Behind the passion of sports fans, there lies a dark side that not everyone is aware of, especially in soccer. Supporters often take offense at the smallest actions of players or teams, to the extent that it can become a matter of life and death. Such was the case for former Wrexham star Sean Newton, who once received a death threat from rival fans.

The current Ashton United player-manager was the latest guest to be invited to the ‘I Had Trials Once’ podcast. In the lengthy conversation, the host asked Newton about the atmosphere between Wrexham and Chester fans. This led the left-back to make an interesting revelation: despite having kick-started his career at Chester City, he once expressed his desire to one day play for Wrexham during his stay with the Seals. Fast forward to 2015, and Newton signed for the Red Dragons, a move that had a risk on his life.

“We played Chester [One day]. Mate, I got death threats. I felt it, don’t know who it was. He had sunglasses on. I promise you, he had a balaclava around his mouth and he had a knife. And it was, ‘If I see you outside the stadium, this [knife] is going in you,'” narrated the defender. Notably, Wrexham and Chester apparently have a long history, as every other club does. In fact, to make matters worse for his former youth side, he somehow helped the Welsh club clinch an emphatic 3-0 win, which further intensified tensions among the crowd.

However, thanks to the police force and the stadium escorts, not a scratch came on Newton, as the hatred among fans also subsided. While this is indeed a shocking revelation, here’s a mood-lightening story from the former Red’s star himself.

The former Wrexham manager used to take players to the pub for ‘bonding well’

In a similar segment, Sean Newton spilled the beans on an interesting drinking culture that his then-Wrexham manager Gary Mills implemented. The boss used to take everyone to a pub near his home in Nottingham before playing away games. “He used to do it for team bonding. No matter where we were playing, we’d always go to Nottingham first. We’d go there and play skittles,” said Newton.

Newton, who was appointed as skipper by Mills under his charge in 2015, revealed that everyone used to play bets, while a few used to throw darts and have beers. “You’d go and train around the corner on the pitches, and you’d be in the pub from one o’clock until about seven,” added the former York City star. Be that as it may, while the current Wrexham surprises with their on-pitch antics, the old version leaves us startled with never-heard-before tales.