Daily Archives: December 27, 2023

First World War Christmas truce: How much football was actually played?

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“It’s one of the best-known stories about the First World War: the Christmas truce of 1914, when soldiers from both sides spontaneously laid down their guns and, for a few hours at least, acted as if they weren’t trying to wipe each other out in a cruelly pointless war. Part of the story was the football match that broke out in No Man’s land. The image of the two sides uniting, in a manner of speaking, over the common language of sport became incredibly evocative, a slice of normality amidst the horror. …”
The Athletic

Coventry City 2–2 Bristol City (1977)

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“On 19 May 1977, the English association football clubs Coventry City and Bristol City contested a match in the Football League First Division at Highfield Road, Coventry. It was the final game of the 1976–77 Football League season for both clubs, and both faced potential relegation to the Second Division. A third club, Sunderland, were also in danger of relegation and were playing their final game at the same time, against Everton at Goodison Park. As a result of many Bristol City supporters being delayed in traffic as they travelled to the game, the kick-off in the Coventry–Bristol City game was delayed by five minutes, to avoid crowd congestion. … Sunderland made a complaint about the incident, and the Football League conducted an investigation, but both Coventry and Bristol City were eventually cleared of any wrongdoing. …”
YouTube: COVENTRY CITY 2 BRISTOL CITY 2 MAY 1977