The final game of England’s Euro 2024 qualifying campaign wasn’t exactly a showstopper and apart from a truly shocking performance from the referee, there wasn’t too much to talk about after the game — well, other than a slip-up from the commentator, as it turns out.
The Three Lions could have gone on to play a very different game had it not been for a highly controversial penalty awarded against Rico Lewis for simply using his arms to jump, with his hand, unfortunately, stroking the face of Bojan Miovski and putting them a goal down before half time.
However, aside from first official Filip Glova’s decision being heavily criticised — as was his performance throughout the game — some fans watching at home were frustrated to hear Channel 4 commentator Steve Bower overlook a truly iconic sporting moment which happened just a few months ago.
While he was obviously referring strictly to the men’s game, Bower said that an England goalkeeper hadn’t saved a penalty from open play in a decade (Joe Hart’s spectacular stop against Ronaldinho in 2013) but, as we all know and remember so fondly, the last player to do so full stop was Mary Earps.
The only way to respond after saving a penalty for England.
Although much of the reaction to those flagging the piece of commentary was very predictable and disappointingly chauvinistic, others agreed that it felt jarring to overlook what has now become such an unforgettable and standout memory in the nation’s consciousness.
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Many suggested that simply specifying ‘men’s player’ would have “gone a long way” and made a world of difference to female fans, adding “sexism boils my blood istg [I swear to god] it’s not hard” while simply remarked, “it’s honestly f***ing irritating”.
Bower, a well-respected veteran of the industry at this point, clearly meant no offence and it was nothing more than a slip-up from a commentator who has predominantly covered men’s football throughout his career but it nevertheless irked a fair few viewers.
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To be honest, we’ll take any opportunity to watch that ‘Big Mearps’ moment again…
England went on to draw 1-1 after Harry Kane’s intervention from a corner led to an equalising own goal with his very first touch of the ball and had plenty of other chances throughout the 90.
Dry result regardless, Gareth Southgate‘s side not only polished off their final qualifier but managed to finish top of the group and in comfortable fashion, sitting six points clear of Italy.
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You can watch the highlights in full down below — but we’ll be frank, there aren’t many:
Featured Image — Channel 4/Mary Earps (via Instagram)
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 -
21st November 2023 
