More stories

  • in

    Most expensive footie team to support away revealed – where does your club rank?

    NEWCASTLE United is the most expensive Premier League team to support when it comes to driving to away matches, research reveals.The Magpies fans would spend an average of £1,922 on fuel to attend all the club’s away fixtures, a study by ChooseMyCar.com reckons.
    Newcastle fans would spend an average of £1,922 on fuel to attend all the club’s away fixturesCredit: Reuters
    Bournemouth, Brighton and Everton fans, meanwhile, have to spend at least £1,300 on fuel to see their teams play away.
    Arsenal, Chelsea, Fulham and Leicester fans, by contrast, only have to cough up £900.
    But if you add the cost of season tickets, Tottenham is priciest at £2,952.
    Nick Zapolski, founder of ChooseMyCar.com, still believes driving is the best way to get to games.
    READ MORE ON NEWCASTLE UNITED
    He said: “Fans often use official buses or trains, but costs rack up quickly.
    “Driving to fixtures can save time and money, especially if you carpool. More

  • in

    Leicester City furious as drones were used to spy on training sessions ahead of Premier League clash

    LEICESTER City chiefs were left ­furious after drones were used to spy on first-team training sessions days before a Premier League clash.Camera-bearing devices were flown over top players including England star James Maddison and manager Brendan Rodgers as they worked on secret drills this week.
    Leicester City chiefs were left ­furious after drones were used to spy on first-team training sessions – pictured England star James MaddisonCredit: Getty
    Camera-bearing devices were flown over top playersCredit: Getty – Contributor
    Manager Brendan Rodgers was also seen being spied on by the devicesCredit: Getty
    Security guards at the club, who play Brighton & Hove Albion tomorrow, confronted the drone operator outside the club’s training base.
    He told them he was entitled to fly them above the facility from outside the perimeter.
    Footage later emerged online of the club’s security boss threatening to call cops and clips of the players training and planning set-pieces.
    A source said: “The man was insistent he wouldn’t leave.
    READ MORE ON DRONES
    “He filmed drills which are supposed to be kept confidential.
    “They’re a key part of team tactics and opponents finding out about them before a game would be a huge problem.
    “After the session the squad discussed it.
    “We’ve since been told the club are taking it further as similar things have happened before and to rivals.
    Most read in Football
    “Some footage has already been on YouTube and TikTok. Who knows where else it goes?”
    Former Leeds United manager Marcelo Bielsa admitted sending a club employee to spy on Derby County in training before a Championship match in 2019.
    The club was fined £200,000 by the English Football League who said the move was unsporting but not illegal.
    The EFL introduced a law forbidding viewing opponents’ training sessions in the 72 hours before a match. More

  • in

    Match of the Day prankster Dan Jarvis who tricked Gary Lineker with porn noise reveals how he did it

    SEX noise prankster Daniel “Jarvo” Jarvis told how he beat security by marching into a football stadium with TV crew — and even helped himself to beers in a hospitality box.He and a pal later activated a £20 phone — one of the world’s loudest — to pump moans around the live Match of the Day studio.
    Notorious UK prankster Dan Jarvis was behind the Match Of The Day stuntCredit: Dan Charity
    Gary Lineker was in stitches at the moaning noises started playing in the backgroundCredit: BBC
    The stunt had BBC host Gary Lineker in stitches and stunned millions watching Tuesday’s Wolves v Liverpool FA Cup replay.
    YouTuber Jarvo, 30, wore black jeans and coat to blend in as he and the pal followed a TV crew into Wolves’s Molineux stadium a day before kick-off, nodding at security who let them pass unchecked.
    The pair used double-sided tape to stick the gold Yepen mobile to a 7ft wall on set, and changed the ringtone to the raunchy soundtrack.
    Jarvo told The Sun: “These things are all about confidence.“We got in because we made it look like we were meant to be there, so no one bats an eyelid.
    READ MORE ON FOOTBALL
    “If you hesitate, then you’ll get asked questions. But people from Wolves thought we were with the TV, and vice versa.
    “TV crews don’t dress particularly smartly so I fitted right in. There were about four staff working in the studio. We tried not to speak to them much, just saying ‘How are you?’
    “Our plan was to strap it under a chair or the table, but they might’ve got suspicious if we started moving stuff around.
    “So we strapped it to the top of the wall and because of the colour no one could see it. We had a cheers with the beers afterwards then it was a waiting game, hoping no one had found the phone.”
    Most read in Football
    A YouTube video posted during Tuesday’s match showed Jarvo call the phone to trigger the X-rated noise.
    He added: “I was at my cousin’s and couldn’t believe it worked. It was hilarious. We’ve tried this before and it didn’t work. But this must’ve been the magic of the FA Cup.”
    Jarvo and his mate spent 90 minutes inside Molineux. They filmed a jokey interview in the mix zone and posed in the dugouts.
    A YouTube video posted during Tuesday’s match showed Jarvo call the phone to trigger the X-rated noiseCredit: Ruckas
    Pal of Jarvo’s recording of BBC man scrambling to find noise source behind Ince and Lineker
    Gary Lineker tweeted exactly where the noise was coming fromCredit: @GaryLineker
    Jarvo, known as Jarvo69 online, added: “Staff didn’t say anything. I was tempted to jump in the home changing room ice bath but didn’t have a towel. I also used the toilet in the away dressing room, which is terrible — it’s like a PE changing room from the ’90s. After we planted the phone, we had a beer and got out.”
    Jarvo rang the phone at 1am on Tuesday to check it had not been found. He then buzzed it around 12 times from a burner device after the BBC went live at 7.30pm.
    The noise drowned out Lineker as he cut to the commentary team.
    He could barely be heard saying: “It is toasty in this studio. I am not sure if someone is sending something on somebody’s phone.”
    Jarvo streamed his calls, cracking up with laughter while ringing his mate who was inside Molineux recording the studio reaction.
    It showed pundit Paul Ince pointing to the noise’s source, while crew searched for it to no avail.
    Jarvo, of Gravesend, Kent, said: “There is a short delay with the TV so I was worried it didn’t work, but the camera went back to Lineker at the perfect time.
    “Those situations are so funny because no one has been in it before. You could see they were panicking but Lineker is such a pro and handled it really well. Everyone seems to have loved it. I feel like we’ve cheered up the nation a bit at a bad time.”
    Jarvo tried to prank BT Sport’s coverage of Fulham v Tottenham in 2021 but was let down by that phone’s sound quality.
    The incident also sparked a police alert.
    Daniel ‘Jarvo’ Jarvis told how he beat security by marching into a football stadium with TV crewCredit: Dan Charity
    This time he bought five phones after searching for the world’s loudest mobiles.
    Man Utd fan Jarvo said: “This Yepen worked a treat. We’ve still got a few so TV and the Premier League better watch out!”
    Police have said it was not a criminal offence.
    The BBC apologised to viewers who may have been offended but Lineker said the corporation had nothing to say sorry for.
    He shared a picture of the phone after it was discovered and said: “As sabotage goes, it was quite amusing.”
    Liverpool won 1-0 and Lineker said at half-time: “Harvey Elliott’s goal was a screamer . . . which was not the only one we’ve had tonight.”
    Read More on The Sun
    Yesterday talkSPORT pundit Ally McCoist joked he’d never heard such a noise in his life, adding: “I’ve been doing it wrong for 40 years!”
    Jarvo added: “This prank will go down in history. I’ve always got things planned. I can’t tell you what’s next.” More

  • in

    Gary Lineker laughs off Match of the Day ‘porn noise’ scandal & enjoyed half-time analysis with sex-filled innuendo

    GARY Lineker yesterday laughed off the Match of the Day “porn noise” scandal — and said he took great pleasure filling his half-time analysis with sex-filled innuendo.The presenter said the BBC has had to look at its security measures following YouTuber Daniel “Jarvo” Jarvis’s stunt.
    Gary Lineker laughed off the MOTD ‘porn noise’ scandalCredit: BBC/UNPIXS
    The presenter said he enjoyed his half-time analysis with sex-filled innuendo – pictured The Sun’s coverage of the story
    But Gary, 62, who memorably had an on-pitch “accident” during England’s 1990 World Cup opener, joked: “If you told me yesterday morning that I’d be on the front page of The Sun, involved with a porn ­scandal, I’d have s*** myself — again!”
    Gary added: “I thought it was funny, and the YouTube prankster has shown his work.
    “It was that loud that I couldn’t really hear myself think, or what the other guys were saying, and realised people could probably hear it at home so I knew I had to both keep it together, whilst also addressing the matter.
    “In these situations, you have to keep your head.
    Read More on Gary Lineker
    “Yes, it’s funny but you can’t overwhelm the show — you can’t ignore it.
    “But, and after the studio manager had located the strap-on phone, I started to have a bit of fun with it all.
    “So at half-time every question I asked about the analysis, my comments were some kind of reference to it.
    “Things like ‘Wolves huffed and puffed’ or ‘the only goal was a screamer — and not the only screamer we had’, and ‘Liverpool pressed really hard in trying to get behind them’ — all that kind of thing.
    Most read in Football
    “It was daft but it really did amuse me. And once I realised it was a prank, I knew that if I started laughing I probably wouldn’t have stopped.
    “It was the most surreal and one of the strangest things I’ve ever encountered in broadcasting.”
    Prankster Jarvo, a serial pitch invader, had broken into the studio and activated a sexy sounds ring tone on a mobile phone, which he hid on the set.
    He then called the phone during Gary’s studio segments at the Wolves v Liverpool FA Cup replay at Molineux on Tuesday.
    The BBC later issued a po-faced apology.
    But Gary questioned that decision.
    He said: “I’m not sure why the BBC apologised because it’s not our fault obviously.
    “It’s a security issue, and there is a serious side to it; if someone can do that, they can do something else with something that could be more dangerous.
    “But, in this instance, I felt that universally people were finding it really funny.
    Read More on The Sun
    “And actually I have to agree with them, even if it was at our expense.
    “It was enjoyed, I think . . . much like those people on that phone!” More

  • in

    Escaped prisoner hunted by cops looks like top footballer – can you guess who?

    A GARY Neville lookalike on the run from prison is being hunted by cops.Social media users reckon Paul Clohessy is a spit for the ex-Red Devils ace turned pundit.
    Drugs offender Paul Clohessy is serving six years at HMP North Sea Camp but absconded on MondayCredit: SWNS
    When Lincolnshire Police issued a wanted photo yesterday, Facebook users pounced on his resemblance to ex-Man United star Gary NevilleCredit: Getty
    Drugs offender Clohessy, 36, is serving six years at HMP North Sea Camp but absconded on Monday.
    Facebook users pounced on the resemblance when Lincolnshire Police issued a wanted photo yesterday.
    One wag quipped: “When Gary Neville and Harry Maguire have a kid.”
    Others compared the fugitive to out-of-form Newcastle United striker Chris Wood.
    read more on gary neville
    They said: “Is that Chris Wood?
    “If so keep him locked up till the end of the season as he is rubbish.”
    The 400-capacity open prison was branded a holiday camp by some.
    One said: “Another walks out of North Sea Butlin’s never to return.”
    Most read in Football
    Clohessy was convicted at Liverpool crown court in 2021 of possessing heroin and crack cocaine with intent to supply.
    Police believe he may be hiding in his home patch Birkenhead.
    He has a tattoo on each arm and a scar under the one on his right. More

  • in

    Inside Shakira’s very petty split from Gerard Pique – from brutal diss track to row over bizarre witch doll

    SHE styled herself as a She Wolf in one of her bigg­est hits — and Shakira’s claws are certainly out as she takes aim at her ex Gerard Pique.Once one of the world’s most glamorous showbiz couples, the singer and the Spanish football ace are now engaged in an extra­ordinarily bitter split.
    Superstar Shakira and Spanish football ace Gerard Pique are engaged in an extra­ordinarily bitter splitCredit: Getty – Contributor
    Ever since Gerard ditched Shakira for the then 22-year-old Clara Chia Marti this summer, no act of revenge has been considered too pettyCredit: EPA
    Shakira with Gerard after his team won the Spanish cup in 2015Credit: Getty
    Ever since Gerard ditched Shakira for the then 22-year-old Clara Chia Marti this summer, no act of revenge has been considered too petty — with a brutal diss track, savage jibes and even a row over a bizarre witch doll playing out in public.
    Last week, 45-year-old Shakira dropped a new track which takes a swipe at love rival Clara’s age with the lyrics: “I’m worth two 22s. You traded a Ferrari for a Twingo, you traded a Rolex for a Casio.”
    Gerard, 35, responded by turning up to work in an £8,000 Renault Twingo this weekend and boasting his new seven-a-side project the King’s League had landed a sponsorship deal with Casio — adding that the cheaper watch would “last a lifetime”.
    In another twist Shakira put a terrifying life-size witch doll on her balcony, facing her mother-in-law’s house in the same street.
    READ MORE ON GERARD PIQUE
    Neighbours reported she also blasted out the new song — BZRP Music Sessions #53 — on repeat so Gerard’s mum, Montserrat Bernabéu, could hear.
    The singer was devastated when he went public with new love Clara, now 23, just three months after she kicked him out of the family homeCredit: BackGrid
    Shakira was also deeply hurt by Gerard’s frequent visits to his parents’ home with Clara, which is in full view of her ownCredit: EPA
    ‘You left me because of your narcissism’
    The vitriolic break-up comes after a 12-year romance which began on the set of the video for Shakira’s 2010 World Cup anthem, Waka Waka (This Time for Africa).
    The first of the couple’s two sons, Milan, nine, was born in 2012, prompting Shakira to move from the US to Barcelona. Sasha, seven, arrived two years later.
    Although Shakira and Gerard never married, the Colombian singer insisted he was “the one” in a 2014 interview.
    Most read in Football
    “We already have what’s essential. We have a union, a love for each other, and a baby,” she told Glamour magazine.
    “Those aspects of our relation­ship are already established, and marriage is not going to change them. But if I’m ever going to get married, he’s the one.”
    Ironically, she later revealed she feared becoming a wife would make him lose interest.
    “Marriage scares the sh*t out of me. I don’t want him to see me as the wife. I’d rather him see me as his girlfriend, his lover,” she said. “It’s like a little forbidden fruit. I want to keep him on his toes.”
    In 2021, the couple appeared to stand together as Shakira faced allega­tions she had dodged £12million in tax owed to the Spanish authorities — a claim she has dismissed as “false” although she has now paid the money in full.
    Shakira says Gerard has swapped ‘a Rolex’…Credit: Rolex
    …for a Casio instead and his Ferrari for a Twingo
    Pique turns up at work in a Twingo and says he’s signed a deal with CasioCredit: Twitter @KingsLeague
    But rumours the former Barcelona star was having an affair emerged in June 2022, and days later, the couple shocked fans with a joint statement announcing their split.
    They added: “For the well-being of our children, who are our highest priority, we ask that you respect our privacy. Thank you for your understanding.”
    Spanish outlet El Periodico reported that they had been living separately for a few weeks, after Shakira kicked Gerard out of the family home.
    Three months later, she was devastated when he went public with new love Clara, now 23. She was also deeply hurt by Gerard’s frequent visits to his parents’ home with Clara, which is in full view of her own.
    And she wasn’t going to keep quiet about it. In September, she broke her silence with an emo­tional interview in Elle magazine, saying her situation was “probab­ly the darkest hour of my life”.
    She revealed her ex had left her while her 91-year-old dad fought for his life in hospital after a bad fall.
    She continued: “For [women] like me who believe in values like family, who had the big dream of having a family for ever, to see that dream broken or shredded into pieces is probably one of the most painful things you can ever go through.”
    Shakira also claimed she had sacrificed her own music career by moving to Barcelona saying: “I put my career in second gear and I came to Spain, to support him so he could play football and win titles. And it was a sacrifice of love.”
    Her heartbreak hit, Monotonia, released in October, bewailed the monotony that led to the bitter break-up and contained the dig: “Suddenly you were no longer the same.
    “You left me because of your narcissism. You forgot what we once were.” The video shows the singer being shot in the chest, then her heart pulled out and stamped on.
    As their life unravelled, claims that Gerard had been dating his new love long before the split have fuelled the bitter feud, with some unconfirmed reports suggesting they met at the Davis Cup in 2019.
    The scandal has fuelled constant headlines in Spain — and seemingly, more heartbreak for Shakira.
    ‘A lot of gyms. But work your brain too’
    In a New Year message to her 80million Instagram fans, she wrote that she knew how it felt when “wounds are still open”.
    She added: “Even if someone’s betrayed us, we must continue to trust others. When faced with contempt, continue to know your worth. Because there are more good people than indecent ones.”
    But the sniping and revel­ations have continued to escalate, leading to a brutal war of words.
    This month, Shakira was said to be “devastated” over new footage of a Zoom interview from August 2021, which seemed to show Clara at the family home in Spain.
    It was ten months before she and Gerard announced their separation. The video shows a woman resembling Clara stepping into the frame as Gerard spoke to US video live-streaming service Twitch, while Shakira was reportedly abroad with the boys.
    The bitter star’s new diss track, which has had more than 110million views on YouTube, swipes at Gerard, Clara and her mother-in-law.
    In an apparent dig at the former Manchester United and Barcelona defender, Shakira sings: “A lot of gyms. But work your brain a little bit too.”
    Shakira put a witch effigy on her balcony facing mum-in-law’s home and blasts out her new revenge trackCredit: Splash
    She adds: “No hard feelings baby, I wish you the best with my supposed replacement.”
    Referring to her tax fraud case and her proximity to Gerard’s family home, she sings: “You left me my mother-in-law as my neighbour, press at my door and in debt with the treasury.”
    She also uses a play on words against her rival, adding: “She has the name of a good person, It’s clearly not what it sounds like”. The Spanish word for “clearly” — “claramente” — which sounds similar to Clara Marti’s name, is emphasised.
    Defending her song on Twitter, amid accusations of misogyny against Clara, Shakira wrote: “This is for all the women who taught me that when life throws bitter lemons at you, all you can do is make lemonade.”
    Fans took it as a reference to Beyonce’s album Lemonade, about the infidelity of husband Jay-Z. The feud reached a new level this weekend amid reports Shakira has installed a witch on a broomstick at her home — looking directly at Montserrat Bernabéu’s house.
    Reports say relations between the two turned sour after Gerard’s mum readily welcomed her son’s new girlfriend into the family.
    Journalist Marc Leirado said the mannequin, with long grey hair and a witch’s hat, had spooked Montserrat. “Weeks ago, I got some information that Gerard’s mother was worried about an alleged ritual that was done to her with a black witch,” Marc wrote.
    He says Gerard’s mum had asked a member of Shakira’s staff to remove it and it was temporarily taken down before being put back.
    Read More on The Sun
    Yesterday, Shakira was having the last laugh as the new song made history, by becoming the fastest Spanish track to make 100million views on YouTube.
    Whatever happens next in the savage tit for tat, you can expect the She-Wolf to bite back.
    HER REVENGE LYRICS
    THESE are the most brutal lyrics in Shakira: BZRP Music Sessions #53
    I’m worth two 22sYou traded a Ferrari for a TwingoYou traded a Rolex for a Casio
    – Clara Marti is rumoured to have started dating Pique when she was 22. The lyric also alludes to his goal celebration, which was a two formed with each hand in tribute to his and Shakira’s shared birthday on Feb 2.
    So much talk of being a championAnd when I needed you, you gave me the worst version of youYou left me my mother-in-law as my neighbourPress at my door and in debt with the treasury
    – A reference to her tax fraud case.
    You thought you’d hurt me, but you made me tougherWomen don’t cry anymore, women invoice.She has the name of a good personIt’s clearly not what it sounds like
    – An apparent pun on the Spanish word “Claramente”, meaning clearly, and its ­similarity to Clara Marti.
    Lots of time at the gymBut your brain needs a little work too More

  • in

    Pub which has iconic place in history of football to be bulldozed

    A PUB where the modern rules of football were first agreed is being knocked down.The Plough Inn — considered to be the home of the beautiful game — will make way for eight houses after a bid to save it was lost.
    The boozer in Crosspool, Sheffield, was under a protection order as an asset of community value and plans for the homes were initially rejectedCredit: Crosthwaite Commercial
    The pub is thought to have hosted discussions which led to the introduction of throw-ins, headers and the offside rule.
    It also sits next to the oldest football ground in the world.
    The boozer in Crosspool, Sheffield, was under a protection order as an asset of community value and plans for the homes were initially rejected.
    But developers appealed and a planning inspector has overturned Sheffield council’s decision, allowing the three-bed houses to be built.

    The bull­dozers moved in last week.
    Campaigners have battled for years to save The Plough, which closed in 2015.
    Henrietta Billings, of SAVE Britain’s Heritage, said: “It’s shocking to see such an important part of football’s history bulldozed. It should never have been the final whistle for this historic landmark.”
    The Campaign for Real Ale said it was a missed opportunity to develop it as a pub with a football museum.
    Most read in Football
    Heritage officer Dave Pickersgill said: “Football tourism is huge and people come from all over to visit the world’s two oldest clubs Sheffield FC and Hallam.”
    The pub was where Sheffield clubs devised their rules from the 1850s.
    They were then merged with rival regulations in London. More

  • in

    England ace Harry Maguire snaps up beachfront villa on Caribbean resort loved by Wayne Rooney and Gary Lineker

    ENGLAND ace Harry Maguire has snapped up a beachfront villa on a Barbados resort loved by Three Lions heroes Wayne Rooney and Gary Lineker.The Manchester United defender’s four-bed pad has a pool and overlooks an 18-hole golf course.
    England ace Harry Maguire has snapped up a beachfront villa on a Barbados resort loved by Three Lions heroes Wayne Rooney and Gary LinekerCredit: Reuters
    Harry, 29, and his wife Fern, 28, wanted somewhere private to escape with their two childrenCredit: Alamy
    Man United legend Rooney regularly holidays at the exclusive Royal Westmoreland resort with wife Coleen, 36, and their four kidsCredit: PA:Press Association
    Match of the Day host Lineker, 62, still visits after selling a property there in 2010Credit: Colorsport
    A source said Harry, 29, and wife Fern, 28, wanted somewhere private to escape with their two children.
    They added: “It’s been a tough year.
    “Harry’s struggled on the pitch and been targeted off it.
    “They need somewhere they can unwind.”

    Man United legend Rooney, 37, regularly holidays at the exclusive Royal Westmoreland resort with wife Coleen, 36, and their four kids after buying a £5million villa during his playing days.
    Match of the Day host Lineker, 62, still visits after selling a property there in 2010.
    Sir Cliff Richard and Denise van Outen are also regulars in the swish clubhouse.
    Maguire, a late sub in United’s dramatic 2-1 win over City in the Manchester derby, picked up the Barbados property during Covid.
    Most read in Football
    He has also invested in a farm close to his family in Mosborough, South Yorks.
    A source said: “Harry is from Mosborough.
    “When he retires, that will be his long-term home.” More