Photo credit: @joecockburn
By Rebecca Marano
SALFORD CITY’S goalkeeper was given the red card for urinating during a match on Saturday.
Despite a 2-1 win over Bradford Park Avenue, the victory was overshadowed by the Salford goalkeeper’s decision to relieve himself on the pitch.
Max Crocombe, 24, was sent off in the 87th minute of the match after being caught “watering the flowers” by the linesman.
Despite initial confusion at the booking, Bradford Park Avenue officially confirmed the bizarre incident on Twitter, saying: “87′ – We can confirm that Crocombe has been sent off for urinating during the game. We are not joking. #greenarmy (1-2)”
87' – We can confirm that Crocombe has been sent off for urinating during the game. We are not joking. #greenarmy (1-2)
— Bradford (Park Avenue) AFC (@BPAFCOfficial) October 28, 2017
Bradford Park Avenue club secretary Colin Barker said: “He was told by the steward twice not to do it and he went ahead and had a pee.”
Spectator Travis Cheetham, 25, a logistics operation manager from Bradford was at the game.
He said: “It was quite a strange one really. It was really late on in the game and Salford were dominating so most of the action was in the BPA box. No one really had eyes on the Salford goalkeeper except fans in the ‘Shed End’ stand.
“I could hear a murmur of uproar from those fans. It was a guessing game for a few minutes. Nobody in the stadium knew what was going on.”
After speaking to the crowd behind the goal and his two linesmen, the referee gave a straight red card.
Mr Cheetham said: “The first hint of what happened was when the Salford fans started chanting something along the lines of ‘We are taking the p***’. Word started spreading and it was confirmed, he had relieved himself on the pitch.”
Following the match, Crocombe posted an apology on his Twitter account.
He said: “I’d like to sincerely apologise for the incident today. I was in a very uncomfortable position and made an error of judgment which spoiled a great win.
“My intention was never to offend anyone and I’d like to apologise to both clubs and both sets of supporters and it won’t happen again. Max.”
Despite reports that the incident has been reported to the police, Travis said the crowd were generally amused.
He said: “There were two Salford fans that left the stand visibly angry at what the player had done. It may have been too much beer but they were really disappointed and embarrassed.
“It was a bit of a shock but in general it was funny. Aside from the Salford fans, everyone else was p***ing themselves. Pardon the pun.”