NatWest has had to apologise to a disgruntled homeowner after they painted a large Marcus Rashford mural on the side of his home without full permission.
The British banking group commissioned a new mural depicting the Manchester United star as part of their new financial skills for young people scheme, NatWest Thrive, with the artwork featuring Rashford as a child and as an adult, as well as a slogan reading: “Believe it, become it”.
Man United‘s no.10 helped launch the bank’s financial advice scheme last year and has been a face for the campaign ever since, however, it would seem that they didn’t properly consult the Brighton property’s owner who claims he didn’t give them his permission.
Speaking to press, landlord and former antique dealer Peter Brynin said, “Obviously I was taken quite aback. It is an art wall. It’s known for that… I have no objection to Rashford, I have no objection to the art, but I do object to an advert where I haven’t been contacted at all.”
There a big mural of Marcus Rashford up in Brighton town centre, before any Brighton player 🤣 pic.twitter.com/MjITNiKrUx
Rashford and the mural themselves might be aspiring, but it’s the NatWest marketing element that he’s taken issue with.
He went on to insist, “I am fine with graffiti and murals, but what I don’t want to see it being used for is an advertising space. I can’t go up to their bank in Westminster and paint a logo of my business on the side”.
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The mural depicts the England international but it also features a large painting of NatWest’s logo on the wall located to the left of the mural and connected to the house.
A plaque attached to the mural reads: “This temporary art mural is in collaboration with Marcus Rashford and NatWest Thrive, which aims to give young people self-belief, confidence and money skills.”
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Along with this branding, there is also a QR code and information sign next to the front door of the property belonging to Mr Brynin.
A spokesperson from NatWest said in an apology by way of a statement: “The space was purchased in good faith for the campaign to showcase a fantastic piece of work from a local artist. Unfortunately, the media owner was unaware that part of the wall had changed ownership since the space was last used.
“Obviously, we were keen to make this right and the media owner contacted the property owner immediately to come to a resolution they were happy with.”
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Backing the purpose of the mural, the bank went on explain, “This temporary art mural is in collaboration with Marcus Rashford and NatWest Thrive, which aims to give young people self-belief, confidence and money skills”, adding that they are “pleased to confirm the mural will remain until the 20 August as planned.”
Meanwhile, another mural mix-up is being fixed back here in Manchester as the famous Ian Curtis mural is set to be restored after some more marketing miscommunication.
Featured Image — Brett Mendoza (via Twitter)/Marcus Rashford (via Instagram)
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 -
15th August 2023 
