Sunday 14 June 2009

Gingergate

Is it because I'm ginger?

Paul Dyke's ginger hair got Burridge on national TV in 2007. He wrote 933 cross words in a letter to the Southern Daily Echo, asking what right referee, Mark Rayment, had in using his hair colour as means to verbally abuse him. Rayment had answered Dyke's latest offside appeal by saying, “oi ginger, shut up,” during the second half of Burridge's bad tempered 4-2 defeat at Bishopstoke on 23rd December 2006. Dyke thought he was being discriminated against because of his hair colour. He believed he had an argument. His team mates agreed. Unfortunately for Dyke they agreed with the referee.



Referees have come to expect an earful of abuse during a game. Sometimes worse. 4 years earlier Burridge locked a referee in the changing room. It was for his own safety and once he came round from the right hook thrown by one of the four Orca Marine players he'd already sent off during the first half of an abandoned cup tie, he was smuggled safely outside to his car. Burridge never saw that referee again, while whoever walloped him got two months inside. Incidents like this weren't isolated and the Football Association were forced to react. They put their weight behind a campaign called respect the ref, but Dyke thought that respect was a two way street and that punishment should be dished out to Rayment for what he'd said.



When the Echo ran the story about Dyke's hair on January 6th 2007 the Burridge dressing room was unanimous. Punishment should be swift and severe. And if there was any justice in the world Dyke would never be allowed within 500 yards of a typewriter ever again. The following Monday BBC South Today interviewed Dyke at his flat in Sholing about ginger discrimination, and later that evening BBC's current affairs programme, Newsnight, asked pro ginger lobbyists, Red and Proud, if ginger haired people were discriminated against, before interviewing Paul Dyke while the television pictures showed coverage of him kicking a ball around on his tarmac drive way.

When they cut back to the studio, presenter Gavin Esler's facial expression was that of a man questioning if such items would be broadcast if regular anchor Jeremy Paxman was presenting the show. That or he was appalled at Dyke's attempts to control a football. When the Daily Echo's news desk asked to send a photographer down to Burridge's next game to get pictures of Burridge players wearing ginger wigs there was one player opposed to the idea. “If I had turned up and there had been a photographer there, I would have walked away,” said Dyke. “And then there is no real story.”

Neither Burridge nor Dyke investigated whether or not Rayment was punished by the Hampshire Football Association. Not unless they'd planned for him to choke to death on his tongue. He was playing football for Southampton referees when his head accidentally collided with one of the opposition's shoulders. Down he went, out cold. Had Andy Dine, another referee, not stuck his hand down Rayment's throat and pulled his tongue free, Rayment would have died on the astro-turf at Wide Lane.



2 years have passed since Gingergate. Paul Dyke is still an accountant, but he no longer plays for Burridge, while Mark Rayment hasn't refereed a Burridge game since.

9 comments:

Madame DeFarge said...

I confess to have red hair myself, so I can't admit to being neutral on this one. You Burridge lot are a feisty bunch, that's clear. I hope the next time that someone (even at my age) decides to comment on my gingerness, you lot appear to defend my honour.

Mark Sanderson said...

Maybe you girls are right. We were a bit hard on poor old Dykey.

Mind you, Scott Burnet, a bear of a man, whose hair is such an aggresive shade of ginger he has to wear suncream when he puts the bedside light on, was not a supporter of Dyke's campaign.

Fields said...

This is my favourite post of all time!

Ms Scarlet said...

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr....
Sx

Barlinnie said...

I have a very large digger driver who has worked for me over 20 years. He has to be the most intimidating looking man you have ever seen in your life. He actually looks as though he belongs with big Arnie in the filums.

But if you mention the fact that he may be a wee shade darker than a strawberry blonde, he blushes a brighter red than Ronaldo's auld shirt.

...and for the love of Krist, don't ever call him 'Rusty'.

mes said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
savannah said...

most of the "gingers" i know come out of a bottle of dye around heah, sugar! except, for children, of course, they seem to be natural redheads which is the preferred nomenclature around these parts. xooxoo

Lulu LaBonne said...

Gavin Esler's facial expression was that of a man questioning if such items would be broadcast if regular anchor Jeremy Paxman was presenting the show

This is the funniest post Emers.

Actually I always thought red was a fantastic hair colour (it does tend to work less well on men though)

Romeo Morningwood said...

Apparently authors such as Jonathan Swift and the Brothers Bloody Grimm are partially to blame for creating all these enduring misconceptions and malarkey about Gingers being randy and ill tempered....
although these traits somehow withstand the test of time and reason?
Isn't that preposterous?

I have high hopes for Prince Harry eradicating such nonsense once and for all.

Looking back (bringing back the blog)

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