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      in Soccer

      Inside Man United flop Paul Pogba’s multi-million pound blackmail ordeal as his BROTHER accused of being ringleader

      by

      AS a multi-millionaire and World Cup winner, Paul Pogba must have hoped he had left the tough crime-infested Parisian suburbs of his youth far behind.One of the most gifted football players of his generation, he lived in a £3million Cheshire mansion and was a shining star of the Manchester United midfield.
      Paul Pogba says he was held at gunpoint by an extortion gang — and that one of the plotters was his own brother, MathiasCredit: Getty
      Mathias this weekend accused his famous brother of paying for a witch doctor to curse talismanic French team mate Kylian MbappeCredit: @mathiaspogbaofficial
      Paul was raised with elder twin brothers Florentin and Mathias in Paris
      Yet while visiting his family in Lagny-sur-Marne, near Disneyland Paris, he alleges that the dark side of the high-rise estates that ring the French capital caught up with him.
      The French national hero says he was held at gunpoint by an extortion gang — and that one of the plotters was his own brother, Mathias.
      Then, in a bizarre twist, journeyman footballer Mathias this weekend accused his famous brother of paying for a witch doctor to curse talismanic French teammate Kylian Mbappe
      Paul has denied the claims but Mathias — who played for a string of British clubs — labelled his sibling “a so-called Muslim deep in witchcraft”.
      Read more on Paul Pogba
      Former Wrexham forward Mathias said of his superstar brother: “When everything is said, people will see that there is no bigger coward, bigger traitor and bigger hypocrite than you on this earth.”
      Paul’s extortion claims — and his brother’s witchcraft allegations — have left the football world in deep shock.
      With less than three months until the World Cup starts in Qatar, there are fears that the furore could disrupt France’s defence of their crown.
      Paul, 29 — who has been suffering with a knee injury — has been the lynchpin of Les Bleus in midfield, with 91 caps and 11 goals.
      Most read in Football
      MASKED MEN
      But the astonishing saga is said to have begun in March, before his transfer from United to Juventus. On a visit to his homeland for an international between France and the Ivory Coast on March 25, Paul went to see his family in Lagny-sur-Marne.
      The Parisian suburb is where he was born to Guinean parents in 1993. His twin elder brothers Florentin and Mathias both also forged careers as professional footballers, but it was Paul, the soccer prodigy, who shone.
      He first joined Manchester United from Le Havre as a 16-year-old in 2009 before being allowed to leave for Juventus on a free transfer in 2012.
      But he returned to Old Trafford for a record transfer fee of £89million in 2016, playing 154 times in that spell and scoring 29 goals.
      In 2018 he won a World Cup winners’ medal with his international teammates, scoring in the final as France beat Croatia 4-2 in Moscow.
      This summer his return to Italian giants Juventus followed patchy form at United. Yet Paul says he was facing blackmail threats before leaving Old Trafford.
      On his trip to Lagny-sur-Marne in March he told police he was confronted by a gang that included friends from his childhood and teenage years as well as two masked men armed with assault rifles.
      The midfielder — married to Bolivian model Maria Zulay Salaues — then claimed he was forced to accompany them to a flat in nearby Roissy-en-Brie, where they demanded more than £11million for “protecting him”.
      With the gang demanding £2.6million immediately, Paul tried to withdraw the money but his bank declined to authorise such a large amount.
      Radio station France Info reported that the blackmailers had to settle for £85,000 in cash instead.
      When the gang continued to try to extort money, Paul filed a criminal complaint through his lawyers.
      He told cops that when the gang tailed him to Manchester and Turin, where Juventus play, his brother Mathias was present among the alleged conspirators.
      When everything is said, people will see that there is no bigger coward, bigger traitor and bigger hypocrite than you on this earth.Mathias Pogba
      An investigating source said: “He claims to the police that he recognised his brother, Mathias Pogba, among the suspects.”
      When cops interviewed Paul he told them he had remained close to his childhood friends and that he had tried to help when they faced financial difficulties. But he told how he had to kick an unidentified friend out of his house in Manchester in January after discovering that he had spent £170,000 on his credit card.
      The Paris prosecutor’s office has confirmed an investigation into “extortion attempts by an organised gang” has been under way since August 3. Extortion carries a maximum sentence of 20 years under French law.
      Brother Mathias, 32, has vehemently denied the blackmail claims in social media posts, saying his brother was lying to have him imprisoned.
      Mathias, who has also played for Crewe Alexandra, Crawley Town and Partick Thistle, posted a video of himself saying he had “explosive revelations” about his more gifted footballing brother, who he said did not deserve to play for France.
      And he alleged Paul paid an African witch doctor to cast a spell to injure Kylian Mbappe, the France and Paris Saint-Germain striker, and that there were videos to prove it.
      Enquiry sources claim millions in cash were demanded in return for the alleged videos remaining secret.
      Paul’s agent and lawyers deny such videos exist, but Mathias responded in a social media post: “Kylian, now do you understand?
      “I have no negative feeling towards you, my words are for your good, everything is true and proven, the witch doctor is known! Sorry about this brother, a so-called Muslim deep in witchcraft, it’s never good to have a hypocrite and a traitor near you!”
      Paul’s lawyers, his mother, Yeo Moriba, and agent Rafaela Pimenta, said in a statement that Mathias’s social media videos “are unfortunately no surprise”.
      NOT SUPERHEROES
      They said the videos were in addition to “threats and extortion attempts”.
      Mathias and Paul were thought to be close and were often pictured together.
      He claims to the police that he recognised his brother, Mathias Pogba, among the suspects.An investigating source on Paul Pogba
      But elder sibling Mathias has posted on social media: “My little brother is finally starting to show his true face.
      “Since it was he who started talking, to lie to the police and who brought out the information, you can’t blame me. Paul, you really wanted to shut me up completely, to lie and send me to prison, I suspected it.
      “Now it’s true, my version of the facts actually happened and, unlike you, I have enough to prove my words and your lies.
      “I’ll tell you again: Brother, manipulating people is not good! It’s not about money: You implicated me in spite of myself, I almost died because of you, you left me in a hole and you want to play the innocent one.”
      Mathias, who has struggled to escape his younger brother’s shadow, continued: “The French, English, Italian and Spanish public — in other words, the whole world — as well as my brother’s fans, and even more so the France team and Juventus, my brother’s team-mates and his sponsors deserve to know certain things.
      “In order to make an in- formed decision if he deserves the admiration, respect and love of the public. If he deserves his place in the France team and the honour of playing in the World Cup.
      “If he deserves to be a starter at Juventus. If he is a trustworthy person, that any player deserves to have at his side.” French football chiefs admit the legal case could rumble on. Noel Le Graet, president of the French Football Federation, said: “We’re just at the beginning of this affair.
      “No one has been in court as far as I know. At this stage, there are just rumours.
      “I love Paul. I hope that this does not raise questions about his place in the French national team.”
      In the past, Paul has told how he battled depression while playing for United. He claims a fallout with then United boss Jose Mourinho — which left him stripped of the vice-captaincy in September 2018 — led to mental health problems.
      He said: “Because you make money, you always have to be happy? It’s not like that, life. But in football, it does not pass, we are however not superheroes, but only human beings.”
      Though facing a battle to be fully fit for the World Cup, he remains a key player for France. According to a French Football Federation source, the saga is “tearing up France players” in the run-up to the World Cup.
      Read More on The Sun
      The source said: “Everyone is talking about it, because it involves two star players. It’s the only topic of conversation of the France team, as they try to disentangle the true from the false, to try to work out if an audio recording or a video actually exists.”
      Les Bleus fans will hope the poisonous feud tearing Paul’s family apart will only drive him on to greater footballing heights.
      In 2018 Paul won a World Cup winners’ medal with his international team-mates, scoring in the final as France beat Croatia 4-2 in MoscowCredit: Getty
      He is married to Bolivian model Maria Zulay SalauesCredit: AFP
      Mathias alleged Paul paid a marabout witch doctor — a Muslim religious teacher — to cast a spell to injure Kylian MbappeCredit: Getty
      Paul returned to Italian giants Juventus followed patchy form at United in the summerCredit: Getty
      Mathias has struggled to escape Paul’s shadowCredit: Ama More

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      in Soccer

      By a ‘man’s game’ Graeme Souness meant tough – but women are that too

      by

      BEING a bit of a coward, I’m disinclined to criticise Graeme Souness, even from a distance.He frightens the life out of me. As a mate of mine from Stourbridge used to say about a local hard man: “If he says it’s Tuesday, it’s Tuesday.”
      Being a bit of a coward, I’m disinclined to criticise Graeme Souness, even from a distanceCredit: Getty
      Graeme frightens the life out of me, so why would I want to argue with him?Credit: Getty
      So if grizzly Graeme wants to describe football as a man’s game, why would I want to argue?
      Well, Mr Souness, sir, while I’m not exactly arguing with you, I do humbly ask for leave to make a few points.
      After the match at Stamford Bridge, when he said, “it’s a man’s game all of a sudden now”, I don’t for a minute believe he was saying that we, he, whoever, had somehow got football back after women had taken control of it for the summer.
      Neither, I think, does he believe that football “belongs” to men in any sense.
      READ MORE ADRIAN CHILES
      His meaning was simply that referees have started letting more stuff go and stopped giving fouls every time one player comes into contact with another.
      A good fifth of all fouls given aren’t really fouls at all, they’re more about the fouled player winning the foul than the supposed fouler doing much wrong in the first place.
      Seething with indignation, Souness later clarified his position on TalkSport, saying of referees that: “They were blowing the whistle all the time and it wasn’t a good watch.
      “Our game has always been unique, more meaty, more in your face and more intense . . . that is the kind of football I remember playing in. We’ve got to be better for it.
      Most read in The Sun
      “The directive to the referees is long overdue, we’ve got our game back.”
      Whether you agree or not about last Sunday’s spiteful match at Stamford Bridge being what we want football to be, Souness is perfectly entitled to make this point.
      The problem is the phrase “man’s game”.
      Simon Jordan, on the radio with Souness, railed at the absurdity of a world in which “a man describing a game featuring men, can’t apparently use the word ‘men’ in conjunction with a game that featured solely men”.
      I can’t believe that Jordan, a bright guy, doesn’t know he’s missing the point.
      As Souness himself explained, what he meant by “man’s game” was a sport that was meaty, in your face and intense.
      He’d probably go on to use words like tough, uncompromising, ruthless, physical and so on. And that would have been fine too.
      But suggesting that these attributes are the preserve of men is just a bit silly.
      Manhood on the block
      I for one, at home and at work, have had as many women as men in my life who I’d describe — in the nicest possible way — as tough, intense, uncompromising, ruthless and physical. Meaty, perhaps not, but you take my point.
      Furthermore, as Souness surely witnessed, England’s superb women players were triumphantly all of the above in winning the Euros this Summer.
      To be fair to him, Souness isn’t the only one wrong about this notion of “manliness”, the dictionary definition of manly is bang out of date too. Mine says it means brave, dignified and noble.
      Eh? Aren’t women these things too?
      So, those professing fury about the fiery Scotsman’s few ill-chosen words might consider chilling out a bit.
      And on the other hand, for blokes to suggest this controversy constitutes yet another vicious attack on the idea of masculinity, well they should have a word themselves too.
      No one’s suggesting cancelling Souness or slapping his manhood on a butcher’s block.
      There’s a simple fix here: Just say something other than “man’s game” next time. Tough game, physical game, brutal game will do the job just fine.
      Surely a man of Graeme Souness’s intelligence gets this.
      Instead of coming out steaming, all bristling and defensive, he might simply have said something like: “Aye, OK, I get it, no offence intended, lesson learnt.”
      That would have been, in language he might appreciate, the manly thing to do.
      Finland PM is good at party politics
      To Sanna Marin I award the title of best-looking leader ever in the history of the worldCredit: Instagram
      The video of her going wild at a party has tipped me over the edge
      IT WAS an American politico called Paul Begala who said that politics is showbiz for ugly people.
      There might be something in that, but he can’t have clapped eyes on Sanna Marin.
      We’re often told that Finland leads the world in education, saunas, various winter sports, wellbeing and even, indeed, happiness itself.
      To this list we must now add heart-stoppingly beautiful prime ministers.
      I do not demean her intelligence or political acumen one bit when I award her the title of best-looking leader ever in the history of the world.
      The video of her going wild at a party has tipped me over the edge.
      Helsinki here I come. I don’t even want to meet her – I’d be rendered speechless – I just want to be able to vote for her.
      No1 is some feet
      I’m sorry to report that the soles of my feet are very dryCredit: Getty
      I’M sorry to report that the soles of my feet are very dry.
      To address this, I bought some special stuff. The tube carries the boast that it is “The No 1 Foot Cream In Sweden”.
      This seemed random as hell to me.
      What next, the bestselling deodorant in Portugal? Or Estonia’s leading shoe polish? But I’m told Swedes are known for their skin creams. Who knew?
      I’m trying to think of what product might be marketed abroad as the UK’s best. In other words, what are we renowned around the world for being the best at making?
      I don’t know what it says about me, or the country, that I can’t really think of anything.
      The best I’ve come up with is something for ale.
      Whoever’s shifting the most could market their brand as Britain’s No 1 Warm Beer.
      Crashing into faith
      EARLIER this week, as I was walking to the shops, some lads in a car recognised me and yelled what I’d describe as abusive banter.
      As I looked up, they shunted the car in front. I hurried away.
      I now feel sorry for the driver of the car they rear-ended, and a bit sorry for the lads, who possibly meant no harm.
      But at the time, I simply thought: “Yes, there is a God.”
      Don’t judge me.

      Strike simply ho-hum
      Every day a new strike is either happening or being calledCredit: LNP
      EVERY day a new strike is either happening or being called.
      I make no comment on whether they’re justified. But I do wonder if strikes really work like they used to. I think they’re losing their impact.
      A few years ago these massive rail strikes, and the postal strikes to come, would have caused an almighty stink.
      The upheaval and chaos would have consumed us all.
      Not, I sense, any more.
      Yes, they’re a nightmare for the economy; infuriatingly inconvenient for passengers and costly too for the strikers losing pay.
      But somehow we’re taking it all in our stride. This is because of the pandemic, during which the upheaval and chaos was unlike anything any of us had experienced.
      Having got through that, we feel we can get through anything.
      Strikes every other week don’t seem to bother us.
      For heaven’s SAKE, Japan?
      THE tax authorities in Japan are trying to get young people there to drink more. Yes, really.
      Alcohol sales are in decline and so, therefore, is the tax take.
      A contest is being launched to challenge 20 to 39-year- olds to come up with ideas to get that age group boozing more.
      As an advocate of moderate drinking, I often bang on about how devastating it would be for the drinks industry if we all drank within the Government’s guidelines.
      But this is a reminder that it would be a problem for the exchequer too.
      So here’s yet another excuse to drink: It’s your patriotic duty.

      We’re a Brit special
      THE pollster Ipsos MORI has released some fascinating work this week on what makes us most ashamed about being British.
      The top three are ignorance of other cultures, drinking too much and complaining too much.
      The Royal Family, with the NHS and our history, are one of the key things that make us proud to be BritishCredit: Getty
      Conversely, they’ve also looked at what makes us proud to be British.
      Here the top three are the NHS, our history, and the Royal Family.
      These are interesting questions.
      If I ask them of myself, my main conclusion is I am proud to be British.
      What am I most proud of? Our sense of humour, definitely. As far as I can see there is nobody to touch us.
      And the same for our music, another field in which we punch above our weight.
      As for what I’m ashamed of, I’d plump for our transport infrastructure.
      Read More on The Sun
      The roads, the railways, buses and our airports are all generally shambolic.
      Please, no jokes about them – I’m having a sense of humour failure. More

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      in Soccer

      Footballers get stick over their money, but they do the right thing because they’re working class boys, says Ian Wright

      by

      IT has not been a good week for Premier League football.With headbutts, managerial red cards and multi-million pound transfer requests, stars have again been accused of being overpaid and over-pampered.
      Ian Wright says criticism footballers from politicians is unwarrantedCredit: Louis Wood – The Sun
      Ian Wright is Arsenal’s second highest ever goalscorer behind Thierry HenryCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd
      But Ian Wright, one of top-flight football’s most successful players of all time, reckons the abuse from politicians and Co is “hypocritical”.
      Ian, 58, says: “There’s always a backlash against footballers.
      “When the pandemic started, everybody was sitting at home saying, ‘footballers should do this, footballers should do that’.
      “Actually footballers always do the right thing because they’re working-class boys.
      READ MORE IAN WRIGHT
      “They’ve got families, like myself, who are still earning the minimum wage, so they’re never gonna be people who are out of touch.
      “The thing with the politicians is that they love to jump on the bandwagon because they look at the salaries.
      “If it was my son, obviously I’d be happy for him to earn that, and if it was their sons they’d want their sons to earn that money as well, so I can’t listen to that bulls***. It’s hypocrisy.”
      Former England striker Ian, who signed for Arsenal from Crystal Palace in 1991 for a then-record fee of £2.5million, has also defended players’ salaries.
      Most read in The Sun
      He does, however, admit today’s wages are “extortionate”, especially in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis.
      He continues: “It’s probably down to market value. Look at (Man City’s) Kevin De Bruyne. For his new contract he showed them the algorithms and what that means for the club.
      “When you do something like that, and show what your worth is, how can you say he shouldn’t be earning what he’s earning?
      “Of course it’s an extraordinary and extortionate amount of money in respect of one person getting £1million a week.
      “I can’t comprehend that. But if a player can show what he can do for his football club, then how can I stand there and say, ‘well, he shouldn’t?’.
      “Yes, it’s a lot of money when you consider the normal man in the street earning between £25,000 and £31,000. These are two different worlds, and obviously I’ve still got family around that earning capacity.”
      Since retiring from the game in 2000, Ian, irritatingly, has barely aged a day.
      Still super-fit, he works out three times a week with his two personal trainers and remains one of the most recognisable faces in the game.
      A fixture on Match Of The Day, alongside anchor Gary Lineker and former international team-mate Alan Shearer, he has also won a legion of new fans after championing the women’s game.
      The Gunners’ second highest goal scorer — behind only Thierry Henry — Ian was part of the BBC’s main presenting team for the recent Euros.
      After roaring the Lionesses to victory against Germany, he admits he burst into tears once the cameras stopped rolling, as did fellow pundit Alex Scott.
      And, just like Alex, another former Arsenal player, Ian says he has been slammed for having a working-class accent.
      Ian, who grew up on a tough council estate in Lewisham, South East London, insists it no longer bothers him.
      Ian Wright says he is no longer affected by criticism of his pronounciation on TVCredit: BBC
      He explains: “I drop my aitches and people jump on that — ‘ooh, the BBC are dumbing down’, or ‘what’s Ian Wright doing on there?’, and you just think, ‘It’s really not important, it doesn’t matter’.
      “People used to say a lot of things, like I can’t string a sentence together and all this sort of stuff. I feel a lot more comfortable in myself now though, I’m not so worried about what people say.”
      On the topic of the Lionesses, Ian believes they should be made Dames, not just given OBEs, adding: “Let’s face it, the men would be given knighthoods if they won the Euros.”
      He also firmly believes the Government should make it mandatory for all schools to offer football to both boys and girls, explaining: “I want the women’s game to go to the next level now, get the funding it deserves, and more money from sponsors poured into it.”
      Ian, who won 33 caps for his country, didn’t turn professional until he was 21.
      Working as a labourer until then, he was on today’s equivalent of the minimum wage.
      He has just been signed up by M&S to front its new Eat Well, Play Well campaign, helping kids to make healthier food choices, and get into football by winning a training masterclass with the England men’s and women’s football teams, among other prizes.
      I didn’t know food. Rare or well-done steak?What were they on about?
      Food is a topic close to his heart, and something that once proved a grave source of embarrassment.
      He says he was briefly bullied at Palace and Arsenal because he didn’t know how to eat “posh” food, or even how to order a steak.
      Chatting at his local pub over a pint of Guinness and seabass — no such food issues now, it would appear — he says: “When I was younger I used to eat to be full, to stave off hunger.
      “We mainly ate West Indian food and it’s only when I went to Palace that I started eating pasta, I’d never had it before.
      “Eating with the rest of the players was a nightmare. I stopped eating with the team because they used to tease me.
      “I didn’t understand menus, I didn’t know what a sauté potato was, and when they asked me how I wanted my steak — rare, medium or well done — I didn’t know what they were on about.
      “So I said ‘well, please’, thinking that meant it would be, you know, cooked the best.
      “They would tease me for that. I found restaurants intimidating and used to get my mum to make me food and I’d bring it with me and eat it in secret on my own.
      “I stopped eating with them because older players were just bullying me, really. I was intimidated because six months earlier I had been on a building site, eating my mum’s food.
      “But now I’m passionate about eating well to fuel the body and look after myself.”
      Ian Wright was greeted by wife Nancy Hallam after his stint on I’m A CelebCredit: Rex
      The dad of eight, married to second wife Nancy Hallam since 2011, certainly looks fiddle-fit.
      Naturally, though, he is concerned about recent reports that link heading the ball with neurodegenerative disease.
      A 2019 study found that the risk of dying from such a condition was three and a half times higher for former footballers.
      As a result, Ian believes that financial compensation measures should be in place for anyone who develops problems in retirement.
      Ian, who shattered my 11-year-old Spurs-supporting heart with a last- minute nodded winner against Tottenham in 1993, was never one to shy away from a header.
      Tony Adams on Strictly? I can’t say I’ve seen him do too many moves
      Taking a philosophical swig of Guinness, he says: “It’s like some-times you go into a room and you think ‘what am I here for?’
      “You have those moments but I’m feeling like I’m at a stage where if those things are happening to me I probably would have had them before.
      “I feel like, being 58 now, forgetting things is quite normal.
      “Alan Shearer is really deep into it and he talks to me about it all the time. He probably headed the ball more than both me and Gary, but it’s something the defenders have to worry about too.
      “Our defenders, Tony Adams, had to head the ball so much. They had to keep pounding it and pounding it, even in training, so it’s some-thing you worry about for them.
      “But for me, you know, if there’s a link between you heading a ball and something happening to you, whatever needs to happen for you to get your compensation, you should get it.
      “If people are getting ill from the effects of heading the ball then their family should be compensated.
      “But there’s no way I’m not going to play football, I’m still gonna play and then you deal with the consequences.”
      Ian Wright says he will be cheering on former teammate Tony Adams on StrictlyCredit: Times Newspapers Ltd
      Ian’s former team-mate of course, Tony appears to be in perfect health.
      Ex-captain Tony, 55, will soon appear fake tanned to the hilt, and head to toe in sequins in the new series of Strictly Come Dancing.
      Despite Tony dropping poor Steve Morrow from his shoulders on to the Wembley turf following Arsenal’s 1993 League Cup Final victory, breaking his arm, Ian reckons Tony could be a Strictly dark horse.
      Tony’s wife, Poppy, is godmother to one of Ian’s daughters and of his good mate he says with a smile: “We are very close still. When I saw that he was doing it, I did think ‘I can’t say I’ve seen Tony do too many moves’.
      “He never did any dancing when we were playing, none. But one thing I know for sure is that no one will try harder to do it. And we’ll be cheering him on.”
      Today Ian, who says he’s turned down Strictly “loads of times” because of a fused ankle, is a household name.
      He did a stint in the jungle in I’m A Celebrity in 2019 and says he gets asked for a selfie “three or four times a day”.
      During our interview two people come over to say hello to him (albeit one to ask for a cigarette lighter: Wrong crowd, love.)
      Despite his wealth and fame, he remains remarkably grounded and charming (he also pays for my car parking meter when I fail to correctly use the app).
      He credits his wife, whom he clearly adores, for keeping his ego in check: “She’s like my counsellor, and she’s amazing at keeping my feet on the ground.”
      He says: “As a 58-year-old there are a lot of footballers who have done a lot better than me. I can’t be thinking to myself, ‘I wish, I wish, I wish’.
      “Being in the Premier League Hall of Fame is the greatest thing that’s ever happened to me.
      Read More on The Sun
      “I said that to my missus and she said ‘what about the kids?’, and I said, ‘that’s a whole different story’.
      “From where I came from, to end up in the hall of fame . . . I’ve done it.”
      Ian Wright has turned down Strictly ‘loads of times’Credit: SportsfileIan Wright: Quickfire round

      Q. Would you get into the Lionesses starting XI?
      A. Yeah, No9
      Q. What’s your changing room anthem
      A. Firestarte
      Q. Who’s the better player, you, Gary Lineker or Alan Shearer?
      A. Shearer
      Q. Most embarrassing TV moment
      A. Taking off my jersey when I hadn’t broken the Arsenal scoring record. F***ing hell, what was I thinking?
      Q. Last time you cried
      A. Couple of days ago, watching the film Don’t Look Up.
      Q. Who is the most famous person in your phone
      A. Idris Elba
      Q. What would you choose for your death row meal?
      A. Spaghetti Bolognese
      Q. Who’s got better hair, David Beckham or Jack Grealish?
      A. David Beckahm
      Q. MOTD or Strictly?
      A. MOTD – not even a question

      Shop the Eat Well range at all M&S stores to be in with a chance of winning a training session with England’s football heroes and more, see marksandspencer.com/football More

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      in Soccer

      Inside lavish world of Man U suitor Jim Ratcliffe who made billions from chemicals but was once fired for a crazy reason

      by

      HE may no longer be Britain’s Richest Man but Sir Jim Ratcliffe is still the world’s wealthiest Mancunian.And with a personal fortune of around £11BILLION he can certainly afford to buy Manchester United.
      Mancunian Jim Ratcliffe has a personal fortune of around £11BILLIONCredit: Times Newspapers Ltd
      Jim with wife Alicia at French footie club NiceCredit: Getty
      Ratcliffe was honoured with a knighthood by Prince William in 2018Credit: PA:Press Association
      Jim with sons Sam and GeorgeCredit: Getty
      This week he let it be known he would jump at the chance to buy into the Premier League football colossus, owned by the American Glazer family.
      Eventually Sir Jim hopes to take over the entire club, said by the club’s current owners to be worth £5billion.
      He is so wealthy he would not need to borrow a penny to buy Man United, invest heavily in new players and modernise Old Trafford.
      And the money men certainly think he is serious.
      Read More on Jim Ratcliffe
      United’s shares on New York’s stock exchange had yesterday jumped 15 per cent to more than £11 each.
      Sir Jim offered £4billion to buy Chelsea in May but admitted he only made the — the team he has followed since boyhood — wasn’t available.
      As he approaches his 70th birthday, the joiner’s son who grew up on a Manchester council estate, could land the present he has always dreamed of — owning Old Trafford and the Red Devils.
      Sport-mad Sir Jim has come a long way from Dunkerly Avenue, Failsworth, where he lived until he was ten and went almost every other week to watch Sir Matt Busby’s team in action.
      Most read in Football
      In 1999 he was in Barcelona at the Nou Camp stadium when United came back at the death to beat Bayern Munich 2-1 to win the Champions League.
      Sir Jim described it as “three minutes you never forget in your lifetime”.
      So some things are priceless, even for a man whose mega-fortune comes from a 60 per cent stake in a privately owned chemical giant he always claims is “the world’s biggest company you have never heard of”.
      In total 26,000 people work for Ineos at more than 194 sites in 29 countries.
      The 60million tons of chemicals it makes each year go into almost everything we use, from antibiotics, toothpaste and clean water to insulation and food packaging.
      All this means Sir Jim can afford a luxury home in Monaco, a £6million waterside mansion in Hampshire and a house in Chelsea, West London, near the Grenadier pub, where he came up with the idea for building a 4×4 to replace the Land Rover Defender.
      He also owns a mega-house on Lake Geneva, Switzerland, near F1 star Michael Schumacher’s home, and a 260ft super-yacht, Hampshire II.
      If Sir Jim does eventually buy Man United from the American Glazer family he won’t be step-ping into the unknown because he already owns two football clubs.
      In 2017 he bought Swiss side FC Lausanne-Sport — they were relegated last season into Swizerland’s second tier.
      And in 2019 Sir Jim snapped up Nice, who play in France’s Ligue 1 for just under £100million.
      He also spent £40million buying Sky’s Tour de France-winning cycling team and he regularly goes on training rides with stars of the Ineos Grenadiers.
      He has shares in Mercedes’ Formula 1 operation and backs Sir Ben Ainslie’s bid for sailing’s America’s Cup, which Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge is part of.
      I was fired for having mild eczema. I was told ‘You can’t work here, not with eczema. We can’t spend the money on training you for five years and then find you’ve got an allergy, so you’re on your bike.’Jim Ratcliffe
      Amazingly, Sir Jim only made his eye-watering fortune in the past 25 years.
      Until then his life had been unremarkable.
      He struggled at school because of his obsession with football, got into university with some of the worst A-level results of his college peers and got sacked from his first job.
      His success came as a complete surprise to him too.
      Sir Jim says: “You should see a picture of the council house where I started out. I just played football, really. That’s all I was interested in.”
      His dad, who started out as a carpenter, worked his way up to run a factory making furniture for science labs.
      His mum worked as a secretary.
      The family moved to Beverly, East Yorks, when his dad landed a new job and Jim got into the local grammar school. In the sixth form he organised tours of local factories.
      He says: “I suppose I did have this inkling that I wanted to be successful — that I wanted to be a millionaire one day. So those things were in my head at 18. But I was just dreaming, really.”
      He chose to study chemical engineering at the University of Birmingham.
      But he arrived at the chemistry department to find a group of students clustered around a noticeboard, reading a list of the 99 students on his course, ranked according to their A-level results.
      Ratcliffe was embarrassed to find himself near the bottom.
      Northern soul Jim as a youngster in Manchester
      Jim came up with the idea for building a 4×4 to replace the Land Rover DefenderCredit: Jon Bond – The Sun
      Ratcliffe with Chris Froome and Team INEOS Principal Sir Dave BrailsfordCredit: PA:Press Association
      He says: “It lacked a bit of sensitivity. But you could say it was fair. There were a lot of guys who had worked very hard at school while I was out playing football.”
      Working for BP during the summer holiday he was offered a permanent job only to be sacked within three days.
      He says: “I was called in by my boss who had been reading my medical report — they’d not bothered until then. I was fired for having mild eczema. I was told ‘You can’t work here, not with eczema. We can’t spend the money on training you for five years and then find you’ve got an allergy, so you’re on your bike.’”
      Jim failed to persuade BP to take him on as a trainee accountant so he moved to fabric and chemicals firm Courtaulds, where he stayed until he was in his thirties.
      Lured by the perk of a much better car, a white BMW 535i, he switched to becoming a dealmaker with the venture capital company Advent International.
      He says: “They tripled my salary and offered me a fancy car. I did like that car — it was better than the one the chairman of Courtaulds had.
      “The venture capital world is very simple. If you do bad deals, you get fired. If you don’t do any deals, you get fired. I took that job because it would present a lot of opportunities. I always had a feeling that a really good one would come along.”
      In 1992, he bought BP’s specialist chemicals operation for about £40million, floating it on the stock market two years later.
      But Jim quit the company in 1998.
      By then his ten-year marriage to first wife Amanda Townson, with whom he has two sons, George and Samuel, had ended in divorce.
      He has a daughter with second wife, Alicia. He is now believed to be with current partner Catherine Polli.
      His fortunes changed for the better when he bought an Antwerp-based chemicals business which became the start of Ineos.
      I suppose I did have this inkling that I wanted to be successful — that I wanted to be a millionaire one day. So those things were in my head at 18. But I was just dreaming, really.Jim Ratcliffe
      Jim and his new business partners, Andy Currie and John Reece, became masters at spotting untapped potential in flagging plants and factories.
      Sir Jim says: “We’d look at businesses that were unfashionable or unsexy, facilities owned by large corporations. We’d run them a bit better, make them busy and very profitable.”
      The deals got bigger and bigger and by 2018 Jim’s share of the business made him Britain’s richest man with a fortune of £21billion.
      A supporter of Brexit and fracking, he wants Britain to manufacture more.
      He says: “You can’t have an economy of 70million people where you don’t make any products. If you do, every time you want to buy a product you first have to buy some foreign exchange and find a country to sell it to you. That’s dumb — you end up with a fragile economy.”
      While United’s fans are praying Sir Jim will come to the club’s rescue — they are at rock bottom after two games that both ended in defeat — business experts were warning them not to get too hopeful.
      Read More on The Sun
      While the Glazers say United is worth £5billion, the stock market values the club at much less.
      Sky TV Business Presenter Ian King says: “Sir Jim Ratcliffe has never knowingly overpaid for anything in his career.”
      F1 drivers Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas celebrate with JimCredit: AFP
      Ratcliffe with the Mercedes F1 TeamCredit: Getty
      Ratcliffe meets staff at the Grangemouth plant as the first ship carrying shale gas from the US arrives in the Firth of ForthCredit: Getty
      Ratcliffe’s childhood home on Dunkerly Avenue, Failsworth, Lancs
      Aerial view of Lake Geneva where Ratcliffe owns a mega-houseCredit: Getty
      Ratcliffe’s 260ft super-yacht Hampshire IICredit: Alamy
      The Sun reported on Sir Jim’s interest in buying Man Utd More

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      in Soccer

      Inside the bizarre Qatar World Cup where England fans face £13 pints, swearing ban and nights sleeping in ‘caravan city’

      by

      AFTER savouring every last drop of my £13 lager at Qatar’s Champions Bar, it was game time.With less than 100 days to go until the World Cup kicks off, I was heading for the air-conditioned Khalifa International Stadium, where England will face Iran in their opening match of the competition on November 21.
      Oliver Harvey inside the Khalifa International stadium in Doha, Qatar where England will play Iran on November 21Credit: Louis Wood
      Oliver reveals that with less than 100 days before the kick-off, ‘Cultural differences with the West come into sharp focus’, pictured: the World Cup TrophyCredit: Getty

      Taking the plush Doha underground to the 45,416-seat arena, cultural differences with the West come into sharp focus.
      A local ushered me away from a central carriage from which he explained single men are banned.
      The Metro here has three classes — Standard: Family, for women, children and accompanying men; and the lavishly-upholstered Gold.
      Boozing in public is banned — apart from at top-end hotels and restaurants — so supping tinnies on the way to a match is out. This is also a land where vapes are outlawed and swearing and obscene gestures can land you behind bars.
      Fatma Al-Nuaimi, — from the World Cup’s Supreme Committee, told me: “We just ask people to respect the local culture.”
      READ MORE ON WORLD CUP
      So how will this tiny desert kingdom, the size of Yorkshire, cope with as many as 1.3million fervent football fans arriving in three months?
      To find out, I’ve spent this week in Qatar, road-testing facilities and grilling organisers in a nation whose poor human rights record is under the microscope.
      Walking through treacle
      My dummy run to the Khalifa — where local teams Umm Salal and Al Sadd were playing out a 1-1 draw — suggests the transport and stadiums will surpass many previous World Cups.
      Entering the Metro in downtown Doha, security workers in white shirts and dark trousers huddled around giant air-conditioning units to beat the August heat.
      Most read in The Sun
      Outside it was a claustrophobic 42C (temperatures in November should fall to the mid to upper 20s) with cloying humidity making each footstep like walking through treacle.
      Inside the ground it was a pleasant 26C as 500 nozzles pumped out cold air.
      Earlier I had visited a Nasa-like World Cup nerve centre, where banks of cyber workers remotely monitor all eight World Cup stadiums.
      Chief Technology Officer Niyas Abdulrahim explained that the temperature inside the stadiums can be adjusted depending on the size of the crowd.
      And he revealed that supporters will be monitored Big Brother-style, with 15,000 cameras inside the stadiums and more in fan zones. Standing before a bank of computers and monitors, Niyas said anyone misbehaving can be identified.
      We have high-resolution special cameras to zoom in on a particular seat and clearly see the spectator. Chief Technology Officer Niyas Abdulrahim
      He revealed: “We have high-resolution special cameras to zoom in on a particular seat and clearly see the spectator. It’s being recorded, so that will help us in any post-event investigation.”
      Boozing in public is banned, here Oliver is drinking £13 pint of beer at Champions barCredit: Louis Wood
      Oliver, traveling in Gold class on the new Doha metro system, says ‘The Metro here has three classes — Standard and the lavishly-upholstered Gold’Credit: Louis Wood
      As he visits tourist attractions in the Qatar desert, England fans can experience camel rides and holding a falconCredit: Louis Wood
      No decision on Covid rules for the World Cup have been announced. Currently masks are worn in public and UK travellers require a negative pre-flight PCR test.
      And Qatar has yet to confirm its plans for alcohol consumption, with the Supreme Committee’s Fatma Al-Nuaimi saying booze will be available “in designated areas”.
      She added that events such as the Club World Cup in the country in 2019 — won by Liverpool — proved a successful trial run. “We have welcomed Liverpool fans in a fan zone that was serving alcohol before and after the match,” she said.
      The eye-watering alcohol prices in Qatar’s licensed hotel bars and restaurants won’t be replicated in the fan zones. A source at the organising committee assured me supporters will be able to sup pints for around £5.
      Gleaming Doha — a city of steel and glass rising out of the desert — will hold a giant World Cup party at its four-mile waterfront Corniche promenade.
      England’s wags are rumoured to be staying on a luxury cruise liner moored in the warm Gulf waters, where they will be able to enjoy a glass of bubbly.
      Their other halves will check into the dry five-star Souq Al Wakra beach resort, ten miles up the coast. When I visited this week, attentive staff provided a golf buggy ride from reception to the hotel’s decent restaurant to beat the searing heat.
      Lamb couscous cooked in a clay pot is £15 while signature drinks include the tomato juice-based How Bazaar, a steal at £7.
      England boss Gareth Southgate has chosen a location which will immerse his players in local life.
      Two camels
      While downtown Doha resembles London’s Canary Wharf in a sandstorm, the honey-coloured warren of low-rise streets at Al Wakra has a Middle Eastern charm.
      Next door to the hotel a mosque’s minaret rises and there is a children’s park, complete with two camels which may prove irresistible for an England photocall. On the other side of the hotel a beachside pathway leads to a tangle of shops and cafes in the souq, or street market.
      The rear of the hotel opens directly on to golden sands and the lapping waves of the Persian Gulf.
      Wales will stay in Doha’s brand new five-star Delta City Centre hotel, which is due to open in October. Fans can experience their own Arabian nights, sleeping in beachside camps.
      I took a hair-raising 4×4 sand dune-bashing tour south of Doha, where bedouin are waiting to offer camel rides and falconry displays. At the Regency Sealine Camp, luxury glamping tents hug the shoreline. Weekday prices start from around £190.
      Later I met Omar al-Jaber, whose job it is to find accommodation for more than a million visiting World Cup fans. He revealed a “caravan city” — costing from around £120 a night per mobile home — is being constructed in central Doha to help take the strain.
      Omar insists plenty of accommodation is still available to British fans yet to make a booking, the cheapest being flats near Al Janoub Stadium for under £70 a night.
      Other options include £170-a-night Portakabin-style buildings and two luxury cruise ships — the MSC Poesia and the MSC World Europa — which will be moored at Doha’s Grand Terminal.
      The liners boast swimming pools, spas and an array of restaurants, with prices starting at around £150 a night. England superfan Brian Wright and four friends have booked 22 nights on a cruise ship.
      Brian, 51, who has been to more than 370 Three Lions games and is heading for his eighth World Cup, said: “We booked before the draw and are paying just £60 a night.”
      We booked before the draw and are paying just £60 a night.England superfan Brian Wright
      UK fans will need to acquaint themselves with local customs and laws in a conservative Islamic nation.
      Coventry City fan Brian added: “Whatever country I visit, I respect their laws and abide by them. It won’t stop me having a bloody good time.”
      Scanners at Doha Airport detect anyone trying to sneak booze or drugs into the country.
      Qatar really isn’t a place where you want to fall foul of the law. The US State Department said there were 375 cases of court-ordered floggings, for various offences, in 2019.
      The last known Brit to receive the punishment was Gavin Sherrard-Smith, from Cheltenham, Gloucs. He was lashed 50 times with a bamboo cane in 1993 after he was found guilty of selling alcohol to a Muslim.
      Gavin, who denied the charges, said: “The last ten strokes were agony, bloody agony. I thought I was going to pass out.”
      Qatari organisers assured me that everyone is welcome to the tournament — yet the LGBTQ+ Travel Safety Index ranks the nation at 190th in the world.
      Homosexuality is illegal here and punishable by up to three years in prison.
      Some of the Wales team’s staff, as well as members of the Rainbow Wall — its official LGBTQ+ supporters’ group — will boycott the tournament over the country’s stance on gay rights.
      Built on sweat and blood
      The organising committee’s Nasser Al-Khori told me: “When it comes to LGBT everyone is welcome as long as there are limitations around PDA (public displays of affection).
      “There are things that are accepted culturally and things that are not. Everybody is welcome to the World Cup.”
      Public intimacy between any couple, regardless of gender, can lead to arrest.
      The gleaming stadiums and other infrastructure that have risen from the sand have been built on the sweat — and sometimes blood — of an army of occasionally mistreated migrant workers.
      The Qataris say they responded by improving health and safety and overhauling migrant employment laws.
      Spokeswoman Fatma Al-Nuaimi said the changes “will be the true social legacy that the World Cup will leave”.
      Read More on The Sun
      As the sun dips below the horizon, Doha twinkles in a kaleidoscope of lights and chrome.
      The World Cup in the desert will certainly be a tournament like no other.
      England fans can stay in portacabins in Doha whilst the World Cup is onCredit: Louis Wood
      Oliver gained access into the changing room England will get ready in before the gameCredit: Louis Wood More

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      in Soccer

      The 1972 match that put the Lionesses on the road to Wembley (and ended 50 years of hurt)

      by

      JUST 400 people paid 20p each to file through the turnstiles at a kids’ foot­ball ground near Glasgow to see history being made.Exactly 50 years ago, England’s women footballers played their first ever international with the official backing of the game’s governing body.
      Exactly 50 years ago, England’s women footballers played their first ever international with the official backing of the game’s governing bodyCredit: Mirrorpix
      That match set the Lionesses off on the long road that has led them to Sunday’s Euro 2022 final at WembleyCredit: Getty
      In that debut game against Scotland at the Ravenscraig Stadium in Greenock, England won 3-2 and set off on the long road that has led the Lionesses to Sunday’s Euros final at Wembley.
      Although striker Pat Davies scored twice to wipe out Scotland’s 2-1 lead, the final score was almost irrelevant.
      What DID matter that Saturday afternoon in November 1972 was that this game signalled the end of half a century of hurt for women who had been BANNED from playing football.
      A hundred years ago, most UK towns and cities had women’s football teams and many of those female players were international superstars.
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      On Boxing Day morning of 1920 a capacity crowd of 53,000 crammed into Goodison Park, Liverpool, to watch two of the country’s most exciting women’s teams play a charity match to raise money for wounded war veterans.
      ‘ABSOLUTE OUTCRY’
      That record-breaking crowd was far bigger than Liverpool or Everton men’s teams were getting — and the Football Association was worried.
      Former women’s footballer Gail Newsham, 69, of Preston, Lancs, says: “That match sent shock waves through the football establishment.
      “Despite being factory workers, one of those women’s teams — Dick, Kerr Ladies from Preston — played 67 games of football in a year and almost 900,000 people came to watch them.
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new Brazilian girlfriend, 35, days after divorce
      “Back then women players were the superstars of the day because they played exciting football.
      “Fans wanted to be pictured with them and get their autographs, the selfies of that time.”
      Then, almost a year after that famous Boxing Day match, the game’s ruling body, the FA, banned women from playing on any grounds operated by the Football League.
      Gail says: “Imagine saying to today’s incredible Lionesses after Sunday’s game at Wembley, ‘right that’s it you’re not playing anymore. You’re banned’.
      “Whatever you’d done, it didn’t matter. Nobody was going to care or remember. That’s what happened to those famous female footballers.
      “If the same thing happened today there would be an absolute outcry. But back in 1921 life was very different for women. What drives me mad is the injustice of it.”
      It had all been so different, when four years earlier the matron of a military hospital asked women workers at William Dick and John Kerr’s munitions factory in Preston to raise money for veterans with a Christmas concert.
      The factory girls had a better idea — a charity football match against women from a nearby foundry.
      Incredibly 10,000 fans turned up at Preston North End’s Deepdale ground to see Dick, Kerr Ladies beat Arundel Coulthard Foundry and raise the equivalent of £50,000 for wounded soldiers. It was the start of an amazing run of 200 games without defeat, as the women footballers took not only Britain but the world by storm — they even became the unofficial England team.
      Gail tracked down former players and fans for her book about the Dick, Kerr Ladies Team, In A League Of Their Own.
      Imagine saying to today’s incredible Lionesses after Sunday’s game at Wembley, ‘right that’s it you’re not playing anymore. You’re banned’.Gail Newsham
      She says: “I met two elderly gentlemen who had seen the Dick, Kerr Ladies play — one during the general strike and the other remembers seeing a night match by search light in 1920.
      “They both told me it wasn’t about women running around in shorts or anything like that. They just wanted to see a good game of football.
      “The most outstanding player was the team’s first captain, Alice Kell, who was a defender in the Bobby Moore mould and a great figurehead for the team. The women looked up to her.
      “All those years later, that old man still remembered Alice Kell’s name.
      “Florrie Redford was the centre forward and she was naturally gifted, could kick with either foot. She scored 170 goals in 1921.
      “She was probably the most famous woman footballer of her generation.
      “Everybody talks about Lily Parr but before her came Jenny Harris, a very small girl but a fantastic player. She could dribble from one end of the pitch to the other and score goals.
      “Those women players would be absolute superstars today.”
      But the Boxing Day game at Goodison Park sealed their fate.
      The FA’s council ruled that football was “quite unsuitable for females and ought not to be encouraged.”
      Despite women playing soccer for years doctors on the FA’s payroll decided: “Football is a rough game and is more harmful for women than men.”
      The most outstanding player was the team’s first captain, Alice Kell, who was a defender in the Bobby Moore mould and a great figurehead for the team. The women looked up to her.Gail Newsham
      Dr Elizabeth Sloan Chesser even said: “Women may receive injuries from which they may never recover.”
      Banned from playing at league stadiums, women’s teams were reduced to doing so in parks and rugby grounds.
      Gail says: “Rugby grounds opened their doors to them and they would play on pitches that the FA had no jurisdiction over. But the FA still kept rearing their ugly heads throughout the history — they would try to prevent games from going ahead.”
      Dick, Kerr Ladies team owned their own ground and managed to continue playing until 1965. They even travelled to America to play and they won tournaments in Europe.
      WASHED IN A POND
      Watching Dick, Kerr Ladies in the early Sixties, legendary manager Sir Matt Busby described Val Walsh as one of the best players he had ever seen. He would have signed Val to play for Manchester United if she had been a man.
      Other clubs like Heys from Bradford, Huddersfield Atlanta and Manchester Corinthians Ladies Foot­ball Club defied the ban on women’s football on FA-affiliated grounds.
      Percy Ashley, a Bolton Wanderers scout, set up the Corinthians in 1949 so his deaf daughter, Doris, a gifted player, could play and socialise with other women.
      Conditions were so primitive at their home ground in Fog Lane Park, Didsbury, that women players washed in a nearby duck pond because there was no running water in the unheated changing rooms.
      But by touring Europe the team won more than 50 trophies by 1970, and raised £275,000 for charity.
      Gail grew up playing football with boys in the street but was not allowed to play in matches until the FA lifted their ban in 1971.
      She says: “When I first started, we used to play at a pitch where the changing room was an old chicken hut and there were panels missing so the wind and rain came in and the toilet was a rusty oil drum.
      “But we didn’t mind. We’d play anywhere. We really did it for the love of the game.”
      The year after Dick, Kerr Ladies team finally quit, England’s men won the World Cup in 1966, inspiring more women than ever to play.
      In 1967, BBC worker Patricia Gregory was watching Spurs parade the FA Cup at Tottenham Town Hall and wondered why she had never seen girls playing football.
      Unaware of the FA ruling on women playing football she founded the Women’s Football Association and five years later the ban was lifted – allowing that first ever official female international to happen.
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      Gail says: “Here we are 50 years on and I believe the Lionesses can do it on Sunday. I can’t put into words how wonderful it will be.
      “It’s like, we are picking up now where the Dick, Kerr Ladies left off in the 1920s.”
      Dick, Kerr Ladies from Preston played 67 games of football in a year and almost 900,000 people came to watch themCredit: Getty
      Jeannie Allott scored the first goal of the 1972 Scotland game at just 16 years of ageCredit: Mirrorpix
      Florrie Redford was the centre forward for Dick, Kerr Ladies and she was naturally gifted, being pictured here on Joan Whalley’s leftCredit: Getty More

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      in Soccer

      How England’s Lionesses are tantalisingly close to ending 56 years of hurt in epic semi-final clash with Sweden

      by

      ENGLAND’S Lionesses aim to get the nation roaring tomorrow.Striker Fran Kirby said: “Hopefully we are giving the country something to smile about and to be proud of.”
      England’s Lionesses are tantalisingly close to ending 56 years of hurt in epic semi-final clash with SwedenCredit: Getty
      Their Euros semi-final against Sweden, being screened on BBC One, is set to be watched by TEN MILLION people as support for the Lionesses reaches fever pitch.
      It shows how momentum is buiding, as 7.6million watched their thrilling eleventh-hour 2-1 victory over Spain last Wednesday.
      With the final tantalisingly in sight, this could be England’s chance to ease the pain of last year’s men’s final defeat to Italy on penalties.
      Fans are getting behind the Lionesses in a major way – 2,000 extra tickets for the clash at Sheffield United’s Bramall Lane sold out in just ten minutes last week.
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LIONESSES.css-1gojmfd{margin-bottom:16px;}.css-gmec1d{display:-webkit-inline-box;display:-webkit-inline-flex;display:-ms-inline-flexbox;display:inline-flex;height:auto;-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;-webkit-align-content:center;-ms-flex-line-pack:center;align-content:center;-webkit-box-flex-wrap:nowrap;-webkit-flex-wrap:nowrap;-ms-flex-wrap:nowrap;flex-wrap:nowrap;-webkit-flex-direction:row;-ms-flex-direction:row;flex-direction:row;-webkit-box-pack:start;-ms-flex-pack:start;-webkit-justify-content:flex-start;justify-content:flex-start;margin-left:calc(-20px/2);margin-right:calc(-20px/2);}.css-fh9577{display:-webkit-inline-box;display:-webkit-inline-flex;display:-ms-inline-flexbox;display:inline-flex;margin-left:calc(20px/2);margin-right:calc(20px/2);}.css-65fvqt{max-width:302px;max-height:294px;}.css-1exhbll{box-sizing:border-box;overflow:hidden;background-color:rgba(237,245,242,1);-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;position:relative;display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-flex-direction:column;-ms-flex-direction:column;flex-direction:column;max-width:302px;max-height:294px;}.css-bk55po{box-sizing:border-box;display:block;position:relative;margin-bottom:0;}.css-1shocxe{box-sizing:border-box;}.css-1a2irou{box-sizing:border-box;padding:0;}.css-1a2irou 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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;}FRAN MASTERPLAN .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;}Kirby insists England ready to end their semis hoodoo by beating Sweden
      And we will be sinking 11.2million pints as we cheer them on tomorrow, according to Voucher Codes.co.uk — that’s on top of the 4.7million said to have been guzzled as they powered past Spain.
      For the first time in women’s football history, up to 5,000 fans will flock to London’s Trafalgar Square to watch the semi-final on big screens.
      The event is free, with lucky fans able to bag tickets on a first-come-first-served basis at london.gov.uk/womenseuro2022.
      Announcing the event, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said: “With Euros fever gripping the country, I am delighted that thousands of Londoners and visitors will be able to come together and cheer the team on to glory.”
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      As the excitement builds to fever pitch the team, managed by the Dutchwoman Sarina Wiegman, are keeping their feet on the ground.
      Some are still smarting after being bumped into fourth place by tomorrow’s opponents in the 2019 World Cup.
      But a fresh start comes with a new captain — Arsenal defender Leah Williamson, 25.
      She said: “I set myself a path to play for Arsenal, then England.
      “Maybe I didn’t know exactly who I was but I knew where I was going.”
      Manchester City’s Ellen White, 33 — known for her “goggles” goal celebration — is just one strike behind Wayne Rooney’s 53-goal record for his country and will be looking to equal or beat it tomorrow.
      For some of the Lionesses the semi-final will be a time of divided loyalties.
      Chelsea’s Millie Bright, 28, will be facing off against her Swedish team-mates, club captain Magdalena Eriksson and potentially keeper Zecira Mušovic.
      Leah Williamson and Beth Mead, 27 — the top scorer in the tournament so far with five goals – are up against their Arsenal team-mate Stina Blackstenius.
      Success against the Swedes will be no mean feat. Unlike England, they can boast at least one Euros win, even if it was in 1984.
      ‘FEVER GRIPPING COUNTRY’
      But there are plenty of people who believe our girls can go all the way..
      Match Of The Day host and ex-Three Lions ace Gary Linker was among a handful of high-profile names who took to social media to praise England’s comeback against Spain, tweeting: “Wonderful victory for @Lionesses. Well played.”
      Prince William also congratulated them, writing: “Great performance and comeback @Lionesses, brilliant team effort! On to the #WEURO2020 semis.”
      And the public are right behind the girls as Lioness fever has taken hold — which has not gone unnoticed by the team.
      Fran Kirby added: “As the tournament has grown people have been going, ‘Well done, girls — we’re supporting you!’
      “If we get the through to the final it will be incredible for people to have something to celebrate and enjoy.”
      Fingers crossed the team make it to Wembley to face either France or Germany — the latter giving us a prospect as exciting as England’s 1966 World Cup final.
      Football’s not coming home quite yet, but it’s tantalisingly close.
      Below, we introduce you to the Lionesses, share pictures of them when they were youngsters dreaming of footie stardom and tell you sun facts about them.
      Plus The Sun’s Head Of Sport gives his view.
      LEAH WILLIAMSON
      Arsenal Centre Back
      Leah 25, is from Milton Keynes, Bucks She is studying part time to become an accountantCredit: Rex
      Leah was scouted for the top Rushden & Diamonds Centre of Excellence aged just sixCredit: Instagram
      GEORGIA STANWAY
      Bayern Munich Midfield
      Now 23, at 16 Georgia moved and from her home town of Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, to follow her dreams to become a footballerCredit: Getty
      Georgia’s favourite cake is a Cartmel Sticky Toffee puddingCredit: Instagram
      MARY EARPS
      Man Utd Goalkeeper
      Comeback queen Mary returned to the squad last year after being axed by Phil Neville in 2019Credit: Getty
      Mary, from Nottingham, attempted to learn German through podcasts while playing for VfL Wolfsburg
      MILLIE BRIGHT
      Chelsea Defender
      Millie, 28, is one of the toughest players on the pitch but as a kid growing up in Chesterfield, Derbys, she was obsessed with horse ridingCredit: Getty
      Millie dumped horse riding for footie after being scouted by Sheffield United. As a teen, she idolised Olympic hero Jessica Ennis-HillCredit: Instagram
      BETH MEAD
      Arsenal Forward
      The Euros’ top scorer so far with five goals, Beth was a sports all-rounder as a child in Hinderwell, YorksCredit: Getty
      Beth 27, excelled at netball, cricket, hockey and cross-country before bopting to pursue football. So she could afford her pairs of boots, she worked at a local pubCredit: Instagram
      LUCY BRONZE
      Barcelona Fullback
      Lucy, 30, from Berwick-upon-Tweed, Northumberland, is the team’s most experienced playerCredit: Getty
      Lucy is bilingual thanks to her Portuguese dad. She worked part-time in a pizza shop when she signed for Everton.Credit: Instagram
      RACHEL DALY
      Houston Dash Forward/Fullback
      Rachel, 30, is from Harrogate North Yorks. As a child, some mistook her for a boy due to her short hair when she played for a lads’ teamCredit: Getty
      St John Ambulance dedicated a staff member every year to count how many yellow cards Rachel got as a teen player and warned her when she was getting close to a suspensionCredit: Instagram
      FRAN KIRBY
      Chelsea Forward
      Fran is 29 and from Reading. Her mum once wrote in a birthday card that Fran would play in the World Cup. Tragically she died suddenly when Fran was 14.Credit: Getty
      Tragically Fran’s mum died suddenly when Fran was 14Credit: Instagram / @frankirby
      KEIRA WALSH
      Man City Midfield
      Seen as one of the world’s most talented midfielders, Keira, 25, from Rochdale, was obsessed with Man City from early onCredit: Getty
      As a kid Keira named her goldfish Shaun Goater and Nicolas Anelka after two former club strikersCredit: Instagram
      LAUREN HEMP
      Man City Forward
      Hailing from North Walsham in Norfolk, 21-year-old Lauren’s early passion was dancingCredit: Getty
      Lauren only took up football after watching her older sister play in their garden at homeCredit: Twitter
      ELLEN WHITE
      Man City Forward
      Last year Ellen became the women’s top scorer of all time when she slotted home the 55th career goalCredit: Getty
      Now 33, she was eight and being trained by her dad Jon when she was spotted by an Arsenal scoutCredit: Supplied
      By SHAUN CUSTIS Head of Sun Sport
      THIS Euros has proved that the women’s game can stand on its own two feet.
      Which is why we should stop comparing it with men’s football.
      Last week it was being said that if Ellen White nets another two she will go past Wayne Rooney’s England goal-scoring record of 53.
      No she won’t, she will extend her own incredible record in women’s football.
      After all if Harry Kane, currently on 50 goals, gets to 55 we wouldn’t say he’s beaten Ellen White, so why do it the other way round?
      Of course, should The Lionesses win the tournament at Wembley on Sunday, there will be the inevitable digs at the men about the females triumphing where they failed last year.
      And they will deserve all the plaudits that come their way.
      But for the women’s game to seriously progress in the years to come it needs to develop in its own space.
      Hopefully that means this Euros will encourage girls’ football teams in every primary school, rather than the best players being in the boys’ teams.
      Once that becomes the norm, then women’s football will really be on the march. More

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      in Soccer

      How England’s women’s team get match ready, from watching Love Island to eating beans on toast and Abba singalongs

      by

      AS Euros fever grips the nation, England’s women’s team are training for glory ahead of Tuesday’s semi- final against Sweden – at a resort in South West London.On the banks of the Thames, with more than 25 acres of ­landscaped grounds, the exclusive Lensbury Hotel is in Teddington, which in 2021 was named the best place to live in­ the capital.
      The footballers have a diary room in their hotel like Big BrotherCredit: Getty
      The stars are staying at the exclusive Lensbury Hotel is in TeddingtonCredit: Getty
      When training is done, the Lionesses play cards, watch Love Island and share problems in a Big ­Brother-style Diary Room, where staff encourage them to offload what is on their minds.
      And in a more literal reinterpretation of Sir Alex Ferguson’s “hair-dryer” treatment, super sub and Man Utd forward Alessia Russo, 23, is also the team hairstylist.
      Midfielder Jill Scott, 35, said: “Alessia is doing my hair and she is doing a really good job. I keep saying to her, now that we’ve won our matches, I’ve got to keep my hair like this. I keep pestering her.”
      The camp is clearly paying off, with 23-year-old Georgia Stanway’s extra-time winner on Wednesday seeing off pre-tournament favourites Spain in the quarter-finals.
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WOMEN.css-1gojmfd{margin-bottom:16px;}.css-gmec1d{display:-webkit-inline-box;display:-webkit-inline-flex;display:-ms-inline-flexbox;display:inline-flex;height:auto;-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;-webkit-align-content:center;-ms-flex-line-pack:center;align-content:center;-webkit-box-flex-wrap:nowrap;-webkit-flex-wrap:nowrap;-ms-flex-wrap:nowrap;flex-wrap:nowrap;-webkit-flex-direction:row;-ms-flex-direction:row;flex-direction:row;-webkit-box-pack:start;-ms-flex-pack:start;-webkit-justify-content:flex-start;justify-content:flex-start;margin-left:calc(-20px/2);margin-right:calc(-20px/2);}.css-fh9577{display:-webkit-inline-box;display:-webkit-inline-flex;display:-ms-inline-flexbox;display:inline-flex;margin-left:calc(20px/2);margin-right:calc(20px/2);}.css-65fvqt{max-width:302px;max-height:294px;}.css-1exhbll{box-sizing:border-box;overflow:hidden;background-color:rgba(237,245,242,1);-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;position:relative;display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-flex-direction:column;-ms-flex-direction:column;flex-direction:column;max-width:302px;max-height:294px;}.css-bk55po{box-sizing:border-box;display:block;position:relative;margin-bottom:0;}.css-1shocxe{box-sizing:border-box;}.css-1a2irou{box-sizing:border-box;padding:0;}.css-1a2irou 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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;}SHORT SHRIFT .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;}England Women ask Nike to change shorts over period concerns during Euro 2022
      Arsenal forward Nikita Parris, 28, said: “We’ve got unbelievable facilities — pitch, gym, relaxation room and the diary room. It’s class.
      “The relaxation room is the main room for most people. In there we’ve got darts, pool, table tennis and the basketball machine.
      “On days off we get to relax, wake up a bit later, come and go as we please.”
      Alessia, who scored the goal of the tournament so far in the 5-0 drubbing of Northern Ireland, said: “After training we recover, have lunch, then enjoy each other’s company.
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      “We play cards, sit in the sun, get a coffee. There’s a group of us who play cards. It’s a nice way to switch off and play a game called Trump, which gets really competitive.”
      It’s her first major tournament with England, helped by the presence of clubmate Ella Toone, 22 — the duo combining for Ella to score the crucial equaliser against Spain.
      Alessia said: “Being on this journey with my best friend makes it all that little bit more special.
      “Tooney’s an absolute doughnut, she has me in hysterics. I think we balance each other out quite nicely.”
      Winger Lauren Hemp, 21, is the queen of the dartboard, dominating at the squad’s favourite game, Around The World, according to Man City teammate Chloe Kelly.
      Chloe, 24, said: “I’ve been practising because Hempo flies away with the win every time.”
      Chelsea teammates Bethany England and Jess Carter, 24, have been going head-to-head at pool.
      Bethany, 28, said: “My competitive edge is quite extreme. I will get a face on if I lose.”
      Players recover from matches with yoga classes, ice baths and visits to the cryotherapy chamber.
      The team have conceded just once during their march to the semis, but their secret weapon might be a touch simpler — match-winner Georgia’s heroics were fuelled by a classic dinner.
      She said: “My pre-match meal is a bit of a superstition, but it’s got to be beans on toast. But sometimes, when we go abroad, it’s really hard to get the beans and they end up being kidney beans, so sometimes I have to go without.”
      Their success has prompted a rush for tickets to the semi-final, with an extra 2,000 tickets selling out in ten minutes on Thursday morning.
      Re-sale websites are offering £15 tickets for as much as £850.
      Those who do have tickets shouldn’t worry if they hear Swedish songs after the game, as Abba are a fixture in England’s post-match celebrations.
      Captain Leah Williamson, 25, is the squad’s designated DJ, including on the long coach rides back to Teddington after games — with communal singing at the tops of their voices until the early hours.
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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;}NAME GAME .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;}We named our son a strong, manly name but family laughed in our face at it
      As well as Abba’s hits, Proud, by Heather Small, and songs from the musical Grease are on the playlist.
      Defender Millie Bright, 28, said: “Some players text r­e­quests from the back of the bus. We like the singalong vibes.”
      A cryotherapy chamber helps the players to recover between gamesCredit: Getty
      England’s women’s team are preparing for the European Championship semi-finalCredit: Getty
      England face Sweden in the semi-final on TuesdayCredit: Getty
      Beans on toast is a staple snack for the footballersCredit: Getty More