Stoke City: West Ham flashpoint will be forever remembered as truly bizarre - View | OneFootball

Ricardo Fuller's slap on his own captain Andy Griffin in a 2008 game at Upton Park was a crazy moment in the Potters' history

Stoke City have had their fair share of crazy moments on the pitch in recent years, but what happened at Upton Park in December 2008 has to go down as one of the most bizarre in the club's history.

The Potters were in the midst of their first season back in the top flight since 1985 under the guidance of hard-line boss Tony Pulis, and were sat in 18th place just after Christmas as they travelled to West Ham United in the hope of picking up a first win in six games, and their maiden away triumph of the season up to that point.

Pulis' side had been giving a pretty decent account of themselves in the Premier League, despite being in the relegation zone, with a reputation as a team that got in opponents' faces and were tough in the tackle, and looked to getting back on the right track in East London as towering centre-back Abdoulaye Faye nodded them into the lead inside the first five minutes.

The second half beckoned, and West Ham soon drew themselves level through Carlton Cole just after the restart, with Stoke's resilience in the first 45 undone, and what happened next became an infamous moment in the Potters' and Premier League history.

Ricardo Fuller slapped his own captain Andy Griffin

Stoke had worked on being hard to beat and not being easily bypassed in defence, but captain Andy Griffin had lost his opponent, Cole, for the equaliser, and star striker Ricardo Fuller did not take kindly to that mistake.

The Jamaican forward was standing in the centre circle ready to take the restart when he began to walk towards Griffin's right-back spot, and the captain did the same towards him, before he reached over Glenn Whelan and caught Griffin with a slap to the face.

Stoke's players soon ran over and split the pair up, but the damage was done by Fuller and he duly received his marching orders for violent conduct, in a shocking move from a player who had a reputation for being hot-headed, but had taken it too far this time.

His dismissal ultimately led to the Potters losing at Upton Park as Diego Tristan netted a late winner for the hosts, but Pulis' side recovered from the setback in the dressing room and eventually avoided relegation with a brilliant second-half of the campaign as they finished in 12th place.

The reaction to the infamous Fuller, Griffin incident

Fuller was the first to speak out in the immediate aftermath of the slap, with an unauthorised interview that saw him try to explain his reasoning for his actions.

He said, via The Guardian: "It happened and that's all - I'm sorry for the fans especially as we didn't get the three points.

"I just said to Griff 'clear the ball out' and he was just very rude and disrespectful so that's what happened. It's all done and dusted now.

"What he said was bad but what I did was worse. And I'm going to be suspended now for three or four games. So I'm looking forward to the new year now, hopefully it will be a better one for me."

Griffin himself gave his views on the incident just a few weeks later, and insisted that there was "no problem" between the two of them, and "everything (had) been resolved," which rang true, given both players stayed at the club past the January window and played their part in eventual survival in the top-flight.

The Jamaican international later claimed that the slap had "helped" Stoke for the rest of the season, as they won six of the final 11 games of the campaign to stay up, but also admitted that he would have accepted the sack if the club had seen fit to let him leave.

Boss Pulis also commented on the feud years later on the Sacked In The Morning podcast in 2021, and recalled how difficult a time it was for everyone involved with the club.

He said: "They'd had a disagreement. Andy was a lively character as well. He was only 5ft nothing but he was lively and a tough, tough kiddie. Ric was a Jamaican who could spin with a click of a finger.

"Their temperaments were pretty hot at times. When you get people like that you have to understand that their passion and commitment at times can override their sensibility. The two of them, I think, regret what happened.

"What did I do? I got the dressing room together, made sure we sorted one or two things out in terms of discipline then got the two of the lads together back at the training ground the next day to sort it out.

"They were ok afterwards, it was just two very, very fiery characters and they'd lost their heads - both of them - at the same time.

"It's happened in the public view and it's difficult and you have to answer questions. The press after was difficult."

Fuller actually saw his time in the Potteries last longer than Griffin, as the right-back lost his place in the starting eleven for the rest of the season and then left on loan in January 2010, while Fuller finished the campaign with 11 goals and stayed at the club for three more years.

While the incident was certainly one of the most bizarre to ever happen involving two Stoke players, fans will be glad that it had little negative impact on either's career, or the club's fortunes over the next few months, as the Potters eventually went on to stay in the top-flight for another ten years.