Two local football teams in Yorkshire have been condemned for ‘disrespectful and despicable behaviour’ after attempting to play their scheduled game after the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
Sheffield International FC were due to play against fellow Sunday league side Byron House on the Friday following the Queen’s passing, but the fixture was cancelled after the rest of the matches were scrapped by the Sheffield and District Fair Play League.
The Yorkshire team tweeted that the game would be played as a friendly instead but went on to inform fans: ‘someone’s snitched on us so now even the friendly is off’.
Update, someone’s snitched on us so now even the friendly is off.
So instead we’re having a training sesssion tomorrow morning, at 10.30am.
If that gets cancelled we’ll have a game of rugby seeing as that’s deemed respectful enough
However, despite switching to training instead, it would seem that both sides still turned up in full kit and Sheffield International later joked that their keeps were “scrapping halfway through a ‘training session'”.
Condemning the actions and behaviour on social media, the Fair Play League said in an official FA statement: “There will be an investigation into this matter, in conjunction with the Sheffield & Hallamshire County FA, and these two teams will be dealt with in the strongest possible terms.
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“Our league has honesty, integrity and fair play as cornerstones, and we will not accept such behaviour from within our ranks.”
The league’s chairman Danny Taylor said: “Queen Elizabeth II ruled, served and led with integrity and humility for more than seven decades. It is a terrible shame that these two teams could not emulate this even for a single Saturday, despite our clear instructions.
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“We may or may not agree with the mass cancellation of football, but this was decided as a mark of respect and should therefore have been adhered to.”
Pundit Richard Keys said earlier this week that the likes of cricket, rugby union, F1, all of which went still went ahead ‘should be ashamed’.
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Teams throughout the footballing pyramid, including all the way down to grassroots level, had their games cancelled as a mark of respect following the Queen’s death.
That being said, others have seen the outrage as somewhat of an overreaction, with many noting that most other sports still went ahead in the days following the news.
I’m sure the queen is fuming that 2 teams from Sheffield decided to play a friendly 🤦 they should’ve just called it a rugby or cricket match then
One commenter went so far as to suggest: ‘you guys have done more to positively promote your league today than your governing body ever has.’
Many have questioned whether the step was necessary and why other sports were allowed to go ahead as planned, arguing that postponement should have been across the board if opposed at all.
Featured image: Sheffield International FC via Twitter
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 -
15th September 2022 
