It was the most far-fetched plan ever, but after the tackle on Eduardo that nearly cost him a leg, a little group of Arsenal fans felt they just had to act.
When one member of the group claimed to be able to put a curse on Birmingham, there was general disbelief – but no one objected.
The reason was not just the tackle itself, but the clubs’ subsequent reaction – their decision to sneak the player who committed the tackle back into football after just three games, and their wholesale resistance to the idea from FIFA of an investigation of the tackle.
There was no admission of guilt, no sorrow, just a totally self-centered attitude – and that is what upset us so much.
Of course you might put it all down to coincidence, but since the Curse was announced three events have happened. First Birmingham’s managing director and co-owner were both arrested by police. Then the fraud squad turned up and took away much of the club’s paperwork in a dawn raid.
And finally of course the club (which at the time of the Eduardo attack was not looking threatened by relegation) has gone down.
(I should add for the sake of accuracy that no charges have been brought by the police and there is no suggestion of wrong doing by the club or its owners or directors.)
So what next? A spokesperson for the group that ran the Curse said, “it is interesting that this power seems to be exist and with proper work it can be channeled into something specific – like the demise of Birmingham City FC. I am not sure what we will do next season as a group – we could work on Birmingham City again, although we could choose another club. But if we do choose to look elsewhere, it will only be for a significant incident. We don’t do this lightly.”
