9th September 2003: "You will
die tonight.".... You have to admit, it's not a very nice thing to
say, but the way the tabloids have built this incident up is unbelievable.
First of all, the facts aren't altogether clear, but since when has
the Sun bothered about the facts. It seems that Artim Sakiri did say
something to David Beckham that Goldenballs interpreted as a death
threat, and that Sakiri has since said was simply part of the banter
that happens all the time on the football field.
I don't particularly like what Sakiri is supposed to have said, but
there are a lot of things that go on that I don't like - they still
happen regularly. It is true that many things are said in the heat
of the moment between rival footballers, but I think that Sakiri's
comments were unwise given the hostile atmosphere in which the game
was played. I'm sure he was just trying to wind the English players
up, as the likes of Dennis Wise and Vinne Jones have been known to
do, but his choice of words, if indeed they have been reported accurately,
was unfortunate. Maybe if he had a more complete command of the language,
he may have chosen a phrase that was less sinister, I'm not sure.
But what's done is done, and the Sun decided to make a big thing about
it. That's to be expected. However, the comments reportedly made by
Tony Butler on BBC Radio WM the other night are hard to take. I don't
live in the Midlands and, therefore, did not listen to the show. I
have seen reported that he feels Sakiri should be thrown out of the
game, he hopes Albion get hammered every time Sakiri plays and that
he would like to see Gary Megson punched in the face. These are not
the considered comments that you expect from a BBC journalist and,
whereas the first two could be considered opinions (although a little
extreme), his comment regarding GM is unacceptable and I have contacted
Radio WM to express this opinion.
I'm sure that Sakiri will receive abuse from the opposition supporters
for much of this season as a result of this incident, but I hope that
he will be spurred on by such abuse and play better. I think it is
naive to suggest that had he been playing for another club, Albion
fans would not have indulged in such abuse; it is part of the character
of most football fans to use any such incidents against opposition
players. However, in the majority of cases, it serves to inspire the
target to greater things - just remember the abuse that David Beckham
got after France 98. In fact, the only player I can remember being
affected badly by any fans' abuse was "pineapple head" Jason Lee,
and in that case he blamed the Soccer AM TV programme for starting
it!!
Returning to the subject of football, it has to be said that Sakiri
was the best player on the field in the first half, playing better
football that I have seen him play for the Baggies thus far. This
obviously bodes well for the future and hopefully means that he has
the ammunition to repel any abuse he receives in the right way - by
hurting the opposition through excellent football.
Finally, one useless piece of trivia. As far as I am aware, Artim
Sakiri was the first West Bromwich Albion player to play against England
since 13th November 1985 when Jimmy Nicholl and Gerry Armstrong (as
substitute) played for Northern Ireland in the World Cup Qualifier
at Wembley. The game finished 0-0.
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