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‘Superman’ Kevin Sinfield has completed his 24-hour, 101 mile run for best mate Rob Burrow

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson - 23rd November 2021

Rugby star Kevin Sinfield has crossed the finish line of his 101 mile run, raising £850,000 for charity – and counting.

The 41-year-old completed the run in 24 hours to raise money for Leeds Hospitals Charity and Motor Neurone Disease Association, all inspired by his friend Rob Burrow.

The route took the rugby coach from his home ground at the Leicester Tiger’s Welford Road to Sinfield’s former club of 18 years, Leeds Rhinos’ at Headingley Rugby Stadium, reports The Hoot.

The journey from Leicester to Leeds was split into seven kilometre segments and has been broadcast on news channels across the UK, including on a ‘Kev Cam’ from the BBC.

The run was originally planned to span 100 miles, but to show that Sinfield will ‘always go the extra mile’ for his mate Rob, an extra mile was added to the journey and the final 101 mile route was chosen.

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Sir Chris Hoy said that ‘the friendship between Kev Sinfield and Rob Burrow gives you faith in humankind’.

The pair played together for Leeds Rhinos. Sinfield played for the team for 18 years and Burrow, 16.

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Two years after his retirement in 2017, Rob Burrow was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease, a life-changing condition that affects nerves in the brain and spinal cord.

Rob Burrow took to Twitter to wish his friend good luck, and met the former team mate at Headingley Rugby Stadium to mark the end of his marathon journey.

This isn’t the first time that Sinfield has pushed himself to raise money for Motor Neurone Disease Association. Last December, the rugby coach raised over £2.7 million for the charity after running seven marathons in seven days.

Featured image – Leicester Tigers

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Girls Aloud to release ‘Sarah’s Version’ of ‘I’ll Stand By You’ for BBC Children In Need 2024

Danny Jones Danny Jones Girls Aloud to release Sarah's Version for Children In Need 2024

Pop royalty Girls Aloud are set to release a special edition of their 2004 song ‘I’ll Stand By You’, simply dubbed ‘Sarah’s Version’, for this year’s Children In Need broadcast.

The iconic British girl group returned earlier this year with a huge comeback nationwide tour which obviously sold out and they also won over crowds with their touching on-stage tributes to late singer Sarah Harding during their live performances.

Harding, 39, sadly passed away back in 2021 following a battle with breast cancer and was mourned across the country, especially here in the North, with a commemorative plaque and large mural of the Stockport-born songstress thrown up in her hometown back in May.

And now, as a way to help raise money for the annual BBC telethon and honour her once again, Girls Aloud will be re-releasing the well-known ballad.

Originally a cover of the 1997 track by The Pretenders and given that they were still so early into their career, the Noughties hitmakers naturally did multiple takes before landing on their final edit.

That being said, a version that has been rediscovered in digging through the archived recording sessions features Sarah Harding on lead vocals and now the band are set to let her voice shine through.

Airing for the first time on Zoe Ball’s BBC Radio 2 Breakfast Show on Wednesday, 6 November, ‘Sarah’s Version’ has already gone down an instant hit 20 years from its release, with the emotional punch of hearing Harding’s clearly hitting listeners hard.

‘I’ll Stand By You’ went straight to the top of the UK Singles Chart when it was first released and was their second-ever number one. We have a very strong feeling that the importance of this re-release will see it do exactly the same – just in time for Christmas, no less.

Fans were left spellbound during what was casually referred to as ‘Sarah’s moment’ on the Girls Aloud reunion tour, where they truly did allow her singing to become the star of the show:

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As if the charity single wasn’t a tear-jerking enough prospect already, ‘I’ll Stand By You – Sarah’s Version’ is also set to be released on 15 November, just two days before what would have been Harding’s 43rd birthday. We’re not crying, you are.

In aid of The Christie and the Sarah Harding Legacy Project, more than £1 million has been raised in the Stopfordian’s memory and for breast cancer awareness through initiatives like the creation of the mural and members of the hospital doing charity runs, bike rides, swims and more.

Speaking on social media, the band added: “The track played a key part in our ‘The Girls Aloud Show’ arena tour this summer & was an emotional moment for us all.”

BBC Children in Need 2024 takes place next Friday (15 November) and highlights from their reunion tour, where ‘Sarah’s Version’ was first heard by the masses, will be shown on ITV at 8pm the following Sunday.

Credit: BBC/The Christie

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Featured Images — BBC Children In Need/The Christie

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Benjamin Mendy wins legal case against Manchester City over unpaid wages

Danny Jones Danny Jones Benjamin Mendy wins legal cause against Manchester City over unpaid wages

Ex-Manchester City player Benjamin Mendy has officially won the legal case against his former employers over unpaid wages.

The French defender was suspended from Man City without pay in September 2021 after being charged with six counts of rape and one instance of sexual assault before ultimately leaving the club last June.

Despite multiple allegations and the high-profile case going to trial in August 2022, Mendy was eventually cleared of all counts in July 2023 and has been demanding he receive his ‘lost’ finances earned at the Etihad ever since.

Mendy took legal action against City last November and now, nearly a full year on, the 30-year-old fullback has won his claim against them and is expected to receive most of the outstanding wages accumulated while he was in custody and on bail, as he was still unable to play due to FA sanctions.

As detailed in an official judgement summary, “The result of this decision is that Mr Mendy will be entitled to receive the majority of his unpaid salary, although not all of it.”

The former Premier League star initially entered into an employment tribunal to claim around £11 million in compensation for the wages he missed out on during the period between his suspension in September 2021 and City letting him go in the summer of 2023.

Mendy’s wages were worth around £500,000 a month after joining the Manchester club back in 2017 for a then-world-record fee for a defender, £52m. While he was unsuccessful in claiming all unpaid wages back, City are expected to hand over approximately £8.5m.

Writing on social media, the Frenchman welcomed the decision which found that the club had “unlawfully made deductions from my wages for a total period of 16 months and 23 days.”

Mendy urged the club to do the “honourable thing” and pay the outstanding wages promptly, along with other amounts included in his contract, so as to “finally put this difficult part of my life behind me.”

He went on to conclude the statement by thanking family, agent and legal team for their support and while it’s unclear how soon Man City will be forced to cough up the sum, the footballer will be playing this weekend as usual. You can read his full statement down below:

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The club themselves are yet to respond to the decision but will be required to pay out the number within a certain period by law. Mendy has been back playing football in his home country at Ligue 2 club, FC Lorient, who he signed for just days after being acquitted even despite huge backlash.

It was only a few weeks ago that City were on the winning side of legal action after successfully shrugging off the Premier League’s restrictions on sponsorship rules.

Meanwhile, their well-publicised case against UEFA and the outstanding 115+ charges regarding FFP and PSR has now begun but isn’t expected to be settled for some time.

You can find out more down below.

The hearing over Manchester City’s 115 FFP charges will officially start next week

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Featured Images — Soccer.ru (via Wikimedia Commons)/The Manc Group

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