Читать книгу Unforgettable Soccer - Luciano Wernicke - Страница 39

On February 8, 2000, in Prenton Park, the host team, Tranmere Rovers FC (part of the Premier Division) defeated Sunderland AFC of the Premier League, 1-0, in the fourth round of the FA English Cup thanks to a goal by Wayne Allison in the 25th minute. A few minutes from the end, with Sunderland rallying against the Rovers in pursuit of the equalizer, defender Clint Hill committed a bad foul inches from the Tranmere penalty box. The referee Rob Harris called the foul and expelled Hill because of his violent play. Coincidentally, a few seconds earlier, coach John Aldridge had ordered Stephen Frail to substitute in for Hill. When the defender approached the middle line, fourth official David Unsworth, who had not noticed the ejection, allowed Frail to enter for his teammate. All the confusion overwhelmed Harris, who didn’t see the sub join the defenders. Tranmere continued with their eleven players for a few seconds until visiting coach Peter Reid alerted the referee. Seeing his mistake and that of his assistant, Harris sent Frail back to his place among the substitutes. Tranmere finally won, 1-0.

Two days later, the competition supervisory committee confirmed the result and absolved the winning team of any fault. Meanwhile, the committee suspended the referee for a match despite his having been assigned to officiate the cup clash between Gillingham FC and Bradford City AFC. The committee justified the mistake by saying that “the referee and his assistants were under a considerable level of pressure,” and told Sunderland that “their decisions are final, and for the good of the game, they must be accepted.” The red-and-white club not only accepted them, but, in an unusual gesture, Peter Reid told the press that “according to our point of view it is not the best decision, but we abide by it. I wish John [Aldridge] and his people good luck, and all the best against Fulham.” Tranmere continued their run and in the next round beat Fulham FC, also in the first division, 2 to 1. Unfortunately in the next match, they fell 3 to 2 against the powerful Newcastle United FC.

An almost identical situation had happened before, only it ended a bit differently. On January 10, 1937, during the Copa America held in Argentina, the host team defeated Peru 1-0 in the San Lorenzo de Almagro CA. During the game, despite the field goal by the Estudiantes CA de La Plata striker Alberto Zozaya, the team wasn’t doing very well. The visiting team attacked on all fronts in pursuit of the equalizer. At the 84th minute, the Uruguayan referee Aníbal Tejada ejected defender Antonio Sastre from the match. According to the media, this ejection was unjustified, but, despite the ruling, Argentina continued playing the game with eleven men.

Remember that until 1968, the yellow and red cards did not exist, and the referees reported their decisions “by word,” with a hand gesture that wasn’t always easy to notice from a distance. As Sastre approached the sideline, the Argentine coach Manuel Seoane, in a quick and skillful maneuver, made Hector Blotto enter as a “sub” for the expelled teammate. Tejada did not see the stratagem, and his assistant referees and the Peruvian bench naively assumed that it was a conventional replacement (at that time, substitutions in league championships were not allowed, but the regulation of the South American Football Confederation did authorize them for this tournament) and didn’t report the incident to the referee. All things being equal, the Argentina squad resisted the Peruvian attack and ended the encounter victorious. This result was key for the hosts, which ended the round robin play with Brazil in first place with eight points. If Peru had equalized, the trophy would have traveled directly to Rio de Janeiro in the hands of the men managed by Adhemar Pimenta. But, when the draw was registered, a playoff final was scheduled for February 1, again at the San Lorenzo stadium. And, there, Argentina beat Brazil 2-0 and lifted the Copa América for the fifth time.