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Celebs are holding a charity football match to fund a statue for ‘uncrowned boxing champion’ Len Johnson

He is widely-considered one of if not the greatest ever British boxer, but could never be crowned a champion.

Danny Jones Danny Jones - 15th February 2023

A charity football match is set to be held to raise funds for a statue in honour of legendary Manc boxer, Len Johnson, widely considered one of the greatest fighters to never be crowned a champion.

Len Johnson is one of the most inspiring yet saddest sporting tales you’ll ever come across. Born in Clayton (the former home of Manchester United‘s precursor club Newton Heath) back in 1902, Len Johnson was a British boxer who famously won 96 fights throughout his remarkable 135-bout career.

However, it was a career that was cruelly limited and hamstrung by outdated and racist laws, as according to a piece of legislation known as ‘Rule 24’, (a.k.a ‘the colour bar’), Johnson could not compete for a title as he did not have two white parents.

Despite the painful history behind his life, the light-heavyweight is often referred to as ‘Manchester’s best ever boxer‘, perhaps even Britain’s, and now famous faces from within the sport and beyond are looking to raise money for his long overdue statue and recognition.

Teaming up with FC United and a team of Legends, boxing icons Ricky Hatton and Anthony Crolla, as well as a horde of celebrities from the likes of Coronation Street, Hollyoaks and more are lacing up their boots for a charity match this May.

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Aiming to raise enough money to pay for the statue of Johnson, Manchester’s uncrowned boxing champion, the players will be facing off in the Moston-based semi-pro team’s home ground at Broadhurst Park.

With numerous sponsors already signed up and even more famous faces set to join the charity match, both coverage of the event and knowledge of Johnson’s story has increased.

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With documentaries made in his honour now being selected for the Paris Film Awards and more people learning of Len’s legacy, the turnout for the game and its attached fundraiser looks like it’s going to be massive.

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Johnson died in Oldham back in 1974 at the age of 71 and while we will always wonder what could have been if he was allowed to fight officially, his impact both on boxing, Manchester and sport at large will never be forgotten.

As well as being known for nearly a century of victories in the ring, he also did more than his fair in the fight for civil rights and by contributing to anti-racism efforts.

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As well as helping black sailors sacked by a shipping company keep their jobs, staging several protests outside a pub in Hulme after he refused service, he also served in WWII and helped organise the 5th Pan African Congress over decolonisation, held here in Manchester. He wasn’t just a boxer, he was a hero.

As campaign lead Lamin Touray told ITV, he believes “the Len Johnson story has been kept from us purposely” and erecting a statue of him, pride of place in the city centre, will not only help people learn the tale of this remarkable man, but it’s what he and his family deserve.

93 wins, no title shots: How Clayton’s greatest boxer was stopped from becoming a champion

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Featured Image — Manchester Libraries/Working Class Movement Libraries

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Tesco are introducing ‘VAR-style’ self-checkouts in the UK

Danny Jones Danny Jones Tesco VAR self checkout video

Many people think VAR has already gone too far and want it gone from football full stop, and we’re here to tell you that you’re a fool; your hopes are in vain, and the technology is only going to become more common as time goes on. Sorry.

So much so, in fact, that Tesco look are bringing in their own virtual referee into self-checkout systems in shops. You could say the ‘game’s gone…’

Of course, we’re being a bit flippant here, but if you have seen ‘VAR’ and ‘Tesco‘, you’re not seeing things: this is genuinely a thing that is being rolled out here in the UK, with video footage of the supermarket chain’s next self-checkout technology going viral online.

Thought you’d got away with sneaking an extra little something in the bag without paying? Think again.

We’ll admit, this was the first time we’d come across the technology, but as it turns out, the updated self-checkout service has been in place for a while.

Similar VAR checkouts have already been installed at other retailers, Sainsbury’s and ASDA, although some reports claim that while stores capture footage of shoppers to check if they’ve scanned all of their items, it is thought that not all of these self-service tills show a playback when an error is detected.

Although this particular speculation has sparked some uproar and debate online, many have quite rightly pointed out that CCTV records your movement in any given shop.

Regardless, it’s fair to say that aside from the obvious memes and people poking fun at the new system, many on social media have shared some pretty strong opinions on the matter.

Not that it matters much – it’s likely this will soon become increasingly the norm, with the likes of Sainsbury’s having already introduced barriers which require customers to scan their receipt in order to leave at branches such as the site on Regent Road Retail Park over in Salford.

As yet, it’s unclear how many of these new self-service tills are in operation and whether they are limited to larger supermarket locations of their Express convenience stores, but don’t be surprised if you come across one.

Put simply, if a barcode isn’t registered before being put on the scale and/or set aside to be packed away, the Tesco till will read: “The last item wasn’t scanned properly. Remove from bagging area and try again.”

While it is obviously an effort to curb stealing, which remains one of the big drawbacks of self-service (shoplifting in England and Wales went up by 20% last year), Tesco has insisted that the goal is to improve convenience.

Addressing these new VAR-style checkouts in an official statement, a company spokesperson said: “We are always looking at technology to make life easier for our customers.

“We have recently installed a new system at some stores which helps customers using self-service checkouts identify if an item has not been scanned properly, making the checkout process quicker and easier.”

What do you make of the new Tesco and their new VAR self-checkout technology?

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You can now get a Pot Noodle as part of your Tesco meal deal
We don’t know about Tesco perpetuating VAR, but we can definitely get behind this one – that’s for damn sure.

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Featured Images — Tesco PLC/pin add/Mikey (via Flickr)

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Ruben Amorim reacts as Manchester United are booed off after Malaysia friendly

Danny Jones Danny Jones Ruben Amorim on Man United being booed off in Malaysia friendly

Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim has delivered a fairly brutal response after his club were booed off by supporters during a friendly in Malaysia.

The Red Devils recently embarked on a post-season tour following a calamitous 2024/25 campaign, both domestically and continentally, with that limp loss in the Europa League final, but have already resumed what has become alarmingly normal service with yet another defeat.

Finding themselves on the wrong end of a 1-0 scoreline against ASEAN All-Stars in Kuala Lumpur – a squad comprised of various talents from around the region who had never played together before and were only founded as an actual team back in 2014 – it was all far from clean slates and fresh starts.

In the wake of the shock result, Man United were booed off by the Malaysian and other international fans inside the Bukit Jalil National Stadium, which saw more than 70,000 in attendance.

For context, the ASEAN All-Stars had only trained together for the first time just days before the game itself, but the de facto exhibition outfit still managed to break the deadlock in the 71st minute against a United side that rarely looked like scoring.

What made things even more damning was that so many up in the stands travelled from far and wide to see Ruben’s Reds and what remains a beloved global sporting brand drastically disappoint, with some reported as having paid as much as $350 (approximately £260) for a ticket.

All that being said, Amorim had some choice words for his own players in his post-match duties after their first post-season tour fixture, insisting that while he always remains accountable, those out on the pitch perhaps received somewhat of a deserved reckoning too.

He began by stating, “I’m always guilty of the performance of the team, no matter what. [I have been responsible] since the first day”, but went on to argue: “The boos from the fans, I think it something that we need, maybe.”

It’s also been claimed that Amorim has now told young winger Alejandro Garnacho to find a new club due to some of his recent public comments – a conversation which is said to have taken place in front of other teammates.

Citing that the Old Trafford faithful and die-hard away fans have always been loyal and supportive despite frustration in the league, he suggested that “maybe they will change the way they behave” following this latest reality check.

Despite adding that he has seen reasons for optimism in performances against Man City and Liverpool, for instance, where he felt he saw “belief” and seeds of what’s to come, he’s made very few excuses for the poor displays up to now.

United face the Hong Kong national team in their next friendly on Friday, 29 May, and it’s fair to say anything less than a win would be beyond bad for the predictably unpredictable Premier League club.

You can see his full post-match press conference down below.

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Featured Images — Manchester United (screenshot via YouTube)/Edward Kuruvilla (via X)

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