It’s all Blogger’s fault

I had some posting to do yesterday (another hectic day in the office), but Blogger kind of died for a few hours so I didn’t get the chance. I shall kick off today with some whinging. For a change. Non-football fans may jump the next post. Go directly to the next post. Do not pass Go. Do not collect £200.

I’ve just been reading nufc.com (not the official NUFC site because that’s complete and utter **** – and you have to pay to read it) about Souness’ upcoming hearing. Going by their brief history, he’s had three fines – each of £10k – and been banned for 4 games for telling the ref how crap he’s been.

Diouf, if my memory serves me, was only fined £5k for spitting on a Celtic fan when he was playing for Liverpool. Given that as a player, he undoubtedly gets paid more than Souness does as a manager and it makes the fine even more pitiful. It’s also had no effect at all either, given the two more recent spitting incidents for which his punishment has been harsher but still by no means harsh enough. I thought that spitting classed as assault – why aren’t the police involved?

Nice to see the FA getting their priorities right, as ever.

Another couple of decisions came up this week which varied in their rightness and wrongness. First of all, one that the referee and the FA got right: Boro’s Franck Queudrue being sent off against Spurs for a 2-footed challenge. He barely touched the guy he went in on – this is true. He had no intent of causing injury – you can’t prove or disprove this, but I think this is probably also true.

However, there’s the potential there for serious injury if you jump in like that. The only way to try and prevent players doing something which could threaten the career of another player is to punish it swiftly and severely and for that reason he had to get a straight red. It gets the message across.

Sorry, Sharon!

Now for the wrong ‘un – Villa’s Lee Hendrie. Red-carded for an apparent headbutt on Man City’s Danny Mills (and who’d not want to headbutt that jerk), it was a harsh decision.

The referee was behind Hendrie so could never have seen if contact had or had not been made (it wasn’t, as TV replays showed). Hendrie’s head went forwards as he was shouting at Mills. Mills didn’t recoil, and in fact I think even argued with the ref when the red card was shown, so credit to him.

But no worries. A TV replay and an appeal should sort that little matter out. Only it didn’t. Red card upheld and another charge for not leaving the field immediately upon being shown the incorrect card. Ludicrous.

The same people look at both of these things. How can they make one correct decision and one wrong one? Why hasn’t anyone charged Vieira with that blatant dive against Liverpool?

And the new guy in charge at the FA is from ITV Sport. Great. So we can now expect them to spend 10 times as long on matters to do with Arsenal, Chelsea and Man U while every other team has to make do with 20 seconds of highlights each.