We was robbed! MEP aims to win back 1973 title for Leeds United

redout

In the pantheon of footballing injustices - and it is a long list - the final of the 1973 European Cup Winners' Cup ranks high.

At least it does to Richard Corbett, the Labour MEP for Yorkshire and the Humber, who has organised a petition to have the match investigated over allegations of dodgy refereeing that, he said, cost Leeds United the game.

Leeds were the strongest English club side of the early 1970s but their fans - and many other people - claim that they were cheated of victory in the final against AC Milan. Milan won the match, which was played in Salonika, 1-0 but were prevented by angry Greek fans from performing a lap of honour.

The Greek referee was suspended by Uefa, the governing body, and by the Hellenic Football Federation for his handling of the game but there was no inquiry and appeals at the time by Leeds for a rematch fell on deaf ears.

Times Archive, 1973: AC Milan 1, Leeds 0

The crowd lost patience with their own Greek referee, who refused Leeds possibly three penalties




“Leeds United were cheated out of the European Cup Winners' Cup,” Mr Corbett, who is seeking re-election in June, claimed. “Christos Michas, the referee, made a series of outrageous decisions in the final which allowed Milan to clinch a narrow victory.”

Peter Lorimer, the great Leeds United and Scotland player, who was in the team that night, said: “It was so obviously an injustice that even the Greeks were shouting 'shame' at the referee.

“On our CV it looks like we were the runners-up whereas it should say winners. We had got word of something funny before the game, that we were not going to be able to win, and once the game started it was obvious this was the case. You hope that justice would be done one day.”

According to the aggrieved parties the referee rejected a series of appeals for free kicks and penalties by the English side as the Italians blocked attempts by Leeds to equalise after an early goal. Even that, some people have said, was scored only when an indirect free kick was allowed to be taken as a direct shot at the goal.

Gary Edwards, a Leeds fan and author of three books on the club, who was at the match, said: “One thing that sticks out was the reaction from the Greeks in the crowd.

“They were incensed with the performance of the referee, one of their fellow countrymen, and at the end, as Milan attempted to parade the cup around the pitch, missiles were thrown with such fury that the parade was abandoned and the runners-up took to the field to great applause. The locals were chanting 'Super Leeds' along with the Leeds fans.”

Mr Corbett's petition has been signed by more than 10,000 people. He said that if results were shown to have been tainted they should be reversed “if sport is to retain its integrity”.

He added: “Uefa can show its commitment to fair play by dealing with breaches of it seriously.”

Uefa pledged to meet Mr Corbett to discuss the petition but stressed that its disciplinary regulations prohibited any prosecution for bribery after ten years had passed.

“As far as I am aware, there is no record of Uefa ever opening up an investigation so far back in time,” a spokesman said. Neither Mr Michas nor the Hellenic Football Federation were available for comment yesterday.

Various attempts to track down the former referee over the years have proved fruitless.

Another of the defeated players that night, Norman Hunter, said he believed that it was too late for an investigation.

“It should have been a replay, that would have been fair, but too much water has gone under the bridge now,” said Mr Hunter, who was sent off during the game after an altercation with an AC Milan player, who was allowed to stay on the pitch. “If it was going to happen, it should have happened there and then.”

Fouls and fair play
1993 Newspapers alleged that the Liverpool and Southampton goalkeeper Bruce Grobbelaar took £40,000 to ensure a 3-0 away defeat. He was cleared of all charges when in two court cases the jury was unable to reach a verdict
1993 After winning the Champions League, Marseille were stripped of their title after the discovery that the team had fixed a match against Valenciennes
2005 A year before Germany was due to host the World Cup, the referee Robert Hoyzer, 25, was sentenced to two years and five months in prison for match-fixing after rigging games at the behest of a Croatian betting ring
2009 The former Juventus football club general manager Luciano Moggi received an 18-month suspended sentence after being found guilty of match-fixing

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article6069897.ece

Adamcp898

Guess it is Leeds' only hope for european success for quite a while :P

But seriously can't see it happening, whether they deserved to win the game or a rematch, as it would be a dangerous precident to set i.e. "we lost because of a few dodgy decisions". You'd have to trawl through every game Rob Styles has ever been near changing results

LeixlipRed

As a politician he should probably concentrate on political issues and improving the lives of his constituents as opposed to making a complete arse of himself. I was half expecting this to be an Irish MEP when I read the thread title :eek:

yahoo_moe

redout wrote: »

who is seeking re-election in June

Well, there's why he's doing it... but it'll only be a political issue if people let it be a political issue.

You'd just hope voters wouldn't vote on this basis. Especially when it'll be unbelievably difficult to get a result from 36 years ago reversed.

Wreck

I think this was actually a plot in one episode of Yes Minister.

Daemos

If this goes ahead, it will be a catastrophe for football. The floodgates will open, and every team whose had an injustice done will be appealing against it. And not just European level, but domestic as well. If UEFA folds, it's only a matter of time before the domestic associations (FAI, FA, etc.) fold as well. Football will devolve into a pointless exercise, and I can guarantee that every single goal will be appealed against, and every penalty appealed for.

I understand what he's trying to do, but I hope for football's sake, he fails.

monkey9

Em...nothing will come of this!! It'll be the last you hear of it!

Guy:Incognito

monkey9 wrote: »

Em...nothing will come of this!! It'll be the last you hear of it!

Maybe we could get a half share in the 85 European cup final cos the foul for the peno was quite clearly outside the box.:)

Kingp35

We were totally robbed, it was the most obvious case of match fixing there has ever been. Then again we were also robbed in 1975 and that's where are fanouse chant WACCOE (We Are the Champions, Champions Of Europe) comes from. Oh and we were robbed of the League title when the most blatant offside goal of all time was given.

It will never be changed because we are Leeds and nobody likes us

Mr Alan

Kingp35 wrote: »

We were totally robbed, it was the most obvious case of match fixing there has ever been. Then again we were also robbed in 1975 and that's where are fanouse chant WACCOE (We Are the Champions, Champions Of Europe) comes from. Oh and we were robbed of the League title when the most blatant offside goal of all time was given.

It will never be changed because we are Leeds and nobody likes us

genuinely, do you think this is a good idea?

Galvasean

Unless proof can be found of match fixing (like the Italian league) there is absolutely no case.

Tom65

They should replay the fixture.

Daemos

Tom65 wrote: »

They should replay the fixture.

If they did, only Leeds fans would see it as important. Everyone else would see it as an exhibition game.

Kristopherus

Tom65 wrote: »

They should replay the fixture.

With the same players :D:D

That idea has 2 chances of succeeding, Slim and..............

Anyway were'nt Leeds robbed again today 2mins and 27 secs into 3 mins of injury time :mad:

Zaph

Galvasean wrote: »

Unless proof can be found of match fixing (like the Italian league) there is absolutely no case.

You mean like the ref being convicted by a Greek court of match fixing, being fined, sent to jail and banned from football for life by UEFA? That sort of proof?

Personally I think it's ludicrous to overturn the decision now as far too much time has passed, and that's speaking as a Leeds fan. UEFA should have done something at the time when the evidence came to light. That they didn't just shows how inept an organisation they've always been. And to order a replay now would be pointless as Leeds would be murdered by Milan given the current comparative strengths of the two clubs.

Besides, if the result was overturned how could us Leeds fans retain our god-given right to moral indignation at the various injustices that have been visited upon us over the years? Bitterness and outrage are what sustains us through the hard times.

Guy:Incognito

Zaph wrote: »

You mean like the ref being convicted by a Greek court of match fixing, being fined, sent to jail and banned from football for life by UEFA? That sort of proof?

Did it relate to that game? If not then its not relevant.

Zaph

Stekelly wrote: »

Did it relate to that game? If not then its not relevant.

Yes it did.