Analysis of a gross injustice
by Myles Palmer
FEATURES
THE ARSENAL AGM - FULL WRITE UP
FIVE REASONS: ARSENAL COULD WIN IN BARCELONA
CARLTON AND ITV UPSET US AGAIN
JEKYLL AND HYDE PLAY THE NOU CAMP
Referee David Elleray made three very bad calls. The disallowed Kanu goal, the first Martin Keown yellow card, and the sending off of Fredrik Ljungberg.
The first was an acceptable error, but the other two were unforgiveable.
The decisive incident was the Ljungberg red card.
Having studied the video frame by frame, I'm 100% convinced that Elleray had a nightmare at White Hart Lane on Sunday.
The sending off came after 53 minutes when Ljungberg played the ball down the line to Bergkamp, who had a tussle with Sol Campbell.
Berkgkamp's touches took the ball away from Campbell, who pushed him over, so Elleray blew for a freekick to Arsenal. The whistle can be heard on the videotape as the ball goes loose.
Justin Edinburgh then came in for the loose ball after the whistle had gone and kicked it out with his left foot. Ljungberg, the nearest Arsenal player, did not contest the 50-50 ball because the whistle had already gone. But Edinburgh followed through gratuitously with his right leg, kicking Ljungberg. This action left Edinburgh in a sitting position.
The Swede was understandably annoyed and pushed Edinburgh in the chest, a mild reaction in the circumstances.
Stephen Clemence then steamed in and pushed Ljungberg backwards. David Ginola appeared but did not raise his hands.
Steffen Iversen got between Ginola and Ljungberg, but he did not raise his hands either.
They must have been studying the Neil Ruddock textbook of in-your-face gamesmanship.
Then Chris Armstrong came up behind Ljungberg and pushed him in the back.
Then Clemence pushed his right hand in Ljungberg's face. Ljungberg then put his left hand on Armstrong's throat.
Lee Dixon, seeing that Ljungberg was more wound up by the jostling than by the original foul, shoved his teammate away as Armstrong continued with verbals.
At the same time, as Iversen pushed Armstrong away, a coin was thrown from the crowd and hit Ginola on the head.
Amazingly, as Dixon pushed Ljungberg away from trouble, three yards off the pitch, Clemence was still following the Arsenal pair, still mouthing off!
Then Elleray, who is notorious for making it up as he goes along, sent Ljungberg off for a headbutt!
A yellow card for a tame retaliatory push on Edinburgh would have been harsh. A red card for a headbutt that did not happen was ridiculous.
Ljungberg walked away across the field, turning to give the ref a V-sign.
When the bionic eye of the camera followed him into the tunnel he could be seen angrily kicking a door.
Verdict? Desperate and pathetic gamesmanship by Tottenham.
And no co-incidence that the three players at the centre of the aggro were the three worst players in the Spurs team.
Edinburgh, Clemence and Armstrong are not first choice players.
They tried to Ruddock the little Swede out of the game, and Elleray fell for it.
Despicable behaviour as well as abysmal refereeing.
For the record, Elleray got it wrong on both the Keown yellow cards as well.
The first was not a foul, just a bad pass from Sherwood that Ginola did not go for.
Keown did not go through the back of Ginola because Ginola was never between him and the ball. Ginola was adjacent to the ball, which Keown played, and there was probably slight contact, so the big French fop did his dying swan dive, conning the crowd.
Elleray, standing only six yards away, must be legally blind to have called that a foul. Tony Adams went ballistic, and Bergkamp also went ballistic. Elleray had made the game a farce. He should be struck off the referees list.
Having looked at the Keown-Dominguez incident again, I was wrong. That was vicious, not clumsy. Keown lost his rag and whacked Dominguez with a tackle that was an angry but calculated foul.
It was ferocious and worth a red card in itself. But Elleray gave Keown a second yellow, which means a one match ban. A red card is a three match ban. So the ref got that wrong as well.
Arsenal have 26 red cards under Wenger but they are not a dirty team.
They have magnificent competitors who know how to look after themselves, but nobody who goes out to deliberately damage an opponent.
As Wenger says, some of their red cards were deserved, some were not deserved.
Unfortunately, Arsenal's reputation goes before them now.
They are known as the red mist team, the side that spits, gives V-signs and kicks doors.
However, suggestions that the team is falling apart are premature.
There ARE problem areas, as we have pointed out all season.
It may be time for Tony Adams to step in and tell them how to demonstrate more grace under pressure. Clearly, the situation is not going to resolve itself.
Crowds and referees are brainwashed by bad publicity, so the red cards are self-perpetuating.
Everyone is gunning for the Gunners, ready to goad, provoke, dive and squeal.
It has become a major burden.
The media say the manager does not give a damn, and that makes it an even bigger problem.
Elderly hack David Miller has even suggested in The Daily Telegraph that chairman Peter Hill-Wood should be hauled up before the FA to provide an explanation.
Assistant manager Pat Rice does not seem too worried. When Pat was on TV on Monday morning he was shown a photo of Ljungberg making the two-fingered gesture. He was asked: What does he mean by that? And Pat said:"He was ordering two tickets for the Scotland-England game."
Monday November 8th 1999.