So Alan Pardew has been banned, fined and criticised, but for what? An attempted headbutt on Hull City's David Meyler that didn't really succeed, and for which he apologised immediately after the game. What if he had tried to dive, accused Meyler of attacking him, got the opponent sent off and then proceeded to claim innocence even though everyone knew what had really happened?
Sound implausible? Well it happened on Dec. 6, 2005, in what is remembered as one of the most bizarre incidents in Bundesliga history. MSV Duisburg hosted FC Koln for a keenly contested relegation battle and, with the game tied at 1-1 and the final whistle drawing ever closer, emotions ran high.
Albert Streit, Koln's talented midfielder, who was starting to make a name for himself, showed his disappointment at not getting a free kick near the touchline after battling with Razundara Tjikuzu; Duisburg coach Norbert Meier, standing nearby, took exception. One of the pair must have said something that angered the other and they stood face-to-face before, suddenly, the coach fell to the ground, holding his face. Streit immediately followed Meier’s example, and then all hell broke loose.
Slow motion TV replays revealed the whole picture: astonishingly, it was Meier who had headbutted Streit, and then tried to get the player in trouble by faking an assault on himself. The midfielder wasn't really hurt, but you can hardly blame him for collapsing to the ground as well.
The unfortunate referee, Manuel Grafe, had no chance to really work out what was really going on. He somewhat logically assumed that Streit was indeed the guilty party and showed him the red card; the real scenario that a well-respected coach had attacked a player then faked an injury to himself was totally unthinkable at the time.
Naturally, the home crowd assumed that Grafe was right. Duisburg fans have never really been fond of Koln, and Streit's apparent "despicable behaviour" clearly did not help matters. Michael Wildberg, a local journalist and diehard fan who wrote a popular German-language book “So Lonely - A life with the MSV Duisburg” dedicated a long chapter to the Meier-Streit affair, describing how the stadium went wild after the assault, and how astonished the fans all were to find out the truth.
By the time the news conference had taken place after the game, everyone knew what had happened, but Meier continued to play the role of an innocent man -- as if there were no TV cameras to capture the incident. He appeared before the media holding a handkerchief against his "wound" and said of Streit: "A player cannot behave like that."
Someone should have told him to cut the comedy short, but the Duisburg officials didn't do anything. "Nobody stopped him. The journalists simply couldn't believe their eyes," Wildberg writes in his book.
The reaction was swift, as the German federation suspended Meier for three months. Duisburg president Walter Hellmich tried his best to save his friend’s job, but it was impossible, and the coach was fired a few days later.
Meier's life proved rather difficult in the days that followed, as he received hundreds of phone calls from people pretending to be Streit and, ever since, he has been known in Germany as "Kopfstoss-Meier" (Headbutt Meier), which is very sad for a man with his resume.
Meier was a prominent midfielder for Werder Bremen in his playing days, scoring 84 goals in 331 games, and was an important figure in the West Germany squad at Euro ‘84, in France. He was substituted twice during that tournament, which should come as no surprise as he holds an all-time Bundesliga record for the most-subbed player [111 times, no less.] As a coach, he guided Duisburg to promotion to the top flight in 2005, but lasted only six months before he crossed paths with Streit.
Nevertheless, Meier did manage to rebuild his career. He worked at Dynamo Dresden for a year, and then took over Fortuna Dusseldorf, a club of great history who were in deep crisis in the third division. Meier spent more than five years there, won two promotions and many friends, but his past resurfaced two years ago when Fortuna faced Alemannia Aachen -- the club where Streit was then plying his trade.
"I was shocked by myself. It was a ridiculous story, and I made it even more ridiculous. I never had anything against Albert, and should have behaved differently," Meier told Bild ahead of the fixture. The player himself didn't hold a grudge, either, commenting: "Norbert called me the next day and apologized. So that was that for me."
It ended goalless that day in Feb. 2012, but Aachen were eventually relegated, while Dusseldorf were promoted via the playoffs. Fortuna were indeed smiling at Meier when his team managed to start the following season in the Bundesliga with five consecutive clean sheets. But his luck changed thereafter, and the team eventually went down, slipping into the relegation zone for the first time in the season just eight minutes before the final whistle of their last game.
Relegation brought Meier's tenure to an end, but he is back in business nowadays with second division Arminia Bielefeld, another proud club that has fallen on hard times. His first game at the club took place, coincidentally, at Dusseldorf, and Meier told ESPN FC: "It was a special occasion. Fortuna fans applauded me upon arrival, and I was very happy about that." Nobody spoke about Streit, but the memories will always be there.
Inevitably, less than 24 hours after Bielefeld lost to Fortuna, it became relevant once again. Newcastle manager Alan Pardew's antics at the KC Stadium [when he headbutted Hull player David Meyler on the touchline] had everyone in Germany looking for Kopfstoss-Meier videos once again. But the man himself didn't want to comment about his English colleague: "I saw that on TV, but I don't want to judge Alan."
In overcoming the incident, Pardew can learn an important lesson from Meier. While his career should not be significantly affected by the events, he will always be remembered for his headbutt; Pardew will forever be associated with Meyler, just like Meier is with Streit.