Wrexham AFC star Paul Mullin has been banned from wearing a custom pair of football boots that feature the phrase ‘F*** the Tories!’.
The 27-year-old Scouse-born striker shared a picture of his latest pair of personalised boots to his social media channels and subsequently caused quite a stir.
The boots themselves are designed by a company called Zebra Customs, feature a silhouette of the Liverpool skyline and a nod to local artist Jamie Webster’s song ‘This Place’, which has become a bit of a cult anthem for the city.
Following the reaction online, Wrexham issued a statement confirming that they “will not be worn” in their next game against Halifax Town on Tuesday evening, their upcoming game against Altrincham FC this weekend, or indeed any future fixtures.
Despite banning him from wearing the statement pieces sporting fashion, the club say they maintain a “neutral position on many matters with a political dimension” and that they took issue with the images being taken at the Racehorse Ground without their permission, as it simply would not have been granted.
Moreover, the club noted that they could not back Mullin’s “individual view” given “the fact that the MP for the constituency within which the Club is found is a Conservative seat.”
Anyone who has been watching the Welcome To Wrexham documentary series which follows Hollywood celebrities Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney’s first year as owners of the historic Welsh club will be familiar with Mullin, who signed for a then-record fee and scored 28 goals in all comps last season.
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The Litherland lad played a key role in Wrexham’s 21/22 campaign as they chased down National League leaders and Greater Manchester club Stockport County, who ultimately went on to lift the trophy and return to the English Football League after 11 years.
As for Wrexham, this year’s is their 13th successive season outside of the EFL and while Mullin already has 11 goals and an assist in 14 games, they sit second to Notts County so far.
The club are keen to put the situation to bed, calling it an “unwelcome distraction” but insisting that despite the no.10’s efforts to go after no.10, he will continue to play “a significant part” in their chase for promotion.
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Mullin is yet to issue a response following the club action and we dare say if we do get one, it’ll be just as defiant as the boots themselves.
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 -
25th October 2022 
