UNTOLD ARSENAL » Blog Archive » Copy of evidence submitted to FA over Hull spitting allegation

Copy of letter sent today to the FA re the allegations by Hull City management against Arsenal FC

Sirs,

I understand you are seeking evidence concerning the allegation that Cesc Fabregas of Arsenal FC spat at the feet of a member of the Hull City staff at the conclusion of the FA Cup quarter final game at the Emirates Stadium on 17 March.

This allegation is made in part by the manager of Hull City, Mr Brown, and as you may not have concrete evidence concerning the issue you will need to consider the likelihood that Mr Brown is telling the truth.

With this in mind you will undoubtedly be checking on the veracity or all the statements made by Hull City FC in this affair, and that of course will include footage of the end of the EPL match between Arsenal and Hull City played at the Emirates stadium earlier this season.  There you will find Mr Wenger the manager of Arsenal shaking hands with Mr Brown.  In case you do not have access to this footage, a still from it is available at http://www.arsenal.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=513713

You will know that Mr Brown stated after the match on the 17th March that Mr Wenger had refused to shake his hand both at the match on 17 March and at the match earlier in the season.   The picture shows that Mr Brown is lying, and that he did indeed shake Mr Wenger’s hand.

The important point here is that while it is quite possible that Mr Brown cannot remember whose hand he has shaken, and whose not, he chose to make an assertion as part of his evidence, and used it in interviews to develop his point that there is something unacceptable within Arsenal FC.  In fact he said on Setanta TV “It just shows you what this club [Arsenal FC] is all about.”

In an interview on BBC Radio 5Live on 18 March Mr Brown was then asked what he meant when he made that comment on TV following his allegations of Fabregas spitting at the feet of his assistant manager.  Mr Brown then said ‘I didn’t say that did I?’.

As one who has studied and worked in the world of psychology – and particularly on the issue of memory – for many years I would say that it is clear from these statements that Mr Brown is likely to have a short term memory problem.  This is not that unusual – it is estimated that around 10% of the population have such a problem and it is commonly found among people with dyslexia, dyscalculia and similar disorders, and in general terms it does not interfere with such people’s lives.   But it does make them extremely unreliable witnesses, and I am sure you will wish to consider this in relation to the evidence put by Mr Brown in the enquiry into this incident.

Yours sincerely,

Tony Attwood C.Ed., B.A., M.Phil (Lond), F.Inst.A.M.