Re-refereeing the Chelsea vs Leeds 1970 FA Cup final - feat. 10 red cards, 25 yellows and a cigar

The 1970 FA Cup final replay between Leeds and Chelsea has become notorious Mirrorpix via Getty Images Share articleIt remains, even after more than half a century, the most-viewed domestic game in English football history. It might also be the most notorious. Leeds United versus Chelsea in the 1970 FA Cup final’s replay stands as a byword for brutality. Two of the country’s best teams slugged it out for two hours at Old Trafford in Manchester, exchanging blows in a very literal sense. Chelsea would eventually find an extra-time winner through David Webb to secure the first of their eight FA Cups but the match owes its place in the sport’s folklore as much to the aggression that ran through a bruising contest that drew an estimated 28.5 million viewers. “If it was played today, there’d be eight a side,” said Peter Osgood, who scored Chelsea’s other goal that night, in a TV documentary recorded before his death in 2006. It was north versus south, the grit of Yorkshire against west London flamboyance. Neither team liked the other and the animosity bubbled throughout. Leeds had Norman ‘Bites Yer Legs’ Hunter, while Chelsea set Ron ‘Chopper’ Harris on the opposition’s star man Eddie Gray, who had shone in the original 2-2 draw at Wembley two weeks earlier. “He was quite prepared to employ methods that would hardly get an invite into the society for football idealists,” Gray wrote of Harris in his 2002 autobiography. But Harris was not alone. Tackle after tackle thundered in from both teams, some connecting with knees and thighs, another with the head of Leeds’ Billy Bremner in the days long before VAR. There were punches, kicks and stamps yet, inexplicably, only one player was cautioned by referee Eric Jennings in an encounter eventually won 2-1 by Chelsea. The two clubs meet again in the FA Cup semi-finals back at Wembley on Sunday and that presents an opportunity to rewatch the most savage game English football has known. After David Elleray found cause to award six red cards in a retrospective assessment of the game delivered in 1997 and Michael Oliver picked out the potential for 11 when viewing it in 2020, The Athletic has tasked our refereeing expert Graham Scott to dissect every bone-crunching challenge from that x-rated evening. The ferocious tone was set after 36 seconds. The only blessing for Leeds’ Peter Lorimer was that Eddie McCreadie’s scything challenge was too late to catch him. Gray was not so fortunate a minute later. Webb’s wild tackle to halt a Leeds attack brought the game’s first free kick but nothing more. Webb’s uncompromising plan, though, had become clear, and by the 14th minute there was worse on Clarke. With little apparent wish to play the ball, the Chelsea defender cut through the back of his opponent at knee height. A free kick, remarkably, was not forthcoming. Scott: “It’s late, it’s high, and it’s at least a yellow card at any time in any game. It would have been my fourth inside 16 minutes – cup final or not. But Jennings, who is about 30 yards away, allows play to continue and no one bats an eyelid.” Oh, for the modern world and the three dozen cameras deployed at an average Premier League game. Soon after, Hunter, whose reputation preceded him at every stride, advanced into the Chelsea half but was unable to close down McCreadie in time to stop the clearance. A bit is left on the Chelsea full-back, who retaliates. It is not entirely clear from the grainy footage but there was an apparent exchange of punches. We must largely take the word of BBC commentator Kenneth Wolstenholme, famed for his work at the 1966 World Cup final. “And McCreadie and Hunter having a wee bit of 15 three-minute rounds,” he remarked cheerfully, as play continued uninterrupted. Scott: “Today, there could easily be two players on the ground holding their faces, a mass confrontation, a couple of red cards and possibly some yellows from the inevitable fracas. But in 1970? ‘Let’s get on with the game’. Jennings seems satisfied that if everyone else wants to carry on playing, he’ll keep out of it. Refs were trained that they should aim to see everything and then give what’s expected, so maybe he was right to ignore Hunter and McCreadie trading blows. “But it’s unclear what Jennings sees two minutes later, when he harshly penalises Chelsea after Terry Cooper tumbles over in an accidental collision. The pattern of the match is for free kicks to be awarded for trivial or non-existent contact, yet for nothing to be done when a player is kicked up in the air, just as long as the ball is in the vicinity.” Gray, Leeds’ silky winger, found himself in the crosshairs of Chelsea’s brutal approach. Time and again, he was targeted, most notably by Harris. One foul was particularly cynical, clattering into the back of Gray by the touchline. Perhaps it was inevitable that Gray’s patience snapped at the end of a first half extended by lengthy treatment to Chelsea goalkeeper Peter Bonetti, who had been felled in an aerial challenge by Mick Jones. Ian Hutchinson’s challenge next to the touchline was an ode to Harris but Gray saw his moment to respond. A retaliatory stamp was not seen by the referee, nor the swinging arm from Hutchinson into Gray’s midriff when back to his feet. Or, alternatively, both actions were spotted and deemed fair game. Scott: “Hutchinson would not still be on the pitch had I been the ref, as he’d been guilty of two clear-cut yellow-card offences already. It’s no surprise that Gray is so angry, given his treatment by Chelsea and the lack of protection he’s afforded, but that does not excuse his stamp on Hutchinson, which is an obvious red card. “All the more extraordinary from today’s perspective is the absence of any reaction from the two team benches, which are a few yards from the incident. There’s no confected rage and no one surrounding the fourth official, although that could be because there is no reserve referee to berate — none was appointed to an FA Cup final until 1978.” The passage of play most synonymous with this match came early in the second half, with a dominant Leeds 1-0 up through Jones’ excellent finish. Temperatures spiked when Harris went in high on Cooper. To stress just how high the challenge was, Leeds’ left-back was left with a ripped pair of shorts. “Cooper showing where he got Harris’ studs,” says Wolstenholme over the images of the Leeds man pointing to the top of his right thigh. The complaints had barely registered by the time Osgood produced a cynical challenge into the back of Jack Charlton, who was not the type to accept such recklessness. A kick or punch, possibly both, followed to send Osgood down in a heap. Both are ticked off by Jennings but not booked. Scott: “Moments after missing Harris’ second red-card tackle of the night, the referee was some distance from this incident, so it was no surprise that he seemed oblivious about what had gone on. Mind you, the spectators in the background seemed equally nonplussed. “Fortunately, linesman (sic) Bob Matthewson saw everything and was on the spot to separate Charlton and Osgood. Matthewson was a former professional footballer, which ex-pros today will tell you means he has an innate knowledge of the game that plain old refs can never acquire. “Four years later, as the referee, he sent off Bremner and Liverpool legend Kevin Keegan for trading punches in the Charity Shield (the pre-season ‘friendly’ that is today’s Community Shield). We shall never know what advice he proffered to Jennings in this game, but there’s no air of surprise on the pitch or in the stands when a friendly warning ensues.” At last, a booking. And, by the standards of the contest, it is a soft one. Neither Bremner nor Osgood exited a challenge readily in the centre circle, with both tangling legs while on the ground. Hutchinson was not about to stand idly by and watch, so came charging in to shove a rising Bremner off his feet. A caution — the only one of the game — was duly given to the Chelsea No 10. Scott: “Hutchinson’s fifth cautionable offence of the night, by my reckoning. But the referee misses Osgood planting six studs into the side of Bremner’s knee at the same time, which would lead to a dismissal today. “No yellow card was physically shown to Hutchinson, of course, as they were not used back then. That probably left many in the crowd oblivious to his name being taken for ‘ungentlemanly conduct’, a term that remained in the laws of the game until 1997.” Bremner, Leeds’ fiery midfielder and captain, found himself on the end of much worse once Chelsea had found an equaliser through Osgood on 78 minutes. Cooper’s cross from the left had only been half cleared and as Bremner attempted to pick up the pieces, he was met by McCreadie’s extremely high right boot into the side of his face. It was enough to draw a gasp from a 62,000 capacity crowd but not a whistle. McCreadie appeared to show contrition when checking Bremner’s welfare in the immediate aftermath, all while Chelsea were attacking at the other end and shooting into the side netting through Hutchinson. “Bremner must be wondering what hit him,” says Wolstenholme, as treatment was given. McCreadie’s right boot, Kenneth. Scott: “This is by far the most extraordinary incident of the 120 minutes, which is saying something. A head-high kung-fu kick by McCreadie should have led to a penalty and a red card, probably accompanied by an extended ban for the Chelsea defender, given the extremity of his action. The referee appears to play some sort of ‘advantage’ to Leeds, who do have possession outside the area, and plays on when that comes to nothing. Even by the standards of the time, this should surely have been penalised. “Was the game so dirty back then that this was a borderline decision? Bremner had a terrible public reputation for his behaviour towards refs, but here he receives some treatment from the Leeds trainer — there were no true physios on duty in 1970 – then rubs the side of his head and jogs back into position. Quite extraordinary.” Eighteen days after the first meeting of the sides had gone to extra time at Wembley, the same fate befell the teams in this replay at Old Trafford. Another 30 minutes brought more dubious challenges and, more importantly, a 104th-minute headed winner from Webb, whose involvement in the match might have ended as early as the opening half-hour. Scott: “Maybe I got carried away trying to tally the number of yellow and red cards I might have awarded had this match been played today. Would I really have dished out 25 yellow cards and 10 reds? The most notorious player on the pitch was Harris and, bizarrely, he would have escaped a caution. I would have sent him off three times, mind. “None of the three goalscorers would have been on the field by the time they put the ball in the net, and the game would have been abandoned when Osgood was dismissed for his terrible tackle on Charlton, as a team must have at least seven players for a match to continue. “In the dugouts, (Leeds manager) Don Revie would have been sent to the stands midway through the second half, not for berating the linesman but because he lit up a large cigar. OK then, but unacceptable now. “To my modern eyes, the refereeing makes little sense, as free kicks are awarded for minor shirt pulls and impeding an opponent, while fierce tackles and outright brutality go unpunished. It’s the polar opposite of what we have come to expect today. Those who trot out the trope that refereeing standards have never been lower than they currently are would surely revise that view if they took time out to watch this game in its entirety. “In the referee’s defence, there is minimal dissent, which suggests nobody on the field was particularly surprised at his tolerance level. Sure, players were more respectful then, but it is refreshing to see them just get on with the game. Indeed, in a match riven with unsporting behaviour, there is an underlying honesty to this encounter. Maybe it’s a case of honour among thieves, but at the end of the match, everyone shakes hands, some swap shirts, and you can imagine the players enjoying a drink together in the Old Trafford bar afterwards. “The ball is in play almost the entire time, goal celebrations last less than 40 seconds, free kicks are taken with a minimum of fuss, and no one stands over the ball to stop one being taken. No one seems bothered that added time is cut short by at least half. Only at the end of extra time do two Chelsea players kick the ball away to delay the restart. “There’s no messing about after the match either, with Chelsea captain Harris getting his hands on the trophy only 65 seconds after the final whistle. These days, the stadium is half-empty by the time the cup is presented, but in these halcyon days the vanquished Leeds fans stay around to applaud their opponents’ lap of honour. “The TV coverage is kinder to the referee than today’s high-definition experience, with its super-slow-mo replays and partisan punditry. In 1970, there were only a handful of cameras, the picture was grainy and the commentator generously gave everyone, including the ref, the benefit of the doubt. There is no ex-player telling us that they’ve ‘seen them given’. “Are the game and its officials better today? In the round, definitely. The pitches are better and the skill level even higher, while referees have improved at protecting skilful players and allowing their talent to shine. But as a child of this era, I miss the continuity of play and the sporting acceptance of decisions. There’s no surrounding the officials every time there’s a potential yellow card, or feigning injury to get an opponent in trouble.” Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms