‘Very hurtful’ – Mary Earps disappointed by decision not to sell replica shirt
England goalkeeper Mary Earps has expressed her dismay over the “very hurtful” decision not to put her replica shirt on sale ahead of the World Cup. The Manchester United star was named the world’s best goalkeeper in women’s football by FIFA in February, and was also appointed vice-captain by England boss Sarina Wiegman for this global showpiece. Earps claimed she only realised her shirt would not be made available by manufacturer Nike in April, and said she has since been “fighting behind closed doors” to find a solution before England open their campaign on Saturday against Haiti but to no avail. The Euro 2022 champion said: “I can’t really sugar-coat this in any way, so I am not going to try. It is hugely disappointing and very hurtful. “It is very, on a personal level, it is obviously hugely hurtful considering the last 12 months especially – and also I think there has been an incredible rise in goalkeeping participation over that year. “I go into grassroots clubs and I am asked to bribe people to go into goal, and I have been to more clubs recently and that’s not been the case. “A lot of that has come off the back of the Euros but also some of my success this year. “For my own family and friends and loved ones not to be able to buy my shirt, they are going to come out and wear normal clothes and I know that sounds like: ‘Oh Mary, what a horrible problem,’ but on a personal level that is really hard. “You know, (England captain) Millie (Bright) spoke to me a couple of weeks ago or maybe a bit longer and said: ‘Mary, my niece is desperate to get your shirt, where can I get it?’. I was like: ‘Yeah you can’t, it doesn’t exist’. “I think that is a huge problem, and I think it is a scary message that is being sent to goalkeepers worldwide that you are not important. “(Kids) are going to say: ‘Mum, dad, can I have a Mary Earps shirt?’ And they say: ‘I can’t but I can get you an Alessia Russo 23 or a Rachel Daly 9.’ And so what you are saying is that goalkeeping isn’t important but you can be a striker if you want.” England men’s keeper Jordan Pickford also does not have a replica goalkeeper shirt available for purchase on the England store. Earps claimed she offered to fund the shirts herself and that the Football Association (FA) has supported her efforts, but said she was ultimately forced to produce her own limited edition t-shirt because she at the very least “wanted to create something that people could have for themselves” at the World Cup. The PA news agency understands that while the FA is involved in the design of England kits, the manufacturer ultimately determines the commercial direction of what is produced. PA has contacted Nike for comment.
2023-07-21 18:52
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Leeds pushed to brink of relegation after West Ham fight back for victory
Leeds were shoved to the brink of relegation from the Premier League after their ‘must-win’ match at West Ham ended in a 3-1 defeat. Sam Allardyce’s rescue mission reached crisis point after goals from Declan Rice, Jarrod Bowen and Manuel Lanzini denied them the victory their new manager admitted they needed to have any realistic chance of staying up. Allardyce arrived at Elland Road as a last-ditch appointment with four games to go, but his first three matches have provided just two points. Now Leeds need to beat Tottenham next weekend and hope a Bournemouth side with nothing to play for can do them an almighty favour at Everton. Moreover, should Leicester beat Newcastle on Monday night, the Whites will start the final day second from bottom. They got off to a great start at the London Stadium as well, with Rodrigo volleying them into an early lead. But Rice, named West Ham’s player of the year before kick-off – six years to the day since he made his debut against Burnley – marked what is likely to be his last home game for the club by equalising with his 15th goal in claret and blue. The Hammers, safe from relegation and with a Europa Conference League final to look forward, should have been easy pickings. They even walked out carrying their children as mascots, giving a distinct end-of-season feel to proceedings. But Bowen’s 12th goal of the season and a late strike from Lanzini saw them sign off from the London Stadium with only their second win in six matches to leave Leeds in deep, deep trouble. Yet Leeds took a deserved lead after 17 minutes, albeit thanks to some awful defending. West Ham had conceded to a long throw at Brentford last weekend but clearly had not learned their lesson. Fiorentina, their European opponents in Prague next month, should take note. This time they somehow let a throw from Weston McKennie float on to the left boot of Rodrigo, who swept it first time into the net from 10 yards out. However, Leeds lost Patrick Bamford to injury moments later, and with him went much of their attacking spark. The Hammers may have been off the pace, but they equalised in the 32nd minute with a delightful goal from Rice. Pablo Fornals, the goalscoring hero at AZ Alkmaar on Thursday night, scooped the ball over the Leeds defence to Bowen, whose chip across goal was sidefooted into the ground and up into the roof of the net by the England midfielder. Leeds should have gone back in front before half-time when Rodrigo robbed Kurt Zouma and cut the ball back but Wilfried Gnonto, on for Bamford, took an air-shot before Jack Harrison sliced his shot wide. Allardyce’s response on the touchline, throwing his arms in the air in frustration, said it all. Leeds, bafflingly, were the more passive team after the break with goalkeeper Joel Robles having to beat away a long-range drive from Lucas Paqueta and tip Tomas Soucek’s header over. They paid the price with 18 minutes left when Danny Ings played in Bowen, who slipped the ball past Robles. Then substitute Lanzini, another likely to leave West Ham in the summer, tucked in Paqueta’s cut-back – despite a VAR check appearing to show the Brazilian was offside – to send Leeds spinning to what looks likely to be an extremely costly defeat. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Ronan O’Gara reveals Ireland ambition after latest Champions Cup success Champions Manchester City given rapturous reception ahead of Chelsea match Sir Mo Farah ‘sucking it all in’ after finishing eighth in his penultimate race
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Mother’s tragic last words with teenage son shot to death by Paris police sparking days of riots
The mother of a teenage boy whose death has sparked furious riots in France has described their last moments together before he was fatally shot in the chest by police. The 17-year-old, named only as Nahel M and described as a French citizen with Algerian heritage, was shot at near point-blank range on Tuesday as he attempted to drive away from police who had pulled over his Mercedes in the Paris suburb of Nanterre. His death, footage of which was shared to social media, has prompted three nights of intense riots across France, resulting in nearly 900 arrests. The clashes have drawn comparison with three weeks of fury sparked by the deaths of two teenagers in 2005, electrocuted while hiding from police in a power substation in a Paris suburb. During a peaceful march on Thursday, preceding clashes with riot police, Nahel’s mother Mounia led a procession from a flatbed lorry, holding a poster saying, “Police kill”, and raising a red flare as the march reached the local courthouse, while the crowds chanted her son’s name. In footage shared separately to TikTok, she could be heard telling a French activist: “They took a baby away from me. He was still a child, he needed his mother. “This morning he gave me a big kiss and told me he loved me. I told him be careful and I loved him.” They had both left the house together on Tuesday morning, she said, with Nahel going to get a McDonalds as she left for work. “And then I am told they shot my son, what can I do,” she said. “I only had him. I didn’t have 10 like him. He was my life, my best friend. He was my son, He was my everything.” The officer accused of pulling the trigger at 9am on Tuesday has been charged preliminarily with voluntary homicide, after prosecutor Pascal Prache said his initial investigations indicated “the conditions for the legal use of the weapon were not met.” Mr Prache said officers tried to stop Nahel because he looked so young and was driving a Mercedes with Polish number plates in a bus lane, and that the officer who fired the shot said he feared he, his colleague or a bystander could be hit by the car. France’s interior minister Gerald Darmanin has ordered a complete shutdown of all public bus and tram services across the country to take effect before sunset on Friday, after what he described as a night of “rare violence” on Thursday. Police fired water cannon, tear gas and grenades at protesters as some erected barricades, lit fires at public buildings, looted shops and shot fireworks at police. Nahel’s mother told broadcaster France 5 that she was angry at the officer who killed her only child but not at the police in general. “He saw a little, Arab-looking kid, he wanted to take his life,” she said, adding that justice should be “very firm”. A police officer cannot take his gun and fire at our children, take our children’s lives,” she said. Additional reporting by AP Read More Paris shooting: Where are the riots in France and why are they happening? Macron goes to Elton John gig as Paris burns in mass protests Fear of no end to riots across France after police killing of teen: ‘It’s getting worse and worse’ Paris riots: Police officer ‘didn’t want to kill’ 17-year-old, says his lawyer
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World Bank halts new lending to Uganda over anti-LGBTQ law
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Lewis Hamilton has shut the door on Ferrari – will he come to regret it?
The denials came from all angles on media day in Monaco. Speculation that Lewis Hamilton could move to Ferrari next year, in a £40m deal no less, has ramped up this week but was quickly quashed on Thursday by both Hamilton and Ferrari team boss Fred Vasseur. In fact, Hamilton went further, revealing his representatives are “almost there” in agreeing a new deal with Mercedes. The 38-year-old’s current contract with the Silver Arrows – where he has won six of his seven world titles since joining in an inspired decision a decade ago – expires at the end of this season. Despite the wait, the noise from both the Brit and team boss Toto Wolff has been that an extension is a simple inevitability. Not a case of if, but when. “My team is working closely behind the scenes with Toto and we are almost at the end of having a contract ready,” Hamilton stated, affirmatively. These fresh revelations come – coincidentally? – ahead of a huge fortnight for the Brackley-based team. Highly-anticipated upgrades have been long in the making, ever since Wolff finally dismissed the no-sidepod philosophy at the season opener in Bahrain. While the unique streets of Monaco this weekend, due to last week’s cancellation of the race in Imola, represent a somewhat unideal debut for new sidepods, a new floor and a new front suspension, next week in Barcelona will give a genuine representation of any progress made. And, more pertinently, how much the gap is reduced to Red Bull, presently a good distance down the road. Hamilton is, undeniably, reaching the twilight of his career with a record-breaking eighth world championship further away than ever. Links to Ferrari have popped up throughout his 16 years in the sport and Hamilton himself has spoken with confusion, at times, as to why a move has never materialised. The sport’s most prestigious team working in tandem with the sport’s joint-most successful driver? Not now, it seems. But if not now… when? Previous flirtations have been just that. There was no need for Hamilton to broaden his horizons when sat comfortably on his throne. Mercedes were the top dogs for eight years, with Hamilton personally collecting the season gong six times and missing out in the final race twice. Ferrari, meanwhile, have not won a drivers’ title since Hamilton was pipped as a rookie by Kimi Räikkönen way back in 2007. However, now the landscape of the sport is different. Red Bull are the clear frontrunners – perhaps to a level that even surpasses the Mercedes juggernaut. Ferrari and Mercedes are scrapping away to catch up, with Aston Martin this year joining the party. The parallels between now and 11 years ago, when Hamilton shocked the paddock by ditching his boyhood McLaren team to join Mercedes, are comparable. The Brit, as McLaren started their downward spiral, took a Niki Lauda-directed gamble to join the Silver Arrows. “Isn’t that not a bit like moving from Manchester United to West Ham?” asked a jovial Jeremy Clarkson on Hamilton’s second appearance on Top Gear, in 2012. Yet after a season of transition, Hamilton won six world championships in seven years – a streak only split by team-mate Nico Rosberg. His instinct to change paths was justified. To jump at something new. To break with convention. While Ferrari are perhaps on a par with Mercedes currently, they have shown greater potential than their rivals in this new ground-effect era. A 2022 campaign that started with such promise fell away, but the fundamentals of the car seem present. Converting qualifying pace to Sundays seem their current predicament. Hamilton shifting to Maranello next year – which now seems improbable – should not be as unfeasible as it may seem. It would be a plunge in the dark, for sure. A more comfortable decision would be to trust the process at Mercedes, for sure. But these upgrades and their effectiveness in Monaco and Spain, and by extension in Canada, Austria and Silverstone thereafter, will be the clincher. It just depends which way. The likelihood is that improvement will be made, triggering Hamilton signing on the silver dotted line. The man himself has said as much. But until such transformations are made, the driver who made his name by boldly switching sides should not rule out the prancing horse. Has he, perhaps, spoken a little too soon? Not least because, should Ferrari speed away from Mercedes in the coming months, the underlying taste of what if would deny him, and us, of a concluding career narrative as dazzling as it now seems fantasy. Read More Lewis Hamilton provides Mercedes contract latest amid Ferrari links Ferrari boss gives Lewis Hamilton update after reports of shock move Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes are the biggest losers from Imola Grand Prix cancellation F1 Monaco Grand Prix: Why is practice no longer on a Thursday? Bernie Ecclestone would be surprised if Lewis Hamilton wanted to leave Mercedes
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