September 26 – Pushy Paolo
There are many instructions a manager might give his players before a game. “Keep it tight for the first 20 minutes or so lads,” or “keep an eye on their right winger,” or “just get balls into the box.” One thing he probably would not expect to have to say is, “Don’t, whatever you do, assault the ref.”
Perhaps Sheffield Wednesday’s former manager Danny Wilson wishes he had written that one up on the chalkboard in the dressing room at Hillsborough before his team’s match with Arsenal on this day in 1998.
Seemingly unable to work that one out for himself, the man universally known as controversial Italian forward Paulo di Canio went and did the unthinkable and shoved ref Paul Alcock after the man in black (the ref, not Johnny Cash) had just shown him a red card.
If di Canio’s actions were shocking, Alcock’s comedy stumble and fall was even worse. He stumbled backwards before eventually going over in a fall that would have embarrassed the captain of the Walton-on-the-Naze girls under-eight netball team.
Di Canio claimed Alcock had deliberately gone to ground in order to get the striker in more trouble with the FA. Whether this was the case or not, Pushy Paolo was banned for eleven months and left Wednesday for West Ham in January 1999 where he played out the rest of his career in a quiet and entirely uncontroversial way. Not.
No related posts.
Loading ...2 Comments
September 26 - Pushy Paolo and Leeds Get Credit Crunched | On This Football Day on September 26th, 2009
[...] 1998 – Pushy Paolo [...]
March 26 - Paulo and the Wonder Goal | On This Football Day on March 26th, 2008
[...] The Italian signed for the Irons in 1999 after he felt his former club Sheffield Wednesday failed to back him when he was punished for pushing over referee Paul Alcock. [...]