Cardiff started the new season with a nil nil draw at Birmingham yesterday but instead of focussing on Fred Gounongbe's glaring miss or the several saves made by Birmingham keeper Tomasz Kuszczak the main topic of conversation was Jazz Richards and his apparent refusal to do the Ayatollah when asked by the fans.
It took a number requests for Richards to respond causing fans to sing 'you jack bastard' when he did not comply with their wishes. I witnessed him finally do it and thought that would be that. I took it as banter but it's made some fans very hot under the collar and have claimed that Richards' has made himself an enemy of the supporters whereas others can't see what the fuss is about.
The defender, who is from Swansea and played for them for eight years before he moved to Fulham, had a solid enough game for Cardiff and should have been on the winning side as City carved out three or four very good first half chances.
Birmingham rallied in the second half and caused a problem or two themselves before Lex Immers crashed an effort against the bar.
The miss by Gounongbe was horrific as he put the ball over the bar when in front of an open goal from less than two yards out. He was set up by a tenacious Declan John who put it on a plate for the Frenchman after getting to the byline and crossing perfectly.
But it was 'Ayatollahgate' that caused most reaction. It might seem trivial but it gives the fans the feeling that they are at one with the players and all in this together.
Hopefully this is a storm in a tea cup and on Thursday, when City are at Bristol Rovers, Richards plays, does the Ayatollah and we can forget about it.