When Blue is Whiter than White

Remember the ugly scenes that took place in the aftermath of Chelsea’s F.A. Cup victory over Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane? Apparently, two fans ran onto the pitch, but all the media attention has been focused on the Spurs fan who took a swing at Frank Lampard, but partly because he was the worse for drink and partly because Lumpy ducked, he missed completely and seemed to be wrestled to the ground, some say by Chelsea staff. Television pictures showed Didier Drogba striding purposefully towards the incident, though conveniently nothing further, and thereafter all we see is a scrum of players in Chelsea shirts surrounding the fan. As for the other offender, he was a Chelsea fan who seems to have attracted virtually no publicity whatsoever – though whether this is because he was not drunk, or because he didn’t attempt to deck anyone, or because he was a Chelsea supporter is unclear.

All this raises some interesting questions. The pitch invasion was certainly unlawful and dangerous, but why is it that the spotlight of publicity has fallen almost exclusively upon the Spurs fan? What exactly did the Chelsea players contribute to the scrum – and Drogba in particular? And was the incident actually precipitated by Chelsea players antagonising Spurs fans through the manner in which they flaunted their celebrations in front of them?

According to the Football Association, however, there is no case to answer, because they have examined the footage and decided that there will be “no formal disciplinary action” against any players.

Which leaves just one area to be questioned. How do Chelsea do it? How do they get involved in scuffles at the Carling Cup final and apart from Mikel, escape serious sanction – unlike their opponents? And how do they manage it all again at White Hart Lane?

Arsenal players and their manager, in particular, would be most interested in the extremely unlikely event that the F.A. can offer a convincing explanation of this anomaly.