Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger says the FA should dish
out longer suspensions for players found guilty of performing
dangerous tackles.
Malicious, sometimes career-threatening, challenges are becoming
a more frequent occurence in the Premier League, with Wigan
midfielder Lee Cattermole the latest to see red on Wednesday night
for a reckless scythe on West Ham's Scott Parker.
And the Gunners boss believes that, while full-blooded efforts
to genuinely win the ball remain an integral ingredient of English
football, players who deliberately intend to harm their opponent
deserve a more severe punishment than a standard three-match
suspension.
"An accident can happen when two people go for the ball but it is
very rare," he told the Daily Mail. "What I see is that
guys go into the tackle to hurt the player. There is not sufficient
punishment.
"They could create a special committee to analyse if three games is
enough because, in some tackles, 10 is not enough.
"Maybe we need to be stronger with our own players but sometimes
you see the players make horrendous tackles and then say to the
referee 'What's wrong there?'
"You think 'My friend, touch your head because you have completely
lost touch with reality'. It is unbelievable but they know what
they have done."