An online petition calling for the lifetime ban of racist abusers from all football matches in England is nearing one million names.
With over 840,000 signatures and counting, the petition is rapidly gaining traction.
The petition has been set up in the wake of the aftermath of the Euro 2020 final on Sunday evening, where, despite a triumphant run by a team that captured the hearts of the nation and brought so many people together after a tough 15 months, Gareth Southgate’s squad couldn’t quite clinch the win to bring home England’s first international victory since 1966.
The Three Lions’ game subsequently ran through extra time to be taken down to penalties, with youngsters Bukayo Saka, 19, Marcus Rashford, 23, and Jadon Sancho, 21, all sadly missing – leaving Italy with a 3-2 victory.
The agonising loss unfortunately brought with it abhorrent and inexcusable racist discrimination targeted at Saka, Rashford and Sancho on social media.
It was confirmed yesterday that police were investigating the “racist and offensive” messages.
The FA said it “strongly condemns” the abuse, labelling it as “disgusting” and adding in a statement that: “
We could not be clearer that anyone behind such disgusting behaviour is not welcome in following the team [and] we will do all we can to support the players affected while urging the toughest punishments possible for anyone responsible.”
“We stand with our players,” the England team also said on Twitter yesterday.
We’re disgusted that some of our squad – who have given everything for the shirt this summer – have been subjected to discriminatory abuse online after tonight’s game.
The abuse was condemned in statements made by a number of leaders, public figures, and industry names including Prince William The Duke of Cambridge, leader of the Labour Party Sir Keir Starmer, Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham, and most-notably, Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Home Secretary Priti Patel – the latter of whom has been accused of “stoking the fire at the beginning of the tournament” and subsequently “pretending to be disgusted” in the wake of the abuse by England defender Tyrone Mings in a now-viral tweet yesterday.
The FA has implored the government and social media companies to “act quickly and bring in the appropriate legislation so this abuse has real life consequences” – but now, supporters have taken matters into their own hands with a petition.
The Change.org petition – which is entitled ‘Ban racists for life from all football matches in England’, and is aimed at Boris Johnson and Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden – was set up by anti-racism campaigner Shaista Aziz and her friends under the name of the Three Hijabis.
Created at 8am on the Monday morning after the final, the petition had already amassed over 300,000 signatures within eight hours of being launched.
It looks set to surpass the one million mark later today.
The Three Lions couldn’t quite clinch the win in the Euro 2020 final on Sunday / Credit: Twitter (@England)
The petition reads: “As multi-racial football fans, we finally feel represented by this anti-racist and inclusive England team [and] we could not be more proud or inspired by our magnificent team and by their talent, bravery, leadership and love for all.
“Gareth Southgate’s England team plays for ALL of us.
“Their vision is an inclusive vision and this matters more than ever – it’s why we feel proud of this team and why they’re so cherished and loved by many of us [and] there should be no room for racists and bigotry in football or society.
“We are calling for the Football Association and the government to work together now to ban all those who have carried out racist abuse, online or offline, from all football matches in England for life.
“Our England team stood up for all of us – now we must stand up for them.”
There’s a World Gravy Wrestling Championship near Greater Manchester
Thomas Melia
Just on the outskirts of Greater Manchester, there’s a country pub set in a rural village that hosts a world gravy wrestling championship.
Leave it to us northerners to organise a world gravy wrestling championship because let’s face it, there’s nothing more northern than plummeting yourself into bucket loads of gravy.
At The Rose ‘N’ Bowl in the village of Stacksteads, it’s not just their meals they’re drenching in the brown nectar; they drench any willing guest in this beige saucy goodness too as part of the World Gravy Wrestling Championships.
Here’s a little taster from nearly a decade ago.
Participants are expected to wrestle in the gravy for two minutes, with the winner being judged not only on their play-fighting skills but also on their choice of fancy dress, comedy effect and entertainment.
Past wrestlers have rocked up as zebras, racehorse jockeys and famous TV characters like Ali G and Mickey Mouse.
Each wrestler is encouraged to raise money on behalf of a charity of their choice, but if you don’t have one, donations will be sent to East Lancashire Hospice, which has helped people countywide suffering from life-limiting illness for the past 30 years.
The World Gravy Wrestling Championships have been held outside this very pub for over a decade, with the first ever event taking place at a car park in Wigan before it found a permanent home outside The Rose ‘N’ Bowl.
And if swimming in a pool of gravy isn’t for you, don’t fret because there’s a handful of sauce-free activities you can get involved with spread throughout the pub’s car park.
Fret not, past events have included bouncy castles, cheerleading performances, craft beer stalls, cake and tombola stands and even a BB gun shooting range that are all completely gravy-free.
There will even be help from a local fire brigade who will be on hand to wash down wrestlers in between their gravy-filled tournament, so they can wander round all the stalls too.
The 2025 World Gravy Wrestling Championships are coming to The Rose ‘N’ Bowl in Stacksteads on 25 August, with tickets available in person only, but plenty of information about the event HERE.
If you’re after signing up to be one of the wrestlers at this event, applications are still open and you can get stuck in with all the details you need HERE.
And if that wasn’t enough Northern food competitive action, we’ll catch you at the World Black Pudding Hurling Championships, innabit.
Inside this Victorian mansion with 10 bedrooms, a swimming pool and more near Greater Manchester
Thomas Melia
There’s a million-pound Victorian-style mansion that has 10 bedrooms and its own personal swimming pool just outside of Greater Manchester.
Just like the childhood nursery rhyme, “There were three in the bed and the little one said… there’s another seven beds, roll over!” or at least that’s how they remember it in this character property.
Located in Warrington, less than an hour away from Manchester city centre, this property is a semi-detached Victorian property built in 1860, with 10 bedrooms and its own private swimming pool, all spread across four floors.
As soon as you enter the foyer, your eyes are drawn to the sleek silver chandelier before you notice the grand staircase, which feels like a piece of living history.
Inside this Victorian mansion with 10 bedrooms and a swimming pool near Greater Manchester / Credit: On The Market)
The ground floor hosts two of a whopping 10 bedrooms alongside a teal-toned farmhouse-style kitchen and that extremely impressive swimming pool with its own built-in projector.
In the kitchen, the focal point is the large wrap-around kitchen unit, which is accompanied by a variety of hanging lights and a big central island.
On the way to the swimming pool, there are a handful of lockers identical to those found in a leisure and as you enter the room, your eyes are drawn to the island-inspired feature wall.
Venture upstairs to the first floor and you’re greeted by five spacious bedrooms with one having its own en-suite while the rest share a main bathroom.
Each of these bedrooms follows a completely different design style, with the largest following a muted grey palette with pops of yellow thanks to the artwork and bed accessories.
The grand staircase and one of ten bedrooms inside this Victorian mansion near Greater Manchester / Credit: On The Market
As you go upstairs again, you’ll find (you guessed it) even more bedrooms, three to be exact, with the standout
The stand-out of this second floor is the navy-walled bedroom with a vintage vanity unit, patterned floor-to-ceiling curtains and a similarly dark-blue rug to match its four walls.
Another flight of stairs and you’ve finally reached the top of this property, and there’s an LED-lined ceiling and a neutral bedroom colour scheme of greys, whites and everything in between.
There are various amenities nearby, including three schools and three train stations… for if you get fed up of strolling around your four-floored ten-bed, swimming pool-owning mansion.
Two contrasting bedrooms found within this Victorian mansion near Greater Manchester / Credit: On The Market
We know this property may not be in the price range and might not be affordable for a lot of readers, ourselves included, but we can dream, right?
You can check out this Victorian mansion and flick through even more pictures of this property – Snooping never hurt anybody? Official site HERE.
As always, make sure to check out The Manc‘s property page to check all the other stunning structures currently on sale/in progress across Greater Manchester and in the nearby North West.
Emily Sergeant -
13th July 2021 
