Girl claims she was ***** at Manchester United Christmas party
Last updated at 22:59pm on 18.12.07

Police are investigating claims a woman was ***** during the Manchester United Christmas party.

The 26-year old woman called 999 claiming she had been sexually assaulted at a luxury hotel where the squad were entertaining 100 "gorgeous girls."

The alleged 4am incident was said to have occurred after the players visited a lap dancing club in Manchester only to leave within a minute when they realised they had been spotted.

The team had invited the women - including models - as guests to their private party at the Great St John Street Hotel in Manchester after WAGS were ordered to stay away.

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/sport/articl...arty/article.do

only to leave within a minute when they realised they had been spotted.

Crouch sent off after a very ugly foul with two legs from behind on Mikel.

Edit: Balack came in for the first time this season after a very long injury.

Shevchenko 2-0.

Not a bad result since Chelsea played with the first team and Liverpool with the reserves.

Chelsae played with a mixed team. Sinclair, Ben Haim and Bridge are not exactly first team.

Anyway, the result is not surprising since Liverpool under Benitez never scored a goal at Stamford Bridge   (more than 600 minutes).

BTW third loss in a row for Liverpool (in England. Not considering the CL).

1 Petr Cech
35 Juliano Belletti
22 Tal Ben-Haim
6 Ricardo Carvalho
17 Wayne Bridge
5 Michael Essien
12 John Mikel Obi
8 Frank Lampard ©
21 Salomon Kalou
7 Andriy Shevchenko
17 Scott Sinclair

Ha ha!! Porty is unhappy cause none of his teams won in their respective Cup competitions today!! Don't worry mate, Rocky Balboa made sure the Arrogants FC did not lose!

Inter won.  And the wonderkid Balotelli scored 2. 

PS: League Cups... like I care. The only decent and respected Cup around is the FA Cup.

FA Cup = Copa del Rey + Coppa Italia + Carling Cup.

Bridge is quality. Ben Haim is a good choice. Sinclair... OK.

My god, Inter played a European, and not just any, an Italian! 

Inter won.  And the wonderkid Balotelli scored 2. 

My god, Inter played a European, and not just any, an Italian! 

The goals he scored were not anything special and he missed a couple of easy goals. But even if it was against Reginna it was a good performance overall! He did hand the ball into the net though... he's an Inter player after all!
Well... even that they couldn't do it perfectly, the kid comes from Africa... 

That is called the "Argetine" effect. Rumour has it, that its contracted, when in close proximity to, too many argentinians

Carling Cup Draw:

Chelsea v Everton

(Chelsea at home in the first leg)

Arsenal v Tottenham

(Arsenal at home in the first leg)

Crouch sent off after a very ugly foul with two legs from behind on Mikel.

Edit: Balack came in for the first time this season after a very long injury.

First leg 19/20 February
Second leg 4/5 March

Arsenal v Milan 
Celtic v Barcelona
Lyon v Manchester United
Schalke v Porto
Liverpool v Inter
Roma v Real Madrid
Olympiacos v Chelsea
Fenerbahce v Sevilla
----------------------------------------

Arsenal, too chlidish to beat Milan 

Redbabies, too childish to put this in the CL thread.

QPR are richest club in the world
Quote:
By PAUL JIGGINS



CHELSEA fans will be choking on their cappuccinos today when they discover they are no longer the country’s richest club.

In fact, they are not even the wealthiest in West London any more.

That honour now goes to unfashionable neighbours Queens Park Rangers after Lakshmi Mittal — the fifth most minted man on the planet — bought a 20 per cent stakeholding.

And with the Rangers board already boasting F1 tycoons Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore, it means the Championship’s bottom club have a fortune of more than £22BILLION — even bigger than Real Madrid.         

Indian steel magnate Mittal topped last year’s Sunday Times Rich List with a near £20bn fortune — almost double that of Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich.

F1 supremo Ecclestone is worth £2.5bn, while Renault chief Briatore has a cool £60m.

Chequebook

The three wealthy directors have pledged to splash the cash to turn Rangers into the game’s next big force.

And boss Luigi de Canio will be given an open chequebook to strengthen his squad during next month’s transfer window.

Mittal will be represented on the board by son-in-law Amit Bhatia.

He said: “The family is excited about becoming involved with QPR. As a family, we love sport and particularly enjoy English football.

“Alongside Bernie and Flavio, we hope we can improve the club’s performance, with the ultimate ambition of a Premier League place.”

Rangers were on the brink of going back into administration before Ecclestone and Briatore bought the club for £14m in September.

Paul Finney, of the Independent R’s supporters group, said: “Santa must be wearing blue and white hoops.

“It’s been a crazy season and now it looks set to be even more surreal.”

Man United fans jailed in Italy

The men were in Italy for the European game on 12 December
Four Manchester United fans have been jailed for their part in a fight with Roma fans in Italy.
Kyle Dillon, 23, from Mottram, near Hyde, and Richard Wimmer, 39, were each sentenced to two years and five months.

Nicholas Lucas, 18, and Michael Burk, 35, from Little Hulton, Salford, were jailed for two years and four months.

The British Embassy said in the past sentences had been suspended, but there was no guarantee of this and all four were likely to spend Christmas in jail.

According to police, the four Manchester United supporters were part of a group which broke away from other fans travelling to the Champions League game in Rome on 12 December.

Notorious hangout

The police said they made for the River Bar, said to be a notorious hangout for the Roma Ultras, where fighting broke out with bottles and chairs being thrown.

The four men, who were dressed in black with scarves wrapped around their faces, were all identified by Greater Manchester Police spotters outside the ground.


Dillon and the others were identified by Greater Manchester Police

However, Dillon's mother, Janet, who attended the court hearing with character references and medical statements declaring that her son is partially-sighted, claims he was an innocent man who had got caught up in the violence.

"My son is not a thug, he's not a hooligan, he's not a member of a gang," she said.

Five United fans were stabbed during skirmishes between rival fans on the Wednesday evening.

The violence flared at the Pont Duca d'Aosta bridge, the scene of previous clashes between visiting fans and Roma's Ultras.

Police used two baton charges to disperse the fans during the violence, which was the latest in a series of clashes between supporters of the two clubs.

'Abbreviated' trial

Dillon, Wimmer, Lucas and Burk appeared in court in Rome in an "abbreviated" trial in front of three magistrates.

No oral evidence is given in such trials.

The decision is made by the court on the basis of documents and video put forward in the preliminary investigation by the public prosecutor.

The accused also give up their right to cross examination, but their decision to appear in an abbreviated trial means their sentences are reduced by a third.

The last time Manchester United and AS Roma met in April, 11 fans were taken to hospital after supporters were beaten by riot police inside the stadium.

Three United supporters were also stabbed outside the ground.

Scuffles also broke out outside Old Trafford during the second leg of that tie a week later, with 21 people arrested.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england...ter/7155776.stm

Kurt, remember the violence argument?

Premier League Preview

Arsenal v Tottenham

Spurs won their first Premier league away game against Arsenal but have failed to win any of the subsequent 14 matches. The White Hart Lane club have dropped more points from winning positions (19) than any other team, while Arsenal have recouped the joint-most from losing positions (11) along with Blackburn.


Aston Villa v Manchester City

Manchester City have won their last three Premier League trips to Villa Park. Villa have faced the Blues 21 times in the Premier League and have won only four times to their opponents' 11 victories. Since leaving the Birmingham-based side, Darius Vassell has scored four times in five appearances against them, and in the 41 Premier League games in which he has found the net, has never been on the losing side.


Bolton v Birmingham

Birmingham have scored in eight of their nine top-flight games against Bolton and there has only been one draw between the sides in the Premier League. Birmingham have conceded more penalties than any other side in the league and all five of them have been scored.


Fulham v Wigan

The five Premier League meetings between these sides have produced a mere five goals and three of those five goals have been scored in the closing 10 minutes of matches. A huge 82 per cent of the goals Fulham have conceded have come in the second half - the highest proportion in the division.


Liverpool v Portsmouth

Liverpool have not lost three league games in a row under Rafa Benitez. The last time this happened was in October 2003 when Gerard Houllier was boss. Portsmouth have won their last six away games - the Premier League record stands at nine and is currently held by Chelsea.


Middlesbrough v West Ham

This fixture is usually a home banker as Middlesbrough's Premier League home record against West Ham is W8 D1 L0, away from home it is W1 D1 L8. West Ham have failed to score in three of their last four trips to the Riverside, while no current Middlesbrough player has ever scored a league goal against West Ham.


Reading v Sunderland

The Royals are the only side not to score a goal in the opening 15 minutes of a match this season. Five of Dave Kitson's seven Premier League goals have been scored against the clubs from the north east, including one at the Stadium of Light earlier in the campaign.


Blackburn v Chelsea

Blackburn have failed to score in their last three league games against Chelsea and after remaining unbeaten in their first 12 Premier League games against the Blues, Rovers have won only two of the subsequent 15 matches. Chelsea have won five and drawn one of their last seven league matches at Ewood Park


Manchester United v Everton

Everton have not won an away game in the league at Old Trafford since August 1992, but Manchester United have won only one of their last three Premier League home matches against the Toffees. Ryan Giggs has scored six times against Everton. Only against Southampton and Spurs (seven apiece) has he been more prolific. Yakubu has scored eight goals in his last seven Premier League matches.


Newcastle v Derby

Newcastle have taken 16 points from a possible 18 at home against Derby in the Premier League. After scoring twice on the opening day, Derby have now failed to score in 12 of the last 16 games and only once in each of the other four. The Magpies have not kept a clean sheet at home since 1st September.

Sky Sports

@Mishale. I'm not sure if you're implying that United fans were at fault

There were many United fans that were at fault. You should check all sources cause in the English ones I guess what they did wasn't mentioned probably. As with the Italian media, everyone is trying to blame the opposite side...

Exactly.

They were obviously both at fault, as I said, it takes two sides to fight. The only think that annoyed me was that people feel the need to carry weapons.

According to police, the four Manchester United supporters were part of a group which broke away from other fans travelling to the Champions League game in Rome on 12 December.

Notorious hangout

The police said they made for the River Bar, said to be a notorious hangout for the Roma Ultras, where fighting broke out with bottles and chairs being thrown.

And there wouldn't have been a fight, had they not broken away from their group!! Instead, they went directly to a Roma Ultras bar

So? They have a right to go wherever they want.

And what a goal by Bendnter...how high up in the air was he? Looked like 2 metres...

Arsenal 1-1 Spurs - Berbatov. A reason why Almunia shouldn't be a keeper for Arsenal, awful, just awful.

Thank God for the judicial system of the Italian courts. If they were going by your logic .. Oh my .. Anyways, they reached their verdict. And that is the end of it.

You mean the system that found Juventus guilty for illegal drug use but failed to come out with a sentence, right?

Thank God for the judicial system of the Italian courts. If they were going by your logic .. Oh my .. Anyways, they reached their verdict. And that is the end of it.

Remind me never to go to Kuwait. Never will I go to a place where starting a fight is considered a bigger offense than stabbing somebody.

Nope, that was a different system. It was an FIGC court.

What has Kuwait got to do with this ? 
Do you understand what I am saying ?! Or are you just pissed off that those hooligans got jailed ?!

We should just leave it at this otherwise one of us is going to end up getting offended.

I mention Kuwait because the country you a from and the rules/laws you are used to is the only reason I can think of for you to say stabbing someone isn't as bad as starting a fight. 

But to mock me and say 'you are used to' ..

Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez believes his team showed the character required to mount a Premier League title charge in the 4-1 home win over Portsmouth.


Portsmouth travelled to Anfield on the back of six consecutive away league wins, but a a Yossi Benayoun strike was followed by a Sylvain Distin own goal and a brace from Fernando Torres as Liverpool cruised to victory.

Benjani Mwaruwari had pulled the score back to 2-1, but Liverpool comfortably banished the memories of back-to-back league defeats to Reading and Manchester United to revive their hopes of a title challenge.

The Reds sit 10 points behind league leaders Arsenal, but the Merseyside outfit have a game in hand and Benitez is refusing to give up the dream of ending Liverpool's 18-year league title drought.

"They showed today that we can do it and that we can win some games in a row," Benitez told Sky Sports News. "They showed the character they need to at least try to compete for a title.


Passion

"We are really pleased. The team was playing well and scored four goals against the best team away.

"It is really important to see the confidence around the players and everything is happy now.

"Today we had a lot of chances and the team was playing with passion and also intelligence."

Benitez also hinted that the Premier League's hectic festive schedule could decide the destination of this season's silverware.

"It depends on the other teams," added Benitez. "Everybody needs to win every game in this period at least because it is three games in 10 days and we will see what happens with Chelsea and Arsenal or United."

Sky Sports