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The Independent
18 minutes ago
- The Independent
Wayne Rooney: ‘Racially abused player cried on my chest'
Wayne Rooney has revealed how he consoled a former player who 'cried on his chest' after receiving racist abuse. He believes believes only tougher sanctions for racism in football, like points deductions, will prevent further incidents. Speaking on his new BBC podcast, The Wayne Rooney Show, former England and Manchester United captain Rooney reflected on what changes need to occur to help tackle discrimination. Last week saw two major incidents, with Antoine Semenyo of Bournemouth allegedly racially abused by a spectator in the crowd during their 4-2 loss at Liverpool and Tottenham forward Mathys Tel receiving racism online for a missed penalty in their Super Cup defeat to Paris St Germain. Ex-DC United boss Rooney said: 'I had it in DC with one of my players who got racially abused and he was crying on my chest. I was holding him as he was crying on my chest. 'I don't think people realise – they say it as a throwaway line that they think has no meaning behind it, but it hurts people. For people to see that and understand, there has to be more done to stop it.' Points deductions and education were put forward by Rooney as key deterrents to prevent racism. He added: 'There needs to be a strong campaign for society – for children, parents and grandparents – to be educated,' Rooney added. 'You have to hit the clubs because that's the only way it will stop. If there is ignorance, the fans will still do it. 'You have to hit the clubs by taking off points or hit them in the pocket and take money away from them. Otherwise, it will keep on going. 'Hopefully the right people sit down with the right organisations to try and get something serious in place.'
Daily Mail
19 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Why Manchester United absolutely MUST sign a new goalkeeper, writes NATHAN SALT - and the targets who could move to Old Trafford before the transfer window slams shut
All summer long at Manchester United the message has been clear: goalkeeper is not a priority position to strengthen this summer in the transfer window. Andre Onana would still be the No 1 this season, insiders insisted on multiple occasions. His absence from the matchday squad versus Arsenal - fiercely defended by Ruben Amorim amid accusations that he was dropped - copied with the fact his manager didn't declare him the No 1 on Friday at his pre-match press conference doing little to cement that. Others would point to the summer budget needing to be prioritised on the 'bigger problem' areas - not least the attack that was totally abject last season. Amorim was backed with £200million to rip that part of the pitch up and start all over again. United look significantly better in that department now; Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha brought an energy and a quality that has been missing for some time at Old Trafford. Benjamin Sesko, a £74m arrival, was a handful off the bench. But a goalkeeping error once again undid a lot of the good work on show - and they lost. Go back to December 20 last year when Altay Bayindir made two high-profile mistakes to knock United out of the Carabao Cup against Tottenham, conceding straight from Son Heung-min 's corner which put Spurs 4-2 up. Six days later, with Onana back in goal, he conceded directly from a corner by now-United attacker Matheus Cunha. United would lose both matches. The risk they run now is for all the progress they appear to have made defensively, in midfield and in attack, uncertainty over the goalkeeper is creating anxiety that will permeate the rest of the group. 'It is really unsettling when you haven't got a dominant No 1, who is dominant in the air, who owns his six-yard box, comes and punches everything and makes a lot of saves to win you points when your defenders make mistakes,' Gary Neville said on his podcast. 'I don't know where they are on PSR, but they might have to magic up a bit more money in the next week or two, or do something on loan.' How many rabbits they still have left to pull from the hat remains to be seen. Privately there is a degree of pessimism as to just how much is left when it comes to a goalkeeper. Earlier in the summer there was interest in a loan move for Aston Villa's Emiliano Martinez, as reported by Daily Mail Sport. That was swiftly rejected by Villa and United had little interest in pursuing that move on a permanent basis. His representatives have pushed that potential deal more so than United. Then there is Gianluigi Donnarumma, who was deemed surplus to requirements by Paris Saint-Germain following the arrival of Lucas Chevalier as their new No 1. It seemed to be an obvious link. A top level goalkeeper who has won the Euros as well as the Champions League. Suggestions of Donnarumma coming to Old Trafford were quickly shut down. He is not being pursued was the word back. Neville put it best on the attribute that makes the pair so attractive to a club the size of United. 'The reason I think they would be good goalkeepers for Man United is not necessarily because they are the best goalkeepers in Europe, but they are big personalities and characters,' he added. 'You've seen Donnarumma in a European final save those penalties for Italy. He looked like a giant. He's played for PSG in huge games under pressure. Martinez has played in the World Cup final and won it for Argentina. 'They have played under extreme pressure and they almost walk out with that arrogance and dominance of a goalkeeper - Man Utd need that.' Last season, across all competitions, Onana made 50 appearances, Donnarumma 47, Martinez 53 and Bayindir 10. Onana conceded 1.3 goals per game in that time, compared to 1.15 for Martinez, 0.91 Donnarumma and 1.8 for Bayindir. Take f saves inside the box per game and Onana's 1.48 ranks third, behind Martinez's 1.91 and Donnarumma's 1.57. Onana's 66.1% save percentage pales into comparison to Donnarumma (71.5%) and Martinez (75.4%) too. And the stats can go on and on if required. But the wider point here is that Manchester United can ill afford to have an anxiety-inducing goalkeeper disrupting things when they are showing green shoots of life that things can and will get better this season. United great Wayne Rooney likened it on his new podcast to when Van der Sar came in after Roy Carroll and Tim Howard had both had spells as the No 1. Immediately a sense of calm arrived. The presence of Van der Sar was worth its weight in gold. Amorim doesn't want to complain publicly - he can't complain publicly about goalkeepers - and perhaps his hands are tied. There are concerns about Donnarumma's exorbitant wages and the money it would take to get 32-year-old Martinez out of Villa in a period where Ineos are seeking younger players. Belgian youngster Senne Lammens is another target, although Inter Milan will beat them in that race if they dither on the 23-year-old for much longer. 'We proved today we can win any game in the Premier League, especially against a great team like Arsenal,' Amorim said after losing to Arsenal. 'We were the better team. I'm happy with the three goalkeepers.' With two weeks to go in the summer transfer window, United and Amorim would be wise to reconsider where their top priority really lies.
BBC News
19 minutes ago
- BBC News
Sunderland explore move for Leicester's Fatawu
Sunderland are exploring whether a move for Leicester winger Abdul Fatawu is viable as the newly promoted side look to continue their spending spree. The 21-year-old Ghana international is one of the Foxes' most valuable assets, reportedly valued at about £ Black Cats have held preliminary talks to formalise their interest but no bid has been made yet amid concern that a move could be too costly or difficult to complete. Sunderland have already spent £141.5m in the transfer window, which is just short of Nottingham Forest's £142m in the summer of 2022, a British record for a promoted club. Their latest signing was the £9.5m acquisition of Paris St-Germain defender Nordi Mukiele, adding to deals for former Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka, winger Simon Adingra from Brighton and club-record signing Habib Diarra, who cost about £30m from joined Leicester from Sporting Lisbon, initially on loan, and helped them win the Championship title in made a permanent move before their return to the top flight after Leicester triggered an option to buy him but missed the majority of the 2024-25 season with a serious knee back in the Championship, Leicester have sold goalkeeper Mads Hermansen to West Ham for about £20m, Wilfred Ndidi joined Besiktas for £9m and Conor Coady moved to Wrexham for £2m.
