astonishing support he received from fans of rival clubs such as Liverpool, where the crowd sang You’ll Never Walk Alone on the seventh minute (Ronaldo wears No 7 on his shirt) of their next home game.
Ronaldo told Piers he does not respect Man Utd manager Erik ten Hag
Ronaldo, pictured with his family, feels ‘betrayed’ by the way he has been treated by United
He admits: “I never expected to see that.”
He and Georgina also received a personal note of condolence from the Royal Family, which amazed and touched him in equal measure.
Shockingly, he was less well supported by his club who he accuses of a lack of “empathy”, especially when his three-month-old daughter was hospitalised in July, and he could not return on time for pre-season training because he wanted to stay with her.
Ronaldo says senior executives at Old Trafford even doubted him when he explained why he couldn’t return, which made him feel “hurt” and “bad”.
This wasn’t how the fairy tale was supposed to end.
It was just over 14 months ago that Ronaldo sensationally re-signed for Manchester United in a comeback story that stunned and enthralled the world of football.
He was heading to United’s great rivals Manchester City when a personal appeal from his great mentor and father figure, Sir Alex Ferguson, drove him back to where he started.
This wasn’t how the fairy tale was supposed to end.Piers Morgan
“I followed my heart,” he says simply, tapping his chest. “He (Sir Alex) said to me, ‘It’s impossible for you to come to Manchester City’, and I said, ‘OK, Boss’.”
In his first game back at Old Trafford, the self-styled “Theatre of Dreams”, he scored twice in a thumping 4-1 victory over Newcastle, cheered on in the stands by Sir Alex and Ronaldo’s ecstatic weeping mother.
The delirious United fans chanted “Viva Ronaldo” for hours after the game.
As his team-mate Marcus Rashford tweeted that night: “Like he never left.”
But very soon, cold, hard reality hit. This was a very different Manchester United to the club he first departed in 2009.
Or rather, to his dismay, it was just the same, and hadn’t moved on at all, and was now run by what he perceives to be inferior people to those who ran things before.
He was shocked by the lack of improvements to training facilities, from the pool and the gym to the kitchen (nutrition and diet), and in technology.
“The progress was zero,” he sighs. “Since Sir Alex left, I saw no evolution in the club. Nothing had changed.”
And he was dismayed by the dismissive attitude of many of the younger players, who seemed to have no interest in learning the lessons he had gleaned in his magnificent career.
Since Sir Alex left, I saw no evolution in the club.Ronaldo on Man Utd
Most pertinently, he was disillusioned to find that, after years of failure and stagnation, United could no longer sign the world’s very best players, making their chance of winning top trophies much harder.
“I think the fans should know the truth,” he says. “I want the best for the club. This is why I come to Manchester United.
“But you have some things inside that don’t help (us) reach the top level as City, Liverpool and even now Arsenal . . . a club with this dimension should be top of the tree in my opinion and they are not unfortunately.”
At the centre of his discontent is that Ronaldo hates losing and wants to operate in a winning environment — of the kind he doesn’t believe exists at United now and may need drastic steps to fix, including him leaving.
He says: “As Picasso said, you have to destroy it to rebuild it (the artist’s exact quote was: ‘Every act of creation is first an act of destruction.’) and if they start with me, for me, it’s not a problem.
“I love Manchester United, I love the fans, they’re always on my side. But if they want to do it different… they have to change many, many things.”
As for what Sir Alex thinks of the current situation, Ronaldo says: “He knows better than anybody that the club is not on the path they deserve to be.
“He knows. Everyone knows. The people who don’t see that… it’s because they don’t want to see; they are blind.”
I first interviewed Cristiano three years ago in Turin, Italy, when he was still playing for Juventus, and we ended up having a four-hour dinner together.
Since then, we’ve become very unlikely but very good friends. We text and speak a lot, and he has always been incredibly honest with me.
He’s a very smart, likeable guy who has given a lot of careful thought to doing this interview.
I’ve felt the frustration and anger building inside him for many months.
Ronaldo takes his football very seriously — and winning even more seriously.
You don’t get to have all the trophies and records he has without possessing a ferociously strong and resilient mentality, a relentless work ethic, a stupefyingly intense competitive spirit, and an unshakeable self-confidence that you’re No 1.
For someone like Ronaldo to suddenly find himself at a club that isn’t competing for top silverware, and where he has been dropped, benched, snubbed, scolded and even last month, for the first time in his career, suspended, has hit him hard.
Not least because last season he was the club’s leading scorer with 24 goals.
He doesn’t expect any special treatment, but he does expect to be treated with the respect he feels he has earned.
Ronaldo takes his football very seriously — and winning even more seriously.Piers Morgan
When our interview finished, Georgina arrived with an excited gaggle of their young children, who instantly all ran to their father and clung on to his legs.
To see Ronaldo with his kids is a joy; he showers them with the same love and affection that his mother has always showered on him.
He said: “My family is everything to me. Even more so after what we have been through this year.”
Earlier, on camera, he made a breathtakingly poignant revelation about his dead son that had me choking up.
I can’t imagine living my life in the constant frenzied goldfish bowl with which Ronaldo has to lead his, where everything he does or says is so intensely scrutinised, often harshly, around the planet.
To have to do it after suffering the shocking tragedy of losing a child must be astoundingly hard.
But he doesn’t want anyone to feel sorry for him.
He knows that he is a very lucky man with a beautiful family, vast wealth, and a God-given talent that’s made him one of the most celebrated and famous sports stars in history.
Jaw-dropping
Instead, he wants people to understand what he has experienced this year, and to hear it directly from him, not through ill-informed rumours.
The interview, as viewers will see, is jaw-dropping because we so rarely see or hear him like this.
I’m not sure how this saga ends, other than it’s hard to see how Cristiano Ronaldo can return to Manchester United after this.
But for now, he wants to focus on the World Cup, and “win it for Portugal”, and then come back and resolve things with United, one way or another.
Whatever happens, he made it clear to me that his heart will always be with the club and especially its fans.
He says: “They are the most important things in football. You play for them.
“They are always on my side. I feel that every time when I go out, when I walk in the streets, the fans come up to me and they appreciate what I do for football.
“The fans for me are everything. This is why I give this interview, because I think it’s the right time to speak my mind.”
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It’s some mind, and it’s some interview.
YOU can watch it all on Piers Morgan Uncensored on TalkTV in a two-part special on Wednesday and Thursday nights at 8pm.
The legendary goalscorer says he feels the support of United’s fansCredit: Getty
Sun columnist Piers Morgan says Ronaldo is the greatest to ever play the game
You can watch it all on Piers Morgan Uncensored on TalkTV in a two-part special on Wednesday and Thursday nights at 8pm More
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in Athletics
Mo Farah lied to my face in front of millions of people – but I’ve never been more proud of my friend, Piers Morgan says
by Aurelia Butler 13 July 2022, 20:28
SEVEN years ago, Mo Farah looked me straight in the eye in front of millions of people – and lied through his back teeth.
We were sitting just a few feet away from each other in a London TV studio, recording a lengthy interview for my show Life Stories.
Sir Mo Farah became a British hero when he won double gold at the London 2012 Olympics. Pictured as he crosses the line in the 10,000m finalCredit: PA
Piers Morgan interviewed Mo for his Life Stories seven years ago – but the truth behind the athlete’s childhood has only just come outCredit: ITV
Piers says Mo is even more of a hero than we thought now that he has revealed his full story
And during an emotion-charged encounter, Mo – now Sir Mo – spoke very movingly about coming to Britain from war-torn Somalia with his mother and several siblings to be reunited with his father Muktar who was already here working as an IT consultant in London.
There was only one problem with this touching reunion tale: it was all untrue.
Mo’s father, whose real name was Abdi, had died four years before in Somalia’s civil war.
And his now world-famous son, the first British track and field athlete to win four Olympic gold medals, has sensationally revealed that he was in fact illegally trafficked to the UK under a false name, and made to work as a domestic servant from the age of just nine.
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“Most people know me as Mo Farah, but it’s not my name, or it’s not the reality,” he told a BBC documentary that airs tomorrow night.
“The real story is I was born in Somaliland, north of Somalia, as Hussein Abdi Kahin. Despite what I’ve said in the past, my parents never lived in the UK. When I was four, my dad was killed in the civil war. I feel like I’ve always had that private thing where I could never be me and tell what’s really happened.”
Mo’s appalling ordeal only ended when he finally told his school PE teacher who contacted social services and helped him be fostered by another Somali family.
From that moment, his life took a dramatic turn for the better and a relieved, liberated and much happier Mo never looked back as he ran himself into Olympic legend.
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murder after wife, 29, found dead in undergrowth
Now, finally, he feels able to reveal the truth about what happened to him.
To say I was gob-smacked by his bombshell confession is the understatement of the Millennium.
In preparation for all my Life Stories interviews, I would spend days immersing myself into the deepest recesses of the subject’s life.
By the time I sat down with Mo in May 2015, I had carefully studied every significant media interview he’d ever given, and read his 2013 autobiography, Twin Ambitions.
Watch Piers Morgan Uncensored weekdays on Sky 526, Virgin Media 627, Freeview 237, Freesat 217 or on Fox Nation in the US
It’s no exaggeration to say that, as with many of the guests, I probably knew more about him than he would be able to remember about himself.
Yet it turned out I didn’t know the half of it, and Mo’s real life story was far more shocking and extraordinary than I could ever have imagined.
No wonder his first words to me when the cameras rolled were: “I’m really nervous because I’ve never talked about my life…”
Thinking back to that show again today, it’s strange and uncomfortable to remember Mo tell me about being reunited with his father in London, and about his difficult relationship with him after that, knowing what I know now.
Some interviewers might feel cheated or angry a guest lied to them so spectacularly on prime-time TV.
But I don’t.
WHO COULD BLAME HIM?
I’ve got to know Mo well since the interview; we’re fellow Arsenal fans and sometimes sit together in a mutual friend’s box at the Emirates stadium.
He’s a great guy – smart, passionate, fun and a devoted family man to his wife and children.
But he’s clearly been living in a terrible mental prison camp about the horrifying experiences of his youth, and never felt strong enough to say what really went down or share it with the British people who took him to our hearts.
Who could blame him for not wanting us to know how he really came here?
Imagine the sickening nagging worry he must have had for 30 years, as his success and fame rocketed, that the truth might one day come out about his unlawful immigrant status and he could lose both his British citizenship and with it, the knighthood that means so much to him?
If anyone has earned the right to stay here then it is surely Sir Mo FarahPiers Morgan
In the BBC documentary, barrister Allan Briddock tells Sir Mo his nationality was ‘obtained by fraud or misrepresentations’ due to the illegal trafficking and his use of a false name, and that legally, it can therefore be removed.
Thankfully, the Home Office – currently planning to send asylum seekers on a one-way ticket to Rwanda – has moved quickly to say it will be not taking any action against him.
I should bloody well think so!
If anyone has earned the right to stay here then it is surely Sir Mo Farah, a man who overcame so much personal tragedy and hardship to light up world athletics and be rewarded for his astonishing success with a sword-tap on the shoulder from his grateful Queen.
INCREDIBLE STORY
In our Life Stories interview, I asked Mo about the racist cynics who questioned his right to call himself British and he replied: “Everyone’s entitled to their opinions, but at the same time it’s what you feel in your heart, and for me this is my country, I see myself as British, I’ve done well for my country.
“It is amazing, as a kid not being able to speak English, and to achieve what I have, it’s incredible.”
It was incredible then, based on what we thought we knew about his life.
Today, it seems even more incredible.
A nine-year-old boy who lost his dad to war, couldn’t speak English, and was illegally trafficked here into a shameful form of domestic slavery, fights back from horrible adversity to become one of Britain’s greatest sporting stars.
What a life!
What a story!
I just wish I’d known about it seven years ago…
Last night, when the news dropped, I texted him to say: “Mo, what an amazing story, so courageous of you to finally tell it. Just sending my support.”
“Thanks so much mate!” he replied, sounding like a true Brit.
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Sir Mo opens up about his story in a BBC documentary The Real Mo FarahCredit: BBC
He is reunited with his mother Aisha on the showCredit: BBC
The Olympic hero appeared on Piers’ show seven years ago and admitted he was nervous to talk about his lifeCredit: Rex
Sir Mo was knighted by the Queen in 2017 for his Olympic heroicsCredit: PA
Piers and Mo have got to know each other well since the interviewCredit: Getty More
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in Athletics
Mo Farah lied to my face in front of millions of people – but I’ve never been prouder of my friend, says Piers Morgan
by Aurelia Butler 12 July 2022, 19:02
SEVEN years ago, Mo Farah looked me straight in the eye in front of millions of people – and lied through his back teeth.
We were sitting just a few feet away from each other in a London TV studio, recording a lengthy interview for my show Life Stories.
Sir Mo Farah became a British hero when he won double gold at the London 2012 Olympics. Pictured as he crosses the line in the 10,000m finalCredit: PA
Piers Morgan interviewed Mo for his Life Stories seven years ago – but the truth behind the athlete’s childhood has only just come outCredit: ITV
Piers says Mo is even more of a hero than we thought now that he has revealed his full story
And during an emotion-charged encounter, Mo – now Sir Mo – talked very movingly about coming to Britain from war-torn Somalia with his mother and several siblings to be reunited with his father Muktar who was already here working as an IT consultant in London.
There was only one problem with this touching reunion tale: it was all untrue.
Mo’s father, whose real name was Abdi, had died four years before in Somalia’s civil war.
And his now world-famous son, the first British track and field athlete to win four Olympic gold medals, has sensationally revealed that he was in fact illegally trafficked to the UK under a false name, and made to work as a domestic servant from the age of just nine.
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Sun;font-size:18px;line-height:1.333;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:0%;font-stretch:normal;display:inline;}.css-bq4915:hover:not(:disabled){-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}RON THE WAY OUT .css-8h3gc3{margin:0;padding:0;color:rgba(34,37,38,1);-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;font-family:The Sun;font-size:18px;line-height:1.333;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:0%;font-stretch:normal;display:inline;}.css-8h3gc3:hover:not(:disabled){-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}Ronaldo’s quitting Utd as he’s in a team of Love Island wannabes says Piers
“Most people know me as Mo Farah, but it’s not my name, or it’s not the reality,” he told a BBC documentary that airs tomorrow night.
“The real story is I was born in Somaliland, north of Somalia, as Hussein Abdi Kahin. Despite what I’ve said in the past, my parents never lived in the UK. When I was four, my dad was killed in the civil war. I feel like I’ve always had that private thing where I could never be me and tell what’s really happened.”
Mo’s appalling ordeal only ended when he finally told his school PE teacher who contacted social services and helped him be fostered by another Somali family.
From that moment, his life took a dramatic turn for the better and a relieved, liberated and much happier Mo never looked back as he ran himself into Olympic legend.
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Now, finally, he feels able to reveal the truth about what happened to him.
To say I was gob-smacked by his bombshell confession is the understatement of the Millennium.
In preparation for all my Life Stories interviews, I would spend days immersing myself into the deepest recesses of the subject’s life.
By the time I sat down with Mo in May 2015, I had carefully studied every significant media interview he’d ever given, and read his 2013 autobiography, Twin Ambitions.
Watch Piers Morgan Uncensored weekdays on Sky 526, Virgin Media 627, Freeview 237, Freesat 217 or on Fox Nation in the US
It’s no exaggeration to say that, as with many of the guests, I probably knew more about him than he would be able to remember about himself.
Yet it turned out I didn’t know the half of it, and Mo’s real life story was far more shocking and extraordinary than I could ever have imagined.
No wonder his first words to me when the cameras rolled were: “I’m really nervous because I’ve never talked about my life…”
Thinking back to that show again today, it’s strange and uncomfortable to remember Mo tell me about being reunited with his father in London, and about his difficult relationship with him after that, knowing what I know now.
Some interviewers might feel cheated or angry a guest lied to them so spectacularly on prime-time TV.
But I don’t.
WHO COULD BLAME HIM?
I’ve got to know Mo well since the interview; we’re fellow Arsenal fans and sometimes sit together in a mutual friend’s box at the Emirates stadium.
He’s a great guy – smart, passionate, fun and a devoted family man to his wife and children.
But he’s clearly been living in a terrible mental prison camp about the horrifying experiences of his youth, and never felt strong enough to say what really went down or share it with the British people who took him to our hearts.
Who could blame him for not wanting us to know how he really came here?
Imagine the sickening nagging worry he must have had for 30 years, as his success and fame rocketed, that the truth might one day come out about his unlawful immigrant status and he could lose both his British citizenship and with it, the knighthood that means so much to him?
If anyone has earned the right to stay here then it is surely Sir Mo FarahPiers Morgan
In the BBC documentary, barrister Allan Briddock tells Sir Mo his nationality was ‘obtained by fraud or misrepresentations’ due to the illegal trafficking and his use of a false name, and that legally, it can therefore be removed.
Thankfully, the Home Office – currently planning to send asylum seekers on a one-way ticket to Rwanda – has moved quickly to say it will be not taking any action against him.
I should bloody well think so!
If anyone has earned the right to stay here then it is surely Sir Mo Farah, a man who overcame so much personal tragedy and hardship to light up world athletics and be rewarded for his astonishing success with a sword-tap on the shoulder from his grateful Queen.
INCREDIBLE STORY
In our Life Stories interview, I asked Mo about the racist cynics who questioned his right to call himself British and he replied: “Everyone’s entitled to their opinions, but at the same time it’s what you feel in your heart, and for me this is my country, I see myself as British, I’ve done well for my country.
“It is amazing, as a kid not being able to speak English, and to achieve what I have, it’s incredible.”
It was incredible then, based on what we thought we knew about his life.
Today, it seems even more incredible.
A nine-year-old boy who lost his dad to war, couldn’t speak English, and was illegally trafficked here into a shameful form of domestic slavery, fights back from horrible adversity to become one of Britain’s greatest sporting stars.
What a life!
What a story!
I just wish I’d known about it seven years ago…
Last night, when the news dropped, I texted him to say: “Mo, what an amazing story, so courageous of you to finally tell it. Just sending my support.”
“Thanks so much mate!” he replied, sounding like a true Brit.
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Sir Mo opens up about his story in a BBC documentary The Real Mo FarahCredit: BBC
He is reunited with his mother Aisha on the showCredit: BBC
The Olympic hero appeared on Piers’ show seven years ago and admitted he was nervous to talk about his lifeCredit: Rex
Sir Mo was knighted by the Queen in 2017 for his Olympic heroicsCredit: PA
Piers and Mo have got to know each other well since the interviewCredit: Getty More
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Pitch-invading morons will get a player killed – here’s what I’d do with these idiots, says Piers Morgan
by Philippa Kaur 23 May 2022, 17:33
IT takes a special kind of moron to assault a goalkeeper who’s just let in three goals in five minutes, so your team wins the Premier League.
Manchester City fans should have been chanting Robin Olsen’s name in delight and demanding he get the freedom of the city and a statue outside the Etihad stadium.
Aston Villa goalkeeper Robin Olsen was assaulted by Man City fans in disgraceful scenes yesterdayCredit: Getty
The goalie is helped off the pitch after being deliberately struck at least three times in the chaotic aftermath of City’s title win
Piers Morgan says dangerous pitch invaders must be stopped – before a player ends up being killed
Instead, Olsen was deliberately struck at least three times in the immediate chaotic aftermath of the final whistle as thousands in the delirious crowd stormed the pitch.
The video of the intimidation he experienced is frightening.
He was left completely defenceless to the wild mob charging around him, fending off blows as several stewards desperately try to get him to safety.
Shamefully, this wasn’t even the worst fan attack on a player in the past week.
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.nk-headline-heading{color:rgba(71,30,121,1);}.css-1uyse24:before{content:”;top:0;right:0;bottom:0;left:0;overflow:hidden;position:absolute;z-index:1;}.css-n392go{border-width:0 1px 1px 1px;border-style:solid;border-color:rgba(155,201,183,1);padding:12px;max-height:104px;min-height:98px;}.css-1p5s3t0{padding:0;border-width:0 1px 1px 1px;border-style:solid;border-color:rgba(155,201,183,1);padding:12px;max-height:104px;min-height:98px;}.css-124tga5{overflow:hidden;-webkit-line-clamp:3;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;display:-webkit-box;word-wrap:break-word;line-height:1;}.css-5jzxpx{overflow:hidden;-webkit-line-clamp:3;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;display:-webkit-box;word-wrap:break-word;line-height:1;}.css-i1acvs{margin:0;padding:0;color:rgba(34,99,73,1);text-transform:uppercase;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;font-family:The Sun;font-size:18px;line-height:1.333;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:0%;font-stretch:normal;display:inline;}.css-i1acvs:hover:not(:disabled){-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}FAN SHAME .css-8h3gc3{margin:0;padding:0;color:rgba(34,37,38,1);-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;font-family:The Sun;font-size:18px;line-height:1.333;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:0%;font-stretch:normal;display:inline;}.css-8h3gc3:hover:not(:disabled){-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}Moment Villa keeper ‘assaulted’ by Man City pitch-invaders as police launch probe
Last Tuesday night, a boozed-up Nottingham Forest thug charged across the pitch and headbutted visiting captain, and former Forest star, Billy Sharp.
The footage makes it very clear he did it on purpose, and Sharp – who wasn’t playing due to injury, so was standing on the touchline – was lucky to escape with just a sore bruised head and a few stitches. People have died from headbutts like that in the street.
Sharp’s attacker, Robert Biggs, 30, was jailed for 24 weeks and ordered to pay £500 compensation to Sharp.
“Cases such as this will hopefully serve as a deterrent to anyone thinking of getting involved in violent disorder at football matches,” said assistant chief constable Rob Griffin of Nottinghamshire Police.
Last week Sheffield United striker – and former Nottingham Forest star – Billy Sharp, was headbutted by a Forest fanCredit: Ruckas
Sharp was lucky to escape with a sore bruised head and a few stitchesCredit: PA
His attacker, Robert Biggs, 30, was jailed for 24 weeks and ordered to pay £500 compensation to SharpCredit: PA
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But will they?
In another midlands derby three years ago, then-Aston Villa star Jack Grealish was sucker-punched from behind on the pitch during a game by a Birmingham City imbecile Paul Mitchell.
Mitchell received a 14-week prison sentence but got released after just four weeks and later declared it was “the best month of my life”, adding: “I’m not apologising for nothing.”
Cretins like him don’t care about a few weeks in prison in return for hooligan legend status.
It’s not just players coming under attack.
On Thursday night, Crystal Palace manager Patrick Vieira was horribly abused by a foul-mouthed Everton fan screaming: “Suck on that, you muppet! Get in! Hey, f*** off!”
Again, what made this so particularly inexplicable is that Everton had just come from 2-0 down to win 3-2 and save themselves from relegation.
The ‘fan’ should have been joyously celebrating a miracle escape but instead his focus was solely on terrorising the manager of the team who his side had just beaten.
Watch Piers Morgan Uncensored weekdays on Sky 526, Virgin Media 627, Freeview 237, Freesat 217 or on Fox Nation in the US
Vieira eventually kicked out at the vile yob, and we’re told is now subject to an FA investigation.
Why?
Who wouldn’t try to defend themselves from this kind of disgusting threatening behaviour?
Vieira never backed down from the toughest of opponents when he was a player, he certainly wasn’t going to do so when confronted by a sickening little coward hurling toxic spittle at him.
On the same night, Port Vale fans invaded the pitch to throw kicks and punches at Swindon Town players following their club’s League Two play-off semi-final win.
Swindon forward Harry McKirdy posted on Instagram: “I’ll take the stick and the songs. But bottles, coins, lighters thrown, running on and hitting and kicking me/team-mates. Too far.”
His colleague Mandela Egbo tweeted a selfie displaying a bloodied mark on his nose, and wrote: “How you scummy fans get two free shots and only manage a scratch? & I’m supposed to keep my cool — if I react, I’m the bad guy right?”
Sadly, yes. Judging by Twitter’s reaction to Vieira’s kick, many very stupid people have more sympathy for the yobs than their victims.
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There’s been a steady, depressing increase in this kind of incident since the coronavirus pandemic began to fade and crowds were let back into stadiums with pent-up excitement after two years of lockdowns.
Back in February, a drunken Leicester City lout named Cameron Toner, 19, attacked three other Forest players in an FA Cup game, wildly swinging punches at them for having the audacity to celebrate a goal.
He got four months’ youth custody and a 10-year-ban from football matches.
Toner’s lawyer said in mitigation: “I’m sure the media will want to use the phrase ‘yob’ or ‘hooligan’ but that is not what he is.”
Er no, that’s exactly what he is.
The bottom line is that if these pitch invasions are allowed to keep happening, we’re going to see a player or manager get killedPiers Morgan
The question now is what to do with these idiots?
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola issued a personal apology for what happened to Robin Olsen, “I don’t know how [to stop it] – you cannot put 1,000 guards to control all the people there.”
And there’s the nub of this pitch invasion debate.
Police and stewards alone don’t deter people from doing it, even though it remains illegal to come onto the pitch under the 1991 Football Offences Act.
The prospect of a few weeks in prison clearly doesn’t work as a deterrent either for people who often have long criminal records anyway and see another stint as simply a badge of bragging-rights thug honour.
We can’t go back to fences and moats, as some foreign clubs have done.
But nor can we just sit back and watch these mindless scenes continue.
TIME FOR FIRM, DECISIVE ACTION
As Roy Keane said on Sky Sports yesterday: “It’s disgraceful. A player or a manager is going to be seriously injured.
“If you’re mad enough to come on and punch a player, then you’re going to be mad enough to stab a player. There’ll be something crazy happen. I think when Covid happened, people came back from Covid and forgot how to behave themselves. Idiots, scumbags, disgrace.”
As so often, Keane was spot on, not least about the way many people seem to have lost their minds during the pandemic.
The bottom line is that if these pitch invasions are allowed to keep happening, we’re going to see a player or manager get killed.
No, it’s time to take firm, decisive action.
I don’t believe in the effectiveness of punishing clubs for pitch invasions by docking points or playing games in empty grounds.
This is too open to abuse from rival fans who may have a vested interest in causing trouble to get the other club punished.
No, the way to stop so-called fans invading the pitch is to make the punishment so severe for the individuals that they would never want to take the risk.
Given technology can now identify many of those doing it, I would fine every single one of them that can be identified £20,000, give them 20-year banning orders from attending any football matches home or abroad (with instant one-year jail sentences for those caught breaching it) and a criminal record for breaking the existing law with all the restrictions that brings to travel etc.
Send the message, with immediate effect, that if you take one step onto the pitch, you will face severe financial penalties and lose the ability to watch the game you love or lose your liberty if you try.
This may sound draconian, but what other option is there?
The rights of players and managers not to be attacked overrides the right of violent fools to charge onto pitches, letting off smoke bombs, wrecking goals and physically and verbally abusing professionals in their workplace.
Or, sadly, the rights of non-violent people to peacefully celebrate.
The party has to be over for pitch invaders – because they’ve ruined the party.
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Sun;font-size:18px;line-height:1.333;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:0%;font-stretch:normal;display:inline;}.css-i1acvs:hover:not(:disabled){-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}NOT ON .css-8h3gc3{margin:0;padding:0;color:rgba(34,37,38,1);-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;font-family:The Sun;font-size:18px;line-height:1.333;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:0%;font-stretch:normal;display:inline;}.css-8h3gc3:hover:not(:disabled){-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}My BFF stole my hugely significant baby name & after her reaction we don’t speak
Crystal Palace boss Patrick Vieira was another who was caught up in disgusting scenes when Everton fans invaded the pitch following their win to stay in the Premier LeagueCredit: Getty
The Arsenal legend kicked out at a fan after vile abuse – but now he faces an FA investigationCredit: PA More

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