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Former Chelsea and England captain John Terry is reportedly staying in the same Qatar hotel as his ex-teammate Wayne Bridge – the two men at the centre of one of the biggest feuds in English football.
The pair were friends before falling out after Terry (married at the time) was allegedly in a secret relationship with Bridge’s ex-partner Vanessa Perroncel in 2009.
The story, published in 2010, rocked the English game – though it was later redacted, with Perroncel having always denied the pair had an affair.
Bridge had already departed Chelsea for Manchester city by that point. The two teams met a week later, where Terry offered to shake hands with his former friend before the game, an offer Bridge rejected. It was one of the most memorable incidents in Premier League history – and would be repeated the following season.
A week earlier, Bridge’s City teammates iincluding Carlos Tevez and Nigel de Jong wore T-Shirts reading: “Team Bridge” as they celebrated a win over Portsmouth.
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Tevez would later say: “If you acted like [Terry did] in Argentina, you’d be dead.
“In my opinion, Terry has no moral code for what he did to Bridge. In my neighbourhood, if you do that, you lose your legs.”
Terry was stripped of the England captaincy, while Bridge soon withdrew from the Three Lions in the build-up to the 2010 World Cup, saying his presence was “untenable and potentially divisive”.
The salacious rumour festered for years – regardless of whether or not it was true – and the pair never made up.
Now, the two have reportedly found themselves staying at the five-star Fairmont Hotel as they both work at the World Cup with different organisations.
The Telegraph reports that the two have so far avoided seeing each other in the hotel.
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Morocco’s stunning 2-0 defeat of world No. 2 Belgium began in bizarre fashion for Morocco, with goalkeeper Yassine Bounou asking to be withdrawn from the team after the national anthems.
The gloveman had been seen talking to match officials in the tunnel before the match, but was announced over the stadium loudspeakers as starting – only to disappear after the anthems.
Munir El Kajoui took his place for the team photo and then between the sticks, though commentators initially missed the late change.
And fans were left nonplussed at the late switch, before it was later revealed Bounou had been struggling with dizziness. He was seen on the team bench with his head in his hands.
“He felt dizzy and I spoke with coach (Walid) Regragui about withdrawing him from the starting line-up,” team doctor Abderrazak Hefti told Moroccan state television Arryadia. “But he is fine now and he will play against Canada.”
Regragui had earlier said the Sevilla stopper had suffered an injury towards the end of Croatia game and felt something in the warm-up.
Munir showed no signs of nerves after being thrown in at the last minute, making some crucial saves to keep a clean sheet.
“Munir did a great job. I have great players. They listen to the instructions and they fight with all of their heart,” added Regragui.
“Keep focused, keep positive and we will get great results.”
Late goals from Abdelhamid Sabiri and Zakaria Aboukhlal at the Al Thumama Stadium secured Morocco their first World Cup win in 24 years.
The North Africans only need a point in their final Group F game against Canada on Thursday to reach the last 16 for the first time since 1986.
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BELGIUM KEEPER FUMES
Meanwhile, Belgium goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois was far from pleased at the result, which leaves the 2018 semi-finalists needing a result against 2018 finalists Croatia in their final group stage fixture on Friday morning.
Courtois was seen fuming after the stoppage-time second goal, before fan footage from the stands showed him punching the side of the team dugout as he headed down the tunnel.
