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Le grand Stan

Wednesday, 28th November 2007

England football fans need all the cheering up they can get at the moment, so I recommend a lovely piece about that wayward Seventies hero, Stan Bowles. The French blog Arrêts de jeu pays homage to his talents, and dips into a cheeky interview that he gave to Laugh.FC a few years ago. One story illustrates his tricky relationships with refs. It's slightly less rude in French, I think:

“Une fois, je demande à un arbitre : - Que feriez-vous si je vous disais que vous êtes un con?

- Naturellement je serais obligé de vous expulser sur le champ.

- Et que feriez-vous si je pensais que vous êtes un con ?

- Malheureusement je ne pourrais rien faire à ce propos. 

- Alors je pense que vous êtes un con.”

It sounds almost Cartesian in translation, doesn't it? The full, fruity English version is here.

[Pic: Bowles in action during the England vs Holland match, Wembley, February 1977. Credit: Tony Duffy/Allsport]

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