Post by QPR Report on Feb 21, 2009 8:39:46 GMT
Ban Them!
The Times/Nick Szczepanik
Portsmouth left red-faced over FA Cup damage
Avoiding the drop is Portsmouth’s main concern, but the omens are not good if their custody of the FA Cup is anything to go by. The trophy, which the club won by beating Cardiff City in last season’s final at Wembley, requires repairs after it fell off a table in a function room at Fratton Park.
The incident occurred at an event hosted by E.ON, the competition’s sponsor. Children jumped on to a stage on which a table was supporting the cup, causing the 82-year-old trophy to fall to the floor, suffering damage to the rim.
“There’s a dent in the rim where the lid goes but it does still fit,” Gary Double, the Portsmouth director of communications, said. “It is just a bit misshapen. It’s really not anything huge at all. It will be put back into shape after it goes back to the FA. I would say we have looked after the cup well while it’s been in our hands — there haven’t been any other accidents. It always goes back with a few little dents in it.”
In fact, the lid fell to the ground in August last year when one of the two stewards holding the trophy stumbled as it was being paraded before a crowd at a home match against Manchester United, but Portsmouth are following in a tradition of handing silverware back slightly the worse for wear.
Iraq recently returned the Asian Cup trophy that they won in 2007 complete with dents inflicted on its victory tour of the nation’s 18 provinces. “There was some damage to the trophy because of the happiness of the Iraqi people,” Najeh Hamud, vice-president of the Iraqi Football Union, said. “It had been thrown around between some people on its travels.”
Chelsea, the 2007 FA Cup winners, delivered the trophy back to Soho Square before last season’s final with a split that required soldering and a dent to the lid. “If there are any repairs that need to be done we will do them and Portsmouth will have to pay for that,” the FA said.
The Times/Nick Szczepanik
Portsmouth left red-faced over FA Cup damage
Avoiding the drop is Portsmouth’s main concern, but the omens are not good if their custody of the FA Cup is anything to go by. The trophy, which the club won by beating Cardiff City in last season’s final at Wembley, requires repairs after it fell off a table in a function room at Fratton Park.
The incident occurred at an event hosted by E.ON, the competition’s sponsor. Children jumped on to a stage on which a table was supporting the cup, causing the 82-year-old trophy to fall to the floor, suffering damage to the rim.
“There’s a dent in the rim where the lid goes but it does still fit,” Gary Double, the Portsmouth director of communications, said. “It is just a bit misshapen. It’s really not anything huge at all. It will be put back into shape after it goes back to the FA. I would say we have looked after the cup well while it’s been in our hands — there haven’t been any other accidents. It always goes back with a few little dents in it.”
In fact, the lid fell to the ground in August last year when one of the two stewards holding the trophy stumbled as it was being paraded before a crowd at a home match against Manchester United, but Portsmouth are following in a tradition of handing silverware back slightly the worse for wear.
Iraq recently returned the Asian Cup trophy that they won in 2007 complete with dents inflicted on its victory tour of the nation’s 18 provinces. “There was some damage to the trophy because of the happiness of the Iraqi people,” Najeh Hamud, vice-president of the Iraqi Football Union, said. “It had been thrown around between some people on its travels.”
Chelsea, the 2007 FA Cup winners, delivered the trophy back to Soho Square before last season’s final with a split that required soldering and a dent to the lid. “If there are any repairs that need to be done we will do them and Portsmouth will have to pay for that,” the FA said.