"I was once involved in a game where both sides became so exasperated with the referee that we had to ask him to leave," recalls Paul Vale. "Which got me wondering – has a referee ever actually been sent off in a game of football?"
At least two have, Paul, and on both occasions they showed themselves the red card. First up is Andy Wain, who was officiating a Sunday League game between Peterborough North End and Royal Mail AYL in 2005 when he lost his rag after hearing one too many complaints from the players. When North End's keeper Richard McGaffin began protesting that his team had been denied a free-kick in the build-up to a goal, Wain threw off his whistle, rushed over and eyeballed the keeper. In the end no blows were exchanged, but Wain sent himself off and the game had to be abandoned because there was nobody else available to fill in.
"With hindsight I should never have officiated," said Wain, who acknowledged having had some personal problems in the days before the match in question. "It was totally unprofessional. If a player did that I would send him off, so I had to go. I heard the keeper say 'It's always the bloody same with you, ref - we never get anything'. It was the last straw, but fortunately I came to my senses."
Melvin Sylvester, meanwhile, went one step further, physically attacking a player during a fixture between Southampton Arms and Hurstbourne Tarrant British Legion in the Andover and District Sunday League. "I was sorely provoked," explained Sylvester afterwards. "I punched him several times after he had pushed me from behind. He then swore. I couldn't take any more. I blew my top."
This time the the game was able to continue, as a spectator took charge of the remainder of the game, but the story didn't end there for Sylvester. He was subsequently fined £20 and banned for six weeks by the Hampshire Football Association. "I'm furious," he added after the verdict. "The disciplinary committee have got their priorities all wrong. They've convicted me of assault but the circumstances have not been shown. They've taken the side of the player."
Know of another referee who saw red? Let us know at knowledge@theguardian.com
FOOTBALLERS HONOURED (2)
Last week we paid tribute to a number of players who were honoured for their off-the-field bravery during the first world war. It turns out there were several more that we missed ...
Tom Slater pointed us in the direction of Leigh Richmond Roose, a former Everton, Stoke and Sunderland goalkeeper who was awarded the Military Medal in 1916 for bravery on the first occasion he saw action. "Private Leigh Roose, who had never visited the trenches before, was in the sap when the flammenwerfer (flamethrower) attack began," records the regimental history of the Royal Welch Fusiliers. "He managed to get back along the trench and, though nearly choked with fumes with his clothes burnt, refused to go to the dressing station. He continued to throw bombs until his arm gave out, and then, joining the covering party, used his rifle with great effect." Roose was killed later the same year during the Battle of the Somme.
Former Norwich centre-back Philip Fletcher, meanwhile, was awarded the Distinguished Service Order and the Military Cross (with bar) for his efforts as a pilot in the RAF. "Initially serving as an instructor, Fletcher was posted to serve with No. 1 Squadron RFC in April 1917," writes Robbie Mitchell. "Flying Nieuport Scouts from Bailleul Aerodrome in France, Captain Fullard claimed 40 victories and 6 probable victories in just over 5 months and was one of the RFC's leading 'aces'. Ironically, it wasn't combat that eventually took Fletcher out of the war but a game of football. During an inter-squadron match in November 1917, Fullard broke his leg and was deemed unfit for active duty."
Although they were not individually honoured, several of you also alerted us to the Heart of Midlothian team which provided the first 11 volunteers to Lieutenant-Colonel Sir George McCrae's 16th Battalion Royal Scots in 1914, despite the fact they were top of the league and many people's favourites for the title. Their example was soon followed by players and fans from Hibernian, Falkirk and Raith Rovers, helping McRae to raise more than 1300 men within six days. Although the players were not individually honoured, there is a memorial to the battalion in Contalmaison village in France. A far more detailed account is available on the Hearts War Memorial website.
Turning our attention to the second world war, William Hogg alerted us to former Rangers striker Willie Thornton, who was awarded the Military Medal for valour in the field in Sicily in November 1943. Len Hampson, meanwhile, pointed out that German goalkeeper Bert Trautmann earned five medals, including an Iron Cross, during three years in the Luftwaffe.
CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN
Two weeks ago Stephen Howard weighed in with one from the old school: "A question has been going round our pub for the last couple of weeks and we are nowhere near it. It's been set by the gaffer. He asks: 'who is the only guy to captain five different teams at Wembley.' We are thinking it's a made up question or a trick one."
We've had two possible answers, Stephen, both of which suggest that your landlord is as tricksy as they come. First to Dave Cleary: "I don't know the answer to who has captained five different teams at Wembley," writes Dave, not filling us with confidence, "but I am guessing it could be Tony Adams with the list being England Under-16s, Under-18s, Under-21s, the full England team and, of course, Arsenal."
Our favourite shot in the dark, however, comes from Stuart Goodacre, who offers Emlyn Hughes, suggesting he captained England (1970s), Liverpool (1977), Wolves (1980), Melchester Rovers (1985) and "a celebrity XI that played another celebrity XI on a smaller sized pitch before a cup final in the 1980s, can't remember which one".
KNOWLEDGE ARCHIVE
"Over a few beers last week, a friend regaled me with a tale that included the rather random fact that John Hartson once stole a sheep, but I have no means to check the veracity of the story," wrote a bemused Phil Sedgewood back in 2007. "Say it ain't so."
Sadly, Phil, it isn't just defenders, scales and Eyal Berkovic who have been given a fright during the Welshman's career, but also our woolly four-legged friends. "I was at Luton and two of my Swansea mates, Jason Wright and Kevin Davis, came up for some fun," Hartson told the Sunday People in an interview. "We got absolutely lashed and, at about three in the morning, we found the minibus that was to take us back to my place. On the way, we stopped beside a field and stole a sheep that was minding her own business, threw her in the back of the van and then drove on home for a sleep.
"There was understandable pandemonium in the morning. I had a hangover and I'd completely forgotten about the sheep, which was roaming around the back garden in a state of some distress. We bundled her back in the van and dropped her off in the first field we found with sheep in it. Somehow we got away with it."
Can you help?
"Robbie Savage's more vicious tackles might be referred to as 'potentially career-ending', but when Savage was invited onto the flight deck during a trip home from Finland in 2007, the pilot's career was effectively ended after he was disciplined for breaking anti-terror rules," writes Tom Parr. "Are there any other examples of footballers ending other people's careers off the pitch?"
"With Manchester United looking set to bottle the race for the title," writes Robert Smethwick, presumably not a season-ticket holder at Old Trafford, "I was wondering what, in terms of points, was the biggest choke in a race for a national championship?"
"During England's game agaisnt Slovakia, Emile Heskey had to be replaced by Carlton Cole, who was then replaced by Peter Crouch, and then finally Michael Carrick," writes Gordon MacLeod. "Has a chain like this ever gone any longer than three substitutions? Has a team ever had to (and been able to) send on a sub for a sub for a sub for a sub?"
Send your questions and answers to knowledge@theguardian.com