Redknapp mugged in Madrid

[dazby]

<Insert best wise crack here>

A trip to watch the Madrid derby ended in disaster for Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp after he was mugged by local thieves.

The 63-year-old was in the Spanish capital to take in the second leg of the quarter-final clash of the Copa del Rey, which saw Real beat local rival Atletico 1-0 to reach the last four of the competition.

Redknapp's evening took a turn for the worse prior to kick-off when he and Spurs assistant manager Kevin Bond were walking around the Vicente Calderon stadium.

Two unknown men approached Redknapp, fell to their knees and started tugging at his trouser leg to distract him while four others snatched cash and other belongings from his pockets.

"I'm walking round the outside of the stadium, it's a fantastic atmosphere, there's all little stalls there selling sweets," Redknapp explained.

"I got some sweets, me and Kevin, and it was so packed. The next thing there's two guys on their knees in front of me and I felt someone pull my overcoat.

"I thought 'What's that?', and didn't take any notice. The next thing there's two guys on their knees in front of me and they've got my trousers and they keep doing this (tugging) with them, pulling them.

"I thought 'What are you doing?' The next thing he's got my keys on the floor.

"I didn't know whether to knee him in the gob or not.

"And I thought 'Is he a blind man or someone having trouble walking properly. What are they doing, these two blokes?'

"I'm going: 'Let go of my trousers', pushing them away. While I'm doing that they're rifling my pockets, there were about six of them. And then they went.

"I thought 'What are they doing?'. I went to put my hand in my pockets and realised what they'd done.

"They took everything. All my money, credit cards, everything really."

Luckily for Redknapp, his passport remained untouched in his top pocket and he also did not lose his phone.

The Tottenham boss did not report the incident to police and had to borrow money off Bond to pay for a taxi back to his hotel and for dinner before returning to the UK.

He admitted the incident had unsettled him and he left the stadium 15 minutes before the end of the game, which was won thanks to Cristiano Ronaldo's first-half strike.

He does not believe that the attackers knew who they were targeting.

"They probably didn't know who I was but they had a result, I'll tell you that," said Redknapp, who has been linked with a move for Atletico striker Diego Forlan.

"I wasn't wearing anything flash. I had an overcoat on. I just probably looked stupid or something, and they thought 'Here's one here, he's not Spanish, obviously, and we're looking for a foreigner.'

"They were probably in this restaurant we were in, drinking the best wine and having the best steak there. Me and Kevin didn't have enough money to have a glass of wine."

Redknapp joked that Bond may have been in on the theft.

"I don't know what Kevin was doing while it was going on," Redknapp said.

"He said 'I saw them doing it.' And I said: 'Why didn't you do anything then? I thought: 'Strange that, Kev.' I hope he wasn't part of the gang! He's got a few quid on him today."

[john@staustell]

It's not a problem for Arry cos he's got a spare one in Monaco - allegedly.

[Chopper]

Travel insurance fraud rises
Fake claims are soaring as tourists feel the credit crunch pinch
Tom Chesshyre

Fraudulent travel claims are soaring by up to 80 per cent as tourists feel the pinch in the current economic climate, according to insurance companies.

Insurance firms say that fraud is on the rise, with many customers pretending that possessions such as expensive cameras and iPods have been stolen overseas, while others are upping the value of what has been stolen in the case of genuine theft.

Some travellers who realise that they cannot afford holidays booked earlier in the year are believed to be cancelling trips, after feigning illness and tricking doctors into issuing certificates stating that they are unwell. Most travel insurance policies offer cancellation refunds when a traveller falls ill before a trip.

The Association of British Insurers says that its members report a definite increase in fraud. “Travel insurance is always susceptible to fraud and when times are tough, people look at ways of raising what they believe is easy money,” said spokesman Malcolm Tarling. “Because the losses are abroad and police overseas are often not interested in investigating, people can claim possessions have gone missing.”

However, he pointed out that insurance companies are now primed to spot “telltale signs” of false claims: “I won't say what those are though.”

There are few prosecutions as the facts of cases are often difficult to prove. However: “If your claim is rejected, that goes on your credit rating. It will make loans and insurance more expensive in the future.”

AXA, the UK's leading insurer, said that travel insurance fraud was up by 83 per cent in July compared with last year. Richard Davies, AXA's group fraud risk manager, said: “We've seen a rise in opportunistic fraud connected to the credit crunch. We're rejecting many more claims than this time last year. If someone commits fraud it's honest customers who end up paying in the form of higher premiums.”

Derek Ketteridge of Ketteridge Group Ltd, a broker, said: “Suddenly people are losing their luggage. Claims that were £200 are now £300. We're getting cancellation claims from people can't afford trips.”

[Twobob]

Little brown envelopes with anegrams, believed to be of managers and agents names were found in the bins arround the stadium shortly after ... Police are trying to work out the link

[Manx Blue]

The man is starved of attention isn't he....every fucking day he has to open his twitchy lips about something...pathetic.

[Slim]

I hope he gets the police involved, definitely a job for Deputy Dawg.

[Im_Spartacus]

Good

[bluej]

Two unknown men approached Redknapp, fell to their knees and started tugging at his trouser leg

Don't know about Madrid, but over here we wouldn't call that mugging.

[blues-clues]

Two unknown men approached Redknapp, fell to their knees and started tugging at his trouser leg

Don't know about Madrid, but over here we wouldn't call that mugging.

He has had his pockets picked - definitely not been mugged. Bernie Eccleston....that was a mugging.

[Mikhail Chigorin]

Wonder if the trauma involved will make his twitch more pronounced ?? .....a Spanish twitch