7 August 1999 - What's Black, White, And Red All Over?

On 7 August 1999, Alan Shearer marked his 100th appearance for Newcastle by receiving the first red card of his career.

The striker joined Newcastle, his hometown club, in 1996 after five seasons at Southampton and four at Blackburn Rovers (with whom he won the Premier League in 1995) and had made 99 appearances for the club prior to the start of the 1999-2000 season. He had acquired the nickname "Mary Poppins" for his squeaky-clean public image, due in large part to the fact that he had never been sent off.

That changed in 1999. Newcastle were hosting Aston Villa in the season opener and the match remained scoreless deep into the second half. In the 70th minute, Shearer, who was already on a yellow card, battled Villa's Colin Calderwood for the ball, leaving the defender on the ground. Referee Uriah Rennie ruled that Shearer was guilty of "excessive use of the elbows" and showed the striker a second yellow, ejecting him from the match. Villa went on to win 0-1 with a 75th-minute goal from Julian Joachim.

Just over two years later, Shearer received a second red in a match against Charlton, but it was later rescinded.

1 January 2008 - A Sound In The Forest

On 1 January 2008, Nottingham Forest hosted Huddersfield Town in a League One match that delivered controversy before the opening whistle.

Several clubs across the UK started their matches that day with a moment of silence for Motherwell captain Phil O'Donnell, who collapsed during a match three days earlier and died. Forest manager Colin Calderwood, a former teammate of O'Donnell's, elected not to join them, however, saying "The fact that it was a boy in Scotland, does that make it any different to a boy in Colombia?"

Forest proceeded to win the match, 2-1, and subsequently earned promotion to the Championship for the 2008-09 season.

Calderwood later had cause to regret his comments. In October 2010, he became manager of Hibernian less than a month before Motherwell were scheduled to visit. Before that match, played on 13 November, the Motherwell supporters demanded an apology from Calderwood. He duly obliged, saying "It's something that has caused offense and for that I can only apologize."

7 August 1999 - What's Black, White, And Red All Over?

On 7 August 1999, Alan Shearer marked his 100th appearance for Newcastle by receiving the first red card of his career.

The striker joined Newcastle, his hometown club, in 1996 after five seasons at Southampton and four at Blackburn Rovers (with whom he won the Premier League in 1995) and had made 99 appearances for the club prior to the start of the 1999-2000 season. He had acquired the nickname "Mary Poppins" for his squeaky-clean public image, due in large part to the fact that he had never been sent off.

That changed in 1999. Newcastle were hosting Aston Villa in the season opener and the match remained scoreless deep into the second half. In the 70th minute, Shearer, who was already on a yellow card, battled Villa's Colin Calderwood for the ball, leaving the defender on the ground. Referee Uriah Rennie ruled that Shearer was guilty of "excessive use of the elbows" and showed the striker a second yellow, ejecting him from the match. Villa went on to win 0-1 with a 75th-minute goal from Julian Joachim.

Just over two years later, Shearer received a second red in a match against Charlton, but it was later rescinded.

1 January 2008 - A Sound In The Forest

On 1 January 2008, Nottingham Forest hosted Huddersfield Town in a League One match that delivered controversy before the opening whistle.

Several clubs across the UK started their matches that day with a moment of silence for Motherwell captain Phil O'Donnell, who collapsed during a match three days earlier and died. Forest manager Colin Calderwood, a former teammate of O'Donnell's, elected not to join them, however, saying "The fact that it was a boy in Scotland, does that make it any different to a boy in Colombia?"

Forest proceeded to win the match, 2-1, and subsequently earned promotion to the Championship for the 2008-09 season.

Calderwood later had cause to regret his comments. In October 2010, he became manager of Hibernian less than a month before Motherwell were scheduled to visit. Before that match, played on 13 November, the Motherwell supporters demanded an apology from Calderwood. He duly obliged, saying "It's something that has caused offense and for that I can only apologize."