By SEAN DOUGLAS, newsday.co.tt
Sunday, June 18 2006
…Did Crouch break the dreadlock?
MANY international media houses yesterday hit the controversial tugging of the plaits of TT defender Brent Sancho by which England striker Peter Crouch broke the nil-nil tie to which TT had held the Brits up to the 82nd minute.
First with the story was the Daily Telegraph whose “Controversy over Crouch ‘tug’” on Friday said Crouch’s goal was overshadowed by controversy when television pictures, which appeared to show him pulling Sancho’s hair, were highlighted by German commentators and pundits, despite the referee missing the incident. The Telegraph said Crouch had “appeared to grab his dreadlocks before climbing above him to steer David Beckham’s cross past Shaka Hislop.”
The same story also appeared in Australia’s Sydney Morning Herald under the heading: “Crouch faces ban for hair pulling.”
The website of sports station ESPN posted a story on Thursday called “Crouch pulled up over controversial goal” which said: “But pictures broadcast later on German television appeared to indicate Crouch had tugged at the dreadlocks of the Gillingham player before netting.”
Several websites including “icLiverpool.com” (“Crouch pulled up for goal“) and “Teamtalk.com” (“Did Crouch break the dreadlock?“) all carried the same article. It said: “Peter Crouch’s opening goal v T&T is the centre of controversy as TV replays showed he pulled Brent Sancho’s dreadlocks as he won the header. At first glance it looked like a fair header from the 6ft 7ins Liverpool striker. But slow-motion replays clearly showed Crouch grab a handful of Sancho’s hair and leap above him. It stopped the T&T defender from jumping to challenge for the ball. Referee Toru Kamikawa missed the incident.”
In The Scotsman yesterday Colin Stewart wrote a story “Sancho angry as TV shows Crouch pulled hair to climb“. It said: “At 6ft 7in you wouldn’t think Peter Crouch would need to resort to illegal tactics to outjump defenders who are comparatively diminutive in stature. But that is exactly what the England striker did while scoring the breakthrough goal in the laboured 2-0 victory over Trinidad and Tobago. Television replays clearly show the Liverpool attacker tugging at the hair of Brent Sancho as he leaps above the Trinidad defender for the 82nd minute goal in Nuremberg on Thursday. Crouch grasps Sancho’s dreadlocks with his right hand and yanks so hard that his opponent’s head twists round violently.” The newspaper noted that Crouch had given no indication of there being any controversy over his sixth goal in five games for his country when interviewed before Sancho’s gripes came to light, merely saying: “It was great to score in a World Cup and it was a special moment for me.’ The paper added that it was only when the incident was picked up on the late night World Cup highlights programmes on BBC 1 and ITV 1 that the extent of Crouch’s interference became clear. The Scotsman however also noted little sympathy for Sancho on British television’s Match of the Day programme with commentator and ex-England player Ian Wright scoffing: “It serves him right for having long hair.”
Glasgow Evening News, also of Scotland whose nationals have been supporting Trinidad and Tobago, ran a story on Friday called “Sancho fury as Crouch left Warriors for dread“. It said: “Trinidad defender Brett Sancho insists his side were robbed of a famous World Cup result after claiming he was fouled by England striker Peter Crouch for the opening goal in Nuremberg…Pictures broadcast later on television appeared to show Crouch had tugged at the dreadlocks of the Gillingham player before netting.”
The Japan Times Online “England’s performance against minnow doesn’t bode well” by Christopher Davies in Munich spelt it out fully, saying it had been exposed on the German television programme hosted by retired Swiss referee Urs Meier who had disallowed an England goal over fouling in the Euro 2004 finals.
The Japanese newspaper said Meier had on Thursday night wondered why Sancho had not challenged as Crouch headed the ball past goalie Shaka Hislop.
“Meier’s programme revealed the reason — using slow motion and closing in on the two players, it was shown that Crouch pulled Sancho’s dreadlocks as David Beckham’s cross came over. Sancho’s head was yanked 90 degrees, he never stood a chance of offering even a token jump. It says much about England’s mediocre performance that it had to resort to illegal tactics to break down a stubborn T & T.” Davies said there is nothing FIFA can now do retroactively (to recompense Trinidad and Tobago), and that the referee “cannot be blamed for missing the dreadlock deadlock.”
The Japanese Times correspondent condemned the incident and moreso the English fans.
“The problem with cheating is that when England does it, the attitude tends to be sweeping it under the proverbial rug…Had a T & T player done the same against England and it had gone on to win, all hell would have been let loose by the English red tops and the extremist element among the national side’s support.”
The British BBC Sport website ran a story “Sancho makes claim against Crouch.”
http://www.newsday.co.tt/news/0,39325.html
Holligans “commentators referees and oficials)on and off the field.
I couldn’t help but noticed the subtle racism against the non-European teams and to a greater extent the African players from both referees and worst yet the English commentators.
Their omissions were the main methods of concealing their ugly and cynical bias. Asian referees were repetitive and distasteful cajoling all the way.
European “teams” players are allowed to play with the absolute freedom in so much a nasty play or less (foul) sometimes are merely corrected with a free kick yet to the contrary non-European players (black players as my Malaysia friends pointed out)are intimidated by officials and for the slightest of tackles, even non-contact incedents are often times not spared referees caution.
Australia and Germany seems to be more protected were as Germany is encouraged as they both hold the record as the most illsport & BRUTAL soccer playing teams of our time.
One need not the analysis or commentators socall professional opinion nor comments as they are so compliant sometimes over zealous in their outspoken support for the TOP DOG of European soccer that I thought that we were back in those days of the Roman killing arena where the palace Gladiators came up against the underfed malnourished prisoners captured from Roman expeditions out of African. At time they are outright rude cynical and telltales.
FIFA have turned a blind eye even in the case of Brazil when Ronaldhino sent off for no apparent reason just after he blast the English out of Korea/Japan world cup tournament; as though the illegal expulsion was not enough the English responses were personal pathetic and childish.
Apart from being undoubtedly and unchallenged the greatest soccer player of our time Ronaldhino is the ‘best face of soccer’ in the game history.
FIFA has again failed to guard the good game of football in the essence that all men(nation-teams) are equal.
Until then the world cup and European tournaments doesn’t cease to disappoint.
it is not surprising that, whenever one wants to see the beautiful game that football is they have to look to players of African descent. This world cup will always be remembered for the way in which referees were quick to call fouls against Black players. According to Eric Contana they are restricting the beauty of the game by restricting the Black players free expression of the game on the field. There is really no need for crouch or english commentators to repent or beg pardon for their maliciousness on the field or in the paper. That is them. France will win the world cup. That should serve as inspiration to African players to stick with their home team and we too will rejoice in great victory. Sancho and the warriors are an honourable team that made us proud.
Crouch: I pulled Sancho’s locks
Monday, July 10 2006
newsday.co.tt
ENGLAND forward Peter Crouch has made a confession in the British press that he did tug the dreadlocks of Trinidad and Tobago’s Brent Sancho to score the crucial first goal for his team in the World Cup match in Nuremberg, Germany on June 15.
In an interview with journalist Rob Draper of the Mail yesterday, the six-foot seven-inch tall Crouch made the confession.
The article under the headline “Oh well, at least Crouch will be strutting his stuff again” on pages four and five stated:
“Crouch also confesses that his breakthrough goal against Trinidad was lucky to be allowed. The striker was seen to tug the dreadlocks of defender Brent Sancho as he climbed to head the opener in England’s 2-0 win.”
The article quoted Crouch as saying “Yeah, I did it but I honestly didn’t realise until after the game. It must have been instinctive. When I watched German TV that night, though, I knew. They constantly repeated it.”
It appears that the incident will be on the sports pages of the British press on a regular basis similar to the Diego Maradona incident when the Argentina player handled the ball to score a crucial goal against England in a quarter-final encounter in the 1986 World Cup tournament in Mexico.
England were knocked out of the tournament after the controversial goal which is often referred to as the “Hand of God” goal. In the same newspaper an article by Patrick Collins, Chief Sports Writer in Berlin for the Mail yesterday wrote under the headline “Cheats? Talk to Shearer and Lineker.”
Collins was reviewing comments by the two ex-England players concerning the England/Portugal match.
Collins wrote: “Incidentally, we haven’t mentioned England’s match with Trinidad and Tobago, the one in which Peter Crouch headed the crucial first goal after yanking aside the dreadlocks of defender Brent Sancho.
“I don’t recall Shearer and Lineker mentioning that piece of cheating, either. Probably slipped their minds.”
Trinidad and Tobago continue to get good reviews from the British press and football fans for their performance in the three match in their debut at the World Cup Finals in Germany.
http://www.newsday.co.tt/sport/0,40495.html