Former British prime minister Tony Blair finally found out the source of a rumor that dogged him throughout his premiership: that he lied about his support for Newcastle United Football Club.
Throughout his time in office, Blair was accused of exaggerating his love of the Magpies in a bid to boost his common man credentials in his constituency.
Widespread reports said Blair claimed he used to enjoy sitting in the Gallowgate End at St James’ Park watching Newcastle legend Jackie Milburn play.
Blair, 55, was just four years old when Milburn retired and the Gallowgate End was all-standing until the early 1990s.
The BBC put the story to rest in 2005 by playing their original tapes while a nervous Blair sat in the studio — and he indeed never made the claim.
He did not mention sitting in the stadium and said his time as a supporter “came just after Jackie Milburn.”
But during a recent interview to promote his Tony Blair Sports Foundation, the Sunday Sun weekly newspaper in northeast England confessed it was one of their reporters who started the rumor — much to the former prime minister’s shock.
A friend misheard the original radio interview, and phoned the journalist who put it in his match report without checking the story. The tale spread nationwide and caused Blair years of ridicule.
“It was you ...!” a stunned Blair said, tailing off before launching an expletive.
“Now I want to launch an official complaint. It was you guys! I used to get so much stick over that and I’ve never said it!” Blair exclaimed.
“People asked me two completely separate questions. One was when I used to go and watch Newcastle,” he said.
“Then they asked, and because of Alan Shearer you might answer it differently today, then someone asked me — this must have been 12 years ago — who was the greatest ever footballer,” Blair said.
“So I said Jackie Milburn and then the two things were elided together. What a load of trouble I had over it,” he said.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
The Minnesota Timberwolves, with so many promising performances spoiled by late mistakes fresh in their memory bank, sure timed this strong finish well. Jaden McDaniels scored a career playoff-high 30 points and spearheaded Minnesota’s stifling defense on an ailing Luka Doncic, and the Timberwolves beat the Los Angeles Lakers 116-104 to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference first-round series in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Friday night. “Jaden never looks tired. He looks like he could play 48 minutes,” said teammate Anthony Edwards, who had 29 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Julius Randle added 22 points for the Wolves, who outscored
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
RSS