Former Sheffield United man reveals how he’d have dealt with Norman Bassette after Coventry City man’s unsavoury antics in dramatic draw
The season of goodwill is almost here, but many Sheffield United fans’ Christmas cards will not include Norman Bassette’s name this year. The Coventry City player scored his first goal in Sky Blues colours in yesterday’s tense 2-2 tie at the CBS Arena, but his other antics were less appealing.
Earlier, the 20-year-old had gone down rather easily twice in an attempt to trick referee Darren Bond into awarding City a penalty, and on another occasion, after barging United’s Anel Ahmedhodzic over from behind as the defender shepherded the ball out for a goal kick, the forward’s elbow caught the back of Ahmedhodzic’s head, causing Bassette to fall to the ground.
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Only the youngster will know whether it was intentional or not, but it was somehow missed by the assistant referee a few yards away from the incident, which may have stayed with Ahmedhodzic, who, after being bundled over by Bassette later in the half and then given a volley of abuse and a nip of the neck for his troubles, reacted by shoving Bassette in the throat.
The striker needed no second invitation to collapse to the ground, and after considerable deliberation, referee Bond issued a well-deserved red card. The defender can’t complain about the judgment, as his rush of blood forced his teammates to play for nearly an hour with 10 men, with Bobby Thomas’ header 10 minutes from time securing a share of the spoils for Coventry.
Modern-day football is filled with what has been dubbed the “dark arts,” and United were in no hurry to restart play when they were 2-1 up and eager to suck up precious seconds. However, there is a significant distinction between such behaviors and blatantly attempting to wind up an opponent in order to get him sent off, and if anyone doubted Bassette’s desire to do so, film showing him smiling and blowing a kiss at Tyrese Campbell in smug celebrations should clear that up.
Bassette’s antics have earned him pantomime villain status for when Coventry return to Bramall Lane later in the season, with manager Chris Wilder stating Ahmedhodzic had fell for the “three-card trick” and that United had been “mugged” by him. Former Blades player and coach John Pemberton went even further, writing on social media: “If I was playing in this game against this clown and he winked at me after doing what he did, I guarantee you he would be eating his dinner through a straw.”
Ahmedhodzic will now miss United’s next three games, beginning with a home game against Oxford United on Tuesday night, followed by matches against fellow promotion contenders Sunderland and West Bromwich Albions. Club captain Jack Robinson is expected to replace the Bosnian, while Alfie Gilchrist and Rhys Norrington-Davies might possibly play alongside Harry Souttar on the left side of United’s defence.
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