When trouble was on the menu...

Take that: Alan Smith throws a bottle into the crowd

14 April 2012

Following Sunday's explosive game between Manchester United and Arsenal, it has emerged victorious boss Sir Alex Ferguson became the target of a disgruntled Gunners player. According to reports, the Manchester United boss was bombarded with a variety of foodstuffs, including soup, pizza and sandwiches.

Here, we look at those within the game who have suffered the indignity of becoming the target of food missiles.

In the 1970s and 80s John Barnes, and many other black footballers, were the subject of constant racist abuse which saw bananas thrown on the pitch.
Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Corrigan was felled by a bottle thrown at his head at Anfield in the late 1970s.
In 1996, Grimsby Town manager Brian Laws was so frustrated by his team's 3-2 defeat by Luton he threw a plate of chicken sandwiches at star player Ivano Bonetti, breaking the player's cheekbone. Both left the club shortly afterwards.
The Socceroos once bore the brunt of Hungarian anger when fans lobbed fish at them during a friendly game in 2000 in protest against a part-Australian owned mine which allegedly leaked cyanide into local rivers. Fans also held up signs accusing keeper Mark Bosnich and the rest of the team of being 'fish murderers'.
The then Sunderland manager Peter Reid was drenched by a can of beer following a pre-season friendly defeat in the summer of 2002 in Belgium. He became the first managerial casualty of the Premiership season when he left the Stadium of Light that October.
At West Ham, Don Hutchison became the focus of then boss Harry Redknapp's anger after a miserable performance at Southampton and had a plate of sandwiches thrown over his head.
Portuguese star Luis Figo has been the object of abuse whenever he has returned to Barcelona with their hated rivals Real Madrid after his £37million transfer in 2000. In 2002, he was attempting to take a corner when missiles rained down from the stands - including a piglet's head.
Last year was the chance for the players to hit back when Alan Smith, then with Leeds, threw a plastic bottle into a stand at Elland Road where it hit a woman.

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Alan Smithers