Vickers dismissed for tackling pitch invader
Reuters - Tuesday 08 March 2011, 11:16
LONDON - A minor league player has been
sent off for wrestling a pitch invader dressed as UK comic Sacha
Baron Cohen's faux-documentary character "Borat" to the ground.
Dorchester Town player-manager Ashley Vickers was shown a
red card for intervening on Monday after the unwanted
second-half invasion by a man, sporting only a bright green
mankini and white socks, during the Blue Square South clash with
Havant & Waterlooville.
"I'm dumbfounded and speechless. A guy ran on to the pitch
without any of the stewards getting near him and I thought I was
doing them a favour," Vickers told the Dorset Echo.
"My only thought was to get hold of him so we could get on
with the game. I managed to grab him and bring him to the ground
and the funny thing was the stewards actually thanked me for it.
"But the referee decided to send me off and it beggars
belief. Their players told the ref not to send me off and their
chairman even offered to take a player off to even things up."
Dorchester also had two other players sent off in a 3-1
defeat watched by 458 spectators.