LIVID Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson has punished up
to 30 playersand torn into them EVERY day since their disgraceful
Christmas party climaxed in rape claims and a "roasting" scandal.
He has really turned on the heat by fining EVERY big-earning first
team star who took part in the £4,000-a-head 15-hour booze binge on
December 17.
Sir Alex's shock punishment which added up to a whopping £1
MILLIONis the heftiest penalty ever dished out by a Premiership
team for a breach of team disicipine. He has also BANNED any more
parties and WARNED his pampered millionaire players there will
NEVER be a repeat performance. A senior club insider revealed:
"Fergie is absolutely livid. This is the angriest anyone's ever
seen him. He's lectured the boys every day in training since it
happened."
The manager has decreed that the players involved be fined on a
sliding scale depending on how much they earn. All the money,
believed to average out at slightly less than a week's wages per
player, will be donated to charity.
Outraged by the arrest of his budding £8,000-a-week defender Jonny
Evans, 19, pictured top, on suspicion of rape, Fergie has directed
his most explosive "hairdryer" tirades at his most senior players,
including £70,000-a-week Gary Neville, £90,000-a-week Paul Scholes
and £100,000-a-week England defender Rio Ferdinand. Ryan Giggs,
Michael Carrick, Wes Brown and Wayne Rooney were also in the firing
line.
Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo is the only player to escape
punishment and a dressing-down. He missed the party to attend the
World Player of the Year gala in Zurich. The United stars headed to
the ill-fated Christmas do at the Great John Street Hotel after a
marathon drinking session. Around 100 girl guests were personally
selected by party organisers while all wives and girlfiends were
barred. The squad's boozy trail started at the city centre's 235
casino, where they had a bet and ate lunch.
Then they moved to The Grapes pub for a karaoke session, with some
taking a brief side-trip to a lapdancing bar. When they arrived at
the luxury £395-a-night hotelexclusively booked for the Red
Devils' bashchampagne was flowing. But the party ended in shame
and scandal. A pretty 19-year-old blonde was heard moaning as she
was "roasted" in an orgy including three players.
A witness said they heard clapping and cheering coming from one of
the rooms where five or six men were with the girl. The witness
said the men were "shrieking like hyenas" and shouting: "Get in
there!" After a few minutes the men filed out laughing and rushed
downstairs for more booze. The girl then came staggering out
boasting she'd just had sex with all the men. It is the second
Christmas in a row Old Trafford boss Ferguson has berated his first
team for shameful behaviour. Last year the team ran up a £43,000
bar bill and the venue was damaged by guests. An expensive painting
was ripped off a wall and ornaments were destroyed.
Fergie's crackdown comes after a grim week for the Premiership's
image. Newcastle bad boy Joey Barton was arrested after allegedly
beating a man to the ground in a drunken brawl in Liverpool on
Boxing Day. Last week the News of the World revealed how Manchester
City star Micah Richards and a Premiership pal videoed themselves
having sex with a girl in a toilet. And last month England's
millionaire stars let the country down when it emerged three had
sex with a girl in a hotel toilet the night before crashing out of
Euro 2008 against Croatia.
Professional Footballers' Association chief executive Gordon Taylor
last night blasted the rogue stars' antics. He said: "Players are
big personalities now and they're expected to do all they can on
and off the field to be real role models. "The majority realise how
fortunate they are and the debt they owebut we need to remind them
ALL.These are young men, many of whom have got a lot of money, and
there's always going to be dangers and temptations.
"But they've got to learn how to cope."
