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• I was a mess – David Beckham lays bare pain he suffered after World Cup red card

  David Beckham has revealed he still cannot forgive himself for the abuse his family suffered amid the fallout from his red card at the 1998 World Cup, which left him a “mess”.

  A new Netflix documentary series titled ‘Beckham’ is set for release on Wednesday, looking back on the former Manchester United and Real Madrid midfielder’s career as well as his marriage to Spice Girls singer and fashion designer Victoria.

  In episode two, titled ‘Seeing Red’, Beckham, now 48, reflected on the “stupid mistake” which changed his life after he was sent off for kicking the back of Diego Simeone’s leg during the last-16 clash against Argentina in Saint-Etienne.

  England went on to lose after a penalty shootout and Beckham found himself centre of a backlash – including a pub hanging up an effigy of the midfielder, who received a hostile reception from rival fans around the country when he returned to action for United the following season.

  In the documentary, Victoria Beckham said the continued abuse left her husband “absolutely clinically depressed” as the then 23-year-old tried to deal with the fallout alongside becoming a father for the first time in March 1999.

  Beckham admitted the saga “took a toll on me that I never knew myself”.

  He said: “I wish there was a pill you could take which could erase certain memories. I made a stupid mistake. It changed my life.

  “We were in America (on holiday after the World Cup), just about to have our first baby, and I thought, ‘we will be fine. In a day or two people will have forgotten’.”

  Beckham added: “I don’t think I have ever talked about it, just because I can’t. I find it hard to talk through what I went through because it was so extreme.

  “Wherever I went, I got abused every single day – to walk down the street and to see people look at you in a certain way, spit at you, abuse you, come up to your face and say some of the things they said, that is difficult.

  “I wasn’t eating, I wasn’t sleeping. I was a mess. I didn’t know what to do.”

  Beckham added: “It brought a lot of attention that I would never wish on anyone, let alone my parents, and I can’t forgive myself for that.

  “That is the tough part of what happened, because I was the one that made the mistake.

  “It is only now that I am 47 years old, it is now that I beat myself up about it (still).

  “When I have gone through difficult moments, I was able to block it out, but inside it killed me.”

  Beckham spoke of the support he received from then Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson and the club as he looked to focus on his football.

  “That was the only thing I could control – once I was on the pitch, then I felt safe,” Beckham said.

  “Anytime I was kicked during that season, it was like the (opposition team) had got two goals.”

  Beckham added: “As horrible as it was to look up to Victoria in the stand (getting that abuse), it was the one thing which spurred me on.”

  The Netflix documentary also charts Beckham’s triumphant end to the 1998-99 season, which culminated with United having won the Premier League, FA Cup and a memorable Champions League final against Bayern Munich in Barcelona.

  With Paul Scholes and Roy Keane suspended, Beckham played an integral role in United’s comeback win, which was secured by two goals in stoppage time.

  Reflecting on the match, Ferguson said: “With David, that night there was something inside him saying, ‘I am not going to let this happen’. It was a personal thing that he had in him, that stubbornness and determination.”

  Beckham’s former United and England team-mate Gary Neville was an executive producer of the Netflix documentary.

  Neville recalled the way he and Beckham were “absolutely destroying teams” down the right flank for United.

  “He was with his crossing. I was supporting him in a way which was to be fair, I would say I was a side dish really. Not the beef. I was the mustard on the side,” Neville said.

  “I was subservient because I needed David to go and do something magical. He was practicing free-kicks and I was practicing throw-ins.”

  Neville added: “It was telepathic on the pitch. Off the pitch as well, I knew where he was in his mind – it was not enough for him, he wanted to be more than a football player.”

• Michael Beale leaves Rangers role as Steven Davis takes interim charge at Ibrox

  Rangers have announced the almost inevitable departure of Michael Beale and have put club favourite Steven Davis in charge.

  Calls for Beale’s departure increased following the 3-1 defeat by Aberdeen at Ibrox on Saturday, with the players again booed off the park.

  A third loss in seven cinch Premiership fixtures left the Light Blues seven points behind leaders Celtic and with their title hopes already in jeopardy.

  Ahead of the Europa League tie against Aris Limassol in Cyprus on Thursday night, the Ibrox club released a statement which outlined the changes.

  It read: “Rangers can confirm it has parted company with men’s first-team manager Michael Beale.

  “The Rangers board would like to put on record their thanks to Michael and his staff for their efforts since joining the club last November.

  “Results this season have fallen short of what everyone connected to Rangers would expect.

  “Therefore, the decision was reached today to terminate the contract of the manager, as well as the contracts of coaches Neil Banfield, Damian Matthew, Harry Watling and Jack Ade.

  “The club is pleased to announce that Steven Davis will lead the interim management team.

  “The team will consist of former Rangers player and hugely experienced coach Alex Rae, former player and current coach Steven Smith, coach Brian Gilmour and goalkeeping coach Colin Stewart.”

  Rangers chairman John Bennett said: “I’d like to thank Michael for his dedicated work since he rejoined the club as manager last November.

  “It is clear that results have fallen well short of the board’s, Michael’s and our supporters’ expectations.

  “The search process for the new manager is already under way. I wish Steven Davis and the interim management team every success – they will remain in charge for as long as it takes to make the right appointment.”

  Former midfielder Davis’ contract expired at the end of last season but the club had been letting him use the facilities for his rehabilitation following a serious knee injury.

  It is understood the new management team have all the required UEFA badges to lead Rangers into their European match on Thursday.

  Beale never recovered from the 1-0 defeat by an under-strength Hoops side at Ibrox last month, with four subsequent wins in three different competitions doing little to appease disgruntled supporters.

  Beale revamped his squad in the summer but new signings such as Cyriel Dessers, Sam Lammers, Dujon Sterling and Jose Cifuentes have failed to impress.

  In mitigation, injuries robbed him of Danilo, Todd Cantwell, Kieran Dowell, Nico Raskin, Tom Lawrence, Rabbi Matondo and Kemar Roofe for various lengths of time with Ryan Jack and Ridvan Yilmaz picking up injuries against the Dons.

  Beale, who was first-team coach at Rangers under Steven Gerrard, took over in the Ibrox hotseat in November 2022, following the departure of Giovanni van Bronckhorst.

• Liverpool criticise PGMOL and will ‘explore options’ after VAR error at Spurs

  Liverpool have criticised the Professional Game Match Officials Limited and warned they will “explore the range of options available” following the VAR controversy at Tottenham.

  The PGMOL admitted VAR officials Darren England and Dan Cook failed to act after Luis Diaz’s 34th-minute strike at Tottenham was wrongly ruled out for offside. Still images of the incident showed Cristian Romero playing Diaz onside.

  The disallowed goal came with the match still goalless but after Curtis Jones had been controversially sent off following England’s intervention. Liverpool went on to lose 2-1.

  The officials were stood down from duty for the rest of the weekend but Liverpool will continue to pursue the matter.

  A statement read: “Liverpool Football Club acknowledges PGMOL’s admission of their failures last night. It is clear that the correct application of the laws of the game did not occur, resulting in sporting integrity being undermined.

  “We fully accept the pressures that match officials work under but these pressures are supposed to be alleviated, not exacerbated, by the existence and implementation of VAR.

  “It is therefore unsatisfactory that sufficient time was not afforded to allow the correct decision to be made and that there was no subsequent intervention.

  “That such failings have already been categorised as ‘significant human error’ is also unacceptable. Any and all outcomes should be established only by the review and with full transparency.

  “This is vital for the reliability of future decision making as it applies to all clubs with learnings being used to make improvements to processes in order to ensure this kind of situation cannot occur again.

  “In the meantime, we will explore the range of options available, given the clear need for escalation and resolution.”

  England was due to be fourth official at Sunday’s Premier League match between Nottingham Forest and Brentford, while Cook was to be assistant referee for Monday’s west London derby between Fulham and Chelsea.

  But the PGMOL announced on Sunday morning that England, the main VAR official at Tottenham, had been replaced by Craig Pawson, while Eddie Smart will step in for Cook, who was the assistant VAR to England.

  “Darren England, VAR on the Tottenham Hotspur v Liverpool fixture, and Dan Cook, AVAR on the same game, have been replaced for the Nottingham Forest v Brentford and Fulham v Chelsea matches today and tomorrow night respectively,” a PGMOL statement said.

  “Craig Pawson will now assume England’s duties as fourth official at the City Ground while Eddie Smart will take over from Cook as assistant referee at Craven Cottage.”

  Son Heung-min put Spurs in front moments after Diaz’s goal was disallowed, and although Cody Gakpo levelled, Tottenham won 2-1 thanks to a stoppage-time own goal from Joel Matip, with Liverpool finishing the game with nine men after Diogo Jota also saw red.

  In a statement on Saturday, PGMOL said: “PGMOL acknowledge a significant human error occurred during the first half of Tottenham Hotspur v Liverpool.

  “The goal by Luis Diaz was disallowed for offside by the on-field team of match officials.

  “This was a clear and obvious factual error and should have resulted in the goal being awarded through VAR intervention, however, the VAR failed to intervene.

  “PGMOL will conduct a full review into the circumstances which led to the error.”