If you’re a Manchester United fan, we’re sure there were plenty of memorable scenes for you atthe semi-final on Sunday, but nothing quite beats a barber giving someone a haircut in the middle of the gameat Wembley.
In case you haven’t seen the viral videos doing the rounds already — and for reasons that were entirely unknown to us until now — a United fan was spotted being treated to a full-on trim, hairdressing gown and everything, while the Red Devils were playing Brighton in the capital this weekend.
No, we’re not joking: while both teams were vying for a place in the FA Cup final, one man was randomly receiving a haircut from his mate as supporters around them looked on in confusion and cracking up.
The prices at Wembley are already ridiculously steep, god knows how much the haircut package would come to.
Although we fully concede it’s probably one of the oddest things ever captured in the crowd at a football match, there’s actually a fairly clever albeit still undeniably funny reason behind it.
ADVERTISEMENT
After looking closely at the branding on the gown itself and doing some digging, we not only found the barber responsible but soon stumbled upon his barbershop and grooming services’ social media page.
Yes, this was a simple marketing stunt from the hairdresser and the company he works for — and we use the word ‘simple’ very lightly as we’re sure it wasn’t exactly straightforward getting a pair of clippers, scissors and all the rest of it into the stadium.
ADVERTISEMENT
17-year-old barber Imad, who goes by @_5starcuts on Instagram, is based out of Hertfordshire and works out of a David Lloyds gym and spa. As a result of his comical bit of advertising, his bookings are said to have “tripled in the 12 hours” following the game. Genius.
While many online branded it “attention-seeking” and just plain “weird behaviour”, we think it’s a clever little idea that has got thousands talking and evidently given the business huge exposure.
Not only did the teenage United fan go along to watch his team win a massive game, but the evidently creative young entrepreneur has also given his brand a massive boost with just one haircut.
ADVERTISEMENT
To be honest, we’re just glad to have finally made some sense out of it.
Moreover, it appears the fellow United fan who received the haircut from the business-savvy barber was plenty involved in the process too, as he recently shared an extended video of the viral Wembley trim.
Featured Image — @penthousebarbers (via IG)/AKIVISON(via YouTube)/@UtdEIIis (via Twitter)
Sport
Details released of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners while Mayor
Emily Sergeant
Details of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners during his tenure as Mayor of Greater Manchester have been released.
In case you need bringing up to speed on the situation a little first, Manchester City was found guilty back in September all of its charges related to the Premier League’s financial rules over a nine-season period, and on top of that, was also found guilty of the majority of charges in relation to its failure to co-operate with the League’s investigation.
According to the Premier League, the independent Commission found that Manchester City had arranged so-called ‘sham’ commercial deals with a number of its sponsors.
These were part of a disguised funding scheme – with those sponsors only required to pay a portion of the relevant sponsorship fees.
The remainder was then funded by Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Ltd (ADUG), which owned the club.
The Commission also concluded, as quoted by the Premier League, that the club had ‘made concerted efforts to stop and frustrate the Premier League investigation’.
Within the past week or so, it has since come to light that now-Prime Minister Andy Burnham had dealings with Manchester City during his tenure as Greater Manchester Mayor, and Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) has now issued a public statement, giving details on the matter and what these ‘dealings’ entailed.
A spokesperson for GMCA confirmed that Burnham had a ‘formal meeting’ with Man City Chairman, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, back in October 2021.
The statement reads in full: “In October 2021, Andy Burnham, in his role as Mayor of Greater Manchester, had a formal meeting with Khaldoon Al Mubarak at the UK Government’s Global Investment Summit arranged by the Department for International Trade.
“In his capacity as Mayor, he was a guest of Manchester City FC at home matches on a small number of occasions, including attending Vincent Kompany’s testimonial match in September 2019, where he met the Chairman informally in the stands. These have been declared in the usual way.
“Also during his time as Mayor, representatives of Greater Manchester sporting clubs would routinely join business delegations as part of Mayoral international visits.
“This included representatives from Manchester United travelling to Austin and Dublin, Lancashire Cricket Club joining a delegation to India, and Manchester City FC staff supporting visits to China and Japan.”
Featured Image – Lauren Hurley / Number 10 Downing Street (Press Image via Flickr)
Sport
Multiple arrests made for ‘tragedy chanting’ and police officer assault as Man City defeated Liverpool
Emily Sergeant
Multiple people were arrested over the weekend as Manchester City defeated Liverpool in a Premier League clash.
Merseyside Police have confirmed that a total of 10 people were arrested during the policing operation at Liverpool’s home ground of Anfield as they hosted Manchester City on Sunday 11 October.
One man was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police constable, five were on suspicion of tragedy chanting, one on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly, two for affray, and one on suspicion of throwing items onto the pitch.
Police are now appealing to the public, and are particularly looking to speak to witnesses of the assault of the officer.
At around 6:35pm, as fans left the stadium, a police officer sustained a ‘serious facial injury’ during the arrest of a man on Anfield Road, and was subsequently taken to hospital for treatment but is now recovering at home.
Investigating officers are now conducting enquiries, speaking to witnesses, and analysing CCTV and camera phone footage.
Chief Inspector Leanne Hobin said it’s ‘extremely disappointing’ that an officer has sustained a serious injury while carrying out their duty.
“I hope the arrests send a clear message and act as a deterrent to others,” Chief Inspector Hobin continued. “Anyone who engages in this abhorrent behaviour risks ending up in custody and getting a criminal record.
“Despite the actions of a few, the overwhelming majority of the 60,000 fans in attendance behaved well and I want to thank them for their co-operation.”
Manchester City ended up defeated Liverpool 3-0 during the Premier League clash at Anfield.
Danny Jones -
26th April 2023 
