100 bizarre football stories – Part 7

40. Gnash of the day

Jim McNichol limps his way to the touchline after being bit by a police dog Bryn.

A dog called Bryn is probably the only animal ever credited with saving a team from relegation. Torquay United were playing on the last day of the season in 1987 and facing the drop out of the English league altogether. With Torquay trailing 2-1 to Crewe Alexandra, in the final few minutes, police dog Bryn, who was patrolling the touchline with his handler, bit Torquay’s Jim McNichol’s thigh. It took four minutes to treat the wound and in the fourth minute of injury time, Torquay striker Paul Dobson grabbed a dramatic equalizer, which saved his team. After his death, Bryn was stuffed and put on display in the Torquay boardroom.

39. Hair-brained idea

All you need is a decent haircut and you’re set for another hat-trick!

If Tottenham Hotspur striker Gary Lineker had not scored in the first half of a match, he would hope to change his luck by changing his shirt. He also reckoned that a goal drought could be ended by a haircut.

38. Egg explosion

Kirk Broadfoot – scarred for life!

Glasgow Rangers defender Kirk Broadfoot had to be treated in hospital for facial injuries caused – by an egg. He was poaching an egg in his microwave in 2009 when it exploded and scalded him.

37. The word of Jesus offends

The verbal violence of Atletico Madrid president Jesus Gil landed him with an eight-month ban from all club duties. The Spanish soccer authorities finally lost patience with Gil’s outburst in which he insulted referees and football officials. Gill called one ref a homosexual and then accused referees of ganging up against his club. He said of them: “There’s a mafia in refereeing. Competition is disturbed and prostituted. They rob you and you can’t do anything about it.” Football disciplinary authorities said his words were ‘ the worst examples of verbal violence in Spanish sport.’

36. True or False?

A story came out of war-torn Iraq in 2005 that an Englishman was saved from being shot by insurgents because he had a car with the Portsmouth badge, which has a Muslim-style crescent and star.

35. Baggio’s miss is point of principle

For Baggio, it was principles over penalties.

Roberto Baggio refused to take a penalty against a former club he had been devoted to. When Baggio was transferred from Fiorentina to Juventus in Italy’s Serie A, adoring Florence fans rioted. The crunch came when potent penalty taker Baggio was expected to take a spot kick against his beloved old club – and he refused. His thinking was that if he missed, it would look as though he was favouring his old side. His stand-in missed anyway and Juventus lost 1-0. Juve coach Luigi Maifredi was so furious with Baggio that he immediately substituted the player.

34. Make it snappy!

The coach of Zimbawean side Midlands Portland Cement tried to restore harmony by sending his 17-man squad into crocodile-infested Zambia River for a ritual cleansing. One player never came out and they lost their next match too.

33. Brolly good goal!

As his Aston Villa side played Sheffield United in atrocious conditions in 1931, winger Charlie Athersmith borrowed an umbrella from a spectator and even, brolly in hand, scored a goal.

32. Grave admission condemns Ref

Crooked Spanish referee Emilio Guruceta Muro’s sins were revealed – ten years after his death. English club Nottingham Forest suspected bias by the referee when they lost 3-0 to Belgian club Anderlecht in a UEFA Cup semi-final second-leg match in 1984. They felt there was more than bad refereeing, but nothing was proven. Muro died in a car crash in 1987 and a decade later former Anderlecht president Constant Vanden Stock admitted to loaning Muro one million Beligian francs.

31. Winning signs

The French team’s rituals before winning the 1998 World Cup included having the same seats on the team bus and listening to Gloria Gaynor’s ‘I will survive’ in the changing room. Defender Laurent Blanc kissed goalkeeper Fabien Barthez’s bald head before kick-off.

Read some of the other stories from the series here:

100 bizarre football stories – Part 6

100 bizarre football stories – Part 5