Match abandoned after 82 minutes with the score Sheffield United 0–3 West Bromwich Albion. The Football Association ruled score to stand for league standings.
Date
16 March 2002
Venue
Bramall Lane, Sheffield
Man of the Match
Derek McInnes (West Bromwich Albion)
Referee
Eddie Wolstenholme (Lancashire)
Attendance
17,653
Weather
Partly cloudy
The "Battle of Bramall Lane" is a name used by the British press to refer to an English First Division football match played between Sheffield United and West Bromwich Albion at Bramall Lane, Sheffield on 16 March 2002. It is the only match in English professional football history to have been abandoned due to a shortage of players. Going into the match, Sheffield United were comfortably mid-table with neither promotion or relegation possible, while Albion were fighting for promotion to the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The two clubs were not historically seen as rivals, and the fixture was not a local derby, but there was history between United midfielder Georges Santos and Albion midfielder Andy Johnson due to an injury Santos suffered from a collision with Johnson in a previous meeting.
United goalkeeper Simon Tracey was sent off in the 9th minute for deliberately handling the ball outside the area to stop a shot at goal. Albion striker Scott Dobie gave his side the lead going into half-time, and midfielder Derek McInnes doubled the lead in the 63rd minute, prompting United manager Neil Warnock to make two substitutions; Santos and Patrick Suffo came on, but both received red cards within moments. Santos committed a dangerous two-footed tackle on Johnson, and Suffo headbutted McInnes in the ensuing melee. Down to eight men, United conceded a third goal, with Dobie scoring his second of the afternoon. United midfielder Michael Brown and defender Robert Ullathorne suffered injuries that meant they could no longer take part in the match. Because United had already used all of their allowed substitutions, referee Eddie Wolstenholme, who had already declined to send off both Brown and captain Keith Curle for clear red-card offences, was forced to abandon the match in the 82nd minute, as dictated by the rules of the game.
A week later, Albion were awarded a 3–0 victory by The Football League, while United, Warnock and several United players received bans and fines from The Football Association. Warnock faced allegations of cheating from Albion manager Gary Megson, sparking a long-lasting feud between the two managers. Neither Santos nor Suffo ever played for United again, departing the club in the following months.
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