Julian Bennetts
WHEN the moralists start bleating about what football can learn from rugby, it is normally in the aftermath of a group of players crowding around a referee attempting to force them into changing a decision. Think Roy Keane leading his Manchester United side into a vicious haranguing of Andy D'Urso in 2000, or Ashley Cole turning his back on Mike Riley in 2008, and compare with the respectful way officials are treated in the 15-a-side game.
Yet if there is anything football can learn from rugby, it may well be in how justice is meted out after the event, in the form of citings. Barely a week goes by without a rugby player being charged by officials, based on video evidence. Today, the appeal hearing for Jerry Flannery’s six-week ban will be heard, while David Attoub is currently in the process of appealing his 70-week ban for eye-gouging.
In football, no such process exists, with the rules stating if a referee has dealt with an incident at the time then it can not be reviewed later.
The reason behind this is so that referees' authority cannot be undermined, but surely it is the moral authority of the game that is being damaged. The crime and punishment system in football is fatally flawed, with two examples involving Ryan Shawcross demonstrating this.
Last Wednesday, the Stoke centre-back was caught in the face by Manchester City's Emmanuel Adebayor. The contact appeared unintentional, but a red card followed and Adebayor is now serving a four-match ban, which is increased from the usual three as it was the Togolese striker's second case of violent conduct this season.
Fast-forward to a touch before 7pm on Saturday, and Shawcross shattered Aaron Ramsey's leg with a tackle which, although not malicious, was the epitome of dangerous play. The defender was sent-off and will now serve a three-match ban that Arsene Wenger called ‘ludicrous’. Ramsey, by contrast, faces a battle even to play again.
Yet if a citing commissioner was in place then he could decide that Shawcross's tackle is worthy of further scrutiny. If he found it was out of control and caused significant damage - both of which are surely unarguable - then the ban could be extended. By contrast, Adebayor's ban could have been reduced or quashed if it were thought it was not worthy of a red card.
There needs to be a clear set of rules for each possible circumstance, whether it is an dangerous tackle, a swinging arm or abuse of a referee, but the fact that all straight red card offences carry the same punishment cannot be right.
Football may not copy rugby's example when it comes to calling the referee ‘Sir’, but they could follow its example by giving their crime-and-punishment system an overhaul.