Premier League Darts produced a cracker in Manchester on Thursday as Luke ‘The Nuke’ Littler made it back-to-back wins in front of 11,000, but there was no finer moment than when someone in Where’s Wally fancy dress was spotted fighting in the stands.
Luke ‘The Nuke’ produced a great display against Stockport’s Nathan Aspinall in the semi-finals, with the pair of them helping turn the crowd into a choir as a sea of Mancs serenaded the AO Arena to the tune of The Killers, but it was the other semi with Gerwyn Price that produced the biggest highlight of all.
As if things couldn’t get any more quintessentially British than a lot of drunken fans belting out ‘Mr Brightside’, a clip of someone dressed as Where’s Wally scrapping with other supporters as they desperately tried to cling onto their pints has now gone viral.
In typically chaotic fashion for UK crowds, it also happened to unfold just as Gerwyn Price hit the best of the night in the background as the AO was left utterly bouncing.
Can we just say, we have all the respect in the world for the people filming who quickly swivelled the camera to capture Price’s nine-darter and celebrate like nutters – rightly so. Well done to the arena staff who did a good job of defusing the situation as well.
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Although the runner-up himself shared a post saying the “final was spoilt before a dart was even thrown” and that “change is needed” after a pocket of fans were filmed throwing drinks at each other, we can assure ‘The Iceman’ that most the vast majority were well-behaved and soaking up what he admitted was an “amazing atmosphere”.
While we obviously don’t condone any form of violence and details surrounding how the bust-up began are still unclear, it’s also hard to take a fight involving a life-sized Where’s Wally seriously and fighting at the darts is still a relatively rare occurrence. When we think arrows we just think good vibes.
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Gezzy can rest assured that it in no way overshadowed what was another blockbuster night involving the very best talents on the circuit. Just look at the scenes.
As for the round itself, not only did Greater Manchester local ‘The Asp‘ do a great job of whipping the crowd up for his home turf match but it was another star showing from the 17-year-old darting superstar from Warrington.
Littler is absolutely one a roll and has taken like a duck to water in his first season in the Premier League, not to mention seemingly living the sports personality dream.
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His beloved Man United might have conceded two late goals to give up a huge result elsewhere but we’re sure going a point clear at the top of the table helped him get over it soon enough.
A bust-up in the stands or darts’ biggest phenomenon going for an inevitable kebab after his win might not be as iconic as this, but it’s a reminder that we’ll take British sporting culture over all others any day.
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 -
5th April 2024 
