Sports
Mourning Michael Newberry: ‘He made me proud beyond words – I don’t know why that night he felt he couldn’t ring us’
“Me and Michael would always talk, every day, without fail,” says Ethan Devine.
On December 30, Devine sent Michael Newberry, the former Newcastle United youngster and his title-winning Linfield team-mate and close friend, a message on his 27th birthday. It will be forever unopened. Michael, a defender with Cliftonville in the Northern Irish Premiership, had passed away suddenly.
Michael’s life revolved around football and growing up on Stanhope Street — less than a 10-minute walk from Newcastle United’s home, St James’ Park — was only ever going to be defined by the city’s football club. The defender joined Newcastle’s academy aged 11 and, seven years later, won the highly coveted Wor Jackie Trophy: awarded to the club’s most promising youth prospect each season, ahead of future first-team regular Sean Longstaff.
Injuries prevented Michael from a first-team appearance at Newcastle, but he carved out a professional career in Iceland and, later, Northern Ireland, playing at Linfield alongside Devine as they won a league title together in 2022. “We became close, along with a few others,” says Devine. “It was Michael who helped mature me as a man. He kept me on the right path and was such an important person in my life.”
Cliftonville travel from the north of Belfast to the south of the capital to take on Michael’s former club Linfield today in the first meeting since his passing. His team-mates, friends and family are still trying to come to terms with their loss.
Michael holding Devine’s daughter (Photo courtesy of Ethan Devine)
On an icy lunchtime in Newcastle, Adrian Salem is in the warmth of his local pub. It is packed as Newcastle’s Premier League game kicks off.
For Adrian, football can provide the escapism that is essential after the most difficult days of his life. Saturdays have not been the same since Michael, his younger brother, died.
Adrian, eight years older, recalls how their father, also Michael Newberry and a former non-League footballer at nearby Gateshead, took them to training sessions. Michael would show off the skills he was learning to his brother. In return, Adrian — passionate about boxing — had Michael as a sparring partner.
Michael was understandably disheartened after leaving Newcastle in 2018. “He was telling us that he hadn’t made it,” Adrian recalls, shaking his head. “Every time we spoke, I told him how proud we all were of him and how others looked up to him. I would always give him a cuddle.”
Adrian, a keen boxer, spent hours practising his skills with Michael (Photo courtesy of Adrian Salem)
Michael’s football journey began at Red House Farm — a junior football club in Gosforth, north of Newcastle. “Michael was a great young lad, he was always smiling,” Mark Bolam, his coach from the youth club, says. “He loved football and was a really popular kid.”
Bolam recounts how Michael, even after signing for Newcastle, would return to training sessions and matches to support the team. “He got on so well with all the lads; there was a real bond. I remember Peter Beardsley (the former forward who captained Newcastle, before becoming a coach at St. James’ Park, including a spell as caretaker manager in 2010) at Newcastle telling me that Michael was the first player at training and the last one to leave. He would help set up our sessions.”
Michael, left, began his youth career at Red House Farm (Photo courtesy of Red House Farm)
At Newcastle, Michael was elevated above his age categories, playing for the under-18s aged 15. He struck up a centre-back partnership with Owen Bailey, one year his junior, from the under-14 side through to under-21 level.
“Michael was ahead of his time — a modern player,” says Bailey, now a midfielder with League Two side Doncaster Rovers. “He was fast, strong, good on the ball.”
Bailey, 25, describes how Michael was “one of the nicest lads I’ve met. He would go out of his way to make sure everyone was fine from a personal perspective before worrying about football, especially the younger ones. In that environment, everyone is competing for scholarships and pro contracts.”
Michael was elevated above his age category in Newcastle’s youth system (Photo courtesy of Adrian Salem)
Bailey says it was evident Michael was one of the standout players. “He never acted like he was — there was real humility,” he adds. “He clicked with everyone and had a laugh. He was such a good, funny person. He was the perfect example of the Geordie character: worked hard but didn’t take himself too seriously.”
That view was shared by another team-mate at St James’ Park, Dan Barlaser, the Middlesbrough midfielder. “He worked so hard in the gym — he was always in great shape,” Barlaser told the Newcastle programme. “He was always smiling, laughing. I will cherish those memories.”
Michael, far left, watches a training session alongside team-mates Ivan Toney, Longstaff and Barlaser (Serena Taylor/Newcastle United via Getty Images)
Despite being two of the most promising players in Newcastle’s youth system, neither Michael nor Bailey would play for the senior side. “He was really close,” Bailey says. “But there was a lot of change in the academy and that didn’t help anyone. A lot of the best talents dropped off the radar.”
Having signed a professional contract, Michael had a hairline fracture in his back that ruled him out for eight months during his final year at the club. Later, Newcastle’s under-23 captain Bailey suffered knee injuries that prevented him from playing for 18 months. The timings meant neither was offered further contracts.
Bailey argues Newcastle’s geographical isolation makes it particularly difficult for young players to continue their careers. Unlike other English urban centres such as London, Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds or Birmingham, there is not a deep network of local clubs in the north east as alternatives. Bailey resurrected his career at Gateshead, then in the sixth tier.
Michael, who grew up a 10-minute walk from St. James’ Park, was a lifelong Newcastle fan (Photo courtesy of Adrian Salem)
Michael had interest from Blackburn Rovers and a trial with Motherwell in Scotland, before agent Nick McCreery told Michael that Icelandic club U.M.F. Vikingur had offered a contract.
Adrian believes Michael’s left-field move had been influenced by his own career. Adrian served in the army in Afghanistan and Iraq and has since worked in India and Dubai. “Michael maybe saw that and felt nothing would stop him moving away,” Adrian says.
Michael spent three seasons playing regularly in Iceland. “He was having the time of his life,” Adrian says, before adding that it was a challenge. “It was a vast, empty area. It’s one thing to experience that, but living there for that length of time is a lot. We knew he eventually missed home.”
Michael alongside his brother (Photo courtesy of Adrian Salem)
Michael was capped by Northern Ireland’s youth teams. Qualifying through his grandfather’s Belfast roots, he played for the under-17 and under-19 sides.
It was there that he first worked with David Healy and Ross Oliver. In January 2021, Michael signed for Northern Ireland champions Linfield, who were managed by Healy with Oliver as his assistant. “This was such a big deal,” Adrian says. Not only was it a proud moment for the family with their roots, but Linfield are the biggest club in the country. “I’m English and I’ve pals who support Linfield. It made me proud beyond words.”
Michael had won the Wor Jackie Trophy at Newcastle, named after Jackie Milburn, who remains Newcastle’s second-highest goalscorer, having scored 200 competitive goals. After leaving Newcastle in 1957, Milburn moved to Belfast and as player-manager won nine trophies.
Michael joined Linfield when they were top of the league and had won the previous two titles, arriving at the same time as midfielder Cammy Palmer, who came from Scotland. “We clicked straight away,” says Palmer, who stayed in the same hotel with Michael before they moved in together. Palmer, three years younger, remembers driving the pair to training in a car full of suitcases and backpacks.
“He was always there for a chat, no matter what,” he adds. “We both missed our families and friends, but we had each other and grew into the club and the city.”
They helped Linfield win another two league titles. “He got on with absolutely everyone. My wife came over and there was never any problem.”
Palmer and Michael lived together after joining Linfield in 2021 (Photo courtesy of Cammy Palmer)
When Michael scored his first Linfield goal, Healy told Palmer in the dressing room he would need to start chipping in or he wouldn’t have the bragging rights. They became close friends with team-mates Conor Pepper and Kirk Millar. “We would go round to Conor’s house to play poker,” Palmer says. “We socialised a lot. It was a good team and the bonds were close.”
Palmer says what he remembers most about Michael was how he regularly sat with different groups and prioritised checking in with the youngsters. “We always had a laugh, but he was there for me when I needed a chat or felt I was struggling. I hope I was that person for him.”
In January 2022, a year into Michael’s and Palmer’s time at Linfield, the club signed Devine from Championship club Knockbreda. A then-20-year-old who had never played in the top flight, the move was a big step in the striker’s career. “As soon as I arrived, Michael looked after me,” Devine says.
Devine and Michael won multiple trophies together at Linfield (Photo courtesy of Ethan Devine)
Last summer, Michael left Linfield for Cliftonville. He moved in with three team-mates who all transferred clubs that summer: Arran Pettifer, Axel Piesold and Taylor Steven. “He was like the father figure of that house,” Devine says. “He was always trying to look out for people.”
On Christmas Day, Michael made dinner. “He would have known what it was like not having a support base — that summed him up,” says Palmer.
The following day, Cliftonville lost against Crusaders. Michael played the full match. On December 30, Cliftonville were scheduled to play Dungannon Swifts and on the previous night, he and Devine chatted as normal. “That friendship probably got even stronger when we were not at the same club,” says Devine.
It was the last time Devine and Michael spoke.
Devine and Michael became close friends away from football (Photo courtesy of Ethan Devine)
Michael’s brother, Adrian, could not process the news — he still can’t. “I had told him that he could pick up the phone to me anytime, it would not matter why,” he says. “I don’t know why that night he felt he couldn’t ring us. He was my little brother. I held him in my arms when he was a baby. We were always there for each other. I loved Michael so much.”
As news circulated of Michael’s death, Linfield and Cliftonville requested to the NI Football League to postpone their matches that night. The league agreed, but the other four games went ahead.
Devine, now on loan at Ballymena United, and Palmer, at Glentoran, were scheduled to play. Devine chose not to, Palmer did. “That day I wasn’t really present, my mind wasn’t there,” Palmer says. “I was very emotional. I just kept thinking of all the memories and what his family were going through. I spent the day messaging Linfield players. They were distraught. I didn’t know how to think.”
Michael and his brother, Adrian, who is travelling to Belfast for the first time for Linfield vs Cliftonville (Photo courtesy of Adrian Salem)
Newcastle remains Adrian’s community and is where Michael’s funeral took place on January 16. He never had the opportunity to take up his brother’s offer to experience Belfast and is travelling to Windsor Park for Linfield vs Cliftonville.
“If there is one thing to learn from this, it’s to always remind people of how much they mean to you and how much you love them,” says Adrian.
- If you would like to talk to someone having read this article, please try Samaritans in the UK or U.S. You can call 116 123 for free from any phone
(Top photos: Adrian Salem)
Sports
London descends into disorder as Morocco fans flood streets after World Cup elimination by France
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Public unrest began in parts of London late Thursday night, and it appears Morocco’s exit from the 2026 FIFA World Cup at the hands of France is the reason.
France took down Morocco 2-0, eliminating the African country for the second consecutive tournament, this time in a quarterfinal match.
As a result, many feared Paris would erupt into riots, especially after the chaos that followed Paris Saint-Germain’s UEFA Champions League victory over Arsenal in May.
Instead, images and videos from Edgware Road in northwest London showed police clashing with large crowds as smoke billowed through the streets and debris littered the roadway.
A police vehicle is parked in a road as people from pro-Palestinian activist groups gather near the Edgware United Synagogue during a demonstration against the “Great Israeli Real Estate Event” organized by real-estate agency My Home in Israel, which markets property in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, in London, Britain, June 14, 2026. (Toby Shepheard)
Riot police, equipped with shields and body armor, tried to contain the crowds as they clashed with people launching fireworks and throwing debris. One video also appeared to show an officer down.
KYLIAN MBAPPÉ, OUSMANE DEMBÉLÉ FIRE FRANCE INTO WORLD CUP SEMIFINALS WITH WIN OVER MOROCCO
It’s unknown what happened to the officer who was down on the asphalt or how he was injured.
Fans waved Moroccan flags in the middle of the streets, which held up traffic. Some even jumped on top of vehicles trying to get through the area.
Moroccan fans in the stands before a FIFA World Cup 2026 quarterfinal match between France and Morocco at Boston Stadium July 9, 2026, in Foxborough, Mass. (Richard Sellers/SportsphotoAllstar)
Similar scenes unfolded after Egypt’s World Cup exit, when Argentina rallied for a controversial 3-2 victory that featured several disputed officiating decisions.
Paris, on the other hand, looked more like a city celebrating than one on the brink of a riot. Supporters of both France and Morocco flooded the streets, slowing traffic in several parts of the city.
One video showed horns blasting from cars with French and Moroccan flags out the windows on the L’avenue des Champs-Élysées in Paris. Supporters on the side of the road, waving their own flags, joined in on the celebration.
France’s Kylian Mbappé scored his eighth goal of this World Cup, which ties him for the most with Argentina’s Lionel Messi. Ousmane Dembélé also scored in the second half for France in the 2-0 win over Morocco.
It’s the third straight semifinal appearance for France, while Morocco still made World Cup history despite the loss. After becoming the first African country to reach the quarterfinals and semifinals in World Cup history in 2022, Morocco added to that by becoming the first-ever African nation to reach more than one quarterfinal.
Moroccan fans react while attending a watch party for the World Cup round of 8 match between France and Morocco in Boston, Massachusetts, on July 9, 2026. (Joseph Prezioso/AFP)
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Morocco’s exit means there are no more African nations alive in the World Cup. France will be taking on the winner of Spain and Belgium, while England and Norway and Argentina and Switzerland face off in the quarterfinals.
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LONDON — A local boy sleeps in his own bed, plays in front of a king and queen and makes a Cinderella run to the Wimbledon semifinals. Sounds like a Hollywood script that might never see the silver screen.
But it’s no fairy tale — it’s Arthur Fery’s out-of-nowhere performance over the last 10 days.
Fery, a virtually unknown British wild card with a triple-digit ranking, has become the emotional heartbeat of Wimbledon while legitimately diverting some national attention from England’s World Cup quest.
The royal treatment at his matches across the All England Club has come in more ways than one.
Fery, who grew up five minutes from Wimbledon and is staying at home during the tournament, first played before grass-court king Roger Federer, Wimbledon’s eight-time singles champion, during Monday’s fourth-round victory. Two days later, he beat No. 9 seed and French Open runner-up Flavio Cobolli of Italy in the quarterfinals 6-4, 7-6 (4), 6-0 in front of Queen Camilla.
Ranked 114th, Fery had never reached the semifinals of an ATP Tour event, let alone a major, before his brief chat with the queen following the match.
“She just said, ‘Congratulations, keep going,’” 23-year-old Fery told reporters later. “I told her it was my birthday on Sunday, so it would be great to play the Wimbledon final on my birthday.”
That’s still a match away. To get there, Fery will have to get past one of the hottest players on tour: No. 2 seed Alexander Zverev, who is fresh off his first Grand Slam title at the French Open. Looming on the other side of the draw is a highly anticipated showdown between defending champion Jannik Sinner against 24-time major winner Novak Djokovic.
If Fery can continue his magical run to the end, he would become the first British wild card to win a Wimbledon title.
Arthur Fery reacts after defeating Flavio Cobolli in the Wimbledon quarterfinals on Wednesday.
(Maja Smiejkowska / Associated Press)
Born in France, Fery’s family moved to Wimbledon when he was an infant. His mother played professional tennis. He was a top British junior but chose to sharpen his game for three years in the U.S. collegiate system at Stanford, as many of his compatriots have done.
“I came out with a lot of hunger coming out of that, and I was ready to attack the pro circuit,” Fery said.
After struggling with bone bruising in his arm that limited him to playing mostly on the lower-tier Challenger circuit in recent years, Fery is finally healthy and playing consistently.
His path to the last four in London has been a masterclass in clutch come-from-behind performances. The Brit has stared down near-certain elimination in multiple matches, repeatedly breaking his opponents’ momentum with Houdini-like on-court acts.
At 5-foot-9, Fery possesses a skill set perfectly suited for low-bounding grass.
His compact strokes, low center of gravity, and elite movement allow him to hug the baseline, take time away from opponents, and confidently execute delicate volleys at the net, according to ESPN analyst Chris Eubanks.
“He defends well,” said Eubanks, a 2023 Wimbledon quarterfinalist. “He can scrap. He can claw. He can dig his way back into points. And when he ventures forward, he’s very, very comfortable at the net. This is a picture-perfect example of someone whose game is built for the surface.”
Still, it’s hard to fathom the multitude of milestones for Fery, who briefly reached the No. 1 ranking in college and earned 2023 Pac-12 Singles Player of the Year honors before leaving early to pursue a pro career.
He arrived at Wimbledon with just one main-draw victory at a major, a losing record as a professional, and only one previous ATP quarterfinal, at Queen’s Club last month. He’s now 11-8, won his first two five-set matches, and is the first British wild card to reach the Wimbledon men’s semifinals in the Open Era. The only other men’s wild-card semifinalist was Goran Ivanisevic, who won the title as a wild card in 2001.
Fery, who started the season ranked No. 185 and will climb to at least No. 36 after the tournament, said there were a “lot of first times” as he reflected on his unprecedented run. “First five-setter, longest match that I’ve ever played, first time breaking into the top 100, first second week in a slam, all at home, five minutes from where I grew up. It’s a great story for me,” he said.
The gap with his fellow semifinalists is understandably massive.
Entering Wimbledon, Djokovic, Sinner and Zverev’s combined records include 29 Grand Slam titles, 2,088 match wins and 155 tour-level titles. Fery was 6-8 in tour-level matches with zero titles.
But he has singlehandedly lifted the tournament for locals. With top hopes Jack Draper and Emma Raducanu withdrawing before the tournament and the rest of Britain’s singles prospects falling one by one — 18 men and women were eliminated by the third round — Fery became the nation’s last knight standing.
If his first name inevitably evokes Arthurian legend, Fery’s march through the draw gave Britain reason to believe again. No sword, no Round Table, just world-class shot-making, a lion’s heart and a Centre Court crowd thrilled to rally behind him.
“This is really quite something to see on home soil,” said Russell Fuller, the BBC’s tennis correspondent, who compared it with Raducanu’s stunning U.S. Open win in 2021 as a qualifier.
Fery earned every bit of it.
In the first round against Damir Dzumhur, Fery dropped the opening set and trailed by a break in the second before surging back. Against Zizou Bergs in the third round, he faced a 4-1 deficit with a double break in the fourth set, and again fell behind 4-1 in the fifth, before somehow surviving.
Then, stepping onto Centre Court for the first time against former top-10 stalwart Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria in the fourth round, Fery clawed out of a 2-sets-to-1 hole and a break down in the fourth set to clinch the victory in a fifth-set tiebreak.
“He carries himself with humility, but he’s a fierce competitor, and he’s got a ton of belief in himself,” said Stanford men’s coach and former top-60 player Paul Goldstein, who flew to England Tuesday to see his former charge compete against Cobolli.
While Fery attempts to outmaneuver Zverev on Friday, the other semifinal features a 2025 Wimbledon semifinal rematch between seven-time Wimbledon winner Djokovic and top-ranked Sinner, who defeated the Serb in straight sets on his way to the title. It’s also their second Grand Slam semifinal meeting in 2026. At January’s Australian Open on hard courts, Djokovic bested 24-year-old Sinner in five sets before falling to now-injured Carlos Alcaraz in the Melbourne final.
Arthur Fery hits a return during his Wimbledon quarterfinal win over Flavio Cobolli on Wednesday.
(Clive Brunskill / Getty Images)
Djokovic, 39, enters the match after surviving a grueling five-set, 5-hour-plus quarterfinal slugfest against No. 3 Félix Auger-Aliassime that concluded just minutes before Wimbledon’s 11 p.m. curfew. But the seventh-seeded Serb has a way of defying Father Time and he has had two days to recover on a surface where points are shorter and generally less taxing on the body.
Italy’s Sinner, who defeated Alcaraz in last year’s Wimbledon final, has been efficient if not at the level that saw him capture five consecutive titles before crashing out in the second round at the French Open. After a first-round scare here, the four-time Grand Slam champion has dominated opponents behind his improving serve, winning 80% of his first-serve points. He hasn’t dropped a set since the opening round. Sinner leads the head-to-head with Djokovic 6-5.
According to Eubanks, Djokovic must disrupt Sinner’s movement to break his rhythm, and take his chances.
“He’s got to play similar to how he played in Australia, where it was just all-out aggression,” Eubanks said.
For Sinner, he added: “His serve can be a neutralizing force for what Novak is going to try to do.”
On the other side of the ledger, Fery’s poise under pressure and deft use of the home crowd will be paramount to continue his surprise run against Germany’s Zverev, whom he called a “step up again” from his last five matches. Zverev, 29, is seeking his fifth major final and first at Wimbledon.
“I’m ready for it,” Fery said. “I have nothing to lose. I’m just going to go out there and … put my game on the court, do what I’ve done, believe in myself. We’ll see where that takes me.”
Home has never been closer to Centre Court. Nor has Arthur Fery ever been closer to tennis history.
Sports
Pirates star pitcher makes unfortunate history after being taken out in middle of perfect game bid
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Jared Jones was flirting with Major League Baseball history on Wednesday night — he got it, but it was not what he originally envisioned.
The Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher retired the first 18 batters he faced, but he was taken out in the middle of his perfect game bid after six innings.
Now, the Pirates certainly have their reasons — the 24-year-old Jones hasn’t thrown more than 81 pitches in eight starts since returning May 20 after missing all of last season while undergoing ulnar collateral ligament internal brace surgery on May 21, 2025. He was yanked with 77 pitches and likely would have needed more than 100 pitches to record the 25th perfect game in MLB history.
Jared Jones of the Pittsburgh Pirates pitches during the first inning against the Atlanta Braves at PNC Park on July 8, 2026, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images)
However, Jones left the game after getting zero run support, so when the Atlanta Braves tacked on three runs late for a 3-0 victory, Jones instead found himself in the wrong chapter of the history books.
According to Opta Stats, Jones became the first pitcher in the modern era (since 1920) to pitch at least six perfect innings and not record a win.
“It does suck. Something’s cool coming on, but I’m on what? My eighth start off of surgery? I completely understand it, and it is what it is,” Jones told reporters after the game.
Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Jared Jones (17) makes his way to the field to warm up before pitching against the Atlanta Braves at PNC Park. (Charles LeClaire/Imagn Images)
JUSTIN VERLANDER ANNOUNCES HE WILL RETIRE AFTER THIS SEASON: ‘I’VE REALIZED THAT TIME HAS COME’
Jones said he didn’t entertain attempting to complete the perfect game.
“Not with the pitch count,” he said. “Not really ever expecting to go nine right now, so that was never in my head.”
Joey Bart, traded to the Braves from the Pirates on June 18, followed a double by Mike Yastrzemski with a 422-foot, two-run homer to left-center field off a slider from Dennis Santana. Drake Baldwin added an RBI single to center in the ninth for good measure.
It was the second time in less than a week that a pitcher was taken out of the game with a perfect bid through six innings — the Miami Marlins took Eury Perez out after seven innings in which he had 92 pitches. Perez, too, is in the midst of returning from injury and has surprisingly found himself right in the postseason mix.
He was pulled for Lake Bachar to start the eighth, and the Marlins allowed eight runs to the Athletics in the final two innings, but held on to win 9-8.
Jared Jones (17) of the Pittsburgh Pirates delivers a pitch during a MLB game against the Cincinnati Reds on June 27, 2026, at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Joe Robbins/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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The Pirates are 4.0 games out of the final wild card spot, which is held by the Marlins.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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