Yep ... The News Of The Word has gone ... the paper that wrecked people's lives ... and GOOD RIDDANCE!
The former Toon boss last night welcomed the paper’s closure as the ‘best news’ he’s had in a decade, claiming its shady past was inevitably going to catch up with it.
Shepherd was targeted by the paper’s Fake Sheikh Mazher Mahmood, who secretly taped him and fellow Newcastle United board member Douglas Hall, son of Sir John Hall, in 1998 in what became known as the Toongate scandal.
The pair – heard on the tapes to refer to Newcastle women as “dogs” and laugh at fans for paying high prices for replica shirts – apologised for their actions, but maintained they were ‘set-up’ and their words had been taken out of context.
Freddy Shepherd (talking to the Sunday Sun): “I think without doubt I’ve had my phone hacked. It makes me furious, but I’m not going to pursue it. It’s finished. I wouldn’t lower myself.
“The North East hasn’t been isolated from the phone hacking. There’s obviously people up here who’ve had their phone hacked. I’m sure there’s other people in football.
“Ultimately they got what was coming to them. I don’t think there’s anyone in this country would stick up for them. No-one. It’s indefensible.
“You should only speak good of the departed. The News of the World has departed – good.
“They take advantage of people. As far as I’m concerned they go into work at the start of the week and think, ‘whose life are we going to ruin this week?’
“They took a couple of private jokes between friends and they completely massaged it to suit them.
“Ok the jokes might have been in bad taste, but the News of the World got completely carried away. You won’t find me sad that Mazher Mahmood is out of work.
“When I heard about the Milly Dowler I just thought, how low can they get? In football, perhaps it’s fair game, but that’s completely below the belt.”
NU-MAD COMPETITION
We are offering FIVE copies of the new book 'Magpies In Europe' in our European competition. Simply answer the three questions and e-mail your answers to us.
1) What European competition did Newcastle Utd win in 1969?
2) Who did Newcastle Utd play in the final of that competition?
3) Tino Asprilla scored a hat-trick against which Spanish club?
SEND YOUR ANSWERS TO: Kevnumad@fsmail.net
The winners will be drawn next Wednesday July 13th and published on this website
