Pep talk will have to Kop an apology
IT is a good job this England one-day side is such a thrilling team, stocked with matchwinning talent and one that has sports lovers salivating at the prospect of the World Cup.
Otherwise, we might have noticed the amateur hour way – with an unimaginative logo and a stock picture of a rap show audience – the ECB is launching The Hundred. PEP GUARDIOLA has not only orchestrated some of the most wonderful football we have ever seen in the English game, he has, generally, said and done the right thing.
Some of his behaviour amid the intensity of an actual contest has left a little to be desired but he has mainly struck the right chords away from the field.
And now, he should, and I suspect he will, give Liverpool an apology. He should atone for what could be described, if you were being kind, as his club’s ill-judged response to the emergence of footage apparently showing some of its staff singing a derogatory, deeply distasteful chant about Liverpool – which refers to being ‘battered on the streets’ and being ‘victims’ – on their way home from Brighton.
I suspect he will.
It is not clear exactly who – staff, players, supporters – is singing what. But that is not the point.
It takes place in an official club environment and the initial reaction of City officials was not to condemn it but to explain it was not referencing Sean Cox, who had lifechanging injuries inflicted on him by Roma fans, or the Hillsborough tragedy.
Oh, that’s OK then. Of course it is not. And if the situation is explained to Guardiola (above), he will surely do the right thing.
And apologise.
SERIOUSLY, when are boxing authorities going to get a grip of characters such as Deontay Wilder?
“(Dominic Breazeale’s) life is on the line for this fight and I do mean his life. I am still trying to get me a body on my record.”
There is trash talk and then there is this deeply offensive bile.
No fine from the WBC is big enough.
If boxing is a noble art, Wilder is an ignoble idiot. That they have remained within the constraints of Financial Fair Play appears to be down mainly to one of owner Mel Morris’s companies buying the ground and leasing it back – a deal that made the club a profit of around £40million.
Creative accountancy seems to
MEASURED by its commercial success and the entertainment it provides, Richard Scudamore did an exceptional job at the Premier League.
Which, presumably, is why he received a Special Recognition award at the League Managers Association’s