Zero Tolerance for the wreckless lunge...

leninbenjamin

or is it simply a case of them enforcing the existing rules? :rolleyes:

from the guardian

Referees have been told to adopt a zero-tolerance approach to dangerous tackles next season as part of a new initiative aimed at increasing player safety and discouraging reckless challenges. Keith Hackett, the head of Professional Game Match Officials Limited, has ordered referees at all levels to show greater courage by responding to challenges which endanger the safety of an opponent with a straight red card.

The clampdown, which has been supported by the Professional Footballers' Association and the League Managers' Association, reflects an acceptance among football's governing bodies that more must be done to clean up the game in the wake of several high-profile dangerous tackles last season. Not all of those challenges were punished with a red card, leading to criticism of officials as well as players, particularly during a period when the two-footed tackle was back in fashion.

When Liverpool's Peter Crouch was sent off for a wild lunge at the Chelsea midfielder Mikel John Obi last December, three days after Emmanuel Eboué received only a yellow card when he broke three bones in John Terry's foot, Frank Lampard claimed that "the players do not know where they stand and I don't think they ever will". Hackett, however, hopes that the latest directive will remove any ambiguity and encourage referees to take a far more proactive approach to dangerous play.

"Challenges that endanger the safety of an opponent are unacceptable and you have the courage, quite correctly, to go to the straight red," Hackett told his officials at a pre-season meeting. "The player has to have control over the speed and intensity of the challenge. It is your duty to see, think and act. You cannot buck the responsibility."

Hackett's instruction comes at a time when the Football Association is reviewing its own disciplinary procedures, with consideration being given to changing the automatic penalties players face after a dismissal. It is understood that the FA has discussed the possibility of all sendings-off being punished with a one-match ban before a disciplinary commission reviews each case on an individual basis and decides whether to increase the suspension according to the offence.

Any changes would not be introduced until the 2009-10 season at the earliest, however, meaning that players will continue to face the same fixed punishments next season in the wake of a red card. It is to be expected that the number of dismissals will increase next season as a result of Hackett's directive but Chris Powell, the chairman of the PFA, has applauded the measure and urged players to help officials by being more responsible for their conduct on the pitch.

"Well done to Keith Hackett and his team," said Powell. "I think this will be a fantastic move by the referees and they should be applauded. As we know with footballers, it will cause controversy now and again and I'm sure people will say, 'In the past that would have been a yellow'. But hopefully this will eradicate the tackles that we have seen in the past. We want players to go out on to the pitch feeling they will be looked after if there is a dangerous tackle on them.

"I am sure that once the players know about the initiative and know how referees are going to behave they will adhere to it," continued the former Charlton defender. "But this is about everyone. Players have a responsibility and I think players in all four divisions, as well as non-league, have a duty to perform as well as they can but also within the laws of the game. We have to look at each others' safety on the pitch and we want the players to play within the spirit of the game."

The LMA also offered its backing. "Anything that can help remove dangerous tackles from the game has to be a good thing," said Frank Clark, the vice-chairman. "I sometimes worry when they talk about pre-season crackdowns because it can fade away after a while, but we're very supportive of this initiative. I do think that dangerous tackles started creeping back into it last season. But we all have to take responsibility for that: managers, players and referees."

Hackett, who claimed that referees were under pressure to increase their detection rate of all offences, not only dangerous tackles, believes that the PGMOL has "demonstrated that we can deliver to the PFA and LMA their requirements regarding serious foul play".

The former referee insisted, though, that he would continue to demand more from officials over the coming season. "We are committed to improving performance," he said. "If we stand still, we regress. The PGMOL will not be complacent; we want that standard to increase."

i have to say i'm pleased that we'll be seeing referee's taking a stronger stance on the issue. but knowing the kind of refs we are dealing with here i'd say we'll have a lot more controversies to talk about next year... either that or someone will get sent off on the first day of the season and that will be end of this.

CHD

As you said its simply a case of them enforcing an existing rule.

grames_bond

chdpoker wrote: »

As you said its simply a case of them enforcing an existing rule.

it's a case of them being told to do their f*ckin job!

Fall_Guy

grames_bond wrote: »

it's a case of them being told to do their f*ckin job!

Far be it from me to stick up for referees, but it's not always that easy. I mean, they mention the Eboue/Terry incident. While eboue has a history of being a bit dirty, there was not a lot he could to in this case. He tried to close down terry, terry put his foot through the ball and kicked into eboues studs more than eboue putting downward force on terry's foot. Not a sending off for me.

There are grey areas, and unfortunately refs seem to make some pretty high profile errors (the kuyt one last year where he left his feet to try and block a ball while he was a couple feet away from any player being extremely harsh when compared to rooneys arial sciccors on samba against blackburn later in the year.)

I really don't know if this statement is going to make much of a difference one way or another, however

Kevster

Nice to see this coming out but will it actually happen? Rules like this typically begin okay but then, once the media pundits get on everyone's backs, the referees begin to doubt the rules they are there to enforce. Remember the tackle from behind? - Immediate red card, right? - Wrong. Well, it started out okay but then everyone in the media moaned and referees became more lenient.

Players don't deserve leniency, especially when they themselves cheat at their own profession. They are spoiled brats - the majority of them - and need to be taught a lesson. Maybe referees should be ex-convicts or something... ...

leninbenjamin

Kevster wrote: »

Maybe referees should be ex-convicts or something... ...

lol, that reminds of a cartoon i remember. the superheroes turn an ex-con and defeated nemesis into an ice hockey ref who simply beats up the players if they break a rule. works great apparently. I cannot for the life of me remember what show it was from though...