“The Truth: Why United supporters are called Arabs . . .”

IT is a question that is almost always answered i ncor rect ly–why a re Dundee United supporters called “Arabs”?

No-one argues that United supporters get that name, indeed Arabs are proud to be known as Arabs. Countless tangerine Keffiyehs (the traditional Arab headdress) have been donned by United supporters off to cup finals and many a t-shirt or badge announces the wearer is: “proud to be an Arab”.

I produced a book earlier this year, Arabs Away, and since then have been asked several times, “So why are Dundee United supporters called Arabs?” Embarrassingly, I didn’t know for sure.

The usual answer is that in the bitter winter of 1962-63, long before undersoil heating came to Tannadice, United went several weeks without a home game. Things were getting desperate, fixtures were piling up and, more importantly, the coffers were running low.

So Jerry Kerr and the board moved heaven, earth, and several fierce-looking pieces of machinery, to thaw out the pitch to try to get the Scottish Cup tie against Albion Rovers, scheduled for January 26, 1963, declared “on”.

William Briggs & Sons, roadmakers at the Camperdown Refinery down at Dundee docks, brought in a tar-burner to melt the Tannadice tundra. It worked. Or, at least, it sort of worked. The ice sheet melted away like a DFC defence at the feet of Luggy and Ralphie, but all the grass was burned off too!

However, several lorryloads of sand was spread over the pitch and Glasgow referee Donald Weir was inveigled to declare “game on”.

United performed well that day – Doug Smith, Dennis Gillespie, Wattie Carlyle & Co rattled in

Steve Finan’s book Arabs Away. Ernie (Dundee United manager), From left – Jerry Kerr and Albert Lorimer (groundsman) Robertson (chairman), walking on an ice covered Johnstone Grant (director) 1963. Tannadice in January pack into Dundee United supporters in 1960. the east end of Tannadice