Pompey Symbol Saved a Life!

I`m not sure if you have read this but this man was almost killed because he supported Pompey. The following is an article taken from the Sun Newspaper;


A BRITON escaped being killed by Muslim fanatics — because they thought his Portsmouth Football Club sticker was an Islamic emblem.

Terrified Tony Restall, 56, was ambushed by Arab fundamentalists in strife-torn Yemen.
The bandits, armed with AK-47 rifles, dragged him and his armed guard out of their car and threatened to either execute or take them hostage.

Then they spotted Pompey fan Tony`s club sticker in a window and thought the moon and star symbols meant he was a practising Muslim.

The businessman, who was working as a European Union adviser, said yesterday: "The tribesmen descended upon me like a pack of wolves. They had bloodshot eyes and I was terrified they would kill me.

"But they spotted my Portsmouth FC sticker and the mood changed. They thought I was Muslim as the star and moon are Muslim symbols.

"I was able to convince them that, although I was Western, I was helping Muslims in the area."

Tony was travelling in the Yemeni mountains near Taiz when the bandits ambushed his car at a roadblock.

He and his bodyguard were hauled from the vehicle while their captors, dressed in military fatigues, threatened them.
Ex-pat Tony, who runs a port management company, said: "They were waving guns around and I could pick up one chilling phrase — the Arabic for 'hostage`.

"In my limited Arabic I understood that they wanted to use me as a hostage to extract money from the EU and if I refused would kill me. They marched me around to the back of the vehicle and then stopped as they noticed the two stickers on the screen — an EU motif and a Pompey supporters` club badge.

"Immediately they started pointing at the PFC logo and I explained I was a follower of Islam who was specifically helping Muslims in Yemen.

"There was much shouting and gesturing and then, as if by magic, we were bundled into the vehicle and told to drive away quickly.

"Thank God they didn`t read English."
Tony, who was born in Portsmouth, was helping the Yemeni government set up a free-trade zone in Aden.

Portsmouth FC based their badge on the city`s 900-year-old coat of arms.
The crest used the symbol of King Richard`s chancellor William de Longchamp, who adopted a crescent moon and star in honour of the Third Crusade.

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