As with any event concerning Manchester United and officials, the result and general consensus has been tarnished; however, according to Nigel Reo-Coker, opinion is divided because of the subjectivity in football: “I don’t really think there are clear enough guidelines to know how you can tackle in the modern game. Even the powers-that-be don’t really know the true rules about tackling themselves. If you speak to people, 50% will say [Kompany’s] is a sending off and 50% will say it’s not. I thought it might have been a sending-off but others disagree.” One man that felt it was not a sending off is Graham Poll, “The red card was harsh and unnecessary — refs are advised to avoid controversy and not to go looking for trouble. Chris Foy managed neither on Sunday.” It takes three yellow cards for Poll to send someone off anyway, so we can that with a pinch of salt.
However, if his justification is to be taken and strictly applied across the board, then surely Glen Johnson’s two-footed challenge on Joleon Lescott was a sending off, yet a foul wasn’t even given: “Vincent Kompany should not have dived in, but he was in control of his body movement, unlike Frank Lampard for Chelsea against Wolves, which resulted in a yellow card but was a much more serious offence.”
When Glen Johnson made his two-footed challenge, which Dalglish claims wasn’t a challenge, he wasn’t in control: his eyes were closed and that isn’t being in control. “Glen’s tackle is not a problem for us because there was no one directly in front of him. He hasn’t come in from behind, so I don’t see the problem,” the Liverpool manager said. “There’s always an interpretation of what the tackle is but I would have thought that, if it’s a tackle, then there has got to be a challenge. If I’m sliding in to clear the ball and there’s no challenge, then it’s not a tackle, is it?”
Dalglish’s point lies in the difference between Kompany’s starting and finishing point and Johnson’s: Kompany comes out of a centre-back position, diagonally running towards Nani and lunges towards him. If Nani didn’t hurdle the oncoming challenge, Kompany’s finishing point would’ve been the ankles of Nani. On the other hand, Glen Johnson sprints forward out of right-back and, with a two-footed flight path, intercepts a Lescott-destined pass: his finishing point in no way affects Lescott who was standing to the right of Johnson’s path. However, according to Poll, a lack of control displayed by Johnson should mean that he is sent off.
Yet, the subjective nature continues to create debate and stir controversy, as will this post. Rio Ferdinand believes there is no argument: “I don’t understand why this debate is still going on,” said the United and England centre-back, “It’s stated clearly in the rule book, we get told before the season when all the referees go around the different clubs: a two-footed tackle is a red card. It’s as simple as that – It baffles me that there’s any argument or debate around the issue.” Yet that isn’t the case: whether it is a one-footed or two-footed challenge, for a red card, serious foul play must occur, meaning “with excessive force” and “endangering the opponent’s safety.” Yet, both of those conditions are subjective and that is where the debate and argument is allowed to flourish.
Either way, the referees will be scrutinised for their decisions whether they get them right or wrong. On Sky Sport’s Soccer Saturday, Matthew Le Tissier said of Chris Foy, “he’s not one of our best referees, he’s been involved with some high profile mistakes,” whilst Charlie Nicholas said that Lee Mason was, “lucky it was a centre half [that Johnson came in on], a winger would’ve had his leg snapped.” The argument will go on and unfortunately, without standardising the rules and objectifying the necessary conditions, players will continue to see red amidst the mist of subjectivity.
Written by Jordan Florit for www.maycauseoffence.com/ For more articles visit my website or my Twitter @JordanFlorit
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