I've looked at the sending off of Ivanovic (sp) time after time after time... I still can't see where he's clipped Ashley Young. All the pundits have said that it happened so I must be wrong but I still can't see it and with Young's previous, I am yet to be convinced !
If there is contact it's absolutely minimal and I don't think there was an intent. Is that a red card? An accidental clipping of heels with no challenge made or any intent to commit a foul?
Contact doesn't equal a foul - it's still (supposed to be) a contact sport. If there was any contact that caused Young to fall - highly unlikely given how predisposed he and so many of his 'professional' contemporaries are to cheating - it's obvious that this was largely accidental when they crossed at pace, so while in those circumstances I'd understand a free kick being given, it shouldn't really be a card of any kind. It seems that today's referees are finding it more and more difficult to discern between accidental and deliberate foul play, although as Mario suggests in another thread this is hardly surprising given how shamefully today's players react to contact of any kind.
Thanks everyone. What got me is that not one of the pundits questioned the decision. BTW football is well and truly fecked !
Increasingly sick and tired with most of the pundits forever finding ways to excuse the ever worsening behaviour/attitude of the players - a dreadful example if ever I've seen one of the old boys' club closing ranks to protect their future after-dinner speaking partners. Even worse are the TV companies that allow the pundits to act as apologists for despicable behaviour when they should simply be united in their condemnation of what this behaviour is doing/has done to the game. If I had a quid for every time I've heard Alan Shearer say 'there was contact' to justify someone chucking themselves down in the box to win a penalty when they could have stayed on their feet I'd be a rich man. If only we had stalwarts like Sir Alf Ramsey still around to come on TV and describe these cheats for exactly what they are!
