Toon players getting hot under the collar?

July 22nd, 2009 | 39 Comments |

The first tussle involved Habib Beye who was incensed enough to remonstrate with Huddersfield skipper Peter Clarke following an earlier disagreement. Whether that was something said at a free kick or a challenge either one of them didn’t like, is unclear.

Certainly I didn’t see the flashpoint because I was halfway up the stairs to get my pie (which incidentally were out of stock!). But both players looked fairly agitated and keen to get at each other. Which resulted in a 20-man melee (I love that word) that involved police and stewards and continued down the tunnel. Beye didn’t reappear for the second half but as I suggested in my earlier report of the game, I got the impression that was the original plan regardless.

The second incident involved Coloccini and former Gateshead forward Lee Novak with the striker reportedly suffering a cut to his chin. It came as a surprise to me just how close these two actually got and that there was physical damage as it was dispersed relatively quickly and there didn’t seem to be much in it. The exact cause of that incident is also unclear. What is clear though is that this was a relatively bad-tempered affair considering the nature of the game. (more…)