User:VEO15/Manchester United F.C. v Arsenal F.C. (20 October 1990)

The 1990–91 Football League First Division match between Manchester United and Arsenal took place at Old Trafford, on 20 October 1990. Arsenal won 1–0 but the game was noted for a 21-man brawl, which resulted in both teams being deducted points and fined by The Football Association. It was first and only instances in English league football history that any team were docked points due to player misconduct.

Background
The match is often regarded to have instigated the rivalry between Arsenal and Manchester United, which carried on through the 1990s and 2000s as both sides vied with each other for silverware. Recent meetings prior to this have also been been hotly-contested encounters, former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has stated his first match against Arsenal in January 1987 intensified the rivalry. Arsenal arrived at Old Trafford on the back of an 18-match unbeaten league run, goals from Gordon Strachan and Terry Gibson saw United prevail with a 2–0 win. Arsenal's David Rocastle was sent off for a foul on Norman Whiteside, which led to a confrontation between his team mates and the United coaching staff.

The following season, the teams were matched up in the 1987–88 FA Cup Fifth Round draw for a tie at Highbury. With two minutes left and Arsenal winning 2–1, United were awarded a penalty which could have forced a replay. Brian McClair blasted the penalty over the crossbar and in the aftermath, Nigel Winterburn began to taunt McClair over the miss.

Arsenal had previously been fined £20000, for their players' involvement in a 19-man brawl that occurred against Norwich City in November 1989.

Summary
Arsenal took the lead in the 43rd minute through an Anders Limpar strike; his cross-cum-shot, whipped in from a tight angle on the right wing outside the penalty area, was thought to have been kept in play by goalkeeper Les Sealey but referee Keith Hackett thought otherwise and gave the goal.

Brawl
The brawl started after after the hour mark; United's Brian McClair and Denis Irwin kicked out at Arsenal's Nigel Winterburn and Anders Limpar, in retaliation to a challenge between Irwin and Winterburn. All 11 United players and 10 Arsenal players on the pitch partook in the melee, with goalkeeper David Seaman the only player not to get involved, despite most of them were trying to calm down precedings. The fracas lasted all but 20 seconds but once it died down, Hackett booked Limpar and Winterburn for their involvement while the United players escaped punishment on the day.

Aftermath
The FA, urged by the European football body UEFA, docked Arsenal 2 points and Manchester United 1 point and fined both clubs a record £50000 each for bringing the game into disrepute, after a three hour consultation with match referee Keith Hackett and his assistants.

On top of their bookings, Anders Limpar and Nigel Winterburn were fined two weeks wages by the Arsenal board along with Paul Davis, David Rocastle and manager George Graham. Manchester United fined three unnamed players.

Despite the points deduction, Arsenal won the First Division title finishing with 83 points, 7 points ahead of second-placed Liverpool. Manchester United finished sixth but did not end the season empty-handed, winning the 1990–91 European Cup Winners' Cup.

Helpful links

 * http://www.aclfarsenal.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/mufc.jpg -- Guardian? Observer?
 * http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1083793/Tension-arguments-battles-pizza-Past-clashes-Manchester-United-v-Arsenal.html
 * http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/fa-league-cups/battle-grounds-the-history-of-arsenal-and-uniteds-emnity-2239630.html
 * http://www.11v11.com/matches/manchester-united-v-arsenal-20-october-1990-89825/ -- lineups
 * http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebSRjIBxFNE -- video
 * http://www.footballsite.co.uk/Statistics/Articles/DidYouKnow29.htm -- history of point deductions in England