The fourth annual Bellen d’Or awards sees 11 candidates fight it out as Daily Star Sport nominates the sportsmen and women who made fools of themselves in 2024
Here we go, it’s that time of year again – the Bellen d’Or ceremony.
There have been countless sporting heroes across 2024 – but that’s not what we’re concerned with here. Every good hero needs a villain.
And there are plenty of candidates who could win Daily Star Sport’s not-so-prestigious annual award, which shines a light on the year’s mishaps and misdemeanours.
However, when it comes to the biggest prize idiot in sport, there can only be one winner. So let’s look at the candidates who will follow in the footsteps of inaugural winner Matt Le Tissier, 2022 champ Gianni Infantino and 2023’s pick Luis Rubiales.
Kyle Walker
Oh, Kyle. Where do we even start?
It hasn’t been a Merry Christmas for the blue half of Manchester and Pep Guardiola’s struggling side – who have now won just two games in their last 14. For many, Walker has been the scapegoat thanks to his erratic defensive displays, even biting back at some fans on social media.
His form for England in the Euros wasn’t much to shout about either. However, what’s happening on the football pitch is only half of Walker’s problems. The Manchester City full-back was booted out of his house after fathering a second child with ex-mistress Lauryn Goodman, as his not-so-private life was plastered in the papers.
Annie Kilner called a Christmas truce with the love rat so he could spend the festive period with them, so at least the year ended on some sort of positive.
Joey Barton
Joey Barton is very much becoming Netherlands in the World Cup in the Bellen d’Or. Always the bridesmaid, never quite the bride.
In his one-man war against ‘woke’, the former Manchester City and Newcastle midfielder has fallen for photoshopped images of Greta Thunberg and called out the BBC almost every other day.
Add to that posting sexist taunts and finding out that some insults if used without any foundation whatsoever can prove very costly indeed (Jeremy Vine says hello), and it’s been another less than ideal year for Mr Barton.
Daily Star Sport didn’t make his live show in Eastleigh Football and Facts – alongside Ricky Lambert and Matt Le Tissier – which is a shame as it would have almost certainly added to this segment.
Sorry, Joey, this year isn’t quite your year… again.
Conor McGregor
While the rest of this list is jovial, there’s nothing funny about what landed Conor McGregor in our nominations.
Back in November, a jury found that the Irish UFC star had sexually assaulted Nikita Hand in a Dublin hotel in December 2018. He was ordered to pay her more than €248,000 (£206,000) in damages.
Speaking on the court steps, Nikita said her story was “a reminder that no matter how afraid you might be to speak up, you have a voice”. McGregor, meanwhile, still denies all wrongdoing – apart from cheating on his fiancee – and has since labelled his victim a “liar” and blasted the “kangaroo court”.
Jannik Sinner
Jannik Sinner, in June, became the No.1 ranked tennis player on the planet – it was the first time in his career he had managed the rare feat.
Two months later, however, he received an anti-doping sanction and was stripped of his money and points from the Indian Wells tournament in March due to testing positive for Clostebol, a banned anabolic steroid, but one that is legal and readily available over the counter in Italy.
Sinner’s physiotherapist used a spray containing Clostebol to treat a cut on his finger, then proceeded to administer massages to the tennis ace’s legs and feet without gloves, enabling trace amounts of Clostebol to enter Sinner’s system. It honestly sounds like a comedy sketch, but one that didn’t faze Sinner, as he went on to win the US Open.
He was cleared of any wrongdoing in August by an independent tribunal who determined he was not to blame. The World Anti-Doping Agency has appealed against the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, with a hearing likely to take place next year.
Leighton Bennett
The Luke Littler before Luke Littler.
In 2019, aged just 13-years-old, Leighton Bennett became the youngest-ever BDO youth champion. That same year, he beat darts legend Phil Taylor. So why are we all talking about Littler as the Paddy Power PDC World Darts Championship takes place?
Well, Bennett was slapped with an eight-year ban on the eve of the tournament following an investigation after the International Betting Integrity Association reported suspicious betting on four matches involving Bennett in the Modus Super Series in 2023.
The video, if you ever get the chance to see it, is almost comical. I’m not an expert in match-fixing, but Bennett could have made it a tad less obvious – he missed the board completely!
David Coote
A lot of non-Liverpool fans might have agreed with you, David Coote, if you just said you weren’t a fan of Jurgen Klopp. But reportedly calling him a “German c***” and being filmed saying it ranks up there with the biggest own goals we saw in 2024.
And that was just the start, as Coote’s career at the top slowly unravelled after videos emerged appearing to show him snorting white powder.
Coote has since been sacked by PGMOL, but he’s already eyeing up a new income, with recent reports suggesting he’s looking at getting into after-dinner speaking.
You do you, David.
Kevin Behrens
Germany international Kevin Behrens outed himself as, for lack of a better term, a massive k***.
Behrens told a fan he “won’t sign that kind of gay crap” when he was presented with a Wolfsburg fan’s rainbow jersey promoting diversity. The forward, who has one cap for Germany, later apologised and said his comments were “absolutely not acceptable”.
And well, Behrens, we can only agree – it was absolutely not acceptable.
Charlotte Dujardin
From hero to zero in a matter of weeks.
Charlotte Dujardin, the Olympian who you hear of once every four years and is always a banker for a gold medal, wasn’t in Paris this summer. Shocking footage of Dujardin whipping horses in training saw her snubbed for the Olympics and slapped with a one-year ban.
Dujardin said she’d “forever aim to do better” as the British public found their new golden girl in Charlotte Fry – who took bronze in both categories. Ouch.
Michael Beale
Michael Beale might have hoped we’d forgotten about him given his downfall all happened in February. No Michael. We have not.
Beale was sacked by Sunderland after just 63 days and 12 games – the shortest spell in the Black Cats’ history. One fan had even pitted him against the Daily Star’s lettuce that defeated Liz Truss.
And it would get even worse for the former boss very quickly. Bizarre claims emerged that he used a social media ‘burner account’ to defend his own decisions.
Raygun
Who else burst out laughing when Dr Rachael Gunn – an interdisciplinary and practice-based researcher interested in the cultural politics of breaking (a real job title) – rocked up to the Olympics?
Raygun, as she is better known, produced some sort of worm as she Kangaroo-hopped and whatever else she did into the hearts of fans in Paris. And sadly while she was mocked by viewers around the globe, she didn’t impress the judges, scoring just one point.
Raygun has managed to enter the Olympic Hall of Fame alongside Eddie the Eagle and Trevor the Tortoise (I know he was never at the Olympics, he purely serves the rule of three here).
And now, it’s time for your winner…
There were some valiant efforts to seize the quite-frankly prestigious crown this year but everyone above has fallen just short of glory. There can be only one winner, and what a deserving winner it is. So ladies and gentlemen, we give to you the 2025 Bellen d’Or champion.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe
Who else could it be?! The Glazers are still here and now, a billionaire tax exile at the helm of the INEOS empire is in charge of football matters at Manchester United. And hasn’t it gone well since Sir Jim bought a 27.7% stake in the fallen giants?
Honestly, this could be an 4,000-word long read in itself – then again, we’re not The Athletic. Where do you even start with the disaster that is United under Sir Jim?
It’s ranged from the baffling decision to hand struggling Erik ten Hag a contract extension only to sack him months later to the expensive recruitment of sporting director Dan Ashworth, only to….wait…checks notes…sack him months later, and firing legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson as a club ambassador to boot.
But that’s only half the story. Because the UK’s fourth richest man has launched a swathe of relentless cuts at Old Trafford, with fans likening him to Ebenezer Scrooge, the infamous Christmas crank from Charles Dickens’ novel A Christmas Carol.
Yes, the chemicals group chairman has slashed 250 people’s jobs at the club, removed FA Cup final benefits, cancelled a staff Christmas party, replaced workers’ festive bonuses with a £40 voucher from Marks & Spencer, increased ticket prices for fans and told them to lump it, and decided to cut the funding provided to the club’s own charity. Don’t even ask him what he thinks of the club’s women’s team.
And while the behind-the-scenes circus tends to dominate headlines, it only gets worse on the pitch. United are 14th, yes, fourteenth in the table. There are murmurs the Red Devils are now in a relegation battle – well, not murmurs, but the words of their own new manager, Ruben Amorim, appointed by you know who.
It’s for these reasons Sir Jim is our 2024 winner – so whenever you’re ready, come and collect your prize.