Phillips Idowu has revealed that Charles Van Commonee has confiscated his mobile telephone and personal computer "for the rest of the season" and banned the Triple Jump star from "going near a computer". Van Commonee - who branded Idowu a "clown" on the BBC - is said to be furious that the Belgrave Harrier used Twitter to withdraw from this weekend's European Team Championships.
"It's a total joke" thundered Idowu from a phone box "who the hell does he think he is? I'm the World Champion and yet I can't be trusted with a mobile phone. Ridiculous." The triple jump ace added that it "was none of Van Commonee's business" what he did online. "Where exactly is Charles' Gold medal?" pondered Idowu "when he wants some fashion advice he should call me."
Idowu went on to say that the ban was having a "negative impact" on his performance because he was unable to call the AA when his new car broke down last week. "I tried to fashion a device with a paper cup and a bit of string, but it didn't work" said Idowu "in the rain, the cup just disintegrated".
Van Commonee has defended his decision, but faces serious problems within the Team GB camp after Helen Clitheroe was caught on Facebook chat after lights out yesterday evening and Dwain Chambers was found to be "following" the out of favour Idowu on Twitter. Meanwhile, a row has erupted within the BBC after Denise Lewis 'unfriended' Colin Jackson in a row thought to be over shoes and Jonathan Edwards revealed that he didn't even know what Twitter was.
Showing posts with label Jackson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jackson. Show all posts
Saturday, 18 June 2011
Tuesday, 24 August 2010
NEW AGE FOR SKY AS MNF RETURNS
It isn’t athletics but it should be. Sky’s brand spanking new series of Monday Night Football returned to our screens last week and it didn’t half do it in style. Richard Keys and Andy Gray put the footballing world to rights with the very latest gadgets and gismos including – as we discovered this week – an indoor mini-pitch. “We don’t really need technology for this, do we?” pondered Keys of one incident. The usually perfectly sensible anchor was surely speaking somewhat ironically given that the whole premise of this ridiculous and unnecessary hour long build-up to the Monday Night match relies on pointless and malfunctioning technology. This week, the “boys downstairs” ran a Stoke non-goal through a computer that magically removed all the other players on the pitch clearly showing that the ball was over the line. “He [referee Chris Foy] will know in his heart of hearts that he should have got that right,” opined Gray of the incident lasting less than a second, having had the opportunity to look at it several million times from several million angles.
Elsewhere, the problem of penalties was thoroughly addressed. “Is the balance of power shifting towards keepers?” asked Keys, “Why?” snapped Gray. Err, because more are being saved than ever before. “Here we have a left footed goalkeeper,” puzzled Keys, “who chooses to dive to the left. Anything in that theory?” Five minutes, probably 30 researcher hours, several thousand pounds and a tired audience later, it was concluded that keepers may or may not be advantaged at the moment and amazingly there may just be something in Keynes’ theory. “So what I’m saying is,” said Gray in a light bulb moment, “if a keeper goes the right way, he has a chance of saving it.” Right, well that’s money well spent then. Afterwards, as if desperate to justify his £25,000 per week price tag, Gray revealed that he had “been thinking about penalties for a couple of weeks.” Uh oh! Sounds dangerous. Indeed it was: “I’m right handed, Richard, so I would go to my right….I’ve been talking to the lads in the office all day….and it’s noticeable that the keepers who are right handed went big right.” Ok fine, but what about Ben Foster? He’s left footed isn’t he? And yet he went right. “Yes, but is he right handed? I was left footed and right handed.” Phew.
Here comes the tenuous link! Wouldn’t it be great if the BBC invested in the same technology for their athletics coverage? Steve Cram and Brendan Foster could thrash out the complexities of the Bekele kick on a virtual track, Jonathon Edwards could thoroughly examine Philips Idowu’s take off having removed everything except his spike. Colin Jackson could play with the heights of the hurdles to debate whether if they were an inch taller, David Oliver would be as proficient. The possibilities are endless. Surely even Phil Jones could use it; a crowd-o-metre could measure “supporter impact” and then comparisons could be drawn with other crowds around the world. Inverdale could be seen hovering above the stadium, conducting things in his Godfather-like way, whilst Denise Lewis could….well, there are always going to be some flaws.
It surely won’t be long before grumblings emerge about the lack of technology in the Beeb’s coverage. The very least they should get is one of the snazzy new iPads that Keys has replaced his clip-board with, even if it was deemed “a bit heavy” last week. Watch this space.
Elsewhere, the problem of penalties was thoroughly addressed. “Is the balance of power shifting towards keepers?” asked Keys, “Why?” snapped Gray. Err, because more are being saved than ever before. “Here we have a left footed goalkeeper,” puzzled Keys, “who chooses to dive to the left. Anything in that theory?” Five minutes, probably 30 researcher hours, several thousand pounds and a tired audience later, it was concluded that keepers may or may not be advantaged at the moment and amazingly there may just be something in Keynes’ theory. “So what I’m saying is,” said Gray in a light bulb moment, “if a keeper goes the right way, he has a chance of saving it.” Right, well that’s money well spent then. Afterwards, as if desperate to justify his £25,000 per week price tag, Gray revealed that he had “been thinking about penalties for a couple of weeks.” Uh oh! Sounds dangerous. Indeed it was: “I’m right handed, Richard, so I would go to my right….I’ve been talking to the lads in the office all day….and it’s noticeable that the keepers who are right handed went big right.” Ok fine, but what about Ben Foster? He’s left footed isn’t he? And yet he went right. “Yes, but is he right handed? I was left footed and right handed.” Phew.
Here comes the tenuous link! Wouldn’t it be great if the BBC invested in the same technology for their athletics coverage? Steve Cram and Brendan Foster could thrash out the complexities of the Bekele kick on a virtual track, Jonathon Edwards could thoroughly examine Philips Idowu’s take off having removed everything except his spike. Colin Jackson could play with the heights of the hurdles to debate whether if they were an inch taller, David Oliver would be as proficient. The possibilities are endless. Surely even Phil Jones could use it; a crowd-o-metre could measure “supporter impact” and then comparisons could be drawn with other crowds around the world. Inverdale could be seen hovering above the stadium, conducting things in his Godfather-like way, whilst Denise Lewis could….well, there are always going to be some flaws.
It surely won’t be long before grumblings emerge about the lack of technology in the Beeb’s coverage. The very least they should get is one of the snazzy new iPads that Keys has replaced his clip-board with, even if it was deemed “a bit heavy” last week. Watch this space.
Sunday, 15 August 2010
INVERDALE UNDERLINES MONOPOLY, BUT THERE’S NO ESCAPING PHIL JONES
“And a word, Tyson about the crowd?” The obligatory ‘crowd question’ dominates just about all of the BBC’s Phil Jones’ interviews, as if the crowd is that much different from any other the world class athletes have competed in front of on the European circuit (or indeed the Olympic Games or World Championships). Jones is never content with just a cursory “it’s always nice when the spectators are so enthusiastic”. Such a flippant response will be met with a follow up: “but what about this crowd?” Yesterday, Blanka Vlasic was deemed to have sounded less than absolutely ecstatic about the crowd support and so Jones tried a different angle: "in this weather too". Seemingly, there is no escaping the man with the BBC microphone as some bright spark at the Beeb came up with the idea that he could be a ‘roaming’ reporter from now on. Gone are the days when disappointed failures can hurry through the mixed zone avoiding eye contact. Now you get the feeling that Jones will chase any potential interviewee all the way back to his/her hotel in order to understand how the crowd may or may not have influenced their performance.
No such problems for John Inverdale who is fast becoming the Godfather of BBC sports coverage. Only the very select few (BBC darling Jess Ennis) got the nod to be interviewed by the great man. Inverdale's interviews are astoundingly effective as there is a feeling of the headmaster's study about his booth: the athlete is almost certainly more in awe of Inverdale than the other way around. If athletes are battling to escape the Jones treatment, any sports fan really can’t get away from Inverdale. Whatever the sport, Inverdale is there: swimming, horse jumping, tennis, golf, rugby, athletics: you name it- he's covering it. Indeed back in June, on what should have been his day off from Wimbledon coverage, the maestro was hurriedly dispatched to Birmingham Alexander stadium to cover for the bungling Jonathan Edwards. One can’t help thinking that the veteran broadcaster does as he wishes as producers are fearful of what could be an almighty kick off. Surely it is no co-incidence that Sue Barker is looking increasingly uncomfortable on A Question of Sport and Gary Lineker looks like a dead man walking on Match of the Day. The Inverdale juggernaut is seemingly unstoppable; just ask Hazel Irvine who has been sent to the wilderness of women's golf, probably after knocking the Godfather's water over or something.
Inverdale’s showing at Crystal Palace after what was an obviously draining European campaign was made to look all the more impressive by the limp displays of Colin Jackson and Denise Lewis. For too long now, these two have failed to deliver and Inverdale was only too ready to pounce on such weakness. And so when it came to analysing Mo Farah’s 3000m, the distance runners in the commentary box were deemed surplus to requirements by the rampant Inverdale who decided to quiz Lewis (a heptathlete) and Jackson (a hurdler) about it instead. In a ‘rabbit caught in headlights’ moment, Lewis concluded that Farah had “given it his all”, which was met with an “absolutely” from Jackson. Inverdale could barely hide the smile from his face.
Happily, Denise Lewis seems totally incapable of saying anything nasty (or indeed of any value). This is perfect for a meeting in which the British athletes undoubtedly crashed back down to earth from the dizzy heights of European glory. “It’s really hard to get yourself motivated for meetings like this after the major Championships” preached Lewis. Is it? The obvious first question is whether an event in which 10.18 seconds is good enough for a silver medal in the 100m can really be classed as “major”; and then there is the question of whether it should matter. We do not hear of many surgeons who, after a patient dies, sigh and say that they were struggling to get over performing well at a “major” operation last week. Sensationally, the only individual who appears to have conceded as much was the much loved Mark ‘most definitely’ Lewis-Francis. “This is what I do for a living,” said the European silver medallist whilst making some strange movements with his hands, “there’s no excuse”. Unfortunately, Lewis-Francis had already humiliated himself by choosing to point enthusiastically at his baton having won the 4x100m relay whilst mouthing to the camera, “I’m number one!” That’s debatable, but what cannot be debated is that the baton was clearly embossed with the number 3. Such stupid behaviour could well be met with an Inverdale summons early next week.
No such problems for John Inverdale who is fast becoming the Godfather of BBC sports coverage. Only the very select few (BBC darling Jess Ennis) got the nod to be interviewed by the great man. Inverdale's interviews are astoundingly effective as there is a feeling of the headmaster's study about his booth: the athlete is almost certainly more in awe of Inverdale than the other way around. If athletes are battling to escape the Jones treatment, any sports fan really can’t get away from Inverdale. Whatever the sport, Inverdale is there: swimming, horse jumping, tennis, golf, rugby, athletics: you name it- he's covering it. Indeed back in June, on what should have been his day off from Wimbledon coverage, the maestro was hurriedly dispatched to Birmingham Alexander stadium to cover for the bungling Jonathan Edwards. One can’t help thinking that the veteran broadcaster does as he wishes as producers are fearful of what could be an almighty kick off. Surely it is no co-incidence that Sue Barker is looking increasingly uncomfortable on A Question of Sport and Gary Lineker looks like a dead man walking on Match of the Day. The Inverdale juggernaut is seemingly unstoppable; just ask Hazel Irvine who has been sent to the wilderness of women's golf, probably after knocking the Godfather's water over or something.
Inverdale’s showing at Crystal Palace after what was an obviously draining European campaign was made to look all the more impressive by the limp displays of Colin Jackson and Denise Lewis. For too long now, these two have failed to deliver and Inverdale was only too ready to pounce on such weakness. And so when it came to analysing Mo Farah’s 3000m, the distance runners in the commentary box were deemed surplus to requirements by the rampant Inverdale who decided to quiz Lewis (a heptathlete) and Jackson (a hurdler) about it instead. In a ‘rabbit caught in headlights’ moment, Lewis concluded that Farah had “given it his all”, which was met with an “absolutely” from Jackson. Inverdale could barely hide the smile from his face.
Happily, Denise Lewis seems totally incapable of saying anything nasty (or indeed of any value). This is perfect for a meeting in which the British athletes undoubtedly crashed back down to earth from the dizzy heights of European glory. “It’s really hard to get yourself motivated for meetings like this after the major Championships” preached Lewis. Is it? The obvious first question is whether an event in which 10.18 seconds is good enough for a silver medal in the 100m can really be classed as “major”; and then there is the question of whether it should matter. We do not hear of many surgeons who, after a patient dies, sigh and say that they were struggling to get over performing well at a “major” operation last week. Sensationally, the only individual who appears to have conceded as much was the much loved Mark ‘most definitely’ Lewis-Francis. “This is what I do for a living,” said the European silver medallist whilst making some strange movements with his hands, “there’s no excuse”. Unfortunately, Lewis-Francis had already humiliated himself by choosing to point enthusiastically at his baton having won the 4x100m relay whilst mouthing to the camera, “I’m number one!” That’s debatable, but what cannot be debated is that the baton was clearly embossed with the number 3. Such stupid behaviour could well be met with an Inverdale summons early next week.
Thursday, 29 July 2010
'ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN IN FINAL' SHOCK
The British athletics community is reeling from the revelation that "anything can happen in a final". It seems that theory was developed by top UKA boffins and has been drilled into every single athlete competing, either that or it is a competition to see how many times you can say the phrase. Alas, Echo favourite, James Dasaolu was unable to see if anything could happen as he did not manage to make the final of the 100m. Speaking shortly before the Championships, Dasaolu confidently told Phil Jones of the BBC that "firstly, I want to make the final....anything can happen in a final....firstly, I want to win a medal. In order to win a medal, I have to make the final". Right.
Further credence was given to the theory last night when Mark Lewis-Francis (self styled: MLF) stormed to a silver medal in 10.18 seconds- just 0.6s off the World Record. It was incredibly unfortunate for the BBC as they spent much of the time we all had to wait for the result pondering what colour medal Dwain Chambers might have won. Completely oblivious to the fact that Lewis-Francis had quite literally rolled his way to silver, Denise Lewis and Colin Jackson launched into a post mortem on Chambers' race: "he over strides and it cost him the race...it might even be that Bronze," opined Jackson of Chambers (who finished fifth), before confirming that Lamaitre "so certainly" won the race. In fact, so sure were Beeb producers that Lewis-Francis was not going to win a medal that they didn't even bother to put a front-on camera in his lane, thus meaning viewers were robbed of the opportunity to hear the pundits' views on his facial expressions.
"I'm so happy right about now," said Lewis-Francis of his "new beginning", before ruining his moment by deciding to speak in the third-person: "this is the new Mark Lewis-Francis". Is it? Would that be the same "new" Lewis-Francis who actually ran quicker a few years ago, won an Olympic (relay) medal and then went on to test positive for marijuana in 2005? Perhaps not. Thankfully, the BBC had wasted so long dwelling on the demise of Chambers that we weren't able to find out much about MLF's views on his medal. He did, however, state that it "was all thanks to Linford [Christie, Lewis-Francis' coach and convicted drug cheat]" before going onto say that it was also thanks to just about everyone else in the stadium.
Lewis-Francis was clearly delighted and rightly so. But he wasn't half as delighted as Steve Cram was when Chambers failed to medal: "Chambers has crumbled!" he gleefully proclaimed before continuing his pre-race love in with the victorious Frenchman. Oh well, Steve, we all agree that we shouldn't ever forgive people for their past mistakes- particularly cheats! Just like I hate people who run off and cheat on their wives when they have kids at home. I'm sure you'll agree.
Further credence was given to the theory last night when Mark Lewis-Francis (self styled: MLF) stormed to a silver medal in 10.18 seconds- just 0.6s off the World Record. It was incredibly unfortunate for the BBC as they spent much of the time we all had to wait for the result pondering what colour medal Dwain Chambers might have won. Completely oblivious to the fact that Lewis-Francis had quite literally rolled his way to silver, Denise Lewis and Colin Jackson launched into a post mortem on Chambers' race: "he over strides and it cost him the race...it might even be that Bronze," opined Jackson of Chambers (who finished fifth), before confirming that Lamaitre "so certainly" won the race. In fact, so sure were Beeb producers that Lewis-Francis was not going to win a medal that they didn't even bother to put a front-on camera in his lane, thus meaning viewers were robbed of the opportunity to hear the pundits' views on his facial expressions.
"I'm so happy right about now," said Lewis-Francis of his "new beginning", before ruining his moment by deciding to speak in the third-person: "this is the new Mark Lewis-Francis". Is it? Would that be the same "new" Lewis-Francis who actually ran quicker a few years ago, won an Olympic (relay) medal and then went on to test positive for marijuana in 2005? Perhaps not. Thankfully, the BBC had wasted so long dwelling on the demise of Chambers that we weren't able to find out much about MLF's views on his medal. He did, however, state that it "was all thanks to Linford [Christie, Lewis-Francis' coach and convicted drug cheat]" before going onto say that it was also thanks to just about everyone else in the stadium.
Lewis-Francis was clearly delighted and rightly so. But he wasn't half as delighted as Steve Cram was when Chambers failed to medal: "Chambers has crumbled!" he gleefully proclaimed before continuing his pre-race love in with the victorious Frenchman. Oh well, Steve, we all agree that we shouldn't ever forgive people for their past mistakes- particularly cheats! Just like I hate people who run off and cheat on their wives when they have kids at home. I'm sure you'll agree.
Monday, 28 June 2010
UK CHAMPIONSHIPS NEWS
All the major talking points from the weekend.......
MOSES CALLS FOR HAWK EYE INTRODUCTION
FURY: Wayne Rooney shares the news
Lewis Moses has said that he felt “absolutely robbed” of a legitimate place in the 1500m final after being denied on a photo-finish. As it was, the Loughborough based star was forced to pace the final and dropped out after 900m. Speaking after the final, Moses’ frustration was clear. “I could see that I got in,” said the 3:42 man, “everyone in the ground could see that I got in, so why didn’t the officials? It’s very poor.” Calling on the IAAF to “act now”, Moses slammed the “historic” arrangements currently on offer at the finish line. “It seems that we are always talking about this and it is ruining the sport,” Moses told the BBC, “how many more high profile foul ups will it take before someone gets the technology right? Tennis have had Hawk-Eye for years and so should we.” The Prime Minister watched the Championships from the G20 Summit in Canada and added weight to the calls for video technology. David Cameron said: "I'm a keen follower of cricket and tennis and I think the third umpire has been a great thing and the machines that bleep at Wimbledon are quite handy too. Maybe that's something that [athletics] could now have a look at."
ANGER AT FOSTER SNUB
The BBC have revealed that they have been “inundated” with complaints regarding their coverage of the UK Championships this weekend. Angry viewers have complained that the commentary was “far too positive” in the absence of Brendan Foster. It seems that many football fans switched over from England’s humiliation at the hands of Germany hoping to find that athletics was in a far worse state that the national game. “As it was, [Steve Cram] just kept dwelling on the positives,” thundered one disappointed female viewer, “where were the gibes at the demise of distance running? By the time the women’s 800m final was on, I switched off because the positivity was all too much.” The BBC have apologised for the positive slant and have said that they would “do all they can” to ensure that future broadcasts will look at how far athletics has gone backwards in future.
Bad news came for Jonathan Edwards who found himself sidelined after Saturday’s “abysmal” anchoring performance. It now seems very unlikely that the former Olympic Champion will be allowed to perform such a role again as rumours are rife that Denise Lewis and Colin Jackson refused to work with him on the Sunday. A BBC insider said, “he kept talking about himself, even when he was interviewing a distance runner.....and he insisted on carrying a clipboard even though it was clear to everyone that there was nothing on the bloody thing!” The criticism will be particularly hard to take for Edwards, as he ditched his trendy earring (seen briefly at the Beeb’s coverage of the Great North Run last year) in order to take on the more serious role. John Inverdale had to be hurriedly dispatched from Wimbledon in order to “clean up the mess” that Edwards had left. The broadcasting legend was none too pleased at having his Sunday afternoon ruined by the former triple-jumper’s incompetence and pledged to have “firm words” as soon as he catches up with him.
RUSSELL FAILS IN 5K BID
HEARTBREAK: Russell's loyal following declared themselves "proud" of their man
SPIKE ‘DID ALL HE COULD’ TO IMPRESS SELECTORS
UK Athletics mascot, Spike, has said that he “made the best of a bad situation” in an attempt to make the team for Barcelona. The mascot, who has been dogged my injuries all season said that he still hoped he would be able to achieve the ‘B’ standard at the Gateshead Grand Prix in a couple of weeks. “This is my first competitive outing this season,” said the red-skinned star, “I got banned from all BMC meetings and so it is hard to find form. I remain positive and thank all those who stood by me.” Spike was referring to his nationwide ban from all British Milers Club events after he was involved in an infamous bust up with Berlino the Bear (of World Championships fame) last year. UKA courted heavy criticism for standing by their mascot despite the fact that he was clearly seen to strike the blue-skinned bear in the face. It is rumoured that Berlino made “disparaging remarks” about Spike’s lineage (he is a cousin of the Manchester United mascot Fred the Red) and professed himself to be a Liverpool fan. The pair had to be separated by police and their conduct is still the subject of an independent investigation. The Chief Executive of the BMC said that he was left with “no choice” but to issue Spike with a lifetime ban as he had “clearly brought the sport into disrepute.”
MOSES CALLS FOR HAWK EYE INTRODUCTION
FURY: Wayne Rooney shares the news
Lewis Moses has said that he felt “absolutely robbed” of a legitimate place in the 1500m final after being denied on a photo-finish. As it was, the Loughborough based star was forced to pace the final and dropped out after 900m. Speaking after the final, Moses’ frustration was clear. “I could see that I got in,” said the 3:42 man, “everyone in the ground could see that I got in, so why didn’t the officials? It’s very poor.” Calling on the IAAF to “act now”, Moses slammed the “historic” arrangements currently on offer at the finish line. “It seems that we are always talking about this and it is ruining the sport,” Moses told the BBC, “how many more high profile foul ups will it take before someone gets the technology right? Tennis have had Hawk-Eye for years and so should we.” The Prime Minister watched the Championships from the G20 Summit in Canada and added weight to the calls for video technology. David Cameron said: "I'm a keen follower of cricket and tennis and I think the third umpire has been a great thing and the machines that bleep at Wimbledon are quite handy too. Maybe that's something that [athletics] could now have a look at."
ANGER AT FOSTER SNUB
The BBC have revealed that they have been “inundated” with complaints regarding their coverage of the UK Championships this weekend. Angry viewers have complained that the commentary was “far too positive” in the absence of Brendan Foster. It seems that many football fans switched over from England’s humiliation at the hands of Germany hoping to find that athletics was in a far worse state that the national game. “As it was, [Steve Cram] just kept dwelling on the positives,” thundered one disappointed female viewer, “where were the gibes at the demise of distance running? By the time the women’s 800m final was on, I switched off because the positivity was all too much.” The BBC have apologised for the positive slant and have said that they would “do all they can” to ensure that future broadcasts will look at how far athletics has gone backwards in future.
Bad news came for Jonathan Edwards who found himself sidelined after Saturday’s “abysmal” anchoring performance. It now seems very unlikely that the former Olympic Champion will be allowed to perform such a role again as rumours are rife that Denise Lewis and Colin Jackson refused to work with him on the Sunday. A BBC insider said, “he kept talking about himself, even when he was interviewing a distance runner.....and he insisted on carrying a clipboard even though it was clear to everyone that there was nothing on the bloody thing!” The criticism will be particularly hard to take for Edwards, as he ditched his trendy earring (seen briefly at the Beeb’s coverage of the Great North Run last year) in order to take on the more serious role. John Inverdale had to be hurriedly dispatched from Wimbledon in order to “clean up the mess” that Edwards had left. The broadcasting legend was none too pleased at having his Sunday afternoon ruined by the former triple-jumper’s incompetence and pledged to have “firm words” as soon as he catches up with him.
RUSSELL FAILS IN 5K BID
HEARTBREAK: Russell's loyal following declared themselves "proud" of their man
SPIKE ‘DID ALL HE COULD’ TO IMPRESS SELECTORS
UK Athletics mascot, Spike, has said that he “made the best of a bad situation” in an attempt to make the team for Barcelona. The mascot, who has been dogged my injuries all season said that he still hoped he would be able to achieve the ‘B’ standard at the Gateshead Grand Prix in a couple of weeks. “This is my first competitive outing this season,” said the red-skinned star, “I got banned from all BMC meetings and so it is hard to find form. I remain positive and thank all those who stood by me.” Spike was referring to his nationwide ban from all British Milers Club events after he was involved in an infamous bust up with Berlino the Bear (of World Championships fame) last year. UKA courted heavy criticism for standing by their mascot despite the fact that he was clearly seen to strike the blue-skinned bear in the face. It is rumoured that Berlino made “disparaging remarks” about Spike’s lineage (he is a cousin of the Manchester United mascot Fred the Red) and professed himself to be a Liverpool fan. The pair had to be separated by police and their conduct is still the subject of an independent investigation. The Chief Executive of the BMC said that he was left with “no choice” but to issue Spike with a lifetime ban as he had “clearly brought the sport into disrepute.”
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