world News

AN ASSISTANT referee who officiated EFL and FA Cup matches is due to appear in court charged with a child sex offence.

Gareth Viccars, 46, is facing one charge of penetrative sexual activity with a girl aged 13-15.

The assistant referee appeared at Willesden Magistrates Court last week and has been remanded in custody.

On March 3, he will appear at Snaresbrook Crown Court in London where a plea will be entered.

The Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), which is responsible for the refereeing of games in professional English football, suspended Viccars while the police investigation was ongoing.

It is also understood that Viccars has not officiated any games this season.

A PGMOL spokesperson told Sky Sports News: “As soon as the allegations came to light, Mr Viccars was immediately suspended.

“As the matter is the subject of an ongoing police investigation, we are not in a position to comment any further.”

THIS IS A DEVELOPING STORY..

The Sun is your go to destination for the best football, boxing and MMA news, real-life stories, jaw-dropping pictures and must-see video.Like us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/TheSunFootball and follow us from our main Twitter account at @TheSunFootball.

Getty

Gareth Viccars will appear at Snaresbrook Crown Court next month (stock image)[/caption]

LOVE Island’s Harriett Blackmore returned to social media today after being dumped from the villa.

The star narrowly missed out on a place in the final alongside boyfriend Ronnie Vint after her former fellow Islanders voted her out.

Eroteme

Taking to Instagram this evening, Harriett tried to remain positive and wrote: “So many of my beautiful friends in the final tonight make sure you all tune in. I’ll be front row supporting you all.”

She then perhaps hinted at her true feelings when she shared just a picture of herself and Grace, writing: “Us always.”

As part of a shock final twist, the already dumped Islanders made a come back to the South African abode to vote off one of the three least popular couples as chosen by the public.

Harriett and Ronnie, Sammy and Elma and Catherine and Omar were all at risk of being axed with six of the 11 islanders choosing to axe Harriett and Ronnie.

Ronnie told the boys it was a “sore” way to go after he and his villa partner were left raging at many of the reasoning’s given by their fellow Islanders.

Most of the dumped contestants cited the fact Harriett and Ronnie split weeks after leaving the villa last summer as the main reason for giving them the boot – something that the couple rejected as a valid reason.

Before being dumped, Harriett found herself locked in a war of words with returning show star, Olivia Hawkins.

Olivia cast her vote for Harriett and Ronnie and explained: “I do think that if things don’t work out first time, going back to it is always a risk.”

But Harriett fired back: “The girl literally photoshopped her head onto mine and sent it to Ronnie and he still didn’t want you on the outside or in the Villa…”

Olivia responded: “I didn’t want to go on a date with Ronnie.”

Furious with the result, Ronnie raged: “Everyone’s got an opinion, they can have it. In a year’s time I’m going to make everyone laugh when we’ll still be good and still be strong. My priority is Harriett.” 

MANCHESTER CITY are set to go head-to-head with rivals Real Madrid again this summer – in a battle for £85 million midfielder Florian Wirtz.

The two old foes – who meet again in the Bernabeu on Wednesday – are both huge admirers of the Germany international.

Bayer Leverkusen’s star man, 21, is believed to be keen on a switch to the Spanish giants when he does leave his homeland.

But Pep Guardiola and his bosses at the Etihad view him as an ideal long-term successor to Kevin De Bruyne.

City began their rebuilding programme by splashing out more than £175 million on four new signings in January.

That included defensive midfielder Nico Gonzalez and Saturday’s hat-trick hero Omar Marmoush who can play as a No 10 or out wide.

But they know that De Bruyne, who turns 34 in the summer and is also out of contract around the same time, cannot go on forever.

Guardiola admitted last week that two long-term injuries mean the brilliant Belgian is ‘not the same’ player he used to be.

Homegrown England star Phil Foden will be eyeing the vacancy – but is also versatile enough to be used in a number of different positions.

However they are also weighing up their options from outside the club – and Wirtz is among the candidates.

CASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS

He has 27 goals and assists so far this season for Xabi Alonso’s men – and Leverkusen would love to tie him down to a new contract.

His decision could well be impacted by his current coach – with the former Liverpool midfielder in the frame to succeed Carlo Ancelotti at Madrid.

Bayern Munich – managed by City legend Vincent Kompany – could also enter the race for Wirtz.

The youngster has formed a promising partnership with Jamal Musiala for the national team and the German league leaders would love to pair them together at club level too.

Meanwhile City are due to welcome new £12.5 million signing Claudio Echeverri to the Etihad this week after he completed his international duty with Argentina Under 20s.

The 19-year-old has been dubbed the ‘new Messi’ back in his homeland and arrives with a glowing reputation.

He will link up with the first team squad so Guardiola can decide whether he is ready to challenge for a place – or if he should go out on loan next season.

Pep and his squad will fly to Spain on Tuesday to prepare for their latest Champions League encounter with Madrid.

The holders have a 3-2 lead following a dramatic late win at the Etihad – meaning City have it all to do if they are to avoid an early exit.

But they did win at the Bernabeu five years ago – and still have hope they save themselves.

Guardiola will make a check on stand-in skipper Erling Haaland who limped off late in the 4-0 win over Newcastle with a knee injury.

However, the Norway international was snapped during a warm down session at the City Football Academy on Sunday and is expected to be named in the travelling party.

This is the fifth time the two clubs have been drawn together in the competition in the last six seasons.

VINICIUS Junior has led a £6.7million buy-out of a club eyeing a top-flight place.

The Real Madrid winger sealed the deal ahead of Wednesday’s massive Champions League play-off with Manchester City.

Rex

Brazil ace Vinicius Jr spearheaded a club takeover[/caption]

Rex

Jude Bellingham’s first-leg winner leaves Real favourites to KO Man City[/caption]

Pep Guardiola’s men visit the Bernabeu 3-2 down from last week’s first leg.

Vinicius Jr provided the stoppage-time assist for Jude Bellingham‘s winner in that absorbing contest.

Now he’s completed the purchase of Portuguese second-tier club FC Alverca.

The Brazilian spearheaded a group of investors from his home country and Spain.

Alverca confirmed: “(Previous owner) Ricardo Vicintin has sold his qualified stake in the public limited company to a group of investors.

“More information on the matter will be communicated in due course.”

Vinicius will reportedly own between 70-80% of Alverca’s shares.

The club, based near capital city Lisbon, are second in Liga Portugal 2.

BEST FREE BETS AND BETTING SIGN UP OFFERS

That’s left Alverca dreaming of joining giants like Sporting Lisbon, Porto and Benfica in the top flight next season.

It comes just a year after they won Liga 3, having folded for 12 months in 2005 following financial problems.

They have played at the highest level before – for three out of five years from 1998-2003.

Alverca’s home stadium, the Complexo Desportivo, can hold 7,705 fans.

Meanwhile, Vinicius will expect to be a key man when Real aim to reach the Champions League last 16 by seeing off City.

Visiting boss Guardiola is buoyed by Saturday’s 4-0 Premier League romp over Newcastle.

He said: “It’s better to travel to Madrid with this result than with a last-minute defeat, or any defeat.

“So of course, the victory helps us, but the margin to win in Bernabeu in that position, everybody knows what it is.”

But he accepts Real’s two late goals to snatch a first-leg victory at the Etihad make a huge difference.

The Spaniard said: “If we’d kept the 2-1 lead we had with five minutes to go, it would be different but with 2-3 we know what the chance is. The result was not good.

“If you ask before the game what the percentage to go through is, we’d arrive at about one per cent or I don’t know what.

“It will be minimal, but as much as you have a chance, we will try, that’s for sure.”

IT’S not as easy as 3-4-3 for Manchester United.

But there ARE signs Ruben Amorim’s formation can work — even with nine defeats so far.

Alamy

Ruben Amorim was at his wits end during United’s 1-0 defeat at Spurs on Sunday[/caption]

Against Tottenham, the shape was not the problem, it’s the players’ decision-making.

United had great chances to score and if they had, we would be talking about Ange Postecoglou’s issues.

The back three are getting it and Harry Maguire, Matthijs De Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui’s shape was miles better on Sunday.

Patrick Dorgu was a big positive, he’s slotted in easily at left wing-back since joining from Lecce at the start of the month.

But the likes of Alejandro Garnacho and Bruno Fernandes just didn’t give him the ball when he was in position to drive into the area.

The biggest issue is in central midfield where Fernandes had 105 touches but was constantly dragged to the right by James Maddison, who plays on Spurs’ inside left.

The 3-4-3 is designed to provide overloads as the wing-backs provide  an extra defender/ midfielder/attacker, so the free man is on the other side for a switch and run forward — yet when United switched it, they had no belief.

Diogo Dalot does not have the legs to get up and down on the right, so United need a specialist right wing-back.

CASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS

Forwards Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee aren’t dynamic enough to play in this formation and they missed Amad Diallo.

With the right players, the system works — as Amorim showed when his Sporting stuffed Manchester City 4-1 in the Champions League  in November.

But will he get the players needed before Sir Jim Ratcliffe runs out of patience?

WRU brass have confirmed Rhys Thomas as a new addition to their backroom staff ahead of their clash against Ireland this weekend in Cardiff.

In round three of the 2025 Six Nations fixture, Wales sank to a new low as Italy completed back-to-back wins over the Dragons for the first time at Rome’s Stadio Olimpico.

Following the defeat, the WRU parted ways by mutual consent with Warren Gatland.

His departure followed a record run of 14 successive Test match defeats.

Cardiff coach Matt Sherratt has been appointed on an interim basis until the end of the tournament.

Gatland becomes the second coach to quit during a Six Nations campaign since Mike Ruddock resigned from Wales in 2006.

Sherratt has now drafted in a number of new additions to his staff as the Welsh look to rescue another horrendous Six Nations campaign.

Former Wales hooker Rhys Thomas has been added to the backroom staff as a skills coach for the remainder of the 2025 tournament.

The 42-year-old has joined from Gloucester and will return to the Premiership club once Wales have completed their fixtures against Ireland, Scotland, and England.

Thomas’ role will focus on improving forwards’ skills as they’ll look to improve after a horrific run.

He’ll be working alongside forwards coach Jonathan Humphreys and scrum specialist Adam Jones.

Ireland, seeking to become the first side to win three successive titles outright, face trips to lowly Wales and Italy between a potentially crucial home game against France on March 8.

The Wales vs Ireland is set for Saturday at the Principality Stadium with a 2.15pm kick-off time.

THE National Lottery Set For Life numbers are in and it’s time to find out if you’ve won the top prize of £10,000 every month for 30 years.

Could tonight’s jackpot see you start ticking off that bucket list every month or building your own start-up as a budding entrepreneur?

You can find out by checking your ticket against tonight’s numbers below.

Good luck!

Tonight’s National Lottery Set For Life numbers are: 16, 25, 26, 34, 41 and the Life Ball is 03.

The first National Lottery draw was held on November 19 1994 when seven winners shared a jackpot of £5,874,778.

The largest amount ever to be won by a single ticket holder was £42million, won in 1996.

Gareth Bull, a 49-year-old builder, won £41million in November, 2020 and ended up knocking down his bungalow to make way for a luxury manor house with a pool.

1. £1.308 billion (Powerball) on January 13 2016 in the US, for which three winning tickets were sold, remains history’s biggest lottery prize
2. £1.267 billion (Mega Million) a winner from South Carolina took their time to come forward to claim their prize in March 2019 not long before the April deadline
3. £633.76 million (Powerball draw) from a winner from Wisconsin
4. £625.76 million (Powerball)  Mavis L. Wanczyk of Chicopee, Massachusetts claimed the jackpot in August 2017
5. £575.53 million (Powerball)  A lucky pair of winners scooped the jackpot in Iowa and New York in October 2018

Sue Davies, 64, bought a lottery ticket to celebrate ending five months of shielding during the pandemic — and won £500,000.

Sandra Devine, 36, accidentally won £300k – she intended to buy her usual £100 National Lottery Scratchcard, but came home with a much bigger prize.

The biggest jackpot ever to be up for grabs was £66million in January last year, which was won by two lucky ticket holders.

Another winner, Karl managed to bag £11million aged just 23 in 1996.

The odds of winning the lottery are estimated to be about one in 14million – BUT you’ve got to be in it to win it.

THE chief suspect in the murder of Quham Babatunde, who was nabbed today as he tried to flee the country, is classified by Gardai as a “wannabe gangster”.

The Irish Sun can reveal the hood is part of a gang of young thugs terrorising locals in the Balbriggan area of north Dublin.

Social Media Collect

Social Media Collect

Gary Ashe

Babatunde, 34, was stabbed to the chest and suffered other wounds to the body on South Anne Street in the capital in the early hours of Saturday morning.

The murder victim was standing back from a fight between two groups who had emerged from a Kojo Funds gig in the nightclub Twenty Two when he was targeted.

He was also kicked in the head after falling to the ground.

Following the attack – which was recorded on social media – investigators from Pearse Street station identified four suspects who attacked him.

The man suspected of stabbing him was arrested by the PSNI in Belfast as he boarded a ferry for Liverpool.

Gardai received intelligence on Sunday night that the chief suspect had fled Dublin and was planning to bolt to the UK.

Once the PSNI had received intelligence from the Gardai, they swooped on Belfast Port.

One source said: “The main suspect is nothing more than a wannabe gangster.

“Along with his associates, they regularly arm themselves with knives and aren’t afraid to use them.

“They are connected to a drug gang in the Corduff area and buy their drugs from them.

‘TRYING TO ASSERT THEMSELVES’

“They are trying to assert themselves as the main drug gang in the Balbriggan area.”

The second man was arrested in north Dublin after the Armed Support Unit stormed a property.

A third man was also arrested in connection with the probe after presenting himself to Pearse Street Garda Station.

Gardai are still hunting for another man after there was no sign of him when two other properties in Balbriggan and Swords were raided.

HUNT STILL ON

It’s understood they could be hit with a number of charges including violent disorder, assault and murder.

We can also reveal Gardai are hunting another three men who attacked people that night.

They are all part of the gang who are involved in street level drug dealing.

They have also been linked to a series of public order incidents in north Dublin and suspected of using weapons to intimidate people in recent months.

GARDA APPEAL

Following the arrest in Belfast, the Senior Investigating Officer will now travel north to meet with the PSNI.

Gardai have also urged anyone with information to come forward.

The suspect can be held by the PSNI for four days before being released or charged.

They will now run the investigation – with information and evidence supplied by the Gardai – under the new criminal jurisdiction act.

‘DISGUSTING’ AND ‘UNACCEPTABLE’

Quham was an asylum seeker, originally from Nigeria, who had no other family here.

It is understood he had been in Ireland for a number of years.

He had been living in Ballyogan IPAS accommodation centre, south of Dublin city, and was among the first residents accommodated there.

Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan said the violence was “disgusting” and “unacceptable”.

The Fianna Fail TD fumed: “The people involved need to know that they’ll be tracked down by An Garda Siochana and brought to justice. There were many people there in the evening who were part of the violence that took place on South Anne Street.

“They should hand themselves over now and those who weren’t part of the violence but have information should also bring that to the attention of An Garda Siochana.

“I want the people involved to know this type of violence is unacceptable in this city and in this country.

“The people involved in it will be brought to justice.”

Gary Ashe

Gary Ashe

Gary Ashe

Jack Reacher is about to meet his mass. And no, that wasn’t a typo. Season 3 of Prime Video’s adaptation of the Lee Child novels (premiering this Thursday with the first three episodes) is based on 2003’s Persuader, throwing Alan Ritchson’s titular man mountain into the dark heart of a vast criminal enterprise as he tries […]

A HUGE bargain retailer is rewarding customers with vouchers worth £10.

To help Brits battling the ongoing cost of living crisis, the competition is being rolled out in every store in the country.

Alamy

The retailer is giving away vouchers every hour[/caption]

Poundstretcher announced it will be giving away a voucher every hour across each of its 305 stores.

The winner will be chosen at random at the tills and will be announced on its in-store radio.

A range of 99p ‘Super Deals’ have also been added to the offer.

It has added more than 500 branded products to shop floors including Cadbury, Coca-Cola, Radox and Felix.

Poundstretcher is also slashing prices on household cleaning products this week, including brands like Persil and Flash.

“The cost of living crisis remains difficult for households and families up and down the country,” said Poundstretcher CEO Andy Atkinson, a former Morrisons group commercial director who was appointed by Fortress following the takeover last year.

“I’m pleased we’re continuing to help customers save money with outstanding deals, thousands of lower prices and by giving them the opportunity to win free £10 vouchers in all our stores this weekend.”

The discount store was acquired by US investment company Fortress in April last year.

Dozens of Poundstretchers across the country were closed last year, including the store in Meadowbank Shopping Park in Edinburgh.

The store, which had been located at the site for over 20 years, closed for good on Friday, May 17.

Poundstretcher also permanently closed its branch in Peterlee, County Durham, on May 15.

The discount chain also closed 13 branches across the UK in 2023.

Sites in Grantham, England, Kilmarnock, Scotland and Ammanford, Wales, were all shut down.