FARCICAL SOCCER IN “PEA-SOUP” FOG

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 89, Issue 278, 24 November 1945, Page 5

FARCICAL SOCCER IN “PEA-SOUP” FOG

MOSCOW DYNAMOS DEFEAT ARSENAL London, Nov. 21 While a crowd of 54,000 this afternoon tried in vain to pierce the Cimmer.an mists of a real London •’peasouper,” Moscow Dynamos defeated Arsenal by 4 goals to 3 in what the Press Associal ion describes as one of the most fantastic matches in the history of British lootball. The players from the sidelines appeared like shadowy wraiths. It was only possible to follow the game by the sound of the referee’s whistle and the occasional Hash of a photographers bulb at the goal-ends. The Arsenal manager during the second half, when the Dynamos were leading 4 to 3, told the Russians they could have the satisfaction of victory and suggested the game should be called off in view of the conditions, but met a curt refusal and the match was played out to the bitter end. It is doubtful whether any English referee would have allowed the farcical game to run its full course, but the Russian official stuck strictly to schedule. The referee surprised the crowd by ordering two English linesmen to stay on one side of the field while he covered the whole of the other. He insisted he was the sole judge of any incident in the penalty area. The match produced a record for the number of substitutes—two Russian and one Arsenal players Towards Ihe end blows weye struck in a scuffle. The referee apparently tried Io order an Arsenal player off the field but no one could understand Russian. A Moscow correspondent reports that when the result of the game was broadcast a Russian sports official exclaimed: “That proves we are just about the best soccer players in the world.”