Jason Crowe, a former full-back for Arsenal, shared an astonishing story of how he discovered he was being sold by the club.
Crowe found out about his pending transfer not through the club or his agent, but by watching television during a holiday.
Crowe, a life-long Arsenal fan who joined The Gunners’ youth team in 1994 and turned professional in 1996, made headlines for being sent off just 33 seconds into his first-team debut during a League Cup match against Birmingham City.
Despite this rocky start and competition from Lee Dixon for the right-back spot, it was his exit from the club that was particularly unorthodox.
Crowe found out about his transfer listing not through official channels, but by watching television while holidaying in Cyprus. “Honestly that’s how I found out!” said Crowe, now 45.
Crowe told The Portsmouth News: “I was on holiday with friends in Cyprus when I found out about my transfer listing by Arsenal.
“I saw it on television. Honestly, that’s how I found out!
“At that time I was competing with Lee Dixon and Remi Garde at right-back. Arsene really liked his French players too, he looked after them.
“Trying to break into any first-team for a young lad is difficult, but being in the top-four teams was even harder.’
About his sending off, Crowe said, “I was sent off after 33 seconds of my Arsenal debut, which is still a record to this day.
“All I remember is running on for Lee Dixon – then running straight back off!
“I chested the ball on the edge of the box and was going to hook it, only to catch the boot of Martin O’Connor. He was rolling around on the floor like a baby.
“Uriah Rennie was the referee and immediately pulled me over to one side. I thought he was going to give me a ticking off – instead it was a straight red card.
“I had never been sent off before, I didn’t know what to do. So I ran off back to the changing room.
“Ian Wright was in the tunnel and gave me a big hug. I didn’t know what to think, to be honest.
“The next day I was slaughtered in the press, on the back pages of the papers. Everything was about 33 seconds.
“It wasn’t even a yellow card, it’s frightening, and Rennie later tried to apologise.
“I was sub quite a few times for Arsenal after that and for a match at Blackburn in April 1998 he attempted to say sorry to me. I responded with “Go away, mate”.
“That probably didn’t help my Arsenal career. Playing in extra-time would have given me a nice little 30-minute run out, especially when Birmingham had 10-men.
“You just don’t know what would have happened.”
After his departure, Crowe joined Portsmouth in a £1million transfer. He spent four years at Fratton Park and was loaned out once to Brentford.
He also had stints at Grimsby Town, Northampton Town, Leeds United, Leyton Orient, and Corby Town before retiring in 2013.