Mousa Dembele is charged with violent conduct - retrospectively, because the incident was "not seen" by the match officials. Yet it has been generally accepted that the linesman, Simon Beck, was staring straight at Dembele and Costa at the time.
A fundamental problem with the "retrospective" rule is that it depends on match officials reporting faithfully what they have and have not seen. Yet there will be times when they may believe it is not in their interests to do this. If they have failed to penalise an offence later highlighted in the media, they may think it reflects less badly on them to claim they didn't see it than to admit they did, but chose not to take any action; the former can be argued to have been an innocent mistake, whereas the latter may be deemed inexcusable. This will be especially the case where the offence - such as that alleged against Dembele - is extreme, so that to have ignored it would have been a gross dereliction of duty.
The trust the FA places in its match officials is part of the wider problem of their lack of accountability. In contrast to players, who to a man are presumed to be villains and cheats, referees and linesmen are treated by the FA as though they are pillars of rectitude. Players will try to deceive you by diving, but match officials are concerned only with truth and justice. Never let it be said that sometimes they are motivated by self-interest - no, not even when their reputations are at stake.
Linesman Sees No Ships
posted on 5/5/16
Comment Deleted by Site Moderator
posted on 5/5/16
Ha ha, About Time I Had One of These, I like your comment, even though it comes from the opposition. I still maintain my central point, though, that what match officials say they have and have not seen in a game is not to be taken at face value. I even suspect that, in the aftermath of a controversial ninety minutes, they will often claim not to have seen an offence, as a way of explaining its going unpunished, because they know that is what the FA want - ie, to have the option of punishing the player as they see fit. The FA would rather have this freedom to decide for themselves than have their wishes frustrated by officials admitting that they had, unfortunately, seen the incident. Referees and linesmen know which side their bread is buttered and will not want to upset their paymasters any more than they have already done.
posted on 5/5/16
Karate type stance You're excuses are priceless.
Costa was lucky. Dembele's next move was to one inch punch his head off.
posted on 5/5/16
Globaled'
I appreciate your comment and agree with many of your suggestions. I am strongly in favour of more technology to help officials and find it incredible that, when television quickly shows their decisions - often crucial ones - to be incorrect, they are allowed to stand. Gross injustices result and football is revealed to be run by dinosaur administrations and is brought into disrepute.
posted on 5/5/16
Comment Deleted by Site Moderator
posted on 6/5/16
Comment Deleted by Site Moderator
posted on 6/5/16
Assistant referees, or linesmen to give them their more accurate description, are the biggest bottle jobs going.
The only decisions they are willing to make now are offsides and throw-ins. And I've seen them give a throw-in only after the referee has blown for one.
Most of them are cowards interested only in furthering their careers by not getting involved and not rocking the boat.
posted on 6/5/16
comment by Billy The Yidd (U3924)
Dele Alli playfully slaps a player in the stomach and gets (by the letter of the law) a 3 game ban
----------------------------------------------------------------------
By 'playful slap' you mean 'punch'.
posted on 6/5/16
Comment Deleted by Site Moderator
posted on 6/5/16
Comment Deleted by Site Moderator