I’ve noticed recently that a lot of football clubs have had their appeals turned down by the FA. Liverpool’s Alexander Doni had his wrongful dismissal claim turned down yesterday and QPR’s Shaun Derry lost his appeal earlier in the week for his red card against Manchester United where he fouled an offside and diving Ashley Young. If you can’t get let off for that, when can you?
This has made me wonder: why are clubs still bothering with appeals?
Seriously, I can’t actually remember the last time the FA overturned a decision. The ratio must be close to 500/1.
Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic was found guilty of violent conduct on Tuesday for striking Shaun Maloney during the controversial win over Wigan at the weekend. Chelsea appealed and it was swiftly rejected yesterday morning.
That decision made me raise an eyebrow as it really highlighted, not for the first time, the rank hypocrisy of the FA.
Remember that eventful international qualifier England played in Montenegro back in October 2011? The one where Wayne Rooney kicked out at a player and was rightfully given a three-match ban meaning he’d be unavailable for the group stages of this summer’s European Championships. Who was it who were found in Switzerland lodging an appeal to UEFA attempting to get the ban reduced like rich parents attending the headmaster's office after finding out their son set fire to the cafeteria? That’s right the Football Association.
Why is it okay for Wayne Rooney to engage in violent conduct, but not Branislav Ivanovic? I’ll tell you why, Wayne Rooney is of value to the FA, Ivanovic isn’t. In my opinion UEFA should have just dismissed the FA’s appeal and stood firm on the Rooney ban. Sure, as an Englishman, I want Rooney available for the Euros, he’s our best player by a million miles but in the end of the day he kicked out at an opposition player and was rightly sent off for it. The standard ban is 3 matches for violent conduct and that’s how it should have stayed.
If I were Chelsea I’d be pointing at the Wayne Rooney appeal and demanding answers. This one rule for one and one rule for another just isn’t right. Ivanovic wasn’t even sent off for crying out loud, granted he should have been but that was never going to happen given the mare the referees are having these days.
Mario Balotelli nearly broke Alex Song’s leg on the very same weekend in a crunching studs-up challenge. He has been let off because the referee saw it (?), meanwhile Ivanovic is banned because no one saw it. Makes perfect sense to me.
It’s all quite frankly ridiculous. If I were Chelsea I’d write a letter to the FA saying they’ll send Ivanovic to sweep the marble staircase for a week if they’ll reduce his ban to two games. If the FA can bribe UEFA with Rooney community service then why can’t Chelsea bribe the FA with cleaning services?
The clubs must know the FA is as corrupt and hypocritical as the suits of nearby Westminster, so why not just point it out? Band together and agree never to appeal against any decision no matter how blatantly wrong it is. It’s the only way to make the world see just how absurd they really are.
It wouldn’t be long before they started begging clubs to appeal; that staircase won’t clean itself now will it?
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