The private driver of football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo reportedly waited almost seven hours to fill up his luxury Bentley a few miles from the Portuguese icon’s home near Manchester, but left the station without a drop.
The $295,000 vehicle was spotted at a Shell station in Wilmslow, with the UK currently struggling through a fuel crisis that has seen many drivers left without gas to get to work and carry out everyday tasks.
A Ranger Rover, which was driven by a member of the 36-year-old’s security entourage, was also parked alongside the Bentley.
The pair pulled up at around 2.20pm on Wednesday, and hoped that a tanker would arrive on the premises to deliver more supplies.
Ronaldo’s driver waited seven hours to fill up £220k Bentley – but left without a drop
The drivers pulled up at 2.20pm, hoping a tanker would arrive at the filling station with supplies. But having waited six hours 40 minutes, they realised none was coming and drove away at 9pm. pic.twitter.com/3n98KnNGZy
After waiting some six hours 40 minutes, though, they decided to cut their losses and drive away at 9pm as Ronaldo was in action against Villarreal in the Champions League and scored a late winner some 50 minutes later.
A source told The Sun that “even with all Ronaldo’s money, he’s in the same boat as the rest of us”.
“His security waited for hours obviously hoping a tanker would eventually arrive but they were forced to drive off.
“The two men looked so fed up waiting in the rain. Ronaldo might be housebound like everyone else if this keeps up,” it was added.
Cristiano Ronaldo is closely followed by his private bodyguards as he drives to Manchester United's Carrington Training Ground in his brand new Bentley Flying Spur. #OleIn#CarabaoCup#OleOutpic.twitter.com/UPnKzLQMKM
Even if the tanker had arrived, though, the most the driver and security personnel could have purchased was just £30 ($40) in fuel with Shell having introduced a cap to curb panic-buying.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner recently bought the Bentley Flying Spur to compliment his £17million ($22.8 million) collection of supercars that also includes Ferraris, two Rolls-Royces, a Porsche 911 Turbo S, several Audis and Mercedes Benzes, Lamborghinis, McLarens and a Koenigsegg CCX.
Also boasting a Continental from Bentley, he has been spotted cruising to United’s Carrington training ground in the Flying Spur over the past week but might have to arrange alternative transport given his driver’s woes.
Ronaldo in the Champions League:
• Most UCL appearances ✅ • Most UCL goals – 136 ✅ • Most UCL knock-out stage goals ✅ • Most UCL goals in a season – 17 ✅ • Scored in three finals ✅ • Five time winner of the competition ✅
As said, Ronaldo was pivotal in last night’s victory over Villarreal which was their first in the Champions League this season after losing to Young Boys last time out.
Post-match, he remarked to BT Sport: “Now everything is possible, everything is open, and we believe we will go through”
“This is why I came back, I missed this club a lot. I made history in this club, and I want to do it again.
“I have to say thank you to all of them [the fans], not just for me, but [for pushing] the team which will be very important especially this season,” Ronaldo concluded.
Golden Boy Promotions head Oscar De La Hoya has taken a bizarre shot at Matchroom rival Eddie Hearn, accusing him of ruining Anthony Joshua’s career while receiving a face massage from girlfriend Holly Sonders.
The former six-weight world champion was reacting to Hearn’s latest show, headlined by Joshua and Oleksandr Usyk while enjoyed by 65,000 punters at Tottenham Hotspur’s stadium, and pretended not to know his name while rambling through the livestream.
“I’ll tell you one thing the, uh…” De La Hoya begins, before asking for confirmation from Sonders on the fighters.
“Joshua versus Usyk, which nobody saw in the US, because…”
Oscar De La Hoya firing shots at Eddie Hearn after Anthony Joshua's defeat to Oleksandr Usyk…
“What’s that promoter that doesn’t know how to.. that has no clue of what to do in the US? I think his name is Hearn or something,” De La Hoya adds.
“Oh, Thomas Hearn?” Sonders, a sports presenter and model, says.
“Yeah, Thomas Hearn. Thomas Hearn…” De La Hoya starts again, thinking he is addressing the Brit directly.
“Stay in the UK. Promote your fights. You have no clue what you are doing in the US. DAZN is doing the right thing by sticking with Golden Boy.”
“Stay away from the US,” De Lay Hoya also says.
“He does not know how to promote in America – Usyk crowned himself world champion and Eddie Hearn ruined Joshua’s career,” he finishes, regarding the Ukrainian’s points win that relieved the 2012 Olympic gold medalist of his heavyweight straps.
What makes De La Hoya’s rant even stranger is that he likely knows full well who Hearn is, with the promoter practically running British boxing and also being involved with the likes of Mexican megastar Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez.
As implied, Golden Boy Promotions has an exclusive deal with DAZN to show the bouts of fighters such as lightweight and welterweight contenders Ryan Garcia and Vergil Ortiz, but so too does Matchroom with their agreement recently boosted for a further five years in July for a reported $135 million.
Above all, De La Hoya is perhaps bitter over having lost pound-for-pound king ‘Canelo’ to Hearn.
Despite him not signing directly with Matchroom, the Mexican’s last few fights have been promoted by the UK firm, and the two parties will also move forward together for his upcoming super middleweight unification meeting with Caleb Plant on November 6 in Las Vegas.
Perhaps De La Hoya should focus on his own affairs, and getting face messages from Sonders whenever he can.
Rumored to have shacked up earlier this year, after meeting at a boxing event in June, the pair struck up a union after Sonders broke off her engagement to sports betting consultant Dave Oancea known as ‘Vegas Dave’.
A British football fan who racially abused a player from his own team has been jailed for eight weeks after suggesting that the black star should win the ‘Baboon d’Or’ in reference to the sport’s highest individual accolade.
Simon Silwood, aged 50, claimed in his defense that predictive text on his mobile phone changed the word ‘buffoon’ to ‘baboon’ at the time he made the comment regarding West Bromich Albion midfielder Romaine Sawyers.
Silwood made the racist remark while referencing the Ballon d’Or accolade awarded by France Football, which is currently held by former FC Barcelona icon Lionel Messi, after his club nicknamed the Baggies received a 5-0 thumping from eventual Premier League champions Manchester City on January 26 of this year.
He later admitted to being made upset by the scoreline, but blamed the error on predictive text while using Facebook and denied that he was racist.
West Bromwich Albion fan Simon Silwood, aged 50 was today jailed for eight weeks for racially abusing midfielder Romaine Sawyers online.
Silwood was ordered to pay £500 compensation to Sawyers and £500 costs.
Eventually convicting Silwood of sending an offensive message under the Communications Act earlier in September, police proved that the mistake simply wasn’t possible.
On Thursday, Silwood was jailed for eight weeks and ordered to pay out £500 ($673) in compensation to the Championship player, plus the same amount for his costs when he was sentenced at Birmingham Magistrates Court.
There, Distrcit Judge Briony Clarke told him that he had shown little remorse and that there was “no place for racism online”.
It was previously reported that PC Stuart Ward – the UK’s first officer dedicated to hate crimes – led the investigation that resulted in Silwood’s arrest.
West Bromwich Albion forwarded his message to West Midlands Police, which caused Silwood to be traced and arrested the very same day while later banned from WBA matches for life.
After the case reached its conclusion, PC Ward remarked that: “abusing anyone for the colour of their skin is disgusting and can never, ever be condoned.”
The 8-week prison sentence handed to Simon Silwood, who was found guilty of racially abusing Romaine Sawyers on Facebook, is believed to be the first time in England + Wales that a person has been given an immediate custodial sentence for the online racial abuse of a footballer
“There’s no place for racism in football or society in general. Silwood is old enough to know such appalling behaviour is not only wrong, but is absolutely deplorable,” Ward added.
“Sadly we’ve seen a rise in online hate crime over the last 12 months and we won’t hesitate to take action against those responsible, as this case shows.”
“As part of my role I’m working with partners to change this unacceptable culture of abuse and this includes education around discrimination.
“I know from personal experience how being a victim of racism hurts while offenders risk their own aspirations through getting a criminal record.
“I would like to thank Romaine and West Bromwich Albion for their assistance during this investigation,” Ward finished.
Yet Silwood’s woes might not be over as Mark Johnson of the Crime Prosecution service revealed that an appeal will be made for him to receive more jail time.
“In the 21st Century, it should be incomprehensible how a so-called football fan can abuse a player based on race, let alone a player on the team he purports to support,” Johnson said.
“Silwood deliberately chose a word known to have clear racist connotations to abuse a footballer due to the color of his skin.
“Such behavior will not be tolerated in football and will be prosecuted by the CPS. As this is a hate crime, we will apply for a harsher sentence to reflect that.”
Later, Sawyer released his own statement through WBA where he welcomed the sentencing and wanted to focus on putting the row behind him.
“Racial abuse towards anyone, in any circumstance, is totally unacceptable, and I hope this case will serve as a deterrent to others,” Sawyer started.
“This is an incident that has affected me deeply, but I would like to encourage fellow players to report all racial abuse to the police. We must together stand strong in order to rid the game, and wider society, of this hideous behavior.
“It is widely accepted that social media companies must do more to stop the publication of racism on their platforms. I again urge them to take the necessary action required to prevent anyone from receiving the abuse I experienced.”
As well as thanking PC Stuard Ward and his club, “for their tireless support and professionalism during what has been a difficult eight months for me personally,” Sawyer also applauded “the Baggies fan who bravely came forward to report what they had seen”.
“It is important we all remain vigilant in the fight against racism, so please, if you are aware of racism, it is essential you report it,” he stressed.
“It is important to me to turn this negative experience into something positive and I will, therefore, donate the £500 awarded to me as compensation to a local West Midlands charity.”
Irish jockey Oisin Murphy was taken to hospital with facial injuries after being involved in a scary incident at Salisbury racecourse in the UK as he was thrown into a fence by his out-of-control horse, Oasis Gift.
Irish jockey Oisin Murphy was taken to hospital with facial injuries after being involved in a scary incident at Salisbury racecourse in the UK as he was thrown into a fence by his out-of-control horse, Oasis Gift.
Murphy was unseated from the saddle as Oasis Gift, who is a juvenile debutant, bolted across the parade ring.
Breaking news: Champion jockey @oismurphy is receiving medical treatment after this dramatic incident in the paddock at Salisbury
Medics quickly attend to Murphy who suffered facial injuries as a result of the fall and was taken to hospital by ambulance, although he was able to make his way to the vehicle to himself.
Salisbury’s clerk of the course, Jeremy Martin, said: “He’s gone off to hospital for checks. He was obviously thrown into the parade ring rail but remained conscious.
“He’s got a cut lip, but he remained conscious and the doctor said he scored full marks in the concussion test.
“He walked to the ambulance after a few minutes of being assessed on the ground and he’s just gone off to hospital to be checked over.
“The horse then ran loose for a few minutes so he’s obviously none the worse but thankfully it looks like Oisin has avoided more serious injuries so we’re very thankful.”
Oisin Murphy getting an absolute clattering here. Being attended to by racecourse medics. pic.twitter.com/wVr2GVweP3
The video of the incident was shared widely on social media with people wishing both jockey and horse well.
“Oisin Murphy getting an absolute clattering here. Being attended to by racecourse medics,” said racing writer Sam Morgan.
“Scary incident at Salisbury just now. Hope Oisin Murphy is OK,” read another comment on Twitter.
“Nasty incident at Salisbury with Oasis Gift bolting in the parade ring and ditching Oisin Murphy,” said one fan.
Others questioned the need to share the clip, with one observer writing: “Scary incident at Salisbury earlier, glad to hear Oisin Murphy is fine, and the horse.
“Not sure what the need is to post the video onto social media though, don’t think many would be crying out to view it.”
According to Racing TV, Murphy is already planning to be back in the saddle tomorrow after being stitched up.
“I’ve got no other problems and will be back tomorrow,” said the 26-year-old, who is due to compete in five races at Ascot on Friday.
Oasis Gift also emerged unscathed after continuing to gallop loose before being caught and brought under control.
West Ham and Rapid Vienna fans reportedly threw open bottles of urine at each other during a Europa League clash on Thursday night, while elsewhere trouble continued in France when Marseille and Galatasary’s match was suspended.
Thanks to strikes from Declan Rice and Said Benrahma in the 29th and 94th minutes, the Hammers maintained their 100% record thus far in Europe’s second-tier competition.
They sit comfortably atop of Group H on six points, but lamentable scenes in the stands of the London Stadium broke out as England international Rice tapped his effort into the back of the net.
More specifically, the goal sparked conflict between a pocket of home and away fans.
According to reports of accounts from police officers at the match, open bottles of urine were thrown by both sets of supporters while punters on social media suggested that other objects had also been launched.
The trouble died down for what remained of the fixture as Vienna also had a VAR penalty appeal turned down.
But then at full time, certain supporters traveling from Austria in the away end decided to try and take their anger out on police officers.
Confronting the authorities, some were caught on camera allegedly throwing punches at them.
The West Han fans have gone now and the Rapid supporters have decided throwing punches at the police is a good idea pic.twitter.com/mqyW0G2vCy
Kicking off between a section of Rapid Vienna fans who don’t want to leave – some of whom have made it into that corner tunnel – and police at the London Stadium. West Ham fans have long gone. @MirrorFootballpic.twitter.com/13Ahea5syA
Down in France, violence in the stands again came to the forefront with regular offenders Marseille once more front and center.
So out of control was the fracas between their fans and those of visiting Galatasary, as they threw flairs at one another and clashed, that referee Pawel Raczkowski had to pause the action at the Stade Velodrome on 39 minutes.
Match arrêté au stade vélodrome affrontement entre supporters turque et marseillais . pic.twitter.com/B9o7Bqb3FL
Yet the debacle is just the latest in a long line of such incidents that have plagued French football this season.
On opening weekend of the new 2021/2022 Ligue 1 campaign, Nice and Marseille fans rioted when Payet threw a bottle into the crowd that had been aimed at him during a postponed tie set to be replayed on October 27 at a neutral ground.
Then last month, the Marseille faithful did battle with their Metz counterparts in another 0-0 stalemate as Lille vs Lens also had to be halted.
