Banned by Goran

WOULD you argue with Goran Ivanisevic?

Thought not.

So spare a thought for poor Albion fan David Law who has been hit with a banning order from all future Baggies matches by the giant Croat.

Goran remains one of tennis' most superstitious players.

When he won the Wimbledon 2001 title his daily routine revolved around 10 tasks which he religiously carried out.

These included getting out of bed on the same side every time, eating the same courses in the same restaurant every day and making sure he watched the Teletubbies before he set out every morning.

Then, during play, he'd make sure he never stepped on a white line between points and always sat on the same side of the umpire when he first went out onto the court.

David, who is commentating on the ATP World Tour Finals at the O2 for BBC, made the mistake of telling Goran about his Albion record this season.

The giant tennis player was forced to act.

David, who introduced Goran to Albion in the first place, said: "I was on the phone to my wife in the corridor and hadn't actually got round to speaking to Goran.

"One hundred yards away Goran sees me, starts boinging in the public area in front of all these people and says, 'We're only two points behind Newcastle'.

"He asked how we'd been playing and I told him I'd only been to two games and we'd lost.

"He's the most superstitious bloke on the planet so now he's told me not to go because if I do things will go wrong."

During the week Goran was asked for his thoughts about the tennis by Sky Sports.

While he was there the producers, mindful of his love for football, showed him highlights of Tottenham's 9-1 win against Wigan thinking he'd be impressed.

Not so, added David Law.

"They thought he'd be a huge Spurs fans because of Modric, Corluka and Kranjcar but he's not - he knows them all well, but they're his second team.

"He then went on air and said 'I support West Bromwich Albion'. The studio went silent.

"He's been getting it into every interview he's done this week."

*FANS can watch Goran in action against Pat Rafter next week in the AEGON Masters Tennis. For ticket details please go to www.aegonmasterstennis.com