A very long but good read. Not for
ABUs.
From RoM Blog:
Middlesbrough committed 22 fouls today yet received 3 yellow
cards. How does that add up? Good to see that Ferguson’s rant about
the incompetency of Keith Hacket’s band of referees has been taken
on board. Or not.
Less than a minute played, Aliadiere fouls Evra. With two
minutes played United won their second free kick after a Pogatetz
foul on Ronaldo. Five minutes played, Ferdinand is fouled by Alves.
Seven minutes later Arca is guilty of a crunching foul on Carrick
30 yards out, referee has a word. Fifteen minutes played and
Wheater fouls Rooney on the wing. Sixteen minutes played, Boateng
fouls Scholes. Twenty minutes gone, and United make their first
foul of the game in the opposition’s half, in contrast to the six
from Boro. A minute later, Boro fouling again, this time Arca on
Scholes. Twenty four minutes played, Gary O’Neil is guilty of a
horrible tackle on Evra just outside the box, but Riley waves play
on. Evra limps off the pitch which is greeted with jeers and boos.
A few minutes later, Rooney is through on goal only for the
linesman to lift his flag, despite Wheater playing him a yard
onside. Good to know the linesmen are fully aware of the rules
which state they should give the benefit to the attacking
player.
Half an hour played, Gary O’Neil fouls again. Forty two minutes
played, Evra is fouled again, this time it’s Alves. Just before
half time Taylor clearly blocks Ronaldo’s shot with his arm which
is up in the air in the box. Mike Riley, with a great view, waves
play on. This is the same Riley who everyone says gives United
penalties for nowt?
Just after half time, Luke Young slides in with his studs on
Evra. Horay, first yellow card of the game following eleven
Middlesbrough fouls. Fifty four minutes played, O’Neil fouls again,
this time it’s Scholes. Fifty six minutes played, Aliadiere guilty
of another foul, on Wes Brown. The second yellow card of the game
goes to Boateng ten minutes later, for another poor challenge on
Evra. Three minutes later, Luke Young fouls Ronaldo. Two minutes
later (72 minutes), Boateng fouls again, and again it is Paul
Scholes on the receiving end of a late challenge. Seventy seven
minutes, Aliadiere again fouls Wes Brown.
Third yellow card comes in the eight fifth minute, as Ronaldo is
prepared to charge in to the box. Surely a goalscoring opportunity
as O’Neil purposefully takes a swipe for the Portuguese winger. Had
he rightly received a yellow for the poor challenge on Evra in the
first half, this would have been his marching orders. Three minutes
after the booking, O’Neil fouls Hargreaves. Eighty eight minutes,
Boateng shoulder charges Ronaldo, with no attempt to go for the
ball. Already on a yellow card, Fergie is rightly incensed that
Riley just has a word with the player. He hasn’t finished there
though, injury time begins and Boateng fouls Park.
Now, I’m sure every team could cite examples where this happens.
The point of this article isn’t to wallow at how hard done by
United are, rather to question the state of refereeing in this
country. Where players are let off foul after foul, facing no
consequence. Had Evra’s leg snapped when Gary O’Neil twisted our
defender’s leg between his, what is the action that would have been
taken? Does the fact that Evra is lucky enough still to be running
around suddenly make it acceptable that O’Neil took the man and not
the ball?
Ferguson has rightly criticised Keith Hackett this season,
publicly on two occasions, for not getting his referees in order.
After Taylor’s lazy challenge ended Eduardo’s season, including a
trip to Euro 2008, the media frenzy around action and consequence
was rife, however that has all seemed to die down now. The fuss is
about respecting referees, which is something I agree with. Seeing
half a team charge down a referee is not something anyone wants to
see. But when a player has been kicked from pillar to post, being
offered little protection from the referee in the form of yellow
cards, are they obliged to show the referee respect that they
themselves aren’t being shown?
Against Portsmouth in the Cup a few weeks ago, Ronaldo was
shoulder charged off the ball as he accelerated down the right
wing. It was no surprise that Distin felt he was able to do the
same thing in the box a few minutes later, and it was no real
surprise that the referee didn’t award a penalty for it. It appears
as though playing the man with no attempt for the ball is perfectly
acceptable against certain players. I am not asking for football to
become a non-contact sport, not by any means, but how can it be
deemed a fair challenge for a player to charge in to another
without even taking a glance at the ball?
Regardless, United have the best squad they’ve ever had, and we
should win the league on merit. At 1-0 against Boro, had the
referee kept his flag down when Rooney was onside and one on one
with the keeper, maybe today’s result would have been different.
Had Riley correctly awarded us a penalty for handball at 1-1,
again, maybe today’s result would have been different. But United
have to plough through regardless. It wasn’t the referee who
decided to play John O’Shea in the centre of defence after all.
City weren’t scoring any own goals for us, and Boro certainly
weren’t hitting the woodwork three times, which are blessings
Chelsea have received over the past fortnight, but United aren’t
getting the rub of the green at the moment. That happens, and it
doesn’t need to be addressed in detail.
What does need to be addressed is the incompetency of referees,
their status as seemingly infallible when questioned, and the
treatment of certain players within the Premier League. As the snow
poured down on Ronaldo today, as he got kicked and shoved whenever
he touched the ball, he has got to question at times why he’s still
playing in the league. Why play in a country where referees
continue to allow him to be fouled, where players intentionally go
to hurt him, and where he is booed whenever he hits the deck. The
abuse that was hurled at Ronaldo last season, for example, as he
lay on the ground, after Michael
Ball planted his studs in his chest, was disgusting. This is
not just for Ronaldo though, but any skilful player with quick
feet, where the opposition resort to fouling as their only way to
stop them. Do we want a league full of heavy footed English
players, hoofing the ball up the pitch, whilst the likes of Ronaldo
and Torres enjoy the praise and lack of bruises in Spain?
There was a time when great players were cheered. People would
pay money to watch their team when George Best was in town and
enjoy what he had to offer. There was no jeering him or booing him
simply because he was better than their players. There was no talk
of him disrespecting the opposition because his fancy feet left
their defenders in knots.
Sadly, too many supporters love to see their team kick players
like Ronaldo in to the stands, and even more sad, is that too many
referees are allowing it to continue on happening. Ferguson has had
the bottle to complain about Hacket for not doing his job properly
and he received a charge from the FA for doing so. So what exactly
does have to happen for the referees in this country to do their
job properly?