Liverpool icon Kevin Keegan and Leeds United legend Billy Bremner had one of the most infamous fights in football history when they scrapped at Wembley.
Keegan was Bill Shankly's star forward and the golden boy of English football, while Billy Bremner - who sadly died aged 54 in 1997 and would have turned 82 today, December 9, if still with us - was a goal hungry midfielder and Scotland captain who had been pivotal to Don Revie's uncompromising Leeds side. Under the helm of the newly-appointed Brian Clough, he hadn't lost any of his trademark aggression when it came to the 1974 Charity Shield.
Keegan netted 100 goals during his six-year spell at Anfield, winning three league titles, an FA Cup - where he scored twice in the final - two UEFA Cups and their inaugural European Cup victory in his last match for the Reds in 1977. He'd also clinch the Ballon d'Or twice at Hamburg, but one of the most unforgettable moments from his playing career was also the most notorious.
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That day at Wembley, 'King Kev' was incensed after Leeds midfielder Johnny Giles had tackled him with a two footed challenge, just moments after avoiding a red card for punching the Liverpool forward. A host of Whites players confronted him as tempers flared on the pitch, leading to him striking Bremner, who retaliated in a heated clash.
Becoming the first British players to ever get a red card at Wembley, Keegan famously clashed with referee Bob Matthewson, and in a move that shocked fans of the time, whipped off his shirt in anger as he stormed off the pitch. Bremner followed suit, ripping off his top after being sent packing too, with both players late receiving whopping bans and £500 fines for marring the sport's good name.
Billy Bremner (left) and Kevin Keegan (right) were both sent off in the 1974 FA Charity Shield match
Billy Bremner (left) and Kevin Keegan (right) were both sent off in the 1974 FA Charity Shield match (Image: Daily Mirror)
Speaking to the Liverpool Echo in 2022, future Newcastle United manager Keegan recalled: "I often get asked why I punched Billy Bremner in the Charity Shield. The Queen was there too!
"Four guys came running up to me when I tackled Johnny Giles and three of them were 6ft 3! The fourth one was Billy and he's smaller than me. So I just hit him to be honest with you! I'd done a bit of boxing and it was one of my better punches!
"When we were in the dressing room and we'd been sent off, we'd taken our shirts off and got an eight-week ban each. But when I got back to the dressing room, my dad came down and said, 'son, don't worry about it', he deserved it, I'd have hit him'.
Billy Bremner and Kevin Keegan both took off their shirts after receiving their marching orders at Wembley
Billy Bremner and Kevin Keegan both took off their shirts after receiving their marching orders at Wembley (Image: Colorsport/REX/Shutterstock)
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"Door opened, in comes Billy, crying. Billy Bremner, crying! He said, 'Kevin, I'm so sorry.' My dad said to him, 'if you don't get out of this dressing room, I'm going to hit you as well!
"I had to say to him, 'Dad, don't hit him! He's one of my best friends.' My dad, he couldn't work out that we weren't just enemies.
"George Best best summed up Leeds. [He said] 'Everyone had a hatchet man. Liverpool had Tommy Smith, Derby had Dave Mackay. He would sort people out. Leeds had 11!' And they really did in those days."
The game also went down in history as Clough's debut as Leeds United manager, marking the start of his infamous 44-day tenure at Elland Road, and the last time Shankly led Liverpool out as their manager, following his shock departure earlier that summer.