Wenger in Sports Illustrated

[bdm36]

Hello,

Arsene Wenger appears in this week's Sports Illustrated (the Sportsman of the Year issue), in an insert called The Honor Roll ("A Salute to four athletes, two teams and one manager for acts of character -- on and off the field"). There is a blurb about his request to replay the 1999 FA Cup match v Sheffield United, because of the kicking-it-out-of-bounds business.

I knew about this incident, but I wasn't following Arsenal at that point. I would enjoy hearing some recollections of that event.

It's basically an advertising insert for an insurance company, but it's worth asking why they dug up this story from 1999 to fill three column inches.

I'll type up the blurb later, unless someone can find it on the si.com website. I can't.

[pookspur]

arsenal won a cup match, away to sheffield united, by one goal. the goal in question occured when, following united's playing the ball into touch when a player went down injured, arsenal, rather than playing the ball back to united, immediately attacked and scored against an unsuspecting blades' defense. i believe the 'culprits', if you will, were overmars and kanu.

needless to say, though the goal was scored 100% within the rules of the game, it was a clear violation of a longstanding precedent of sportsmanship. though arsenal went on to win the match, wenger sportingly offered sheffield united a rematch, which arsenal went on to win at highbury.

cue cudos for wenger's sporting forfeiture of a legally acquired result.



if any of my memories are off on this one, someone please correct them.

[DoctorK]

It was cool, this morning walking into class one of my students who'd only heard of Arsenal from my bragging and scarf wearing, asked if I'd seen this blurb in SI. It gave me the chance to go off to those assembled on how we're not just technically and physically, but also morally superior to all other sports teams in the world. :D

[bdm36]

From the SI insert:

"Soccer has a long-standing tradition: If a player goes down injured, the opposing team kicks the ball out-of-bounds to allow for medical attention. When play resumes, the team with the injured player inbounds the ball back to the opposing team. That unwritten rule was broken on Feb. 13, 1999, in an FA Cup match between Arsenal and Sheffield United in London. With the score knotted at 1, a Sheffield player was injured and the ball was promptly cleared out. At the restart Arsenal's Ray Parlour tried to honor the tradition by tossing the ball to Sheffield, but Nwankwo Kanu, in his Arsenal debut, stole the ball and passed to a teammate, who scored as the Sheffield players stood in shock. The referee let the goal stand, and the match ended in a 2-1 Arsenal win.

The outcome did not satisfy Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger. "We feel that we didn't win the game like we want to win our games," he said. Wenger asked the Football Association to play the game again. It was the first time in 127 years of the FA Cup that a replay was ordered. Eleven days later Arsenal won again, 2-1."

I'll type up the blurb later.

My vague memory is that Kanu really didn't know what was going on, but this paragraph makes him the bad guy.

I wonder if Wenger feels that we didn't draw the game yesterday like we want to draw our games. ;)

[Stag133]

That match was at HIGHBURY, not away...
I was there!

Kanu seemed to know what he was doing, he just didn't know it was "wrong" to do it...

It was the strangest thing I've ever seen following the goal... Sheffield just stood there at the center of the pitch... not playing the ball at all... for about 1 minute... they finally kicked the ball at Arsenal... and stood there. I thought we would score in our own net to even it, but we didn't.

[Bluto11]

That match was at HIGHBURY, not away...
I was there!

Kanu seemed to know what he was doing, he just didn't know it was "wrong" to do it...

It was the strangest thing I've ever seen following the goal... Sheffield just stood there at the center of the pitch... not playing the ball at all... for about 1 minute... they finally kicked the ball at Arsenal... and stood there. I thought we would score in our own net to even it, but we didn't.
i think the gaffer at Yeovil Town had his team put the ball in their own net during a match where a "controversial" goal was scored. I don't know if it was the same situation (ball out for injury, someone steals and scores off the throw in) I think it was that a player hoofed the ball up field to give it back to the other team after it was played out and it ended up going in the goal after bouncing around a bit.

[surfcam]

i think the gaffer at Yeovil Town had his team put the ball in their own net during a match where a "controversial" goal was scored. I don't know if it was the same situation (ball out for injury, someone steals and scores off the throw in) I think it was that a player hoofed the ball up field to give it back to the other team after it was played out and it ended up going in the goal after bouncing around a bit.

I think it was that the players stood still and let the other team score to even things out. Someone posted a video clip of it ages ago.

[AfrcnHrbMan]

I vaguely remember that happening. What i dont understand was on what legal grounds Wenger had to petition the FA. Will the FA just let you replay any match if both managers agree to it??

[Bluto11]

I think it was that the players stood still and let the other team score to even things out. Someone posted a video clip of it ages ago.
gotcha. i thought it was either they put it in their own net, or they let the other team score to even it up

[SubtleBlade]

I was at the match in question, and the replayed version, both at Highbury; so Aresnal at home, not away. I remember vividly exactly what happened and had a clear view from the clock-end directly behind and above Seaman's (the Arsenal 'keeper) goal. As you might be able to tell from my username I'm a Unitedite so I'll describe this from our perspective. One of our players was injured in the Arsenal penalty area, play continued but the player remained down and not moving. When the ball ended up in the hands of our 'keeper (Alan Kelly) Seaman waved his arms about indicating our injured player and thatthe ball should be kicked out of play so the player could receive treatment. Kelly kicked the ball directly out of play near to the half-way line; but still in the United half. After about 6 or 7 minutes the player was able to get up and leave the pitch to await the ref calling him back on; which in these circumstances is usually just after the opposition have given the ball back to the team kicking the ball out and as play gets back underway. Ray Parlour got ready to take the throw-in and clearly gestured for our defence to move forward so he could throw the ball down the pitch for our 'keeper to retrieve outside the area near the corner flag. The United defence indeed moved forward, as requested. Kanu was left standing about half-way between where Parlour was taking the throw from and where the ball was being thrown to; unmarked as our defense had moved about 10 - 15 yards up field from where he was standing, facing Parlour. Parlour threw the ball over Kanu's head, towards the space between the edge of the penalty area and the by-line near the corner-flag. Our 'keper started to head towards where the ball would be expected to end up. Kanu immediately chased the ball, collected it pushed it forward a little then crossed to Overmars who poked it into an unguarded net, as our 'keeper was still scrambling back from where he had been heading to collect the ball. Consternation breaks out, as far as I recall only Overmars and Kanu celebrated the goal, Seaman had his head in his hands and the Arsenal crowd were largely more stunned than celebratory. Our players mob the referee and linesman (this is before they were ref's assistants), who remain adamant that the goal stands. Arsenal line up ready for the re-start; our players refuse and continue to make their disgust known to the ref. The United fans on the Clock-end are continuously booing and chanting 'shame on the Arsenal', 'Same old Arsenal always cheating' & at our own manager 'Brucie Brucie take them off' (i.e. for United's then manager Steve Bruce to call the players off the pitch). Instead Bruce himself goes on to the pitch to remonstrate with the Ref. there is a protracted period of time, I'd say at least 10 minutes before United are persuaded to not walk off and to re-start the game. We do this by booting the ball far down the pitch and not challenging for it until Arsenal have collected it and moved into our half. (much as we might have expected Arsenal to do a little earlier) All the time the United fans are continuing to complain vocally and keep this up all through the remainder of the match, adding 'Seaman, Seaman, give us a goal' every-time Seaman picks up the ball; but mostly 'Shame on the Arsenal'; this is continued significantly long after the final whistle. It's only about 45 mins after the match, when I'm on the way back to the Hen & Chickens, being commiserated with by every Arsenal fan we see, many of whom say the goal shouldn't stand, that we hear 'Wenger's' offer to replay the match. Given the financial and 'political' implications of such a decision I still believe that it was in fact David Dein's (Arse chairman and high-up in the FA at the time) decision not Wenger's; but portrayed as Wenger's for positive spin. I believe there were two culprits in the affair, assuming we accept the racicst tinged 'Kanu is an ignorant Foreigner' defence, namely Overmars who knwe exactly what he was doing and the ref, who clearly did not know what he was doing. Overmars should not have raced 50 yards to put the ball in the net or the ref should have stopped play on him attempting to put the ball in the net, booked Kanu and Overmars for 'ungentlemanly conduct' and restarted the game with a free kick to United. Far from showing Arsenal in a good moral light, this incident shows poor morals and good PR. Now don't get me started about the dodgy F.A Cup Semi-final a few years later between United and Arsenal at Old Trafford when the ref. helped Arsenal score the only goal of the match (and we saw the 'Save of the Century' from David Seaman, in his last season before retirement, to keep it that way); nor the two matches in one season where each team scored 5 goals in the respective home matches and Tony Currie and Alan Ball sat on the ball in the middle of the active match to show how dominant their respective teams were...

[The Grimster]

if any of my memories are off on this one, someone please correct them.

Unless you think a game at a neutral ground is an away game then you are just spouting shite!

[The Grimster]

it was a clear violation of a longstanding precedent of sportsmanship.
Which was soundly laid to rest by the actions of your team last season at Highbury

BTW - I hear that in my absence your club has been called to the FA again for poor sportsmanship!

[pookspur]

I was at the match in question, and the replayed version, both at Highbury ...

ah, i thought i remembered that the rematch was at highbury, but i guess i just presumed that the first had been at bramall lane, as i was thinking that it had been (re)played out as though the goal hadn't counted (i.e., the first match had been a draw). i remember there having been some question as to whether or not the FA should have granted the rematch, seeing as how the goal had technically been perfectly legal.

sorry about that.


... if any of my memories are off on this one, someone please correct them.

Unless you think a game at a neutral ground is an away game then you are just spouting shite.

well, correct them, or insult me. either one works.

[Miles Brasher]

It's only about 45 mins after the match, when I'm on the way back to the Hen & Chickens, being commiserated with by every Arsenal fan we see, many of whom say the goal shouldn't stand, that we hear 'Wenger's' offer to replay the match. Given the financial and 'political' implications of such a decision I still believe that it was in fact David Dein's (Arse chairman and high-up in the FA at the time) decision not Wenger's; but portrayed as Wenger's for positive spin. I believe there were two culprits in the affair, assuming we accept the racicst tinged 'Kanu is an ignorant Foreigner' defence, namely Overmars who knwe exactly what he was doing and the ref, who clearly did not know what he was doing. Overmars should not have raced 50 yards to put the ball in the net or the ref should have stopped play on him attempting to put the ball in the net, booked Kanu and Overmars for 'ungentlemanly conduct' and restarted the game with a free kick to United. Far from showing Arsenal in a good moral light, this incident shows poor morals and good PR. Now don't get me started about the dodgy F.A Cup Semi-final a few years later between United and Arsenal at Old Trafford when the ref. helped Arsenal score the only goal of the match (and we saw the 'Save of the Century' from David Seaman, in his last season before retirement, to keep it that way); nor the two matches in one season where each team scored 5 goals in the respective home matches and Tony Currie and Alan Ball sat on the ball in the middle of the active match to show how dominant their respective teams were...

Still bitter hmm ? Ahhh, bless.

[Red Agave]

Everytime I read the title of this thread I think "Please don't let it be the swimsuit issue".