Following the collision, Coultas’ decision not to send off McParland caused uproar among fans when Wood was taken off, leaving United down to 10 players as there were no substitutions allowed at the time.
“Frank Coultas said of the incident that it was not a malicious foul. McParland had just been ‘a bit too enthusiastic in playing the traditional British game of getting stuck in’,” Dominic Cox, of auctioneers David Duggleby, said.
“McParland was booed every time he touched the ball for the rest of the game, found a pile of hate mail waiting for him when he reported for training at the start of the next season and was given security when Villa played United in the Charity Shield at Old Trafford.”
