Ian Wright's unerring ability to locate the self-destruct button in the most unlikely circumstances never fails to disappoint. The West Ham striker could this week be the subject of a Football Association inquiry after damage was caused to the referee's changing room at Upton Park.
The game from the word go degenerated into ill-discipline and violence. Three West Ham dismissals and a further four players booked - along with three yellows for Leeds - told the story of a contest that saw the visitors secure a place in European competition next season, testimony to the superb job that David O'Leary has overseen in his first year in management.
That detail, however, was lost in the wake of the referee Rob Harris's tiring afternoon and the reported behaviour of Wright, who was correctly dismissed in the 16th minute for elbowing the Leeds defender Ian Harte in an off-the-ball challenge witnessed by a linesman.
The striker had already led with his elbow in a challenge on Alf Haaland that went unseen by the referee before an identical infringement against the same player earned him a sixth minute booking.
After his sending-off Wright reacted furiously and had to be kept away from Harris. Leeds goalkeeper Nigel Martyn, a former team-mate of Wright's at Crystal Palace, sprinted fully 70 yards to help calm the situation.
Later reports claim an assault on the referee's dressing-room after Wright's departure caused substantial damage to the door and its contents. The fourth official David Elleray is understood to have witnessed the incident, which will now feature in the referee's report and could end in a misconduct charge being levelled by the FA.
The tone for a bizarre afternoon had been set inside the first 20 seconds. From West Ham's kick-off, Eyal Berkovic collapsed under a challenge from Lee Bowyer, who sent Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink clear for the opening goal.
John Moncur, sent off last week against Tottenham, took retribution into his own hands moments later, felling Bowyer with a foul from behind that made him the recipient of the first of the day's nine yellow cards.
This was a curiously graceless and ill-tempered West Ham display, interspersed with some sublime football from Berkovic and Paolo Di Canio that, even after they conceded a controversial second goal to Alan Smith in the sixth minute of first-half injurytime, gave them hope of a recovery.
"When people take the mick out of Di Canio for the backheels, they're talking rubbish," said Redknapp, with some justification. "He's a different class and showed it today. At £1.5 million he's been a fantastic buy for us." Three minutes after the restart Di Canio finished Berkovic's cross and breathed new life into 10-man West Ham. That, however, was extinguished just after the hour when Shaka Hislop was dismissed for hauling down Hasselbaink, Harte converting the resulting penalty.
In the practice match that ensued, Bowyer and Haaland scored within a minute of each other and Steve Lomas's reckless assault on Harte three minutes from time could have broken a shin if he had made proper contact. The third red card was the easiest of the trio to issue.
West Ham: Hislop, Lomas, Foe, Ruddock, Minto, Sinclair (Cole 69), Lampard, Berkovic, Moncur, Di Canio (Coyne 83), Wright. Subs not used: Forrest, Keller, Lazaridis. Sent off: Hislop (61), Lomas (87), Wright (16). Booked: Moncur, Wright, Foe, Ruddock, Minto. Goals: Di Canio 48.
Leeds: Martyn, Haaland, Woodgate, Radebe, Harte, Bowyer, Batty, McPhail, Smith (Ribeiro 87), Hasselbaink (Wijnhard 83), Kewell. Subs not used: Robinson, Wetherall, Halle. Booked: Smith, Batty, Wijnhard. Goals: Hasselbaink 1, Smith 45, Harte 62 pen, Bowyer 78, Haaland 79.
Referee: R Harris (Oxford).
