Sport

Manchester City to commemorate Sir Howard Bernstein ahead of Arsenal game this weekend

Special observances for a special man.

Danny Jones Danny Jones - 19th September 2024

Manchester City have announced that they will be dedicating their upcoming Premier League fixture to the late, great Sir Howard Bernstein.

The former Manchester City Council chief executive and influential native passed away earlier this year following a “period of illness” at the age of 71.

With tributes flooding in from all over the world of local business, music, sport and more, his passing was described as “a huge loss to all 10 boroughs”.

As a lifelong Blue, the club also joined the region as a whole in paying their respects to the revered local figure – who is credited with helping stabilise Greater Manchester‘s economy and helping usher in the city’s modern era – but now they will be observing a special commemoration this weekend.

As detailed in a statement on the club site, City wrote: “During this tenure [on the City Council], the city of Manchester enjoyed an incredible resurgence both economically and culturally following the decline of former manufacturing industries.

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“One of his greatest achievements as Chief Executive was bringing the enormously successful Commonwealth Games to Manchester in 2002, using sports-led regeneration to breathe new life into Manchester, which in doing so, paved the way for Manchester City’s move to the then City of Manchester Stadium (now known as the Etihad Stadium), from Maine Road.

“Before kick-off, a dedication to Sir Howard’s life will be read, followed by a minute’s applause, providing our players and fans with an opportunity to pay their respects to a lifelong Man City fan who dedicated his life to the city of Manchester.”

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As is often custom with gestures of remembrance, City players and manager Pep Guardiola will also be wearing black armbands for the duration of the match.

Bernstein was knighted back in 2003, and deputy lieutenant for Greater Manchester by 2017, his list of recognitions is almost as long as his contributions to the county.

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Even once he retired from the Council after more than 40 years of unwavering service, he still fulfilled key roles for Manchester-based organisations. He was even made an honorary president of both Man City and Lancashire Cricket Club – the lattermost title he held for a decade.

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If the word legend truly does get thrown around too much, this is one of the cases where it doesn’t even come close to summing up the impact the loyal local servant had on the home he loved so much.

The Blues kick-off against title-rivals Arsenal at 4:30pm on Sunday, 22 September and when his name and image come up on the big screen at the Etihad, the supporters are sure to be in full voice.

Meanwhile, in-house, club captain Rodri is one of several professional footballers once again calling for a review of the increasingly congested fixture list as concerns are once again being raised over the number of games players are expected to play per season.

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Featured Images — EG Focus (via Flickr/Wikimedia Commons)/The Manc Group

Sport

Details released of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners while Mayor

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant Andy Burnham outside Number 10 Downing Street

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’.

Man City release statement after being found guilty of all charges related to Premier League’s financial rules

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.

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“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 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.

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“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.

Featured Image – Rawpixel

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