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BreakingNews.ie
41 minutes ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Man United fan admits ‘slap' assault on Man City's Jack Grealish
A football fan admitted assaulting Man City and England star Jack Grealish by slapping his face after the footballer insulted him, he claimed. Alfie Holt (20) pleaded guilty to a single count of assault on Grealish, who he said had called him a 'little ugly wanker', after the Manchester Derby in April, Manchester Magistrates' Court heard. Advertisement Holt, a Manchester United season ticket holder in the Stretford End, was also given a three-year Football Banning Order and was fined £120 (€138), with £85 costs and a surcharge of £48. The defendant told the court: 'I did not expect him to say what he said to me and I have reacted. I regret it. That's it.' Shazia Aslam, prosecuting, told the court Grealish was leaving the field after the Manchester Derby at Old Trafford, which was broadcast on Sky TV with a sell-out crowd and was always a 'contentious affair.' 'Both sets of fans were very vocal, shouting abusive comments to rival players,' Ms Aslam said. Advertisement The court heard that as players left the field, heading for the tunnel, Holt stood very close by, shouting abuse at Man City players. 'As the complainant, Jack Grealish, a Man City player, enters the tunnel area, he hears the defendant shouting comments towards him. He turns and walks towards him. Both have an exchange of words. 'As the complainant walks away, the defendant slaps the complainant across the face. There was no injury. He was arrested outside the stadium.' In a witness statement, Grealish told police he could not hear what the defendant was shouting due to the crowd noise, so he walked towards him and tried to engage in conversation and leaned in to speak to the defendant. Advertisement He was still unable to hear, so he moved to walk away when he was slapped. Alfie Holt admitted assault to Jack Grealish as he appeared in the dock at Manchester Magistrates' Court (Danny Lawson PA) After his arrest, Holt told police he had been drinking before the game 'in town' and went to the match with his father. He told police he was shouting abuse at Man City players, including Phil Foden, who ignored him. He then shouted, 'Knobhead' at Grealish, who reacted and a 'verbal altercation took place,' the court heard. Holt told police Grealish said to him: 'You little, ugly wanker,' and he 'flipped' and reached out and slapped the footballer. Advertisement Magistrates were shown a brief clip of the incident, which had no sound. Ms Aslam added: 'The defendant uses force against a player. Players are extremely vulnerable to this sort of conduct and need to be protected.' Melanie Winstantley, defending, said Holt had no previous convictions and had never been arrested before, so the incident was completely out of character for him. His Man United season ticket, which he has had for 12 years, had already been revoked, which is a 'significant punishment' to him. Advertisement She added: 'He's admitted what he's done, he's owned what he's done. It's a very minor assault.' Ms Winstanley also said Grealish had 'doubled back' after going into the tunnel to speak to Holt. She added: 'He didn't have to do that. It's not unusual for players and fans to engage in banter at football matches. I'm not trying to excuse the behaviour.' Passing sentence, chairwoman of the magistrates' bench Jill Hodges told the defendant she accepted Holt had pleaded guilty and he appeared to regret his actions, but there must be 'punishment and deterrence' for such behaviour. The court heard fines cannot be deducted from Holt's Personal Independence Payments, so his parents, who he lives with, have agreed to pay them in full within 28 days.
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Horsman urges WRU to act quickly on potential team cull
Former Wales prop Chris Horsman says strong leadership and a quick decision is needed by the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) after it announced it was considering cutting up to two of its four professional regional rugby's governing body says it is entering a formal consultation with the Professional Rugby Board (PRB) - which represents both the WRU and Cardiff, Dragons, Ospreys and Scarlets - saying the current system is failing and WRU says it wants a "more radical" strategy to be completed by played for Celtic Warriors - one of the original five teams created when Wales switched from club to regional sides as the top level of the domestic game - who were disbanded after just one season in 2004."What the game needs more than anything at the moment is stability," said Horsman, 47, who won 14 caps and has coached Wales Under-20s and Wales Women."For me, if they're [the WRU] going to make the cut they've got to just come forward they've got to give us some strong leadership." The current professional rugby agreement (PRA) that underpins the Welsh professional game runs out in was due to be superseded by a new five-year deal agreed by WRU-owned Cardiff and privately-owned Dragons, but has still not been signed by either Ospreys or Scarlets who say "key issues" have not been four sides are expected to continue to exist in their current form until at least June 2027 but their futures are now uncertain."Potentially they have got a year left of their contract," Horsman told Radio Wales Drive."They [the regions] want financial stability. Are you going to buy a season ticket? If you're a business are you going to sponsor the region, because you don't know in three, four month's time, you might be told it's not going to be there anymore? "So there are so many things resting on this decision and again we've got to wait."I know it's not going to be straightforward but we've heard that things were going to happen 18 months ago and they haven't, so I don't put a lot of stock in it's going to happen fast. I hope it does for the players' sake and for Welsh rugby's sake."One thing I will say is when we were at the Celtic Warriors, it happened over a weekend, pretty much, and as painful as it was at least it was done and then there was a decision made that the players were divvied up, pretty equally between the four regions and the game moved on quickly. "I think that's what's needed now."
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Sinner's Wimbledon focus was unblinking on every point – Alcaraz is playing catch-up
With his hopes of a third consecutive Wimbledon title fading desperately with every point, Carlos Alcaraz sat in his chair on Centre Court after conceding the third set of his final with Jannik Sinner and unloaded his thoughts on his team: 'From the back of the court, he is much better than me. Much better than me! Much [better]! It's like this,' Alcaraz said, gesturing with his hands to demonstrate the vast gap between his greatest rival and himself. His assessment was not wrong. From a set down, Sinner put together a supreme performance to overturn five consecutive defeats against Alcaraz and win his first Wimbledon title, avenging the most difficult loss in his career – his French Open final defeat by Alcaraz in June – at the earliest opportunity. No one in the world strikes the ball with anything close to the destructive power, cleanliness, consistency that the Italian employs to dominate on the court and he used his incessant aggression to constantly rob time from his opponent, making it so difficult for him to impose his own varied game. Perhaps most notably, he pulled off the victory without making any fundamental changes to his approach. He continued to play the relentless brand of attacking tennis that has brought him success, smothering Alcaraz from the baseline. This time, he simply served far better in the decisive moments and he remained bold with his shot-making deep in the fourth set. The intensity, quality and unblinking focus Sinner brings on every single point was too much for Alcaraz, who this time could not find a miraculous pathway back into the match. Sinner has spent the past 18 months dominating all others. Before the final he had compiled a record of 81 wins and two defeats against players other than Alcaraz since November 2023, and four losses out of four against the Spanish player during that period. This result shifts the dynamics of their rivalry – now Alcaraz must keep up. Peaking spectacularly in the big moments is not enough. Beating Sinner in best-of-five-set matches now requires consistent, steady excellence across the course of a match with few letdowns. Things will only become more challenging. After achieving such a monumental result on one of Alcaraz's favourite surfaces, Sinner will return to his preferred hard courts more confident than ever before. In the early hours of Monday morning, after Sinner had left Centre Court, drunk champagne with his loved ones and then endured the two-hour plus media blitz reserved for all major champions, he was escorted to the five-star hotel Raffles London at the OWO for the annual Wimbledon champions dinner. By the time Sinner, 24 in August, made his appearance, well after midnight, he was in a slightly different mental state compared to the unrelenting focus he exuded on the court. 'We were drinking quite a lot in the last hours,' he said, smiling. 'A bit turning, the head, but it's all good.' Once an actual ball with the famed tradition of the men's and women's champions sharing the first dance of the night, Wimbledon's celebratory event is a low-key dinner these days and the two champions were interviewed by the former British No 1 Laura Robson. Over the past two years, however, the event has nodded to its history by orchestrating a dance on stage. After 1am on Monday, a smiling Iga Swiatek and Sinner could be found dancing awkwardly together to Feel Iit Still by Portugal. The Man. Towards the end of her interview, Swiatek was asked if she had ever considered offering up one solitary game to her opponent Amanda Anisimova, whom she thrashed in their final: 'I didn't,' she said after a long pause. 'But I think any athlete would understand that.' Sign up to The Recap The best of our sports journalism from the past seven days and a heads-up on the weekend's action after newsletter promotion Swiatek's 6-0, 6-0 win was a historic moment in the sport. However, it was also a simple reminder of the Pole's singular dominance. She has She has demolished almost every prominent player on the tour at some point and she had already inflicted a double bagel on a far more distinguished opponent in a significant final, doing the same to Karolina Pliskova, the former world No 1 who was ranked No 9, , in the 2021 Italian Open. A beatdown is always on the cards when Swiatek is in full flow. In comparison to the relief she felt after living up to expectations by maintaining her dominance on clay with three consecutive French Open titles, her sheer joy after winning Wimbledon, a title she never really expected to win, has been striking. This result has further allowed her to understand her potential and will almost certainly spur her on to even greater successes. Now one Australian Open away from the career grand slam, it is hard to imagine that Swiatek will not end her playing days having captured every major title possible.
