Tributes are pouring in across the sporting world and social media for rugby player Adam Walker, who passed away aged just 31.
Walker, a Scottish international and Salford Red Devils player since 2019, had played as a professional in rugby league for more than a decade and often shared the field with his twin brother Johnathan.
Following the sad news earlier today, we offer our condolences to the family of Adam Walker on behalf of everyone at Salford Red Devils. pic.twitter.com/qii5644Vh4
The Greater Manchester club was his last and despite struggles with off-field issues limiting his playing time, he spent three years at the AJ Bell Stadium.
His former club Hull Kingston Rovers, where he also spent three years and made most of his appearances (108) were equally saddened to hear the news.
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Hull KR are saddened to learn of Adam Walker's passing.
Walker also played for St Helens, Wakefield Trinity, as well as Barrow Raiders and Swinton Lions on loan — all of which issued messages of love and support to his friends and family, as did the rest of national, union and league rugby.
The prop forward started his career at Huddersfield Giants, where he came through the youth set-up and made his senior appearances. Those in the comments remembered his academy days fondly.
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Huddersfield Giants are deeply saddened by the news of the passing of our former player, Adam Walker.
Adam came through the club's academy and played for the first team from 2010 to 2012.
The thoughts of all at the club are with his family and friends at this difficult time. pic.twitter.com/vqciVPg8S6
Despite being born in Bradford, West Yorkshire, both Adam and his brother declared for Scotland‘s national team, playing in the 2013 World Cup, as well as the 2014 and ’15 European Cup competitions.
He amassed 14 caps for the national side, with Scotland’s Rugby League also paying tribute.
Scotland Rugby League are saddened to learn of Adam Walker's passing.
— Scotland Rugby League 🏴 (@scotlandrl) October 4, 2022
Walker was known to have battled with depression and other mental health issues off the field, struggles which had hampered his career over recent years. He also had trouble with the law despite being dismissed of two charges back in 2016.
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Just over a year later, he went on to be banned for 20 months after having tested positive for cocaine after a game for Trinity in against the Widnes Vikings. His death has seen those trying to draw attention to male mental health in sport, especially, urging others to come forward and talk to someone.
Former Salford teammate Jackson Hastings described him on Twitter as a “champion team-mate and someone who was misunderstood”.
His cause of death is still yet to be announced.
Rest in peace.
Featured Image — Salford Red Devils (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 -
6th October 2022 
