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Japan Today
26-05-2025
- Sport
- Japan Today
Car ramming leaves several injured as Liverpool fans mark soccer triumph
soccer By Kieran CANNING Several people were injured on Monday when a car plowed into soccer fans celebrating Liverpool's Premier League title victory while police said a 53-year-old man had been arrested. An AFP journalist in Liverpool saw at least four people taken away on stretchers, after witnesses reported seeing people knocked by a dark-colored vehicle swerving through the huge crowds. It was not immediately clear how many people had been hurt. But tens of thousands of people turned out in torrential rain for the jubilant celebrations to see the northwest English side's victory parade, involving players on an open-topped bus and fireworks. The bus carrying the team had passed by on Water Street just minutes before the car rammed the crowd, witnesses told media. "It was extremely fast," said Harry Rashid, 48, from Solihull, near Birmingham, central England, who was at the parade with his wife and two young daughters. "Initially we just heard the pop, pop, pop of people just being knocked off the bonnet of the car," he told reporters. "It was horrible and you could hear the bumps as he was going over the people." Other witnesses reported hearing screams and seeing an angry crowd surround the vehicle before police arrived. Merseyside Police called for calm and said the arrested man was "a 53-year-old white British man from the Liverpool area". "Extensive enquiries are ongoing to establish the circumstances leading up to the collision," a spokesperson added, urging the public not to speculate on the circumstances of the collision. Cordons were put in place and ambulances and a fire engine were also at the scene, with the injured being treated on the street. North West Ambulance Service said its crews were "assessing the situation" with other emergency services. "Our priority is to ensure people receive the medical help they need as quickly as possible," a statement read. Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the scenes in Liverpool "appalling". "My thoughts are with all those injured or affected," he wrote on X. "I want to thank the police and emergency services for their swift and ongoing response to this shocking incident," he added. "I'm being kept updated on developments and ask that we give the police the space they need to investigate." Liverpool had been a sea of red as hundreds of thousands of supporters packed the city's streets, on a national holiday day, to celebrate winning the Premier League title with Arne Slot's successful squad. Star players Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk led the festivities alongside their team-mates on the top deck of the bus. Plumes of red smoke from flares had filled the air as the players took four hours to cover the 10-mile (16-kilometer) route. A record-equalling 20th English top-flight title was secured nearly a month ago as Slot's men wrapped up the Premier League with four games to spare. However, they were only presented with the trophy after Sunday's final match against Crystal Palace. Despite Liverpool's storied history, the club's fanbase had been waiting 35 years to collectively celebrate a league title. When Jurgen Klopp's side ended a 30-year drought without winning the league in 2020, there was no parade due to coronavirus restrictions. Liverpool's football history has been marked by tragedy. In 1989, 97 Liverpool fans died in a crush at a game in the Hillsborough stadium in Sheffield. More than 760 people were also injured in the deadliest disaster in British sporting history, which still scars the port city. In 1985, 39 mainly Italian fans were killed when a wall collapsed amidst disturbances between Liverpool and Juventus fans at the Heysel Stadium in Brussels. The club said in a brief statement that it was in direct contact with police, adding: "Our thoughts are prayers are with those who have been affected by this serious incident." © 2025 AFP
Japan Today
23-05-2025
- Business
- Japan Today
Premier League dream turns sour for promoted clubs
Leicester, Ipswich and Southampton have been relegated from the Premier League after just one season soccer By Kieran CANNING The riches of the Premier League are on offer for Sunderland and Sheffield United as they face off in Saturday's Championship play-off final, but the promotion dream could quickly turn sour even for the winners. For the second consecutive season all three promoted sides from the Championship have been swiftly dumped straight back into the second tier at the first time of asking. Before the 2023/24 campaign, that had only happened once in English top-flight history, back in 1997/98. The growing gulf between the two leagues is evidenced by the points tallies of the bottom three in the past two seasons. Luton, Burnley and Sheffield United went down 12 months ago with the lowest combined tally (66) of any three relegated teams in a 38-match Premier League season. Leicester, Ipswich and Southampton are on course to smash that unwanted record with just 59 between them heading into the final weekend of the Premier League campaign. The bottom three have won just two games between them in 2025 against the top 17. "It's clear that the gap is big," said Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna, who had secured back-to-back promotions prior to this season's reality check. "When that happens for two seasons in a row, that's 17 teams who have two full seasons of Premier League money and everything that comes with that. And it makes it harder for everyone to catch up." Sheffield United received £110 million ($148 million) from the Premier League's television and commercial deals last season for finishing bottom of the table. Once parachute payments, which are dished out to relegated clubs for a period of three years after they go down are factored in, one season in the English top-flight can be worth over £200 million. The growing gulf between the top two divisions is not only a problem for the Premier League. The English Football League (EFL) have grown increasingly concerned over the competitive balance of the Championship due to the impact of parachute payments. Should Sheffield United join Leeds and Burnley in going up, six of the last nine clubs promoted from the Championship would have done so in their first season after being relegated from the Premier League. "The impact of these payments on the competitive balance of the Championship, and on the sustainability of all other clubs, is a major concern," said EFL chairman Rick Parry. Parachute payments could be abolished once a new independent regulator for English football is appointed. But that may only exacerbate the growing gulf between the Premier League and Championship. They were initially designed to minimize the gap between the top two leagues by encouraging promoted clubs to invest enough in their squads to make them competitive. Yet, the strength in depth of the Premier League means any newcomer has a mountain to climb just to survive. With just one game of the season to go, Europa League finalists Tottenham and Manchester United sit 16th and 17th in the table. "The longer the teams stay in the Premier League, the better they get," said Leicester boss Ruud van Nistelrooy. "If the same 17 teams stay in they are all going to invest massive amounts of money and get better on top of how good they are. It appears the gap will only get bigger." © 2025 AFP
