“Who was the first player to have a red card rescinded after a game?” asks Masai Graham.
In September 1969, Northampton Town played away to Swansea in the old Division Four, which is an intro nobody expected to be reading in the year 2025. After 66 minutes their forward Frank Large, frustrated after the referee had given a free-kick against him, booted the ball into the crowd and hit a 12-year-old flush in the face. As Large walked over to apologise, Billy Carroll, a former Swansea player, ran on to the field and chinned him. Large threw hands in response and was sent off.
“That little fellow reminded me of my own son who drowned 12 years ago,” said Carroll, who wrote a letter to the FA disciplinary committee in support of Large. A month later, Large was cleared. “Having heard the evidence, the commission is satisfied that Large acted in self-defence and was not guilty of violent conduct,” said a spokesman. “The commission has decided that no further action be taken.”
The red card wasn’t officially rescinded, as far as we can tell, but this is an early example of a player avoiding a suspension after being sent off. A similar thing happened to Liverpool’s Larry Lloyd. He was dismissed on the opening day of the 1972-73 season for, according to the referee’s report, “choking and kicking” the Manchester City forward Wyn Davies, who had head-butted Lloyd and was also sent off.
Three months and two appeals later, Lloyd’s three-match ban was quashed and the red card deemed sufficient punishment. “We were not satisfied with the referee’s report,” said Cliff Lloyd, the secretary of the Professional Footballers’ Association, who was representing his namesake, “and we were fortunate to have the film to show what happened.”
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“Birmingham City lost the EFL Trophy final on Sunday with a 2-0 defeat against Peterborough, just one day after being officially crowned as champions of League One,” writes Andy Palmer. “Are there any other instances where a club has both lost and won a trophy on the same weekend?”
“When a player leaves, the club normally wishes them well. Are there any examples of clubs not wishing exiting players well, or doing so in a graceless way? What did Chelsea say when Winston Bogarde left?” asks Luke Kelly.
“Ethan Walker has four goals this season for Ayr United in the Scottish Championship. The earliest of these was scored in the 90th minute. Do any other players consistently save their contribution to so late in the game?” wonders Norman Brown.
“‘Willy Loman Whacks Lee Westwood Lightly With Liquorice.’ That’s how I’m able to remember Fulham’s last eight league results,” notes Andrew Boulton. “But can anyone provide a longer string of W-L-W-L (etc) results? I hope not, I’d have to rework my mnemonic.”
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