It was a close run and feisty stalemate between Manchester City and Real Madrid on Tuesday night, but apparently appear more action was taking place up in the stands as Erling Haaland’s dad, Alfie, was reportedly thrown out of the stadium for taunting the opposition supporters.
Before the 22-year-old striking sensation there was, of course, his father: Alf-Inge, a.k.a. ‘Alfie’ Haaland — a former Man City, Leeds and Nottingham Forest midfielder and utility player, not to mention the same man that Roy Keane famously snapped in that infamously bad tackle back in 2001.
A bit of a City legend in his own right, Alfie Haaland no doubt played a big role in bringing Erling to the Etihad, having long professed his deep affection for the club (seemingly passing on that love to his son) and even popping up in the away end at the odd game here and there.
That being said, it would appear his support for the club got him in a bit of bother in the much-anticipated Champions League tie on Tuesday night after he began taunting the Madrid fans from the corporate box.
Alfie Haaland giving abuse out to the Real Madrid fans, before being escorted out of the Bernabeu. pic.twitter.com/rfz9jWNGri
Haaland and members of his party were enjoying hospitality at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium when he began giving it back to the home supporters sat below.
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Spanish journalist Inaki Angulo, who acquired the video from inside the ground, reported that not only was Alfie said to have been “insulting” Madrid fans during the match but alleged that he also began “throwing food” at them before eventually being asked to leave.
Peanuts, to be specific, but we have no way of verifying that — it just felt too amusing a detail to leave out.
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You can see the moment he was escorted out of his box down below.
Alfie Haaland was escorted out of a corporate box at the Bernabéu last night after ‘insulting’ and ‘throwing peanuts’ at Real Madrid fans. 🤣🥜
You can’t lie, the notion of Haaland’s dad giving it the biggun’ whilst sipping champagne from up in the opposition’s hospitality is just funny and City fans will no doubt have enjoyed that one.
With Los Blancos having to travel to Manchester for the second leg and City set up for a crucial home advantage in the decisive match, we expect Haaland will have a much livelier game in front of the Etihad crowd.
Roll on next week — just make sure Alfie is no way near the away fans. Or don’t, the prospect of a round two is even more hilarious.
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 -
10th May 2023 
