Newcastle United FC owner Mike Ashley appeared to put two fingers up to club supporters who confronted him outside of a restaurant on October 3.Ashley took the club’s playing and coaching staff, including manager Rafa Benitez, to dinner in Ponteland, just north of Newcastle, in an effort to clear the air after a summer of tension between Ashley and staff, local media report.Fans gathered outside of the restaurant and chanted “we want Ash to go” as Ashley entered the restaurant. The chants continued as he exited the building, with footage appearing to show Ashley sticking two fingers up at fans from the back of a car.The man who filmed the footage told local media that the gesture was “deliberate,” also stating that Ashley was “giving me the v’s” in a tweet.A spokesman for Ashley denied he made any such gesture though, saying: “Mike did not give a V sign to fans. It is obvious from the accompanying photos that he is smiling and enjoying the evening. Anybody who saw Match of the Day at the weekend will also be aware that Mike is actually very respectful in his reactions to fans.”A clip of the incident had earned over 124,000 views at the time of writing. Credit: @Markob27 via Storyful
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