Thursday 13 October 2022

TOFIQ BAHRAMOV

9th October 1976...following recent events, UEFA Champions League: Glasgow Rangers v Liverpool...1-7 with four goals in final 15 minutes.....here's another invasion of Scotland.......Aston Villa's attempt to fill what would have been a blank international weekend for the club with a prestige friendly back-fired, just a bit! The 'friendly' was against Scottish champs, Rangers. Scots fans - many the worse for drink - descended on Birmingham causing problems in the city centre even before arriving at Villa Park. At the ground missiles were thrown onto the pitch, there were pitch invasions and battles with the police which left over a hundred spectators injured, including stabbings, and a similar number arrested. With Villa leading 2-0 the match was abandoned in the 53rd minute - and Rangers found it just a tad more difficult to play friendlies south of the border!


On the same  DATE in 2001
, an attempt to increase interest in the club Brentford gave free admission to everyone who attended their Second Division match against Peterborough United on Saturday October 13th 2001. The 11,097 crowd (who would have paid about £70,000 if they had all been charged for entrance) was about twice the size of the previous home gate but sadly was also twice the size of their next game at Griffin Park. It was a season of nearly but not quite for Brentford finishing one point short of automatic promotion and then being beaten by Stoke in the Play Off final at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.

and on 13th October 2004 Tofiq Bahramov will always be remembered with affection by England fans - he was the linesman who helped to award the controversial England third goal in the 1966 World Cup Final at Wembley. 

When his native Azerbaijan gained independence from the Soviet Union, their national stadium was renamed in his honour complete with a statue erected outside. England visited the stadium for the first time on this day in 2004 for a World Cup qualifier, with captain Michael Owen scoring the only goal of the match. Other fixtures:
13 Oct 2004  Azerbaijan v England 0-1 FIFA World Cup
30 Mar 2005 England v Azerbaijan 2-0 FIFA World Cup

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