Stuck wedding ring stops play for club stalwart
A close up of the wedding ring.
a WELL-known St Andrews junior footballer was unable to play for his team on Saturday - because of his wedding ring.
Ricky Patrick, who captains St Andrews United, was due to turn out for the match against Bonnyrigg Rose when the referee intervened.
He refused Ricky permission to take the field as he couldn’t remove his wedding ring.
A United spokesman told the Citizen: ‘‘We were in the Lothians to take on Super League champions Bonnyrigg Rose in their first league game of the season.
‘‘Manager Jim Hardie had carried out his pre-match team talk when the match official, Jordan Stokoe, informed him that the ring would have to come off or else Ricky couldn’t play.
‘‘Obviously, he was quite upset at the thought of removing his ring as he has only been married to wife Karen since June.
‘‘However, the referee was adamant and wouldn’t allow it to be taped up - it would definitely have to come off.’’
There was also another problem. As Ricky tried to remove the ring, his finger began to swell even more and - whatever he tried - it wouldn’t come off.
The spokesman added: ‘‘After 20 minutes, with the game 10 minutes old and United playing with 10 men, he had to give in and his place was taken by Ryan McInnes.
“Without doubt it affected the game - the manager’s pre-match talk and plans would have been centred on Ricky as the captain.
‘‘He has been at the club for eight seasons and is a king pin of the team.
‘‘However, while we accept that it is a rule, we also know that some referees allow it and some don’t.’’
n Read the match report on the back page.
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Weather for Kirkcaldy
Thursday 23 May 2013
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