Aston Villa fans taunt Eduardo

2008-03-01 22:09

London - Trouble flared at Arsenal's Emirates stadium on Saturday after a section of Aston Villa supporters sang songs mocking the serious injury sustained by Gunners striker Eduardo last week.

The Croatian is facing at least nine months on the sidelines after suffering a compound fracture of his left leg following a tackle from Birmingham defender Martin Taylor at St Andrews.

Eduardo was saluted by Arsenal fans in the club's first game since the incident.

But a minority of the travelling support was not so sympathetic, comparing the player to amputee Heather Mills, the estranged wife of pop legend Sir Paul McCartney.

Chants of "He used to have silky skills, now he walks like Heather Mills" prompted a furious response from a handful of home fans next to the visitors' enclosure.

Stewards were forced to make several ejections and there were reports of further trouble outside the ground after the final whistle.

Both managers were united in their condemnation of the abuse, with Arsene Wenger, the Arsenal manager, observing that "unfortunately there are no limits to either intelligence or stupidity."

Ironically, moments after Villa's fans had sparked Arsenal's fury mid-way through the first half, their own centre-half Curtis Davies was stretchered off with a ruptured Achilles tendon following an innocuous-looking incident.

The centre-half - who was recently included in Fabio Capello's first provisional England squad - was undergoing an operation on Saturday night but will definitely miss the rest of the season.

"I'm really disappointing for us," Martin O'Neill, his manager, said.

"He was devastated, because he has done so well for us. Getting picked by Fabio Capello gave him a big boost of confidence and it's really unfortunate."

- AFP