England and West Ham footballer Declan Rice has shown his approval after fans tattooed his name on their legs – but the move has received savage mockery from others.
Midfielder Rice formed a formidable partnership with Leeds United’s Kalvin Philips at Euro 2020, where the 22-year-old was one of the breakout stars as the Three Lions went all the way to the final.
Despite suffering heartbreak in the defeat at Wembley to Italy, two fanatics have decided to honor the exploits of the No4, who a string of top Premier League clubs are now keen to ink a deal with.
When he caught wind of the tribute, which is a continuation of a popular terrace chant that is based on 1995 dance hit ‘The Bomb!’ by The Bucketheads, Rice retweeted their post to his Twitter contingent of more than 311,000 followers.
“Beef chow mein, Declan Riceeee. Love it,” wrote the Londoner above two photos showing two thighs bearing those words, which form the lyrics to the unlikely anthem.
Sadly for the Rice devotees, not everyone matched their hero’s enthusiasm towards their tributes.
“Be honest: are you all ready regretting it?,” asked one onlooker. “You’ve had a shocker, mate.”
There was a pivotal moment where you looked at each other knowing the tat was utter Kak…. your eyes screaming to the other “ for the Love of God stop this “ but you decided to say
On July 8 – the morning after England beat Denmark 2-1 in the semifinals – producer Charlie Burley revealed that he had “drunkenly agreed to get a tattoo of beef chow mein with Declan Rice’s face on it”.
“It is happening this afternoon. F*ck my life,” he added.
True to his word, Burley went to his nearest studio and got the work done.
Okay I may have drunkenly agreed to get a tattoo of beef chow mein with Declan Rice’s face on it. It is happening this afternoon. FML #England#ThreeLions
Revealing that he had made the vow if England reached their first final since 1966 while “championing” the chow mein chant, Burley showed the design off days later.
And while England fell at the last hurdle, Rice enamored himself to fans again with his actions in Hungary earlier this month.
Rice picked up a cup thrown on to the pitch and drank from it after his team scored one of their goals in a 4-0 World Cup qualifying rout which saw some players receive racist abuse and the taking of the knee jeered among a hostile atmosphere.
I said if #England got to the #EURO2020 final I would get a #tattoo. After championing the Declan Rice chant for the past week, this was the clear winner!
England coach Gareth Southgate wasn’t blown away by Rice’s antics. “Declan is usually in most memes that get posted on social media in one way or another,” the boss said later.
A Moscow-based sexologist and psychiatrist has suggested that tennis ace Daniil Medvedev’s new haircut could be a sign of a self-esteem and image boost as the Russian closes in on Novak Djokovic at the top of the rankings.
World number two Medvedev, who has shunned the entirely clean-cut look in favor of medium length hair for much of his rise to the top, had arguably the most important moment of his impressive career to date when he won his first Grand Slam title earlier this month.
The 25-year-old cruised past Djokovic at Flushing Meadows, denying the Serb the chance to become the first calendar Grand Slam king since Rod Laver in 1969 and fulfilling some of the expectations placed upon the only man behind him in the rankings.
Now a professor at the Moscow Institute of Psychoanalysis, Alexander Poleev, has claimed that the charismatic Russian’s sensational victory was the motive behind a trip to the barbers.
“He won a Grand Slam tournament, which the Russians hadn’t done for 16 years,” professor Poleev toldMatch TV.
“[He was] looking for an image of a winner. [And] a sharp jump in self-esteem among athletes is very common.”
The sexology author said that modern great Rafael Nadal had performed a similar move by wearing a black t-shirt for the first time after one of his early tournament victories.
“Tennis is not long jumping or running,” he said, discussing the importance of image and marketing in the sport. “It’s about the opportunity to make millions by winning tournaments and advertizing.
“At the same time, the point here is not only and not so much about money, but about gaining social status. There is an opportunity for self-realization on such a scale that other sports do not [offer].
“I was a bit stressed coming into the match because actually every singles guy won so I was like, if I lose, that's not so good.”
“In swimming, too, no one bothers to become a champion, but you will only advertise swimming trunks and towels. It may be much simpler.
“After victory, Medvedev believed in himself, believed that he could become a winner in the next tournaments – and this requires a short haircut. In the heat, the hair gets in the way.”
Medvedev gave a less piercing slant on the subject when he was asked about his trim following a a 14-1 win for Europe over the World team at the Laver Cup, in which he played his part by beating Denis Shapovalov.
“My new look?,” he asked. “In the end, there is no particular change.
“I was simply on vacation and I thought about cutting my hair and making it shorter. It doesn’t seem like a different or strange look to me. I just cut my hair.”
UFC champion Israel Adesanya is moving to the US from New Zealand because of his homeland’s tight Covid lockdown measures, telling his country that they can get “all that money” from somewhere else.
Frustration over the strict lockdowns imposed by prime minister Jacinda Ardern – who this week announced that Auckland, where a third of New Zealanders live, will move down a tier from the highest restrictions available – have been growing, and middleweight king Adesanya’s patience has clearly snapped.
‘The Last Stylebender’ has been unable to confirm a date for his UFC rematch with Robert Whittaker because of border restrictions and lockdowns imposed in New Zealand, where there have been 27 deaths so far since the pandemic began.
Adesanya appeared to take aim at the government over exemptions granted to other sports teams and athletes, including the Australia rugby team, who were allowed to enter the country for a test match because of its “economically important” estimated value of between $17 million and $20 million.
New Zealand cricketers were also reportedly allowed to enter Pakistan without taking Covid tests at airports in a move that may have further antagonized Adesanya.
“You will never see me fight in New Zealand ever again,” thundered the Nigerian-born star who is based in New Zealand.
“Ever again. I’m done. All that money, they can get it from somewhere else. The rugby, the cricketers and all the others they’re f*cking giving exemptions to.
“But for me, you will never ever see me fight on these shores [again]. That was one of my dreams.
“One of my dreams was to headline a stadium in my backyard. That dream is dead. Dead in the water.”
@USAmbNZ Hi Kevin, apologies for messaging on here but it's a last resort.
My visa is with the US embassy here in NZ as I fight next week in Las Vegas on #UFC266
Update today is it won't be approved until next week due to lock down which will cancel my fight. Please help.
Teammate Dan Hooker’s struggle to secure a visa ahead of his UFC 266 win over Nasrat Haqparast in Las Vegas on Saturday is also likely to have enraged ‘The Last Stylebender’.
“Cat’s out the bag… I’m moving to America,” Adesanya declared of his drastic decision.
“When faced with obstacles, we adapt and overcome. I’m 32 and applying pressure like [the song by American rapper] J Cole before I’m out of the game.
“We built this legacy at [New Zealand gym] City Kickboxing ourselves and the support of the people: no [government] handouts or backing and [we] became the number one winning gym on earth.
“Four walls and a roof don’t make a martial arts gym. The people who toil day in and day out make it what it is. So wherever those four walls and a roof is located, it’ll still be City Kickboxing.”
Announcing the modest easing of measures last week, Ardern claimed “If New Zealand had been hit as hard as the United Kingdom or United States, nearly 10,000 Kiwis would have died.”
She said that her government’s plan is to open international borders to vaccinated travelers from ‘low-risk’ countries in early 2022.
“We cannot keep border restrictions on forever – and, to be absolutely clear, we don’t want to do that either, and neither do the experts we talk to,” she added.
“Border closures were only ever a temporary measure in order to keep Covid out before a vaccine was developed and administered.
“So long as the scientific evidence shows we can safely transition from a border defense to the individual armor of the vaccine, then that is the direction we will go.”
Social justice and social media sensation Marcus Rashford looks to have dropped an embarrassing howler on Twitter after fans spotted what appeared to be a management company writing a tweet for him.
Manchester United and England forward Rashford prides himself on his passion, authenticity and nice-guy brand on the platform, famously using it to urge the UK government to spend millions on providing free school meals and offering fans personal thanks for their support on issues close to his heart.
While many among the earnest 23-year-old’s following of well over five million lap up his posts, others have been accused of cynicism for suggesting that Rashford may outsource some of the tweets.
Those eagle-eyed readers have frequently claimed to have spotted tell-tale signs within tweets, including one example when his account failed to spell ‘Paralympics’ correctly this summer.
| NEW: Marcus Rashford has been caught not actually being the one posting his own tweets. His management company have now deleted their account following the error pic.twitter.com/rUU7htfEwr
Now a tweet identical to one post by Rashford, speaking about his return to United training and missing out the word ‘light’, has aroused further suspicions.
“I suppose I was so happy to tell everybody [about my comeback from injury that] I missed a word,” reads the corrective tweet, which was purportedly spotted being posted – perhaps accidentally – by an account under the name ‘D N May Sports Mgt’.
That group is listed as a company based in Manchester with Rashford and other players among its roster.
Can Footballers please run their accounts!! This PR nonsense is so cringe
“Happy Monday,” the original tweet read. “I see the doctor on Friday for a consultation. All being well, I will get the green to join in with contract training again.”
Thousands of fans, ranging from the angered to the amused and disbelieving, swiftly picked up on the potential faux pas.
“If you’re going to be this super-friendly guy on social media, at least do it yourself,” replied one United fan, while another pleaded: “Can footballers please run their accounts? This PR nonsense is so cringe.”
Others were more blithely forgiving. “We don’t care,” assured one. “We’re just happy to see you and want you back, my king.”
The tweet materialized in the aftermath of United playmaker Bruno Fernandes bizarrely producing a social media post resembling an essay.
Portugal maestro Fernandes went into great length to address the relatively harmless penalty he missed in United’s shock defeat at home to Aston Villa in the Premier League on Saturday, leaving readers wondering whether he had really taken the time to personally write an eloquent and needlessly elaborate version of his views.
The apology culture that’s engulfing football would be ok if it came from a genuine place . However more often than not it’s a smokescreen and diversion tactic designed to mask a crap performance by experts!! Lose a game = crisis comms meet! How do we spin this one our way?
It’s embarrassing! They need to sack their PR people , speak with some authenticity and get on with it . I’m going to go big on this in the next few weeks . They’ve all got these comms managers , that are creating personalities that don’t exist ! https://t.co/wWxYIykVQT
When he was asked on Monday whether players should be publicly apologizing for missing penalties in such a way, United legend and top UK TV pundit Gary Neville said an “apology culture” exists and seethed: “It’s embarrassing.
“They need to sack their PR people, speak with some authenticity and get on with it.
“I’m going to go big on this in the next few weeks. They’ve all got these comms managers that are creating personalities that don’t exist.”
Two days after pulling out of a rematch, Aljamain Sterling has accused Petr Yan of targeting his fiancee in their UFC title scandal – and the Russian has branded him a coward again as their long-standing online row contines.
A rematch between the Jamaican-American and Yan had been planned for October 30 at UFC 267 after Sterling became the elite MMA championship’s bantamweight king earlier this year when his rival was disqualified for an illegal knee in the fourth round of their clash, when the dethroned champion appearing to be ahead on the cards.
An immediate chance to win back his strap was not forthcoming for Yan, and a spat raged between the duo.
When Sterling held up the division to complete neck surgery, ‘No Mercy’ accused him of being scared of a second meeting.
UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling has been pulled from his title defense against Petr Yan at UFC 267, sources tell @bokamotoESPN.
Sterling was denied medical clearance by doctors and UFC is discussing the creation of an interim title in Sterling’s absence, per sources. pic.twitter.com/WpZJHAmIeF
That had been finally penciled in for a month from now. But the New York native backed out at the weekend, blaming “lingering” issues with his neck while failing to set a timetable for the bout to be rescheduled.
Yan released a video on Instagram to address the matter, calling Sterling “a sneaky coward” and pledging not to wait for him.
Sterling has now hit back, taking to Twitter to claim that the 28-year-old “p*ssy” has blocked him on social media “after talking sh*t about me and my fiancée”.
“Guess he was upset I didn’t respond the way he wanted me to,” Sterling added, before signing off with a #NoMercy hashtag.
“Stop lying,” Yan blasted back. “I will never say anything bad about someone’s family,”in the replies section this morning.
“And yes, you are blocked until you will grow the balls to fight me. For now, I’m done wasting my time on you, coward.”
Stop lying I will never say anything bad about someone’s family. And yes you are blocked until you will grow the balls to fight me, for now I’m done wasting my time on you coward
Popular Yan has found no end of backers following that correspondence.
His comment has been liked almost 2,000 times within hours, with many MMA fans telling Stirling to “give up the belt”.
“The UFC needs to strip Aljo immediately,” said one. “Or make an interim belt starlight away for the next event, so the next time this fake champ pulls out he is definitely stripped of what doesn’t belong to him in the first place.”
Ufc needs to strip aljo immediately. Or make an interim belt starlight away for the next event. So the next time this fake champ pulls out he is definitely stripped of what doesn't belong to him in the first place.
