OCTOPUS, OATLEY AND A BOMB SANDWICH

8 October apparently is World Octopus Day 1996..well I suppose there's four letters in common! Moving on.... there was a time when bomb threats were a not uncommon part of football. At a Euro Under 21 qualifier at Wolves' ground, Molineux, a steward noticed a suspicious-looking foil-wrapped package. The  police got involved, then the Army but after a controlled explosion it was found to be ......a sandwich. The crowd waited outside in the rain, allowed in and the match kicked off at 10pm, England missed a penalty and drew 0-0 with Poland. Happy days! What about the poor bloke who lost his snack?   

Radio commentator, Jacqui Oatley, the well known, Wolverhampton-born sports' presenter, who has worked for both the BBC and ITV, has spoken to the local paper, Express & Star, about the fiasco at Old Trafford. It has emerged that a dummy bomb, which had been used in a security exercise by the club and then left at the stadium, caused Sunday's Premier League match to be postponed. It was found in a toilet before kick off and the crowd had been evacuated to allow a controlled explosion. Fans of both Manchester United and Bournemouth had travelled long distances to attend the match, but were sent home disappointed. 

The fixture was eventually played the next day with many supporters unable to make another journey. United won 3-1. and same date in 2005, the homecoming to Manchester of Real Madrid's David Beckham proved not to be a happy one. He was sent off after receiving two yellow cards in the World Cup qualifier against Austria at Old Trafford and so became the first player to be sent off twice while playing for England. He wasn't too chuffed! and ON THE same date in 2015, The FIFA corruption scandal hit a new low when the FIFA Ethics' Committee banned FIFA president Sepp Blatter, UEFA president Michel Platini and FIFA's secretary general, Jérôme Valcke, from all football activity for 90 days. Platini had been the FA’s choice to succeed Blatter and was widely regarded as the favourite to take over at FIFA. But days later, it got even worse when the Der Spiegel magazine claimed that bribes had been paid to help Germany win the right to stage the 2006 World Cup finals. The story would run....