Manchester Storm ice hockey team are set to take part in a fundraising memorial game honouring Adam Johnson, who tragically died in a skating incident last month.
Johnson’s sudden death was the result of a rare, freak accident after his neck was lacerated by another player’s skates whilst playing against the Sheffield Steelers on 28 October.
The 29-year-old Nottingham Panthers forward and former NHL star was rushed to hospital but was sadly pronounced dead, with people all across the EIHL and sporting world in general left in shock following the awful news.
Now, just a few weeks on from his passing, to pay their respects to the talented and well-travelled player, the Panthers are teaming with the Storm to host a memorial match in his name on Saturday, 18 November in Nottingham, with the face-off starting at 7pm.
The Adam Johnson Memorial game will be held at the National Ice Centre, the team’s home stadium inside the Motorpoint Arena and will be collecting donations for the ‘Love For Hibbing and Hockey Memorial Fund‘: a charity fund set up to help raise money for worthy causes in Johnson’s hometown back in Minnesota.
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As an extra gesture of goodwill, Manchester Storm will also be wearing specially commissioned Adam Johnson jerseys, with every player on the ice wearing his number 47.
As the club wrote in a recent statement, “Saturday is sure to be a very emotional evening for many fans and staff attending the fixture, as an organisation we feel honoured to take part and help ease players, fans and staff back into the Motorpoint Arena whilst raising money for the memorial fund.”
The club are delighted to announce the squad will wear a specially commissioned #AJ47 Memorial jersey on Saturday evening with all funds raised going to the 'Love For Hibbing and Hockey Memorial Fund' ⤵️
The Panthers have already carried out a number of tributes for their beloved squad member, including holding a memorial service, minutes silences and writing the message, ‘Forever Our #47’, in club colours on the ice at their home ground.
For those of you wanting to go and watch the Storm and pay tribute to Adam Johnson whilst doing your bit for charity, tickets to the memorial game are on sale now. You can grab yours HERE.
Featured Images — Nottingham Panthers/Manchester Storm
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 -
14th November 2023 
