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Manchester United's beloved receptionist Kath Phipps is still so horrified by mail containing bullets that she refuses to talk about it.
Kath became a staple at United's training ground after first joining in 1968 under Sir Matt Busby. Adored by fans, players and staff alike, she finally retired from her role in 2022.
But being on the front desk for one of the world's biggest football clubs was not going to be a quiet job – particularly with superstars like David Beckham in the news. Following the 1998 World Cup, where Beckham was infamously sent off for kicking out at Diego Simeone in the knockout game against Argentina, the public turned on Golden Balls.
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The abuse was so vile that post to the training ground went from containing knickers from his adoring female fan base, to bullets linked to renowned football hooliganism firms. Speaking on the new Netflix documentary on Beckham's life, his dad recalled the aftermath of the World Cup red card.
He said: “That is when Kathy found bullets in letters. So the club had to get the police in because of the threats to him.”
Kath confirmed the story, nodding as she said: “I would never speak about that. Please forgive me but I would never speak about that.
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“I didn’t like it at all, but I had no say in the matter. I would have loved to, but you can’t. I just kept shut, like I always have done."
The criticism of Beckham reached astronomical heights, to the extent whereby he would be spat at in the streets and his pals had to escort him to toilets in fear something would happen to him if he was left alone. So it was at Manchester United where Beckham had to try and find his personality again.
“He was battered and bruised," Gary Neville says on Netflix. "But Sir Alex created an island and any other friend that came near the island didn’t get near it. We’d f*** them off.
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"It is like an inner sanctum, with no windows. We all look after one another, we never f*** someone over, you never s*** on your own. We’d never leave one another in trouble."
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer added: "What Sir Alex was very good at was making it Manchester United against the world. We win in spite of, not because of, and we enjoyed being in that position where everyone hated us.
“That is what Sir Alex did with David. It was him against the world.”
- Manchester United FC
- Premier League
- David Beckham
- Sir Alex Ferguson
- Netflix
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