Former Manchester United star Rio Ferdinand has fired back at his ex-England teammate and Premier League rival Jamie Carragher after the Liverpool man called him “a clown” over his punditry last week.
As Ferdinand was offering up his opinion on BT Sport‘s coverage of the Milan derby in the Champions League last Wednesday, so too was Carragher over on CBS Sports and it would seem the two disagreed over the referee’s decision to overturn a penalty that was initially awarded to Inter.
Sat alongside his usual broadcast partners Kate Abdo, Thierry Henry and Micah Richards, the now-retired defender said that anyone who watched the replay on VAR and still believed it was a penalty “must be a clown”.
Most awkwardly, it turns out his former clubmate Steven Gerrard was one of those people and although he backtracked on criticising Stevie G’s judgement, he doubled down on any fellow defender calling it a penalty by dragging Rio into the conversation.
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) May 10, 2023
Nothing to see here, just Jamie Carragher waking up and choosing violence
As you can see, Carra said, “As a defender, we’ve got to try and stick together… I just felt some people were getting a little bit carried away” and after Richards jokingly pokes and asks him to “name names”, the 45-year-old willingly replied: “Rio Ferdinand, I’m happy to call him a clown”.
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Now, while we’d like to assume this was done at least in part for comedic effect — with all three of his co-hosts’ reactions, particularly Henry’s, certainly tickling viewers — it did feel a touch personal to single him out, specifically.
Reacting to the segment on his VIBE with FIVE podcast, Rio admitted he was surprised by the comments, noting that he is a “friend of the show” and that perhaps it was just a snidey little remark he knew would get clicks.
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Nevertheless, the 44-year-old went on to insist, “Every time I time I see him it’s all love” and that he “didn’t understand why he came with all the hostility”.
Can’t believe Arsenal fans would rather take 2nd over winning a trophy 👀😂
The fellow ex-pro turned pundit went on to add that “whenever we see each other it’s all cool”, adding, “he used to carry my boots when we were with England and stuff like that” — no doubt a little underhanded jab back.
Then musing on the potential reason why he might have said what he said, Rio noted that it came during “the [Premier League] Hall of Fame week” — when he was voted in and Carra is yet to be given the same recognition — insisting again that the usually get on otherwise.
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Either way, Rio says he’s “only got good energy for him” and that although he took it as “banter”, the way he delivered didn’t feel so jokey and that he’ll “need to check that energy” the next time the pair see each other.
You can watch Rio’s response to Carragher’s remarks and the rest of the episode in full down below:
Featured Image — CBS Sports (via Twitter)/ Rio Ferdinand Presents FIVE (via YouTube)
Sport
Salford RLFC finally confirm new head and assistant coaches
Danny Jones
Salford RLFC have finally announced their new head and assistant coach picks as the new rugby league season fast approaches.
The Salfordian phoenix club had already confirmed they’d reached provisional pre-contract agreements with a new boss and several players following the news of the consortium bid that kept the sporting institution alive, but now they officially have a new leadership team to get behind.
Following Salford Red Devils’ resurrection by the aforementioned investment group – though it still remains unclear whether this will eventually include a full rebranding – familiar face Mike Grady and his assistant Dave Hewitt are now in place.
They replace ex-boss Paul Rowley, now at St Helens, and his assistant, Kurt Haggerty, who both left in October and September of last year, respectively.
Sharing the news in an official statement on their new Instagram account amid a major overhaul of their online presence, the local side wrote: “We are proud to announce Mike as the new Head Coach of Salford RLFC, joined by Dave Hewitt as Assistant Coach.
“Mike brings over 12 years of coaching experience across club and international rugby, most recently leading the Salford Women’s team and previously coaching at Widnes.
“His appointment marks another big step forward in our rebuild, combining experience, passion and a deep understanding of what Salford rugby league stands for: hard work, resilience and exciting rugby.
“Joining him, Dave Hewitt, former St Helens and England Academy player, will focus on developing our attacking play and nurturing new talent.”
Hewitt also played for Oldham RLFC across three spells, as well as Rochdale Hornets.
As for the board, they sign off by adding: “Together, Mike and Dave represent the energy and belief driving this new era for Salford RLFC.”
With several ‘key announcements’ soon to be made, we can expect a better idea of what the new and hopefully improved Salford will look like in time for their opener against the Roughyeds in the Championship on Friday, 16 January.
It is worth noting that the club have yet to reveal any actual squad signings.
As for co-owner Caton-Brown, who knows all about the club and the community from his several years playing in the area, we have the pleasure of chatting with him first-hand about the vision for their future.
As a result, Pep Guardiola and co. have decided to cut the 20-year-old’s loan spell at Championship outfit Watford FC short to bolster their ranks along the backline.
The Italian journalist gave the reports the ‘Here We Go!’ seal of approval on Monday, 5 January, following confirmation of Gvardiol‘s ankle problem.
“Man City act fast as Josko Gvardiol will now be out for several weeks with injury”, he writes, “and so Max Alleyne returns.”
Himself a bit of a utility player, having also been deployed in defensive midfield on occasion, the Bristol-born youth academy product could prove a useful option in various positions across the pitch.
While Guardiola admitted that the versatile Croatian star’s issue “doesn’t look good” – this being the same ankle he had surgery on back in November 2025 – it remains to be seen how serious his Portuguese teammate’s muscle concern is.
Romano continues: “Alleyne has been doing great at Watford on loan… City informed the London club this morning, even if they’re very happy [with] how they managed Max over recent months. Club-to-club good relationship, City wanted Alleyne in their squad ASAP, and Watford let Max leave today.”
The England prospect has represented his country in every age group from the under-17s to Lee Carsley’s U21 side, and has certainly impressed on the national stage.
Danny Jones -
16th May 2023 
