Liverpool's Ryan Babel faces FA probe for Twitter blast at Howard Webb

ShoulderChip

From Guardian

Ryan Babel is facing the possibility of disciplinary action from the Football Association after responding to Liverpool's 1-0 defeat at Old Trafford by posting a mocked-up photo on his Twitter site of the referee Howard Webb wearing a Manchester United shirt.

Webb had incensed Liverpool by awarding a first-minute penalty when Dimitar Berbatov went to ground after a slight touch from Daniel Agger and then sending off Steven Gerrard for a dangerous challenge on Michael Carrick.

Kenny Dalglish, returning as Liverpool manager, called the penalty "a joke" and Babel posted the picture of Webb with the message: "And they call him one of the best referees? That's a joke. SMH."

"SMH" is the abbreviation for "shaking my head" and Babel's attack will almost certainly lead to the FA intervening on the basis that he is alleging bias on the part of the man who refereed the World Cup final and was made an MBE in the Queen's New Year's honours list. An FA spokesman has confirmed they are aware of the incident and are looking into it.

Babel later tweeted: "Sorry Howard Webb. My apology if they take my posted pic seriously. This is just an emotional reaction after losing an important game."

Dalglish's son, Paul, also vented his feelings on Twitter, posting a mocked-up picture of Sir Alex Ferguson with his arm around Webb, again in a United shirt.

Dalglish junior wrote: "Howard Webb MBE. Manc of the Busby Era. I am not normally bitter, as you know, but it is different rules against them." In a separate tweet, he added: "Fergie has his puppet Howard Webb on a piece of string."

Twitter is the best thing to have happened to football fans, give a footballer a twitter account and hilarity always seems to ensue

Mister men

He's spot on. Webb is as corrupt as they come.

daithijjj

Probably worth a merge into this thread, dont see the need for more than one tbh.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056133478

J. Marston

Babel will probably get a rap on the knuckles, nothing more.

That Dalglish Junior though, pathetic.

jebidiah

the man who refereed the World Cup final and was made an MBE in the Queen's New Year's honours list

but still managed to let Dejong kick Alonso

adox

And rightly so.

I hope Webb threatens him and that Dalglish jnr with legal action after their childish outbursts today.

starbelgrade

Mister men wrote: »

He's spot on. Webb is as corrupt as they come.

:eek:

Only slightly inflammatory.

Do you have anything to back that statement up?

Mister men

starbelgrade wrote: »

:eek:

Only slightly inflammatory.

Do you have anything to back that statement up?

If i or anyone had proof do you think he'd still be a referee. It's an opinion duh.

adox

Mister men wrote: »

He's spot on. Webb is as corrupt as they come.

What utter nonsense.

Chucky the tree

adox wrote: »

And rightly so.

I hope Webb threatens him and that Dalglish jnr with legal action after their childish outbursts today.

:pac: I had a feeling the Maud flanders brigade would be here soon.

starbelgrade

Mister men wrote: »

If i or anyone had proof do you think he'd still be a referee. It's an opinion duh.

One without any basis, I would proffer.

Big Pussy Bonpensiero

Gobshíte deserves to be suspended for utter stupidity.. Hopefully a hefty fine to go along with it.

tommyhaas

Prefer to see players come out with honest opinioins and reactions then the usual PC everything is great ****e. Fair play to Babel and Johnson for being honest. The Dunphy's, Keane's and Clough's of football are far more entertaining and honest than the PC Redknapp's and Owen's

BERBA

THFC wrote: »

Gobshíte deserves to be suspended for utter stupidity.. Hopefully a hefty to go along with it.

Agreed but in saying that please dont let Howard Webb be reffin Spurs v Utd next weekend.

ShoulderChip

daithijjj wrote: »

Probably worth a merge into this thread, dont see the need for more than one tbh.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056133478

Sorry I thought this thread would be take a more general direction on the perils of footballers slagging each other off on twitter.

The_Kew_Tour

Mister men wrote: »

He's spot on. Webb is as corrupt as they come.

Horse ****e

Mister men

THFC wrote: »

Gobshíte deserves to be suspended for utter stupidity.. Hopefully a hefty fine to go along with it.

The FA don't fine their refs.

tommyhaas

Shame Brian Clough never had access to a twitter account

homolumo

Well in Ryan lad.

Mental Mickey

Mister men wrote: »

The FA don't fine their refs.

:rolleyes:

redzerdrog

adox wrote: »

And rightly so.

I hope Webb threatens him and that Dalglish jnr with legal action after their childish outbursts today.

Paul Dalglish is just a fan like everyone else, the amount of comments i have seen on facebook regarding howard man utd webb is tonnes do you think webb should threathen legal action against all these aswell?

doc_17

adox wrote: »

And rightly so.

I hope Webb threatens him and that Dalglish jnr with legal action after their childish outbursts today.

BS.

adox wrote: »

What utter nonsense.

BS.

Wait til those decisins go against you on a consistent basis from the same ref. If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, quacks like a duck........it's a f****g duck!!!!

The Muppet

A player publically accusing a ref of being corrupt is not a smart move. He'll be in big trouble over that, they'll want to stamp that nonsense out straight away. They'll make an example of Mr Babel for sure.

flanzer

redzerdrog wrote: »

Paul Dalglish is just a fan like everyone else, the amount of comments i have seen on facebook regarding howard man utd webb is tonnes do you think webb should threathen legal action against all these aswell?

And Ryan Babel is a fan like everyone else.

I love when they say 'The FA will investigate'. What are they going to do? Throw 4/5 pen pushers with briefcases at him in a CSI style investigation... There's no investigation. He did it and has a right to free speech.

These football associations are getting on my wick lately. Obviously still bitter after the failed World Cup bid

daithijjj

ShoulderChip wrote: »

Sorry I thought this thread would be take a more general direction on the perils of footballers slagging each other off on twitter.

Ah jaysus, no need to apologise shoulderchip, just thought you may have missed the other thread. The op is about fabregas criticising a ref/decisions etc in that thread, kinda similar.

*in truth, the last thing i want is a new thread every time a player barks on twitter.

Mr. Presentable

The Muppet wrote: »

A player publically accusing a ref of being corrupt is not a smart move. He'll be in big trouble over that, they'll want to stamp that nonsense out straight away. They'll make an example of Mr Babel for sure.

I can't see where that was said

flanzer

The Muppet wrote: »

A player publically accusing a ref of being corrupt is not a smart move. He'll be in big trouble over that, they'll want to stamp that nonsense out straight away. They'll make an example of Mr Babel for sure.

He never accused him of being corrupt. He said "And they call him one of the best referees. That’s a joke smh" and then retweeted the mocked up picture. No worse than any manager or player having a pop at a ref in the press

Mister men

The Muppet wrote: »

A player publically accusing a ref of being corrupt is not a smart move. He'll be in big trouble over that, they'll want to stamp that nonsense out straight away. They'll make an example of Mr Babel for sure.

Source? I never seen the word corrupt.

The Muppet

flanzer wrote: »

He never accused him of being corrupt. He said "And they call him one of the best referees. That’s a joke smh" and then retweeted the mocked up picture. No worse than any manager or player having a pop at a ref in the press

Mister men wrote: »

Source? I never seen the word corrupt.

Mr. Presentable wrote: »

I can't see where that was said

Jesus lads what do you think the imagery meant . A picture tell's a thousand words as they say.

CorkMan

I hope Howard Webb doesn't get a coin thrown at his head next time he visits Anfield.

tommyhaas

CorkMan wrote: »

I hope Howard Webb doesn't get a coin thrown at his head next time he visits Anfield.

As oppose to the bag full of notes he gets when he goes to Old Trafford...:p

Mister men

The Muppet wrote: »

Jesus lads what do you think the imagery meant . A picture tell's a thousand words as they say.

No you said he "publicly accused Webb of being corrupt". Nothing about a picture.

flahavaj

Mister men wrote: »

No you said he "publicly accused Webb of being corrupt". Nothing about a picture.

What did you take the picture to mean then?

homolumo

flahavaj wrote: »

What did you take the picture to mean then?

That he supports Man U and makes decisions in their favour. Corrupt would mean he takes money for it.

Chucky the tree

flahavaj wrote: »

What did you take the picture to mean then?

He's a Manchester United fan.

Big Pussy Bonpensiero

The Muppet wrote: »

Jesus lads what do you think the imagery meant . A picture tell's a thousand words as they say.

He's accusing of him of being biased, not corrupt. Bit of a difference.

ShoulderChip

homolumo wrote: »

The he supports Man U and makes decisions in their favour. Corrupt would mean he takes money for it.

no it doesn't why do you think that?

flahavaj

Fair point actually.

The Muppet

Mister men wrote: »

No you said he "publicly accused Webb of being corrupt". Nothing about a picture.

Listen I'm not getting into a debate with you on this because it will only derail the thread and you won't accept what I say anyway. I'm sure someone else will spell it out for you if you really need that.

srfc19

adox wrote: »

And rightly so.

I hope Webb threatens him and that Dalglish jnr with legal action after their childish outbursts today.

On what basis, if you said I was sh1t at my job could I pursue legal action against you. Doubtful.

The Muppet

Mister men wrote: »

He's spot on. Webb is as corrupt as they come.

Actually ignore that last one as obviously you have the same interpretation of the picture as I have.

ShoulderChip

homolumo wrote: »

The he supports Man U and makes decisions in their favour. Corrupt would mean he takes money for it.

no it doesn't why do you think that?

adox

srfc19 wrote: »

On what basis, if you said I was sh1t at my job could I pursue legal action against you. Doubtful.

But they went further than saying they thought he was **** at his job.
Posting pictures of him with a United jersey on straight after the match and the ****e that Dalgliis jar spouted. I'm sure he could sue for defamation of character or something similar.

Also lol at the comments that Babel was only being honest. Do you really think he thinks Webb goes out of his way to favour United, when he thinks about it in the cold light of day.

He acted like a child having a tantrum who couldn't keep his emotions in check. Bringing the game into disrepute IMO.

homolumo

ShoulderChip wrote: »

no it doesn't why do you think that?

Corruption implies there is personal gain usually in the form of money.

lordgoat

srfc19 wrote: »

On what basis, if you said I was sh1t at my job could I pursue legal action against you. Doubtful.

Well if he did it in a public forum named you and questioned your ability to do your job well, then ya you could.

abouttobebanned

It's weird how it's only man utd that get decisions going their way isn't. What a lucky bunch.

Ordinary man

Every team gets bad decisions- united got knocked out of cl last season with a joke sending off, chelsea got a blatently offside goal to decide the league last year, liverpool won the cl in 2005 with a debatable penalty, the list goes on.

If a ref is accused of bias by players and managers after every game, they won't do the job. How is webb supposed to decide if babel dived or if its a penalty after his outburst. I'd love to see video brought in

ShoulderChip

homolumo wrote: »

Corruption implies there is personal gain usually in the form of money.

the original poster said this

"He's accusing of him of being biased, not corrupt. Bit of a difference."

My point is if he is biased then he is corrupt - his corruption is he feeds his bias,
and gains personally in the way a win for our club is a personal gain.

The Muppet

Ordinary man wrote: »

Every team gets bad decisions- united got knocked out of cl last season with a joke sending off, chelsea got a blatently offside goal to decide the league last year, liverpool won the cl in 2005 with a debatable penalty, the list goes on.

If a ref is accused of bias by players and managers after every game, they won't do the job. How is webb supposed to decide if babel dived or if its a penalty after his outburst. I'd love to see video brought in

This and when you consider the Scottish Refs recent stance the powers that be in England are likely to take very firm action about this incident IMO.

Mister men

The Muppet wrote: »

Actually ignore that last one as obviously you have the same interpretation of the picture as I have.

I believe Webb is corrupt. You said BABEL said Webb was corrupt. See the difference or do i need to explain it to you with pictures?

The Muppet

Mister men wrote: »

I believe Webb is corrupt. You said BABEL said Webb was corrupt. See the difference or do i need to explain it to you with pictures?

I didn't say that at all, but you know that , hence no quotes.

You intrepreted the picture the same as I did and I'd imagine the same as The FA will.

Have a good night.