Sport

Manchester City ‘strongly condemn’ racist abuse towards first-team players at Everton

An arrest has been made.

Danny Jones Danny Jones - 5th May 2026

Manchester City Football Club have released a statement following yet more troubling racist abuse in the Premier League this May bank holiday.

Pep Guardiola’s side faced Everton in a fixture that ended in a 3-3 draw, which could prove pivotal in their pursuit of leaders Arsenal.

Sadly, however, one of the main stories to be taken from the game once again revolves around abuse and discrimination.

Match officials were quickly made aware of racial remarks directed at winger Antoine Semenyo on the day, and, unfortunately, defender Marc Guehi has also been the subject of hateful messaging online in the aftermath of the result.

Sharing a short, but simple and emphatic statement, the club wrote: “Manchester City strongly condemns the racist abuse directed towards Antoine Semenyo at yesterday’s match.

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“We welcome the swift action taken by Everton and the police to identify the individual responsible.

“We are also incredibly disappointed to hear that Marc Guéhi was subject to a series of vile racist social media posts last night.”

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They go on to add that they will “continue to offer our full support to both Antoine and Marc and never accept discrimination of any kind in our game.”

Everton themselves have since confirmed that local authorities swiftly identified at least one individual alleged to be responsible for the unacceptable behaviour.

As mentioned in their own post, the culprit is said to have been a 71-year-old man who was quickly flagged by fans and stewards inside the Hill Dickinson Stadium.

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While this may be the first incident reported at the Toffees’ new home ground, regrettably, it’s just the latest in a long line of similar cases raised not just in English football but the top flight, specifically.

Although the Prem has recently reflected on its No Room For Racism campaign five years on from its most recent ‘action plan’, it’s clear that there is still a lot of work to be done.

It goes without saying that we’re sorry to hear that stuff like this is still happening, and we send our strength to all those who continue to be affected by this despicable treatment.

As ever, ‘the beautiful game’ is for everyone and racism has no place in society, let alone football – kick it out once and for all. In other news surrounding Man City, there’s also been some controversy surrounding their upcoming FA Youth Cup final.

Manchester City turn down Old Trafford offer for FA Youth Cup final in favour of Joie Stadium

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Featured Images — The Manc Group

Sport

Manchester City turn down Old Trafford offer for FA Youth Cup final in favour of Joie Stadium

Danny Jones Danny Jones

Manchester City have turned down an offer from rivals Man United to hold the FA Youth Cup final at Old Trafford.

The Cityzens have instead chosen to host it themselves, only not at the Etihad Campus’ main ground, but rather the Joie Stadium.

Primarily used for City Women and the club’s EDS (elite development squad) and academy teams, the arena was formerly and simply known as The Academy Stadium, was renamed for sponsorship reasons back in 2023, and has seen several updates over the years.

Seating just a fraction of the amount possible across the city at the ‘Theatre of Dreams’, the decision has disappointed many, but has been seen as a shrewd bit of gamesmanship by some, as it could effectively see any home advantage handed over to their opponents.

With this set to be the first Manchester derby FA Youth Cup in four whole decades, many supporters were hoping to go along and back their young teams in big numbers.

Proving somewhat divisive among both fan bases, with each of their under-18s squads having enjoyed promising seasons, to say the least, literally tens of thousands look set to miss out on potential tickets as a result of the announcement.

For context, the last time Man United won the coveted academy tournament – which has often served as a key first piece of silverware won by entire generations of young talent – they welcomed a record youth crowd of 67,492 in May of 2022.

In comparison, even with a sold-out stadium, the Joie would only be able to match around 10% of that figure at most.

That being said, it goes without saying that United fans have been some of the most vocal on social media following the controversial confirmation.

On the day, the winning team featured the likes of now fully graduated senior stars like Kobbie Mainoo, Alejandro Garnacho, and Joe Hugill, along with several still-rising prospects.

Some of the starlets that lots of fans would have been looking forward to seeing live in a large and historic sporting arena include Jim Thwaites, Noah Ajayi, Kai Rooney, JJ Gabriel on the red half, and the likes of Kylan Midwood, Divine Mukasa, Stephen Mfuni, Reigan Heskey and more in the blue.

Head coach Oliver Reiss (who took over in July 2024) led his City side to the U18 Premier League North title at the start of this month; meanwhile, Darren Fletcher has returned to oversee his young Red Devils after a spell as caretaker manager of the men’s first team.

While tickets were expected to be snapped up rather quickly already for the all-Manc FA Youth Cup final, it’s now set to be a race for followers of both teams to get their hands on their respective allocations.

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Featured Images — The Manc Group

Sport

Latest wave of ‘Evening 4’ Ricky Hatton lineup in memory of the legendary Manc boxer announced

Danny Jones Danny Jones

Manchester is set to host a night of remembrance and celebration in honour of the late, great, local boxer, Ricky Hatton, and now a superb second wave of names has been added to AO Arena’s lineup.

Coming this summer, the legendary Manchester arena – where Hatton enjoyed so many of his iconic moments – will be holding the first-ever ‘Evening4Ricky’ later this year.

Held at the legendary sports and live entertainment venue just in time for summer, we still only know bits and pieces about what’s in store, but a whole host of familiar Manc faces, famous British names, and figures from the world of sport have now been announced.

One thing’s for sure, this will be special.

Sharing the news on social media, AO Arena said: “Join us for an unforgettable night of entertainment as Manchester comes together for Evening4Ricky.

“This will be a spectacular, unique celebration of the life, spirit and legacy of one of the city’s most beloved icons – Ricky ‘The Hitman’ Hatton.”

With seats priced at £25, fans are being encouraged to join the early bird sign-up to secure access to discounted tickets.

As you can see, now confirmed for the evening are the likes of Man United legend, Paul Scholes, darts icon Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor, as well as fellow former boxers like Frank Bruno, Tony Bellew and more.

Local band, The K’s, were already confirmed as part of the in-person performances, but now the likes of Manc grime artists Bugzy Malone, fellow UK rapper Tinie Tempah, and The Lottery Winners are joining in, too, alongside loads more live music and entertainment set to be revealed in the coming weeks.

They go on to add: “Hosted at the legendary AO Arena, home to so many of Ricky’s big fights, featuring a superstar cast of legends from the worlds of boxing, music, comedy and entertainment.”

So, we do at least know there’ll be some famous faces coming along to help make it a memorable Manc moment, just a few months on from the city and beyond uniting for his public funeral procession.

Ricky was beloved not only by the Greater Manchester community but was a popular figure and friend to many in the sporting and showbiz industries.

The homegrown ‘Pride of Hyde‘ tragically left us on 14 September 2025 at the age of just 46, but his passing has once again helped reassert the importance of having more conversations around wellbeing, suicide prevention, and most specifically, men’s mental health.

You can find more information and see how to grab tickets right HERE.

This isn’t the only charitable in memoriam event happening across the region in the coming weeks, either, as Mancs will be gathering to pay tribute to another fellow inspiring sportsman.

A ‘legacy walk’ in memory of Joe Thompson is taking place across Greater Manchester

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Featured Images — Sdcjeff (via Wikimedia Commons)

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