Sport

Chester FC condemns ‘appalling’ Lucy Letby chant during Hereford match

Tragedy chanting continues to be a problem throughout the football pyramid.

Danny Jones Danny Jones - 8th September 2023

Non-league side Chester FC have condemned and apologised for a series of “appalling” football chants related to child serial killer Lucy Letby during a match earlier this week.

Chester were playing Hereford in a National League North fixture on Tuesday, 5 August when a number of fans were heard and reported for the chant referencing Letby, who was convicted for her crimes in August after being found guilty of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder six others.

The 33-year-old — who was working at a neonatal unit at the Countess of Chester Hospital at the time and is originally from Hereford — was sentenced to 14 whole-life orders, meaning she will die in prison.

The club are now said to be looking into CCTV footage to identify the individuals responsible and take “appropriate action”.

Issuing a statement following the horrific behaviour, Chester FC’s vice chairman, Jim Green, said: “The club condemns the appalling chant heard during our match with Hereford.

ADVERTISEMENT

“We are ashamed to be associated with anyone responsible for the chant. It is reprehensible behaviour and demonstrates a deeply concerning lack of compassion, understanding and decency.

“The impact of Lucy Letby’s horrifying crimes continues to be felt throughout our community and the collective thoughts of the football club, our staff and supporters remain with the families and loved ones of the babies.”

ADVERTISEMENT

This comes just a couple of months on from the FA making a fresh push to crack down on tragedy chanting as part of their new ‘Love Football. Protect the Game’ campaign.

New measures include a technical area code of conduct to require managers, coaches and other club staff members to behave in a responsible manner, increased financial penalties for serious and repeat offenders, as well as academy scholars to undertake refereeing courses to improve players’ education into officiating.

Read more:

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Image — Chester FC/Police handout

Sport

2024 Manchester Marathon raises £29 million for local economy and over £3.7m for charity

Danny Jones Danny Jones Manchester Marathon raises millions for city economy and local charity

Just under a fortnight on from the 2024 Manchester Marathon and the numbers are finally, with the annual race generating nearly £30 million for the local economy and raising over £3.7m for charity.

This year’s Adidas Manchester Marathon saw record numbers of runners and spectators as over 30,000 took part in the popular race, up by roughly 6,000 from 2023, and more than 125k turned up to line the streets of Greater Manchester.

As a result, these huge crowds spent upwards of £29.2 million at business around the city centre and around the 10 boroughs last weekend, serving as one of the most significant contributions to the local economy on the annual calendar.

Not only was this an approximately £8m increase on last year’s tally but, most importantly, a sizeable chunk of that went straight into both regional and national charities.

The 2024 adidas Manchester Marathon was a spectacular day for the city and its economy.

Beyond the boost to local vendors, the hospitality sector and retail businesses, over £3.7 million were allocated to charities such as Alzheimer’s Charity, Cancer Research UK, British Heart Foundation and The Christie. 

Over £32,000 was also raised for the Trafford Active Fund, with £1 from every paid entry to the Adidas Manchester Marathon and Manchester Half donated directly to the initiative that benefits local sports clubs and organisations through Trafford Council.

Better still, with City of Trees selected as the chosen ‘Green Runner’ charity, the eco-friendly drive saw roughly 7% of participants opt out of receiving either a finisher t-shirt, medal or both.

The money saved in production goes towards maintaining woodlands and wildlife across Greater Manchester.

Fundraising from the Manchester Marathon is one of it’s biggest upshots.

Read more:

This year’s Manchester Marathon also helped produce some of the highest number of passengers on public transport in the city’s history, with a over 175,000 journeys made on Metrolink alone – the highest number of journeys ever recorded on a single day.

This was a 20% increase on 2023’s race day (145k), spotlighting how the event continues to be more environmentally conscious as years go by.

With the 2025 adidas Manchester Marathon confirmed to be taking place on Sunday, 27 April next year – and over 12,000 places already sold – the city can already look forward to reaping the economic and social benefits of hosting one of Europe’s largest, flattest, friendliest and most-loved marathons. 

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — Adidas Manchester Marathon/The Manc Group

Sport

‘Enough is enough’: Marcus Rashford calls out fans for ‘months’ of abuse

Danny Jones Danny Jones Marcus Rashford responds to fan abuse: 'enough is enough'

Manchester United star Marcus Rashford has put his foot down in a social media post, calling for an end to ‘months of abuse’ from both his own supporters and beyond.

It’s fair to say that the 26-year-old hasn’t been enjoying his best season in a United shirt and while he has had his moments this year – his goal against Arsenal and stunning opener in the Manchester derby, just to name a couple – he’s come under a lot of pressure from supporters.

Rashford previously came out to address the situation in a Players Tribune interview back in February, stating, “I can’t have people questioning my commitment to Man United”, but now the England international has reiterated the point after someone came to his defence on X.

Quoting a fan who wrote that “the way Marcus Rashford is being treated is absolutely disgusting”, calling the behaviour online and on matchdays in some cases as “cruel” and downright abuse”, he responded by declaring: “Enough is enough”.

Rashford breaks his silence on the recent abuse.

The Wythenshawe winger has already labelled doubts over his effort levels, love and loyalty to the club “ridiculous”, reiterating time and time again that he’s a boyhood Red, but that hasn’t stopped people continuing to criticise him online.

Sadly, while he’s also insisted that he “can take criticism” and headlines when his performances aren’t quite up to scratch, the negativity hasn’t just been limited to social media and has been spilling out into the matchday stands.

Reports of Rashford being booed off the pitch by his own supporters at Wembley during United’s admittedly chaotic performance against Coventry City in the FA Cup semi-final were confirmed by multiple sources at the time.

Although he didn’t comment on the response from the travelling Reds at the time, it’s now clear he was abundantly aware of the frosty reception as he was substituted, with many within the fan base and beyond calling the decision to boo your own players “classless” and “shameful”.

Many have drawn parallels to Harry Maguire’s treatment in recent years.

Read more:

With seven goals and five assists to his name across all competitions this season, it’s fair to say Marcus Rashford has been a far cry away from the heights he has managed to hit in recent years.

It was only last season that he hit a career-high record of 40 goal contributions, sitting as one of the most prolific players in all of Europe during another difficult season for the club, even managing to surpass club legend Andy Cole’s record.

Just goes to show how short people’s memories can really be – especially when it comes to football – and Erik ten Hag has already urged patience from his fans when it comes to his players, and not just his number ten.

‘The Beautiful Game’ is and always will be a fickle sport but it’s worth reminding of just how much the academy product has already delivered during his time at Man United. Anyone can have a tough season.

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — Manchester United (via Instagram)

More Sport

Run The Streets MCR running social event Manchester city centre

City Centre

You can ‘run and rave’ as part of this new charity-driven social in Manchester city centre

Bruno Fernandes told Ethan Wheatley 'i have nine minutes to help you score' on Man United debut

Sport

Ethan Wheatley reveals what Bruno Fernandes told him after coming on as Man United’s 250th academy graduate

UFC 304 returns to Manchester

Manchester

Co-op Live announce UFC 304 is coming to the brand-new arena for Manchester return this year

Audio

Clint Boon takes us around Manchester's iconic Deaf Institute

Eats

We go meatballs deep with Mira's traditional Neapolitan sandwiches