Ferguson - 5 match ban...harsh ?

SeantheMan

Although I can understand the need to impose a fine or some kind of sanction, a 5 match ban seems a bit OTT.

Referee's seem to be totally free from any kind of criticism, irregardless of how bad a game they've had. In certain matches, and with a league or cup at stake, a manager should be able to give his views on all aspects of the match, including the performance of the referee, within reason of course.

A Football Association tribunal has given Sir Alex Ferguson a five-match touchline ban for his comments about referee Martin Atkinson.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/m/man_utd/9426939.stm

TwoShedsJackson

I'd say they're just sick of the amount of abuse he gives refs. Also they were annoyed he contested it in the first place, and two games of it is an activation of the suspended 2 match ban he got the last time he abused the ref.

AgileMyth

Very harsh. Hes at it constantly though so don't feel bad for him at all.

flahavaj

Scandalous villification of a wonderful gentleman. He'll now have to sit one seat behind the bench at Old Trafford. Shocking inconvenience. As it i we'll now be denied his little hip skip and jump touchline celebrations as yet another wonder goal hits the back of the net.

u140acro3xs7dm

I think it was a 3 game ban and then he activated a 2 game suspended ban from last year. I think it is harsh. Nearly every week a manager makes a comment about the ref and they dont get banned. I think because he is so high profile they are trying to make an example.

AgileMyth

Dilan Huge Funnel wrote: »

Nearly every week a manager makes a comment about the ref and they dont get banned.

True, but nearly every week its Ferguson.

Paparazzo

Completely justified imho. He's not just criticising the refs, he's trying to influence their decision making.

stumpypeeps

Can anyone confirm whether he's banned from the changing rooms also? I thought a touchline ban included being banned from entering the dressing room also.

MUSEIST

flahavaj wrote: »

Scandalous villification of a wonderful gentleman. He'll now have to sit one seat behind the bench at Old Trafford. Shocking inconvenience. As it i we'll now be denied his little hip skip and jump touchline celebrations as yet another wonder goal hits the back of the net.

Ah come on, no matter how bad a referee is you cannot publically criticise him if your a manager, ferguson knows the rule, he needs to learn to hold his tongue when he is wound up. It is a lillte harsh but he knows the rules and he still broke them.

flahavaj

MUSEIST wrote: »

Ah come on, no matter how bad a referee is you cannot publically criticise him if your a manager, ferguson knows the rule, he needs to learn to hold his tongue when he is wound up. It is a lillte harsh but he knows the rules and he still broke them.

He is above rules tbh.

Melion

This is going to result in United fans defending him and everyone else saying it wasnt enough.

MUSEIST

flahavaj wrote: »

He is above rules tbh.

he clearly thinks so:rolleyes:

stumpypeeps

Melion wrote: »

This is going to result in United fans defending him and everyone else saying it wasnt enough.

He should have been taken outside and shot. Thats what they did back when football was a mans game.

smokedeels

Paparazzo wrote: »

Completely justified imho. He's not just criticising the refs, he's trying to influence their decision making.

He criticised decisions after the game, how could that influence anything?

I doubt many people will argue that Atkinson made the right call by allowing Luiz to stay on the pitch, SAF was asked his thoughts on the matter and he gave them, it was a bs call from a referee with a track record of making bs calls, why can't he call a spade a spade?

The media continuously goads players and managers towards condemning decisions minutes after matches finish and look what happens, no wonder United went into media exile.

MUSEIST

smokedeels wrote: »

He criticised decisions after the game, how could that influence anything?

I doubt many people will argue that Atkinson made the right call by allowing Luiz to stay on the pitch, SAF was asked his thoughts on the matter and he gave them, it was a bs call from a referee with a track record of making bs calls, why can't he call a spade a spade?

The media continuously goads players and managers towards condemning decisions minutes after matches finish and look what happens, no wonder United went into a media exile.

Yeah fair enough, why did the media not ask ferguson what he thought of rooney not been sent off and then banned in the wigan game. The referee made a mistake but utd got the benefit from a mistake in the previous game and not a peep from ferguson.

Tbf a ban will have no affect on utd whatsoever, it will make no difference.

SeantheMan

smokedeels wrote: »

The media continuously goads players and managers towards condemning decisions minutes after matches finish and look what happens, no wonder United went into media exile.

True, I find it amazing how they can keep a cool head, minutes after losing an important game or being knocked out of a cup, they are clearly still in the moment, but are being probed for a reaction. Post match interviews should happen a good while after the match I think.
I was only saying to my brother yesterday, that I can't believe Alex talks to media during 'halftime' !!

dfx-

It's as long overdue as the Luas joining up the two separate lines.

SEPT 23 1989

He is on the slippery slope now

retirement surely cant be that far off

stumpypeeps

SEPT 23 1989 wrote: »

He is on the slippery slope now

retirement surely cant be that far off

Lol.

Paparazzo

smokedeels wrote: »

He criticised decisions after the game, how could that influence anything?

I doubt many people will argue that Atkinson made the right call by allowing Luiz to stay on the pitch, SAF was asked his thoughts on the matter and he gave them, it was a bs call from a referee with a track record of making bs calls, why can't he call a spade a spade?

The media continuously goads players and managers towards condemning decisions minutes after matches finish and look what happens, no wonder United went into media exile.

By ripping into refs, they'll be afraid to give decisions against fergies team.

Dave!

It's probably 5 matches because he didn't accept the charge (right?). Frivilous appeals tend to lead to harsher sentences. For better or worse, referees are not allowed to be singled out for criticism, and all managers know it, so if you say your piece and you get charged for it then you might as well just take it on the chin rather than going to court.

Before anyone mentions it, yeah I know managers say stuff every week, the FA are inconsistent, etc etc etc.

Paparazzo

SEPT 23 1989 wrote: »

He is on the slippery slope now

retirement surely cant be that far off

I reckon fergie is finally cracking. He just can't help himself. Every bad result is the refs fault and he keeps slagging them. A child put on the naughty step would have learned by now.

flahavaj

SEPT 23 1989 wrote: »

He is on the slippery slope now

retirement surely cant be that far off

He should just walk now really. As a United fan I'm personally disgusted he is only challenging for the treble by mid March. The silly old man is clearly losing his marbles. God be with the days when we'd have the Carling Cup in the bag already at this stage as well.

wandatowell

Couldnt give a fcuk tbh,

Ebbs

Only 3 game match ban, 2 was from a previous incident...which I am sure was taken into account.

The media black out at Liverpool was also against the rules.

He continuiously breaks rules, so perhaps not harsh enough.

super_furry

As far as I know he's only been hit with a two game ban for his latest rant. The other three games were suspended from a previous meltdown.

SEPT 23 1989

An age limit for managers could be a possible solution

YouTookMyName

5 Harsh? Should have been 10 games.

Paully D

He can still enter the dressing room and sit in the stands anyway.

A pointless punishment and Fergie's probably laughing.

Mitch Connor

YouTookMyName wrote: »

5 Harsh? Should have been 10 games.

The lack of condemnation (or bans) for the likes of Pullis and Martinez is laughable - no censure for David Whelan either.

parker kent

AgileMyth wrote: »

True, but nearly every week its Ferguson.

Nearly every week it is nearly every manager that loses.

Surprised the LMA are not challenging the obligation managers have to give post match interviews. They should get at least an hour to cool down before having some goon stick a microphone in their face.

stumpypeeps

SEPT 23 1989 wrote: »

An age limit for managers could be a possible solution

I agree, he's obviously being hindered by senility. That and incontinence.

flahavaj

SEPT 23 1989 wrote: »

An age limit for managers could be a possible solution

And posters on boards.ie.

everdead.ie

smokedeels wrote: »

He criticised decisions after the game, how could that influence anything?

I doubt many people will argue that Atkinson made the right call by allowing Luiz to stay on the pitch, SAF was asked his thoughts on the matter and he gave them, it was a bs call from a referee with a track record of making bs calls, why can't he call a spade a spade?

The media continuously goads players and managers towards condemning decisions minutes after matches finish and look what happens, no wonder United went into media exile.

This is what Harry said when he was called up on charges so he said he'll stop doing the interviews completely and the charges where dropped the next day . It's true though the worst is when there is a contentious decision and they bring the big tv up showing how it was the wrong decision and the manager goes mental then it's poor by the media to be fair. There should really be a cooling off period.

MJRS

YouTookMyName wrote: »

5 Harsh? Should have been 10 games.

How did you come to that conclusion?

MUSEIST wrote: »

Yeah fair enough, why did the media not ask ferguson what he thought of rooney not been sent off and then banned in the wigan game. The referee made a mistake but utd got the benefit from a mistake in the previous game and not a peep from ferguson.

Tbf a ban will have no affect on utd whatsoever, it will make no difference.

You almost sound like you're implying Ferguson has some sort of vested interest in United succeeding or something. When have you ever seen a manager give out about a refereeing decision his team benefited from..?

everdead.ie

flahavaj wrote: »

He should just walk now really. As a United fan I'm personally disgusted he is only challenging for the treble by mid March. The silly old man is clearly losing his marbles. God be with the days when we'd have the Carling Cup in the bag already at this stage as well.

I concur(as a spurs fan) he needs to be replaced obviously Roy H needs to be brought in to shake things up and start a lasting dynasty that will define United for a generation!

Jazzy

repeat offender. hes old now and doesnt seem to give a crap what he says. exactly how i plan to be at that age

Blobby George

Completely over the top rubbish from the FA. Atkinson bottles the big decisions and isn't up to it, this was proven by his yellow for Carragher who attempted to turn Nani's leg the other way round. Fergie has every right to call out this mans ineptitude.

tommyhaas

everdead.ie wrote: »

This is what Harry said when he was called up on charges so he said he'll stop doing the interviews completely and the charges where dropped the next day .

Harry Redknapp said that? There's more chance of Mike65 giving up posting on boards then there is of Harry not talking to the media

Wrt Ferguson, I think managers should be allowed criticise refs incompetence, but you cant get away with calling them unfair/cheats etc. Had he said the ref was bad as oppose to unfair, maybe he wouldnt have got the 3 games

I think its about time though that the FA banned him as he does seem to get away with alot more then his colleauges, which is not a criticism of him, its a criticism of the FA. Fair play to him for exploiting the FAs weakness if he can get away with it

Galvasean

Every time United don't win he has a go at the ref. He doesn't just say they made poor decisions. He actively questions their integrity. It's pretty much character assassination. It's about time they threw the book at him.

Before anyone asks, I'm an Arsenal fan and expect to see Wenger get a hefty fine/ban for his recent outbursts too.

weldoninhio

Blobby George wrote: »

Completely over the top rubbish from the FA. Atkinson bottles the big decisions and isn't up to it, this was proven by his yellow for Carragher who attempted to turn Nani's leg the other way round. Fergie has every right to call out this mans ineptitude.

Look at what the barracking from Fergie has done to him!!! Booking players in games he's not even reffing!! Fergie deserves a longer ban if he's causing this sort of mayhem.

bradlente

The respect campaign is a joke.Why should fans or managers "respect" the officials when the hierarchy that are the decision-makers in football dosn't respect the game itself.
Replays for big decisions in big games are needed end of.
Spend less time selling the world cup to the highest bidder.

I don't know why a manager dosn't come out and be sarcastic with the press,that'd be hilarious,I can imagine Ian Holloway doing it.

Interviewer-"What do you think about the decision not to award your team a penalty and the disallowed goal when clearly he was onside"

Holloway-"Brilliant decisons,amazing referee.I think he should be knighted."

parker kent

Speaking of the respect campaign and referees, I had to agree with this article in the Observer on Sunday.

Respect for referees was always going to be a hard sell in a culture where civility has broken down, vituperation plagues the blogosphere and the streets seethe with random fury.

What chance a man with two cards and a whistle commanding the obedience of football folk, who are locked into a perma-state of tribal myopia? But there is a confusion at the heart of the recent kerfuffles over managers criticising match officials and it has to do with that word "respect". Good manners and consideration should not extend to meekly accepting decisions that are just plain wrong and then not being allowed to talk about them.

Allow me a personal reflection. I have always felt it right to defend the referee against a lynch mob, especially when attacks became a softening-up tool for clubs to protect their interests. There was always an imbalance between players and managers not admitting human error while officials were subjected to trial by television for decisions made at lightning speed and without the benefit of replays or multiple camera angles.

So far, so obvious. But over the past two weeks it has felt impossible to justify the performances of Martin Atkinson in the Chelsea-Manchester United Premier League match or Massimo Busacca in this week's Barcelona-Arsenal Champions League second leg. Atkinson's failure to send off Chelsea's David Luiz for a glaring second bookable offence and the dismissal of Arsenal's Robin van Persie for going through with a shot after the whistle had blown for offside were too grievous to dismiss with platitudes.

An aside about Van Persie's offence: time-wasting by booting a ball into the stands is virtually impossible at that level anyway because a young chap in a tracksuit just throws another ball on to the pitch while the first one is retrieved. It violates the spirit of the game, certainly, but there was sufficient doubt about whether Van Persie had heard the whistle for the referee not to inflict such a draconian punishment.

Which leads back to the "respect" agenda and whether officials should be protected by regulations that prevent managers criticising them after the match. Who else in society can retreat behind walls that stop others hurting their feelings with adverse comment? Not players, managers, journalists, doctors, politicians or artists.

Arsène Wenger's entertaining tirade against Uefa was partly an expression of frustration that a dubious decision that fundamentally alters the course of an epic Champions League encounter cannot be challenged without the one doing the challenging ending up in trouble. The manner of that challenge was intemperate, sure, but you don't have to shout and swear into the face of a man in Uefa livery to bring the thought police to your door.

Sir Alex Ferguson attracted official displeasure for calling Alan Wiley "unfit" and is now on trial for employing a word he corrected straight away. The word was "fair", which was leapt on with all the fervour of the John Cleese centurion at the stoning in The Life of Brian ("Fair! He said it again!") "You want a strong referee, anyway, and we didn't get that," Ferguson clarified. But it was already too late to stop the misconduct charge.

Most of us would draw a line at the ref having his honesty impugned. Yet there needs to be scope for legitimate complaint. Otherwise we infantilise match officials and the watching public. The manager appears in front of a microphone with unseemly haste and is expected in that moment to consider the feelings of the match official above all else, even if he has just been knocked out of the Champions League or is about to lose his job.

This is not "respect". This is conning the public and hypocritical, too, because any top referee will tell you the profession feels abandoned by its masters at the Premier League and Football Association. After the Atkinson affair it was said that refs who upset the big clubs fear they will be shunted off the biggest games for a month or four to placate the supposed victim. What kind of authority is that? This is how weak the system is.

When Wenger accused Uefa of being a "dictatorship" and said they need "more humility" he was rebelling against the stifling of dissent. It has become too easy to portray managers as serial moaners. On the occasions when refereeing is inept, as opposed to merely debatable, it shuts off the possibility of it ever getting better to deny managers (players, less so) the right to be heard.

In last week's Liverpool-Manchester United game, Phil Dowd failed in his duty to send off both Jamie Carragher and Rafael da Silva for wild tackles. When the system crashes three times in a week in three big games it is hard to avoid the conclusion that technology-phobic governing bodies simply refuse to see that refereeing football matches by the present means has become untenable.

For managers to earn the right to complain they would have to self-regulate and establish limits to what can be said. But this omertà is farcical. It is a distraction from the real problem of system breakdown.

Mr.Crinklewood

bradlente wrote: »

The respect campaign is a joke.Why should fans or managers "respect" the officials when the hierarchy that are the decision-makers in football dosn't respect the game itself.
Replays for big decisions in big games are needed end of.
Spend less time selling the world cup to the highest bidder.

I don't know why a manager dosn't come out and be sarcastic with the press,that'd be hilarious,I can imagine Ian Holloway doing it.

Interviewer-"What do you think about the decision not to award your team a penalty and the disallowed goal when clearly he was onside"

Holloway-"Brilliant decisons,amazing referee.I think he should be knighted."

Agree with you on a the sarcasm lark, alternatively it could go something like this.

Interviewer:- So, what are your options on the referee today?

Manager:- I would rather talk my laptop. My laptop did not work very well today, i think it is not up to the job. Either that or it is corrupt.

Or.

Manager:- I would rather talk about the referees hair today.It was a nice black colour, it was not fair.

ShamoBuc

Ferguson has always had a go and it has caught up with him. He can't have any complaints to be honest. He feels he is above the rules - if he thinks he's right. Not talking to the bbc is a weekly fine aswell for him I think. A blanket ban from the media at Anfield is apparently against the rules aswell.
He said he is looking forward to Strongly defending himself - looking forward to the outcome of that.
Another deflect the chatter about his team tactic, played at the right time I feel.

Paparazzo

bradlente wrote: »

The respect campaign is a joke.Why should fans or managers "respect" the officials when the hierarchy that are the decision-makers in football dosn't respect the game itself.
Replays for big decisions in big games are needed end of.
Spend less time selling the world cup to the highest bidder.

I don't know why a manager dosn't come out and be sarcastic with the press,that'd be hilarious,I can imagine Ian Holloway doing it.

Interviewer-"What do you think about the decision not to award your team a penalty and the disallowed goal when clearly he was onside"

Holloway-"Brilliant decisons,amazing referee.I think he should be knighted."

Because it's absolutely impossible to get every decision right all the time. There's bound to be mistakes made. Fergie can't go on a rant on how bad his strikers were for missing a sitter, so he has a go at the ref. I don't think you'll hear a manager condemn a player for trying to con the ref by diving either. Players make a refs job much harder by diving, cut that out and you'll see refereeing standards shoot up.

Mr.Crinklewood

Galvasean wrote: »

Every time United don't win he has a go at the ref. He doesn't just say they made poor decisions. He actively questions their integrity. It's pretty much character assassination. It's about time they threw the book at him.

Before anyone asks, I'm an Arsenal fan and expect to see Wenger get a hefty fine/ban for his recent outbursts too.

He said nothing about the referee after the Liverpool match. :-).

Mister men

Made up about this. Finally the FA grow a set.

#15

Mister men wrote: »

Made up about this.

Any victory will do at this stage?

deisedevil

Mister men wrote: »

Made up about this. Finally the FA grow a set.

Now they will just have to grow a set every single time a manager complains about a referee. They just set a precedent and they are hypocrites if they don't follow the same procedure as they did with Fergie for everyone else.

Mister men

#15 wrote: »

Any victory will do at this stage?

Woooosh