First a Calm, Then a Storm When Soccer Players Imitate Fans

There was a moment of silence Wednesday night in honor of Paul Nixon, a 35-year-old Crystal Palace fan who was killed in the parking lot of a pub before a 2-2 tie between his team and Manchester United three days before.

The coaches, Alex Ferguson of Manchester United and Alan Smith of Crystal Palace, appealed to the fans to behave for the sake of the game.

They should have talked to their players.

Seven minutes into the second half of the FA Cup semifinal rematch, which Manchester United won, 2-0, Roy Keane stomped twice on Gareth Southgate’s stomach while the Crystal Palace player was lying on the field. Darren Patterson retaliated, and a scuffle ensued.

Keane and Patterson were ejected, and many from the crowd of 17,987--down because of a boycott and smallest for a cup semifinal since World War II--began to move toward the field in the 44,000-seat stadium before order was restored.