"After last Tuesday's handcuff-to-post efforts at Goodison Park, what are the most ludicrous on-pitch, non-match protests ever?" asks James Richards.
During the match, there were erroneous claims that the man with the handcuffs was the notorious Jimmy Jump. It wasn't him but the Spaniard has staged various stunts down the years, not least when he ran on to the pitch during the Euro 2004 final between Portugal and Greece and threw a Barcelona flag at Luis Figo. Figo, of course, made himself a pariah in Barcelona when he left them to join Real Madrid in 2000.
That's not all Jump's bought in the Barcelona megastore: he also made it on to the pitch at Villarreal during Arsenal's Champions League semi-final there in 2006 and gave a Barça shirt to Henry, who moved to the Camp Nou in the summer. That's not exactly a protest though, more a biting piece of satire.
Unlike his protest at the Euro 2008 semi-final between Germany and Turkey in Basel, when he evaded security, holding a Tibet flag and a T-shirt with the message "Tibet is not China". There was a similar protest just before the Euro 2000 quarter-final between France and Spain, this time in support of Basque prisoners, while Dennis Wise once tackled a Kurdish protester during Chelsea's Champions League match against Galatasaray in September 1999.
Samuel Luckhurst is also on hand with another tale centred around Barcelona. "The anti-Ryanair invader at Goodison Park immediately evoked memories of the 2002 Clásico," he says. "The game, which finished 1-1, was brought to an abrupt halt by a handcuff protest courtesy of not one, but two 'fans'. The protesters, who wore shirts bearing anti-capitalist slogans, sprinted on to the pitch at the Barcelona end and attached themselves to the posts, delaying the game for over six minutes until they were released."
Non-political protests have been mounted by fans before as well. In 2004, Manchester United supporters disrupted a reserve match in Altrincham in protest at the proposed takeover of the club by the Glazers. Supporters calling themselves the Manchester Education Committee invaded the pitch for three minutes, brandishing a "Not For Sale" banner in front of MUTV cameras.
In response, the club issued a statement that read: "Encroaching on the field of play is against the law. The club does not condone what happened last night. It would be unacceptable at a first-team game and it is unacceptable for the reserves."
They refused to comment on threats by the MEC that they would activate a "civil war" if supporters' views were ignored in any takeover. The group were also responsible for disrupting a race meeting at Hereford earlier that year during Sir Alex Ferguson's feud with John Magnier and JP McManus.
Those United supporters didn't have much success; the Glazers took over in 2005. Nor did a Wimbledon fan who ran on to the pitch naked in 2002, protesting at the club's plans to relocate to Milton Keynes. The youngster bared all during a defeat to Leicester City at Selhurst Park, with the words "Milton Keynes" scrawled on his back and "My arse" on ... well, you can imagine. Pity the person who was handed the pen, especially as the club moved anyway.
There have been less revealing protests. In 2006, a Middlesbrough fan ran half the length of the pitch to chuck his season ticket at manager Steve McClaren during a 4-0 defeat to Aston Villa at the Riverside. "I fully understand their frustration and anger," said McClaren, adding that "some players were in tears". The fan went on to miss Middlesbrough reaching the Uefa Cup final. Still, at least that was in February.
On the first day of the 2009-10 season, Norwich fans, still bristling with indignation about being in League One, threw season tickets at their manager, Bryan Gunn, during their 7-1 defeat to Colchester United. Who were managed by Paul Lambert. You know the rest.
Throwing away a season ticket is usually a spur-of-the-moment decision, so kudos to the FC Basel and FC Luzern fans for thinking ahead before a match between their sides in 2010. Unhappy at the kick-off being moved forward by a Swiss television company so the match would be over in time for the final of the Basel Open final between Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, they showed their displeasure in eloquent displeasure, chucking tennis balls on to the pitch shortly after kick-off.
Supporters aren't the only ones who have been unhappy with their lot. Last year, the players of Spanish third division club Pontevedra followed in the footsteps of Granada and Real Jaén by staging a sit-down protest against Lugo. The players were protesting against not being paid and when the referee blew for the match to start, they refused to play, instead revealing T-shirts that translated to: "Solutions now!" Lugo eventually won 3-2.
FOOTBALLERS EXCELLING IN OTHER CAREERS
"The Oscar nominations on Monday reminded me of Neil Paterson, who won an academy award for best adapted screenplay for Room at the Top in 1959," writes William Dods. "Paterson had previously captained Dundee United in the 1930s. Ignoring OBE/MBEs and the like are there any other footballers with major awards in a non-sporting field?"
Incredibly Andy Cole never won an award for his hit single Outstanding, and nor did executive producers Rio Ferdinand and Ashley Cole for Dead Man Running, a film that starred Danny Dyer and 50 Cent. Leave it to Vinnie Jones then. The former hardman won acting awards from Empire: Best Debut Actor for his performance Lock Stock & Two Smoking Barrels and Best British Actor for his role in Snatch. He also took Best Supporting Actor at the Alan J Bailey awards for 2007 flick Strength and Honour, which was about "a single father deciding to break his dying wife's last wish to not box again in order to save his young son from certain death". More of a stretch is Albert Camus, who played in goal for Racing Universitaire d'Alger from 1928-30 but never made it as a professional, winning the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1957.
Meanwhile Gio Pirtskhelani is on hand with some information about the former Georgia player Zurab Sotkilava. "Born in Sukhumi in 1937, he started his football career with Dinamo Sukhumi at the age of 16, before being transferred to Dinamo Tbilisi two years later. He was the captain of Georgia SSR. After two bad injuries against Yugoslavia in 1958 and Czechoslovakia in 1959, he retired from football. He became a famous opera singer, a 'People's Artist of the USSR' and an honoured member of the Philharmonic Academy of Bologna."
KNOWLEDGE ARCHIVE
"In light of the demotions and points deductions imposed on the match-fixing four in Italy, I was wondering: what is the most severe penalty ever imposed on a club for match-fixing?" asked Melane Sauce in 2006.
Fiorentina were forcibly disbanded in 2002, but that was for bankruptcy, and all anecdotal evidence suggests that Juventus's punishment – relegation to Serie B, a 30-point deduction for next season (reduced to 17 on appeal and finally nine) and the loss of their 2005 and 2006 league titles – is the most severe to be handed out for match-fixing in the game's modern history. Marseille were stripped of the French title that they won in 1992-93, and later relegated for financial irregularities, while Milan and Lazio were demoted in 1980 for their part in Italy's infamous Totonero scandal. But none of them started the next season on -30 points, or with Mauro Camoranesi and Zlatan Ibrahimovic in their squad. Anyone know of any more severe punishments?
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CAN YOU HELP?
"Papiss Demba Cissé marked his Newcastle debut with a goal against Aston Villa on Sunday, four days after Djibril Cissé scored on his QPR debut against Aston Villa," says Sam Ruddick. "Is this the first time two players with the same name have scored for two different teams against one team on their debuts? Let alone in consecutive games?"
"Manchester United recently scored four consecutive goals with penalties (Stoke and Chelsea)," says Alan O'Brien. "Has this ever been bettered?"
"Wikipedia says Melchester Rovers have won 35 major trophies. Are they the most successful fictional team ever?" tweets SteadfastTweet.
"Turkish football coach Yilmaz Vural managed 25 teams in Turkey. Are there any coaches out there who can beat him for one country?" asks Didem Dilmen Kilic.
"Mikel Arteta scored in his third game of the season against Blackburn last Saturday," says Andrew Perry. "What's the highest number of games a player has scored in against a team in one season?"
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