Daily Archives: February 15, 2025

‘Nothing about that game felt safe’ – The 2009 Upton Park riot retold by those who were there


“Rob Green could not believe what he was seeing. The then-West Ham United goalkeeper was aware of the hatred between West Ham and Millwall supporters — but not to this extent. ‘I was in front of the Millwall fans, they’d ripped up the chairs and started throwing them on the pitch. But then they started pulling out the metal framework that held the seats in. That’s when I realised, ‘S***, this is going to be a long night.’ It was venomous hatred.’ Green, who played for West Ham between 2006-2012, is reflecting on the 2009 League Cup tie against Millwall, a game labelled ‘the Upton Park riot’. West Ham won 3-1, but the match was marred by violence outside the ground and pitch invasions by fans during it. There were arrests and a Millwall supporter was stabbed in the chest before the match. …”
NY Times/Athletic

The impact of being only player from your country to play in the Premier League

“Gunnar Nielsen’s Premier League career was brief. Extremely brief, in fact: it lasted 17 minutes. The goalkeeper was introduced as a late substitute for Manchester City against Arsenal in 2010 after Shay Given had aggravated a shoulder injury he picked up a week earlier when diving in vain for Paul Scholes’s late winner in the Manchester derby. But it was a big deal back home. Those 17 minutes represented the first — and only — time a player from the Faroe Islands had played in the Premier League. It was such a big deal that a local radio station couldn’t even wait until the game had finished to call his brother for some reaction. …”
NY Times/The Athletic

Jude Bellingham sent off for swearing at referee: What happened and was it a ‘miscommunication’?

“Jude Bellingham was sent off on Saturday for swearing at a referee — but the Real Madrid midfielder insists the incident that saw him shown a red card was a ‘miscommunication’. Bellingham says his red card against Osasuna was down to referee Jose Luis Munuera Montero misinterpreting him swearing as an insult directed at the official. Carlo Ancelotti explained at full time the sending off was a mix-up over Bellingham’s use of the phrase’f*** off’, which he claims was used to voice his confusion over a decision as opposed to abuse the referee. …”
NY Times/The Athletic