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81-624: Kindred Group (formerly Unibet Group Plc ) is an online gambling operator which consists of nine brands, among them Unibet , Maria Casino, Vlad Cazino and 32Red . The Group offer products such as online casino , online poker , online bingo , and sports betting . The company is registered in Malta, but also has major hub offices in Gibraltar, London, Stockholm and the US in addition to smaller satellite offices across Europe and Australia. Kindred Group

162-410: A 10-year deal. Middlesbrough Football Club helped with the "Save Our Steel" campaign by hosting dozens of steel workers and their families as they marched around the ground, promoted the campaign via the stadium's PA system, scoreboards and in matchday programmes , while players wore T-shirts during warm-ups promoting the campaign. Chairman Steve Gibson said: "Middlesbrough Football Club exists for

243-497: A 12-game unbeaten run midway through 1998–99 , including a 3–2 win at Old Trafford in January during which they took a 3–0 lead; it was Manchester United's only home defeat during their treble -winning season . Middlesbrough continued to stay secure in mid-table the following season, thanks mainly to the goals of Hamilton Ricard and the signings of prominent players such as Paul Ince and Christian Ziege . In 2000–01 , they had

324-462: A 17% increase on the previous season. Middlesbrough's mascot is Roary the Lion. The club runs Roary's Children's Charity Fund, which purchases items for local children's charities. In 2009, steel producer Corus Group announced the possibility that it would mothball its Teesside plant, with up to 4,000 employees and contractors facing redundancy, after a consortium of steel magnates walked away from

405-497: A Black player for the first time, Jamaican-born Lindy Delapenha making his debut in an away game against Fulham on that date. In total he went on to make 270 appearances, scoring 92 goals, before he felt for Mansfield Town after the 1957/58 season. Over that period, Middlesbrough maintained reasonable progress in the Second Division, but were never serious contenders for promotion. After a fourth-place finish in 1962–63 ,

486-618: A Combined Continuation Remote Operating License (number 000-045322-R-324275-001) from the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC). Unibet was originally founded in 1997 by Anders Ström, with the company initially operating out of Ström's home in Earl's Court, London. It secured a license to operate a betting business and from 1998, Unibet began taking bets over the phone. The following year, Unibet launched their first ever online betting website. It later became Unibet Group PLC, Pontus Lesse

567-502: A badge of pride by supporters of the club. An example of this can be seen on the banners carried to away games stating "Smoggies on Tour". Middlesbrough fans received praise from UEFA Chief Executive Lars-Christer Olsson after their behaviour during the 2005–06 UEFA Cup campaign. He commented that: You have the satisfaction of knowing that, although your team did not win the game, your supporters present in Eindhoven proved to

648-492: A brief relegation scare that was solved with the arrival of Terry Venables as co-manager, and a 3–0 win away at Arsenal in April was the team's best result. The trend of buying high profile European-based players continued with the acquisitions of Christian Karembeu and Alen Bokšić . Bryan Robson left the club before the start of 2001–02 season , having served as manager for seven years. After Venables decided not to take on

729-522: A deal with Thunderkick, making them one of the first brands to support Thunderkick games. On 19 May 2014, shareholders of Unibet approved the proposed spin-off of its B2B subsidiary Kambi Group Plc. The company's 95 per cent stake in the business was subsequently distributed to Unibet shareholders. The Kambi Group Plc share started trading on the NASDAQ OMX Stockholm First North on 2 June 2014. The share closed at SEK 34 on

810-542: A deduction of three points imposed just after Christmas as punishment for the club's failure to fulfil a fixture against Blackburn Rovers , which ultimately resulted in relegation. Without the points deduction imposed by the FA Premier League despite the club having taken advice from the Premier League themselves prior to calling off the match, the club would have had enough points to avoid the drop. At

891-518: A five-year deal in 2013. At its end, 32Red became the sponsors. Early in Ramsdens' sponsorship in March 2011, the company ceded its advertising space to Marie Curie Cancer Care for two games. Italian manufacturers Erreà made Middlesbrough's kits from 1994 to 2009, when the role was taken up by Adidas , who had previously made the kits from 1979 to 1983. Danish company Hummel , which had made

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972-450: A former assistant coach at Real Madrid to José Mourinho , became the new Middlesbrough manager. He became the first non-British manager at the club, and led Boro to a 12th-place finish. In Karanka's first full season in charge, Middlesbrough finished fourth and thus qualified for the 2015 Football League play-offs . After defeating Brentford 5–1 on aggregate in the semi-final, the club lost 2–0 to Norwich City at Wembley Stadium in

1053-695: A late goal in a 1–0 loss to West Ham at Villa Park . The club also reached the 2006 UEFA Cup final following two miraculous last minute comebacks from 3–0 down on aggregate in the quarter and semi finals against FC Basel and Steaua Bucharest respectively, however ultimately fell short losing 4–0 to Sevilla in the final in Eindhoven . McClaren's teams featured local youth players such as Stewart Downing , Adam Johnson and James Morrison as well as experienced international players such as forward trio Yakubu , Mark Viduka and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink , and midfielder Gaizka Mendieta . Middlesbrough fielded

1134-742: A live betting operator in 2009 by PCM magazine “eGaming Overview.” Sportsbook Operator of the Year - IGA Awards 2014. Followed by a few months later Unibet conquers Best Poker Marketing Campaign - EGR Awards 2014. On February 16, 2022, the Danish Gambling Authority (DGA) ordered Unibet (Denmark) Limited to update its risk assessment policies. According to the regulator, until 25 January 2022, Unibet did not have "sufficient written business procedures for ongoing monitoring of existing customer relations". A number of breaches were found when inspecting Unibet’s AML policies, including breaking

1215-455: A new stadium. The club decided on the latter, and moved out at the end of the 1994–95 season. Ayresome Park was used as a training ground during 1995–96, before it was demolished in 1997 and a housing estate built in its place. Since the 1990s, the club trains at a £7 million complex at Rockliffe Park , in Hurworth , on the outskirts of Darlington . The Riverside Stadium , named by

1296-792: A number of legal appeals in Norway in response which have all been rejected by Norway's supreme court. Despite the threats of heavy fines Kindred refused to stop operations in Norway. In August 2022, the Canadian Alcohol and Gaming Commission levied a CAD$ 48k penalty on Unibet for alleged infractions of the Registrar’s Standards for Internet Gaming (the Standards), pertaining to advertising and inducements. Middlesbrough F.C. Middlesbrough Football Club ( / ˈ m ɪ d əl z b r ə / MID -əlz-brə )

1377-543: A number of other acquisitions by the company, including most notably those of Betchoice in Australia and of Stan James Online. In order to better support their new multi-brand strategy, Unibet Group Plc became the Kindred Group in 2016. Since that time, the company have passed one million registered customers and launched a range of further betting and gambling brands around the world. In the middle of November 2019,

1458-470: A partnership with Swedish electronic identification service, BankID , as the first gambling operator to utilise the bank developed solution at its Unibet and Maria Casino brands. Unibet continued on their acquisition trail in July 2015 with the purchase of StanJames.com (online business). The price paid was believed to be £19 million in cash, adjusted for any customer liabilities. The deal did not include any of

1539-752: A partnership with the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City , marking the company's first entrance to the United States sports betting market by entering the New Jersey sports betting market. On 28 January 2019 Kindred Group formed a partnership with the Mohegan Sun Pocono casino near Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania to enter the Pennsylvania sports betting market. Unibet The Kindred Group, and by extension Unibet,

1620-552: A second-tier side directly relegated a first tier side through the English Football League play-offs . The next season however, they came straight back down to Division Two, and with it came the then British transfer record move of Gary Pallister to Manchester United for £2.3 million. Following promotion again, Middlesbrough became one of the founding members of the FA Premier League when it

1701-821: Is a professional association football club based in Middlesbrough , North Yorkshire. They compete in the EFL Championship , the second level of the English football league system . Nicknamed the Boro, they were formed in 1876 and are the 11th oldest football league club in England and Wales. The club have played at the Riverside Stadium since 1995, having previously played at Ayresome Park for 92 years, from 1903 to 1995. Middlesbrough were one of

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1782-565: Is a publicly listed company on the Stockholm Stock Exchange (Nasdaq). In 2017, the company's revenue was GBP 751.4 million. In 2011 Unibet was awarded one of 48 licenses for the newly re-regulated Danish market. In 2012 Unibet acquired Bet24, a Danish online bookmaker. On 3 December 2013 Unibet announced that it was moving its poker operation away from the MPN network to offer a standalone poker site. In April 2014 Unibet signed

1863-570: Is headquartered in Malta. This arrangement allows Unibet to be licensed, through Platinum Gaming Limited, by the Government of Gibraltar (under Licence numbers RGL 091 & RGL 092) and regulated by the Gibraltar Gambling Commissioner for the purposes of serving customers around Europe. In order to legally offer online gambling services to UK based customers Platinum Gaming Limited – and therefore Unibet – also hold

1944-469: Is the 16th highest of all the clubs in England and Wales. Traditionally, supporters come from Middlesbrough itself and towns in the immediate area. As of May 2001, Middlesbrough had one of the highest proportions in Britain of locally-born season ticket holders at 80%, and one of the highest proportions of female fans at 20%. A survey at the start of the 2007–08 season found Middlesbrough supporters were

2025-651: Is the only major professional football club in the greater Teesside area (the 14th biggest urban area in England), the Tees Valley , and the county of North Yorkshire (the largest county in England by area ). The club has regional rivalries with the two closest major clubs, Newcastle United (the Tyne–Tees derby ) and Sunderland (the Tees–Wear derby ). The club's traditional kit is red with white detailing, often in

2106-566: The 1986-87 and 1987-88 seasons. The club were runners-up in the FA Cup and League Cup in 1997 while also being relegated following a controversial 3-point deduction, and losing another League Cup final the following season. Under Steve McClaren , the club won the League Cup in 2004 , its first major silverware, and reached the 2006 UEFA Cup final . The club has played one Premier League season since relegation in 2009. Middlesbrough

2187-686: The First Division , where they would remain for the next 22 years . In 1903, the club moved to Ayresome Park , their home for the next 92 years . In 1905, the club sanctioned the transfer of Alf Common for £ 1,000, a record fee. In the same year, Tim Williamson became the first Middlesbrough player to play international football. Over these early years in the top flight, their form fluctuated greatly, rising to sixth in 1907–08 before dropping to 17th two seasons later. The club rose to their highest league finish to date, third, in 1913–14 . The First World War soon intervened, and football

2268-478: The Second World War saw the emergence of Wilf Mannion and George Hardwick , both of whom would go on to become England internationals in the years ahead. Middlesbrough climbed to fourth in the last full season before the war, and were expected to challenge for the title the following season, but the war intervened. After the war, the club was unable to recover the form of the previous seasons before

2349-463: The Tyne–Tees derby ), followed by Sunderland (with whom they contest the Tees–Wear derby ), and also, according to a planetfootball.com's 2004 survey, Leeds United . The nickname Smoggies was first used as a derogatory term by opposing supporters; it relates to the industrial air pollution – smog – that used to hang over the town, but it was later used by Middlesbrough fans in a somewhat self-deprecating manner, before finally being adopted as

2430-408: The final . The following 2015/16 season ended in dramatic fashion. The final match of the ordinary season was a head to head between 2nd placed Boro and 3rd placed Brighton & Hove Albion at The Riverside. Boro required 1 point from the match to finish above Brighton in second place and secure automatic promotion. After taking a first half lead, they were pegged back, but ultimately held on for

2511-403: The following season , Pulis looked to secure the play-offs once again, but a poor finish to the season caused them to finish 7th and miss out on the play-offs by one point. When Pulis's contract was not extended, he was replaced by former Middlesbrough defender and first team coach, Jonathan Woodgate on 14 June 2019 on a three-year contract. Woodgate was sacked with the club only outside of

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2592-495: The Championship, and replaced him with Gordon Strachan . At the time of Southgate's dismissal, Boro were fourth in the Championship but their form under Strachan declined and they finished mid-table. On 18 October 2010, Strachan resigned and was later replaced by Tony Mowbray . Following a poor run of form at the start of the 2013–14 campaign , Mowbray left the club with immediate effect on 21 October. Aitor Karanka ,

2673-572: The Foundation has delivered 20,000 qualifications, engaged over 500,000 people and invested £25 million in local communities to tackle inequality and disadvantage. Since 2002, the club and MFCIC have also run the Middlesbrough Enterprise Academy, a scheme which helps local children improve their entrepreneurial skills and increase their awareness of business planning and finance. In March 2008, plans were announced by

2754-506: The Kindred Group went live with Unibet in Pennsylvania (PA). Unibet sponsors a wide range of major sports teams and events, including partnerships with Middlesbrough FC , Philadelphia Eagles , Pittsburgh Steelers, Glasgow Rangers, Club Brugge, FC Copenhagen, Sydney Roosters, AFC Ajax , and five-time World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen . Unibet has been awarded as the best sports betting operator in 2006, 2008 and 2009, as well as

2835-651: The Moon , formed in September 1988 following Bruce Rioch 's quote to Tony Mowbray , stating "If I had to go to the moon I'd want him by my side". Middlesbrough Football Club in the Community (MFCIC) was founded in 1996 by club chairman Steve Gibson and is one of the largest community-based football schemes in the United Kingdom. It is run separately from the football club, but receives support from both

2916-412: The Premier League board to continue after receiving special dispensation. Southgate led the club to a 12th-placed finish and an FA Cup quarter final in his first season as manager. In the subsequent 2007-2008 season , Middlesbrough again made the FA Cup quarter final , but despite being 2nd favourites to win the cup ahead of their quarter final home tie to Championship Cardiff City , Middlesbrough lost

2997-517: The Premier League to roll out the scheme nationally amongst all Premier League clubs. It was announced in December 2007 that Middlesbrough football club had carried out more community work during 2006–07 than any other Premier League club, rising from second place the previous year, with the club making 318 appearances – almost twice the Premier League average of 162. They were in the top two for community appearances again in 2007–08, with 374 –

3078-719: The Riverside Stadium have taken place. At the start of the 2013–14 season, away fans were moved from behind the goal in the South stand to the South East corner, while home fans were situated behind both goals to help create a better atmosphere inside the stadium. A giant TV screen was also installed at the back of the South-East corner, replacing the older style scoreboards attached to the North and South stand roofs. For

3159-842: The Stan James high street retail shops, which have been rebranded as Megabet. In December 2016, shareholders at Unibet agreed to change the name of the business to Kindred Group Plc. The change was supposedly "due to the company's focus on developing a multi-brand strategy moving forward". The newly named Kindred Group Plc continued their acquisition strategy in February 2017, snapping up the Gibraltar-based online gaming business 32Red Plc . In April 2018, Kindred Group launched an online gambling ad blocker tool so customers who choose to exclude themselves will be safe from gambling advertisements. In August 2018, Kindred Group announced

3240-572: The Third Division again. That summer, the club called in the Provisional Liquidator , and, shortly afterwards, the club was wound up and the gates to Ayresome Park were padlocked. Without the £350,000 capital required for Football League registration, a new rule, the club risked folding permanently. Steve Gibson , however, a member of the board at the time, brought together a consortium, and with 10 minutes to spare before

3321-541: The club endured a steady decline and were relegated to the Third Division for the first time in their history in 1966. New manager Stan Anderson returned the club to the second flight at the first attempt. Middlesbrough would not finish below ninth during the next six seasons in the Second Division, finishing 4th (just outside the top three promotion winning places at the time) on three of those occasions. In 1973, Jack Charlton took over as manager and guided

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3402-418: The club in terms of providing players, staff, stadium facilities and PR for articles in the matchday programme and other publications, as well as support from other local organisations. In 2012, MFCIC was relaunched as MFC Foundation. The Foundation aims to use the club's profile to deliver sport, health, education and inclusion projects in vulnerable and disadvantaged communities across Teesside. Since 1996,

3483-420: The club were high, having spent close to £50 million in the transfer window on player purchases, in order to mount an immediate promotion challenge back to the Premier League. Monk left in December, with Middlesbrough ninth in the Championship, and Tony Pulis was appointed as his replacement. Pulis led the side to finish 5th in the table, however, they lost in the play-off semi-finals to Aston Villa. In

3564-465: The club would allow fans to decide via an online and text vote whether the white band should return for the following season . On 8 January 2008, the club announced that, with 77.4% of voters voting in its favour, the white band would return to the home kit, and that fans would choose the final shirt appearance from a selection of three designs, of which the winner was announced on 7 May 2008. The Middlesbrough crest has gone through four changes since

3645-608: The club's first ever major cup final appearance in 1997, a full year ahead of Manchester United's MUTV, which still claims to be the first in the world. The channel was the brainchild of then NTL marketing director, Peter Wilcock. The programme became synonymous with former Middlesbrough player Bernie Slaven and radio commentator Alastair Brownlee, who proved to be as popular on TV as they were on radio. Its programmes were not live initially but were pre-recorded and hosted by local radio/TV broadcaster & Boro fan, Dave Roberts . In August 2001, Boro TV claimed another first when it became

3726-516: The club's first international signing, with Boško Janković arriving from Željezničar Sarajevo . The club experienced severe financial difficulties during the mid-1980s. Middlesbrough were dropping down the table, and finished 19th in the 1984–85 season . In April 1986, the club had to borrow £30,000 from the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) to pay wages. The final game of the season saw Middlesbrough relegated to

3807-483: The deadline they completed their registration with the Football League for the 1986–87 season . Following the registration came both a change of club crest and a change of the official company name to Middlesbrough Football and Athletic Club (1986) Ltd. Over the next two seasons, Middlesbrough gained successive promotions into Division Two and then into Division One, the latter being the first and only time

3888-415: The draw, securing promotion back to the Premier League. Middlesbrough sacked Karanka in March 2017 following a poor run of form, and the team were relegated in 19th place, after just one season back in the top flight. The team won only 5 league games, and scored 27 goals, the lowest in the league. The club appointed former Leeds United manager Garry Monk as manager in the off-season. Expectations at

3969-465: The final game of the season. The match concluded with a dramatic last minute late penalty save by goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer which saw Middlesbrough finish above City in 7th place and qualify for Europe again. Middlesbrough enjoyed one of its most successful cup campaigns to date in the 2005-2006 season . Domestically the club reached the League Cup quarter final and the FA Cup semi final, losing out to

4050-479: The first English football club to broadcast time-delayed full-match footage of their league games on its own channel. Boro TV ran through NTL cable television until July 2005. The club then began to show match highlights through a subscription-based scheme on its official website. Middlesbrough's official matchday programme , Redsquare , was Programme Monthly's 2006–07 Programme of the Year. There are numerous other fanzines available, most notably Fly Me to

4131-486: The first day of trading, giving the company a market valuation of SEK 1,011,200,700. Unibet purchased Bingo.com Ltd.’s www.bingo.com domain and its real money online gambling business for a total of $ 8 million effective 31 December 2014. Unibet paid $ 2 million in cash and the remaining balance was paid with the redemption of its 15,000,000 in common shares in Bingo.com at $ 0.40 per share. On 14 November 2016, Unibet announced

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4212-471: The first division Bob Paisley , manager of eventual runners up Liverpool, tipped Middlesbrough as favourites to win the league, however they ultimately fell short finishing seventh. Middlesbrough won their first silverware as a professional side in the 1975–76 season , lifting the Anglo-Scottish Cup in its inaugural season after a two-legged final win over Fulham . In 1979, John Neal made

4293-404: The first leg, Middlesbrough would lose 6–2 on aggregate. Middlesbrough's original home kit upon election to the Football League in 1899 was a white home shirt with red shorts, and they did not adopt their colours of blue and white until later that season. Previous kits included a white shirt with a red and white polka dotted collar from around 1889. The Middlesbrough kit has remained broadly

4374-626: The form of a white chest band. The home shorts and sock colours have interchangeably been shifted between red and white, complementing the red shirt that was adopted in 1899. The various crests throughout the club's history, the most recent of which was adopted in 2007, incorporate a lion rampant. Middlesbrough were formed in 1876, and won the FA Amateur Cup in 1895 and again in 1898. The club turned professional in 1889, but reverted to amateur status in 1892. They turned professional permanently in 1899. After three seasons, they won promotion to

4455-408: The formation of the club. Initially, the badge was simply the town of Middlesbrough's crest with a red lion instead of a blue lion in order to fit in with the club's colours. Following the adoption of the white band on the shirts in 1973, only the red lion remained with the letters "M.F.C" underneath in red. This was further adapted following the reformation of the club in 1986 to a circular crest with

4536-543: The former Middlesbrough College longlands site, after agreeing to rent the land from its owner. However, two years later in 1880, the owner increased the rent and the club decided to move. They moved into the Linthorpe Road ground in 1882, home at the time of Middlesbrough Cricket Club . The cricket club departed in 1893–94 to move to the Breckon Hill field, and Middlesbrough Football Club became sole users of

4617-539: The founding members of the Premier League in 1992, and have spent all but two seasons of their entire history as a professional club competing within the top two tiers of English football. Their highest league finish to date was third place in the top flight in the 1913–14 season . The outbreak of the First World War stunted their push for a first top division title, though the club pushed again during

4698-463: The ground. With the club's growing size, and entry to the Football League , they had to move to a new ground in 1903, Ayresome Park . It was designed by Archibald Leitch and would be the club's home for the next 92 years, having also been chosen as one of the stadia for the 1966 FIFA World Cup . Following the Taylor Report in 1990, the ground either needed modernising or the club needed

4779-465: The inter-war years, finishing fourth in the 1938–39 season before the Second World War halted the English leagues and again prevented a push for a first title. The club came within minutes of folding in 1986 before they were saved by a consortium led by board member and later chairman Steve Gibson . A remarkable recovery saw the club immediately earn back to back promotions to the top division in

4860-577: The kits from 1984 to 1987 during the club's winding up and rebirth, secured the contract again in 2018. Erreà returned in 2022. After formation in 1876, and with the club still amateurs, Middlesbrough's first two years of football were played at Albert Park in Middlesbrough. After seeing the damage being caused by players and supporters, the Park Committee ordered the club to find an alternate venue. The club moved to Breckon Hill, behind

4941-550: The league, but much more significantly win a first major trophy by beating Bolton Wanderers 2–1 in the League Cup final . The League Cup win also ensured that Middlesbrough would qualify for Europe – the UEFA Cup – for the first time – the following season, where they reached the last 16 of the competition . UEFA Cup qualification was achieved for the second consecutive year after a 1–1 away draw with Manchester City on

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5022-460: The lion in the middle and the words "Middlesbrough Football Club 1986" around the circle in order to reflect this new era. In 2007, Middlesbrough changed their crest again, this time with the lion inside a shield and the words "Middlesbrough Football Club 1876" underneath. The club's chairman Steve Gibson stated that the intention was to reflect the club's long history and not just their post-liquidation status. Middlesbrough's first sponsor in 1980

5103-488: The previous season, finished with a record 59 league goals, which included nine hat-tricks. He would continue as top scorer for each of the next 10 seasons. Middlesbrough's tenure back in the top flight lasted only one season, and the club were relegated. They were promoted at the first attempt in 1928–29 , winning another Second Division title. The club remained in the First Division until 1954. The decade before

5184-423: The relegation zone on goal difference with eight games left of the 2019–20 season, and Neil Warnock was appointed as his replacement on the same day. Warnock ensured survival from relegation, securing safety on the final day of the season and a 17th-place finish. On 6 November 2021, Middlesbrough parted company with Warnock, who was replaced by Chris Wilder the following day. After 11 months in charge, Wilder

5265-466: The role of full time manager, in June 2001 Manchester United assistant coach Steve McClaren was appointed to replace Robson. In his first season, McClaren led Middlesbrough to a respectable 12th place league finish and an FA Cup semi final, narrowly losing 1–0 to Arsenal. A slight improvement in the league saw the club finish 11th the following season. The 2003–04 season saw the club again finish 11th in

5346-531: The rules relating to business procedures, know your customer (KYC) measures, as well as rules regarding its obligation to investigate and report on players. At the same time, Norwegian regulator Lottstift warned Trannel International Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Kindred Group, that it would sanction the operator with financial penalties of NOK 1.2 million (€120,000) daily if it did not stop its illegal gambling activity in Norway. Trannel had received similar warnings back in April 2019 and Kindred have already made

5427-453: The same since 1899; a red shirt with white detailing, with shorts and socks of either red or white. The distinctive broad white stripe across the chest was introduced by Jack Charlton in 1973 (following an attempt to change the home shirt to a Leeds United-style white shirt), and brought back for a one-off in 1997–98, and, then again, for the 2000–01 and 2004–05 seasons due to popular demand. The club subsequently announced in December 2007 that

5508-485: The same time, the club reached both the League and FA Cup finals for the first time, but lost both games. Despite being in the second tier, they were again runners-up in the League Cup final the next year . Despite losing high-profile players Ravanelli and Juninho due to relegation, Middlesbrough were promoted back to the Premier League at the first attempt, in 1998. The following season saw them settle well and they had

5589-645: The seventh-loudest set of fans in the Premier League. Middlesbrough Official Supporters Club, which features its own team in the local football league, has links with supporters' clubs across the globe. The largest supporters' clubs include the Official Supporters' Club, the Middlesbrough Disabled Supporters' Association, Yarm Reds, Red Faction and Middlesbrough Supporters South. For Middlesbrough supporters, their main rivals are Newcastle United (with whom they contest

5670-607: The start of the 2016–17 season (and a return to the Premier League), the club had to improve the stadium's broadcasting facilities and floodlighting in order to meet Premier League requirements. The club also took this opportunity to move the main camera gantry to the back of the East stand, so that it faced the main West stand. As of the 2017–18 season, the stadium capacity is 34,742. Middlesbrough's average historic attendance

5751-536: The supporters of the club after a vote, became the club's home in 1995. It was the first stadium to be built in line with the Taylor Report's recommendations on all-seater stadiums for clubs in the top two divisions of the English football league system . It was originally a 30,000-seater stadium, constructed at a cost of £16 million, before it was expanded in 1998 to a capacity of 35,100 for an extra £5 million. Since then, several reorganisations of

5832-401: The team back to the top flight. A team led on the pitch by Willie Maddren and Bobby Murdoch , and including a young Graeme Souness , ensured promotion as early as 23 March 1974, and with eight games of the season left, they became runaway champions, finishing with a league record 65 points (based on the 2 points for a win format). After a very promising start to their first campaign back in

5913-568: The tie and eventually finished 13th in the league, beating Manchester City 8–1 on the final day. In January 2008, the club broke its record transfer fee, paying £13.6 million for Brazilian international striker Afonso Alves . The club was relegated to the Championship at the end of the 2008–09 season in 19th place. Middlesbrough sacked Gareth Southgate as manager in October 2009, when Southgate's team were one point from leading

5994-438: The war, hovering around mid-table and exiting in the early rounds of the FA Cup . Soon after the war, the team began to falter, and were relegated in 1953–54 . This was the start of a 20-year spell outside the top division, but this was the spell too that saw the emergence of one of the club's top goalscorers, Brian Clough , who scored 204 goals in 222 games, before he left for Sunderland . On 6 May 1950 they were represented by

6075-409: The world that football fans can turn a match into a friendly, violence-free celebration. Middlesbrough fans also received praise from Cleveland Police for their behaviour in previous rounds, particularly in the light of aggravation prior to and during the match at Roma . Middlesbrough was the first football club in the world to launch its own TV channel – Boro TV. The first broadcasts were tied to

6156-593: The youngest starting 11 (average age 20) in the final Premier League game in the 2005–06 season , against Fulham . Nine players were teenagers – all English – and two more came on as substitutes. Following the European Cup final loss, McClaren left to manage the England national team , and captain Gareth Southgate took over as manager. Despite not having the coaching qualifications, he was allowed by

6237-496: Was Datsun Cleveland on a two-year deal. Further two-year deals continued until Dickens was the sponsor for the 1994–95 season only. From 1995 to 2002, the club was sponsored by mobile phone service Cellnet , followed by two years with mobile retailer Dial-a-Phone . Online casino 888.com (2004–07) and satellite navigation company Garmin (2007–10) followed. In 2010–11, the club had several temporary sponsors including pawnbrokers Ramsdens, who then became permanent sponsors and signed

6318-520: Was appointed as the new CEO and the company were granted their first international gambling license in Malta. Over the next few years, Unibet Group PLC expanded quickly. Its Unibet website diversified to support 12 different languages and by 2004, the company had over 300,000 registered customers in more than 100 countries. It was also in that year that the company was first listed on the Swedish Stock Exchange. The following years saw

6399-487: Was launched in the 1992–93 season . Player-manager Bryan Robson , from Manchester United, took charge in 1994. Following promotion to the Premier League Middlesbrough made high-profile purchases like Brazilian international Juninho and previous season's Champions League final goalscorer and Italian international Fabrizio Ravanelli . A difficult 1996–97 season , however, was compounded by

6480-452: Was sacked with the club in 22nd position. Former Manchester United midfielder Michael Carrick was appointed as his successor and led Boro to a fourth-place finish, but lost in the play-off semi-finals against Coventry City. On 26 May 2023, the club officially became affiliated with the women's team. In the 2023–24 season, Middlesbrough reached the semi-finals of the League Cup for the first time since 2004. Despite defeating Chelsea in

6561-662: Was suspended. Before league football resumed, Middlesbrough won the Northern Victory League, but the team were unable to maintain their previous form and finished the 1919–20 season in mid-table. They remained in the First Division for the next few seasons, but were relegated in 1923–24 after finishing bottom, 10 points adrift of their nearest rivals. Three seasons later, they won the Division Two title. During that season, debutant George Camsell , who had signed from Third Division North side Durham City

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