Former EADT and Ipswich Star sports editor Tony Garnett reported on Ipswich Town for more than 40 years, from the 1960s until he retired in 2007. Here, he recalls a physical clash with Lazio in the UEFA Cup back in the early-70's....
The UEFA Cup matches between Ipswich Town and SS Lazio in November 1973 were dramatic.
The Italians came to Portman Road for the first leg. Coach Tommaso Maestrelli made changes to tighten his defence. They backfired.
Ipswich established a 4-0 lead with Trevor Whymark scoring all four goals. The fourth was hotly disputed by the angry Italians who claimed that Whymark had handled the ball.
It was a rugged match. David Johnson, the Ipswich centre-forward, took a blow to his private parts.
During the night he found there was blood on his bedclothes. It transpired that he had a nasty gash under his foreskin.
A few days later he was at the ground and chairman John Cobbold asked how the injury was progressing.
Johnson unzipped his fly buttons and put his injured penis on the board room table for inspection.
Sightseeing in Rome went smoothly. It was when Ipswich had their first training session in Rome that the flames of Lazio fury were ignited.
A delegation of AC Roma supporters, Lazio’s big rivals, arrived to make a presentation with press photographers present.
Pietro Magliocchetti, their president, handed Whymark a trophy with the following inscription.
"To Whymark in recognition of Ipswich v Lazio 4-0. Il Roma Club FC 12. Giallorossa, with affection and gratitude."
There was an atmosphere of intimidation in the Olympic Stadium. Whymark took a blow to the head early on and Bryan Hamilton later admitted that he was “genuinely scared” by Lazio’s violent approach.
When I made my first call to Ipswich from the Press Box it was EADT editor Donald Simpson on the line. “We don’t want a report from you tonight.” He would not tell me why.
I found out next morning that there was an NUJ strike and Simpson did not want to inflame a tense situation in days when unions were powerful.
Lazio scored opened the scoring in 43 seconds and added another in nine minutes. A third goal after 26 minutes brought the Italians back into the game.,
They were pegged back after 73 minutes when Dutch referee Leo van der Kroft awarded what Lazio felt was a soft penalty after Clive Woods had been tripped.
Colin Viljoen calmly converted the spot kick. Whymark went to congratulate him and was chased back into his own goalmouth by enraged Lazio players.
Giorgio Chinaglia, the Lazio captain and superstar, scored a penalty in the 82 minutes to set up a tense finish although the Italians had to score two more because of the away-goal rule.
Johnson was on the bench. He was spat on by an Italian which made him determined to play his part on the field despite his injury which had not fully healed.
In injury-time Johnson scored for Ipswich to clinch a 6-4 overall success.
On the final whistle Ipswich players made a dash for the dressing room. Goalkeeper David Best had further to run and received a kick on his leg.
Lazio fans got onto the pitch despite a metal fence and a moat. They threw full beer cans and lighted rockets at the police who used tear gas in a forlorn effort to maintain control.
I doubt if I would have been able to phone a report with angry Italians charging over the seats towards the press box.
It is a bit of a blur 45 years later, but I ended up with the Ipswich players in the dressing room with angry fans, probably including some Lazio players, banging on the door. The referee was also locked into his changing room for safety.
He was spirited out of the ground via a hidden exit. Lazio’s enraged followers thought he was in an ambulance, which they attacked only to find it had their own supporters inside.
After a couple of hours, when things had quietened down, Ipswich were given use of the SS Lazio team coach to take them to the hotel.
Everyone was told to lie on the floor because of the possibility of stones being thrown through the windows. There was a smell of tear gas. Broken glass was everywhere.
Angry Italians were outside the hotel so the Ipswich party were taken to a restaurant in the hills for a meal and to allow things to quieten down.
The Italian Press had a heading “Thugs of the Olimpico” and “Madness at Stadio Olimpico.” It was war, not football.
The riot proved costly for Lazio. That season they went on to win the Scudetto for the first time in 74 years but were banned by UEFA from playing in the European Cup.
Ipswich had some epic tussles wit Real Madrid. In September 1973 Ipswich were drawn against the mighty Spanish club in the UEFA Cup.
Ipswich won the first leg 1-0 at Portman Road with a own goal from a shot by Mick Mills.
They were rank outsiders for the return leg in the Bernabeu Stadium. Bobby Robson’s decision to play an attacking game took the Spaniards by surprise. It ended goalless.
Ipswich deserved to claim such a notable scalp. All credit to Robson for his adventurous tactics.
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