flag
back Back
Manager headbutts player in wild FA Cup tie as red card shown and teams forced to be separated

Oldham Athletic caused a cup upset by beating Sheffield Wednesday in the first round of the tournament

Micky Mellon appeared to headbutt Sheffield Wednesday's Callum Slattery.
Oldham manager Micky Mellon was shown a red card for headbutting a player.

Micky Mellon, manager of League Two side Oldham Athletic, was forced to leave the touchline for the final few minutes and extra time of his team's FA Cup clash vs Sheffield Wednesday, after headbutting an opposition player. The manager was shown a straight red card for the incident.

In what was Dave Challinor's first game in charge of the Owls, Oldham were looking to cause an upset against their League One opponents. They took the lead just after the hour mark thanks to Calum Kavanagh.

They were, however, pegged back in the 76th minute when David Kellior-Dunn scored for Wednesday. That goal took the game to extra time.

Micky Mellon, manager of Oldham Athletic clashes with players from Sheffield Wednesday and is subsequently sent off during the Emirates FA Cup First Round match between Oldham Athletic and Sheffield Wednesday.
Oldham Athletic manager Micky Mellon was shown a straight red card vs Sheffield Wednesday.

Make sure you never miss the most fun content in sport by making the Daily Star one of your Google preferred sources.

But it was in the closing stages of normal time when tempers flared. Mellon appears to move his head towards Wednesday's Callum Slattery in a coming together between the two. The incident sparked chaos among the players from both sides. Once order was restored, the referee brandished a straight red card to the Oldham manager.

"It's all going off here, there's little one v ones as well," co-commentator Glenn Hoddle told TNT Sport. "Everyone is involved.

"I don't know what on earth the manager is thinking there, I really don't."

With the scoreline deadlocked after 90 minutes, the tie headed straight into extra time. Remarkably, despite their manager's absence from the dugout, Oldham netted the winner to secure their progression to the second round.

The length of Mellon's ban has yet to be confirmed, with the FA potentially taking further action regarding the incident. Oldham will find out who they face in the second round when the draw is made on Monday evening.

The tie is scheduled to take place on the weekend of Saturday, 5 December. Among the potential opponents are Leicester City, who lifted the trophy five years ago and saw off Oxford City in the first round, or seventh-tier Wimborne Town, who caused an upset by defeating Crawley Town in their first-round fixture.

Speaking ahead of the tie, Mellon spoke of the opportunity that the FA Cup brings to make memories. "I love the FA Cup. I've had good moments in it and love when it comes around this time of the year," he said.

"If we can make some memories for the fans and for the players as well and their families, and ourselves, that's the thing that you try to attack.

"It's still a romantic competition that everybody still gets excited about."

You may like

Oldham Athletic shock Sheffield Wednesday with extra-time winner

BBC 11 hours ago

14 Things We Loved This Weekend: Mourinho, Valencia, Parker, FA Cup drama & more…

planetfootball.com 2 hours ago

FA Cup: Four games starting with eighth-tier Stafford v Grimsby

bbc.com 21 hours ago

Mitre has unveiled the ball for the FA Cup and launched a nationwide football pairs competition

The Daily Star 2 days ago

'There's going to have to be some change' - Dave Challinor bullish on Sheffield Wednesday mission

thestar.co.uk 3 hours ago

Harrogate Town 1 AFC Fylde 4: Coasters claim their place in round two of the FA Cup

blackpoolgazette.co.uk 23 hours ago

Cray Wanderers 2 Stockport County 3 aet match report: FA Cup first round heartache for Cray despi...

kentonline.co.uk 16 hours ago

Owen says Man Utd’s ‘next couple of days’ could be ‘pivotal’

unitedinfocus.com 1 hour ago