Clough strikes fans after cup win
On this day in Nottingham Forest history in 1989 Brian Clough strikes pitch invaders after Forest beat QPR in the League Cup.
Brian Clough made headlines after Nottingham Forest beat Queens Park Rangers 5-2 in the League Cup quarter-final at the City Ground.
Forest’s football should have been the story. Lee Chapman scored four times, Nigel Clough added a penalty, and Brian Clough’s side swept past QPR to reach the semi-finals. Instead, the final whistle produced one of the most infamous and strangely comic incidents of Clough’s later years.
As Forest supporters invaded the pitch, Clough marched out and struck several of them while trying to clear the playing area. He later said he feared a confrontation with QPR fans and wanted the pitch cleared quickly, but the pictures caused a national argument about discipline, authority and whether even Brian Clough had gone too far.
The aftermath became pure Cloughie theatre. Some of the fans later met him in front of television cameras, with apologies offered on both sides. Clough then softened the moment in his own unmistakable way, asking the lads to give him a kiss on the cheek.
The FA still punished him with a record £5,000 fine and a touchline ban for the rest of the season. Forest’s cup run survived the controversy: they beat Bristol City in the semi-final and defeated Luton Town 3-1 at Wembley to win the League Cup.
Sources
11v11; Transfermarkt; Brian Clough profile
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