The night Kevin Muscat crossed the line
Columnist By Luke Doherty, 23 Jan 2011 Luke Doherty is a Roar Expert
- Tagged:
- A-League, Adrian Zahra, Kevin Muscat, Melbourne, Melbourne derby, melbourne heart, Melbourne Victory
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Melbourne Victory's Kevin Muscat is warned by the referee after a tackle in the A-League.
Football Federation Australia and the Melbourne Victory need to take action against Kevin Muscat following the horrendous tackle on Melbourne Heart young gun Adrian Zahra.
Muscat, who had just returned from suspension, picked up his second yellow card in the dying stages of the Melbourne derby and was sent off.
Zahra left the field with his knee in bad shape. The tackle was one of the worst I’ve ever seen on a football field. Zahra was lucky to not have broken his leg.
It’s perfectly fine for Muscat to play the villain, but his latest moment of madness well and truly crossed the line.
To make matters worse, Muscat tried to convince everyone involved that he’d actually won the ball.
Muscat is meant to be the leader of, what some would say, the biggest club in the country. The tackle was not the action of a man who understands responsibility.
Zahra has been one of the bright lights of this competition and in that moment was hit by someone in the twilight of their career.
Muscat will no doubt face the wrath of the league, but is that enough?
The Victory wouldn’t be out of order suspending Muscat until the end of the season. It would be hard to see the club taking action that would hamper its own campaign, but it would send a message to the fans that they don’t stand for that type of tackle.
What type of example is Muscat setting for those around him? His actions seem to have a flow on effect to the rest of the squad, who also seem to be in disbelief every time the referee blows his whistle.
It’s a shame, but Muscat’s tackle on Zahra has the potential to define his entire career.
Let’s just hope Zahra doesn’t have his career hampered by what we saw last night.
You can follow Luke Doherty on Twitter @Luke_Doherty and on Sky News Australia.
January 23rd 2011 @ 1:21am
Anthony said | January 23rd 2011 @ 1:21am | Report comment
Muscat has made the A-League look like a laughing stock for too long…. His and MV’s continual “he’s tough but fair” response is as obvious as it is a disgrace… No wonder he is one of the most hated, and dare I say disrespected, players in Australia..
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January 23rd 2011 @ 1:46am
Gif Richard said | January 23rd 2011 @ 1:46am | Report comment
What a horrendous tackle that was, and what a shame it’s not the first time we’ve seen this from him. He should know better by now. Also, the way he relates to referees is nothing short of disgraceful.
And for the record it was a straight red, not a second yellow.
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January 23rd 2011 @ 1:54am
Midfielder said | January 23rd 2011 @ 1:54am | Report comment
Disappointed if FFA do not give KM a very heavy penalty
January 24th 2011 @ 10:50am
Wotdoo said | January 24th 2011 @ 10:50am | Report comment
Going by the match review panel it could be anywhere from 1 week to 1 year, dont forget that fabiano got 9 weeks to start with for spitting and missing so by that at a measure muscat should get at least a year
As a victory supporter i’m dissapointed in him for the way he is playing now and i wish that he woulod retire.
January 23rd 2011 @ 3:10am
Roger Rational said | January 23rd 2011 @ 3:10am | Report comment
The guy has been doing similarly disgraceful things for the past decade in both Oz and England. Has no one been paying attention?
January 23rd 2011 @ 4:27am
midfield general said | January 23rd 2011 @ 4:27am | Report comment
Yep, this guy’s a bit mental and needs help. For many in Melbourne he’s the single biggest reason for turning to support Melbourne Heart.
January 23rd 2011 @ 6:44am
gawa said | January 23rd 2011 @ 6:44am | Report comment
What is worse, Muscat doing what he has spent his entire career doing or FFA and referees in this country allowing him to continue unpunished for the majority of his A League career.
Anyone who lived in the UK will know all about Muscats legacy to football, at times a decent player but a blight on the game and I can only hope that the young Heart lad is not seriously injured.
Any fans of Victory or members of the football community especially his mates at Foxtel who wish to defend him might take some time to brush up on some Muscat history and find out just how many careers he has ended or shortened deliberately. Legal action against him also has a precedent for potential career ending brutality like we saw yet again last night.
No club in the UK would touch him he was deemed a liabilty by managers,chairmen and fans alike and that is why he came back to Oz when he did, give him a lengthy ban so that this typically Muscat event can be his last input as a player.
Good riddance the A League will be a better and more entertaining place without him.
He deserves that tackle to be remembered as this his final act as a player.
January 23rd 2011 @ 7:14am
Fairy said | January 23rd 2011 @ 7:14am | Report comment
The “tackle” was a disgrace and he deserved to go. What really disgusted me was his carry on afterwards! No respect for the referee, his opponent nor the game!
Bosnich was not defending him at half time in the AUS game. Said he should be banned for as long as the “victim” can not play for.
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January 23rd 2011 @ 12:41pm
Mark Young said | January 23rd 2011 @ 12:41pm | Report comment
I agree mate, his reaction to the ref was ridiculous.
“How dare you send me off for trying to mame that guy!!”
January 23rd 2011 @ 7:49am
Andrew said | January 23rd 2011 @ 7:49am | Report comment
kevin Muscat has a rotten attitude and def has anger management issues. A league cant possibly let him get away with it again and Victory should take action because it is degrading to them having a player like that .Life ban is what he deserves.
January 23rd 2011 @ 7:49am
Fussball ist unser leben said | January 23rd 2011 @ 7:49am | Report comment
Ok, here we go. The usual knee-jerk (pun partly intended) reactions to a Kevin Muscat tackle. For heavens sake it was a bad tackle; and Kev got sent off. That’s why they have a “send off offences”. Brebner’s studs-up tackle on Skoko is far worse, was reckless if not intentional, and is the sort of tackle that results in a broken leg. But, if Kevin Muscat sneezes and an opponent gets ill, I’m sure people will blame Kevin for spreading the flu virus!
Yes, it’s awful that Zahra may be badly injured, but that’s the risk whenever you play football. Would it make it any less sad for Adrian Zahra if he got injured in a fair, but strong, tackle?
Having said that, and, having stood up for Kev, highlighting “leadership qualities” only recently, last night was very very poor leadership from Kev.
I’m sure Kev knew he was solely to blame for the 2nd Heart goal and, rather than put his head down and try to rectify his mistake, he let his team and the fans down. That’s very disappointing from the captain and, thankfully, MVFC’s other 14 other players weren’t punished even further?
I can only hope, Kev reads the writing on the wall and retires at the end of this season.
But, having said that, at least what Kev did last night was during the play action .
It was not a cheap and cowardly punch to the back of an opponent’s head; or “king-hit” that breaks an opponent’s jaw; or, a gouging an opponent’s eye resulting in retinal bleeding and potential blindness; or, any of the cowardly and street-thug behaviour that occurs nearly every week in League, Rugby and, to a lesser extent, Aussie Rules and is laughed about and applauded by sports commentators as “being part of a man’s game”.
January 23rd 2011 @ 8:35am
Chris said | January 23rd 2011 @ 8:35am | Report comment
Funny how you manage to turn a discussion on Kevin Muscat into a spite-filled and vitriolic attack on other football codes.
Muscat is a thug, He has no place in any football code.
January 23rd 2011 @ 8:53am
Koops said | January 23rd 2011 @ 8:53am | Report comment
Chris said Funny how you manage to turn a discussion on Kevin Muscat into a spite-filled and vitriolic attack on other football codes.
It’s what he does, it’s just about all he does, it’s cheap and low.
January 23rd 2011 @ 9:42am
Roger said | January 23rd 2011 @ 9:42am | Report comment
Funny how both Chris and Koops managed to miss every legitimate point made, and twist a “let’s put this into perspective” remark into something that is apparently “spite-filled”, and “cheap”.
Back on topic, I really hope Kevin simply leaves. The sooner the better.
January 24th 2011 @ 8:23am
Rob McLean said | January 24th 2011 @ 8:23am | Report comment
If Fussball wanted the debate to remain on topic, he wouldn’t have had a cheap shot at other codes.
I’m tipping he did that to deflect from Muscat’s kung fu tackle, hoping everyone else would turn it into a code battle.
January 23rd 2011 @ 8:56am
titus said | January 23rd 2011 @ 8:56am | Report comment
But how come we see week after week the accepted practice in football of abusing and chasing the referee. Muscat didn’t have a leg to stand on yet he still had to shout at spit the dummy at the ref. Young kids see this, know that this is part of the game and so the disgraceful practice continues.
January 23rd 2011 @ 9:05am
Titus said | January 23rd 2011 @ 9:05am | Report comment
Wow, that is strikingly similar to my user name.
Football is a passionate game, the ref has the power to punish a player if he sees fit.
January 23rd 2011 @ 9:18am
titus said | January 23rd 2011 @ 9:18am | Report comment
Yes, football is a passionate game as are many others. Geez I hope that wasn’t your excuse to defend that particular ugly blight on the game?
BTW, great name, mine’s with a small t
January 23rd 2011 @ 12:25pm
Titus said | January 23rd 2011 @ 12:25pm | Report comment
Yes I did notice the subtle difference.
I haven’t seen the tackle and I’m not defending the tackle, I’m saying that in football players can passionately state their case, but the ref has the power to control the situation and will, in all likelyhood, not let it cross the line. As if often the case, Vukovic sent off for touching the ref and players frequently carded for dissent.
Funny that that is something we don’t want kids to see, but players punching each other in the head is just being manly.
January 23rd 2011 @ 8:04pm
TitusandAssman said | January 23rd 2011 @ 8:04pm | Report comment
A player punching another player is completely separate from ref abuse. I appreciate that in the heat of the moment bad tackles happen but KM is an angry bully – I hope he leaves MV too.
January 24th 2011 @ 8:24am
Rob McLean said | January 24th 2011 @ 8:24am | Report comment
Titus (with a big T) when referring to players who punch other players in the back of the head are you talking about Liam Reddy?
January 24th 2011 @ 2:11pm
Titus said | January 24th 2011 @ 2:11pm | Report comment
Liam Reddy will most likely be punished for the incident, punching isn’t condoned in football.
January 25th 2011 @ 9:56pm
Koops said | January 25th 2011 @ 9:56pm | Report comment
Two of you now, when ever i see your name it reminds me of Jack “skinny” Titus.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Titus
970 goals for Richmond and held the consecutive games record with 204 games untill Jimmy Stynes broke it.
just what is your titus named after ?. …. roman emperor ?.
January 23rd 2011 @ 9:18am
Fisher Price said | January 23rd 2011 @ 9:18am | Report comment
Get your blinkers off.
And no, the thug didn’t just commit a bad tackle and get sent off.
He also did his usual party piece of snarling and swearing at the ref as though he was the victim.
Not a thought for the player he just assaulted.
January 23rd 2011 @ 9:21am
Scott Adams said | January 23rd 2011 @ 9:21am | Report comment
So you’re saying that an act of brutality is OK as long as it’s not committed in an ‘underhand’ manner? For someone who bleats on long and hard into the night about ‘understanding football’ you should surely realise that that tackle has no place in the game. And then, like Muscat claiming he’s played the ball last night, you try to deflect the force of argument onto other codes in a spectacularly pompous and sanctimonious final sentance. You often come across as a pompous blimp, fussball, but in this post you – just like your hero ‘Kev’ – have crossed the line too. Ridiculous.
January 23rd 2011 @ 9:25am
Fisher Price said | January 23rd 2011 @ 9:25am | Report comment
Quite. I suspect with this line of thinking, spitting or diving is far worse than a pre-meditated bone-breaking assault.
January 23rd 2011 @ 11:15am
Realfootball said | January 23rd 2011 @ 11:15am | Report comment
Well said.
January 23rd 2011 @ 10:05am
Realfootball said | January 23rd 2011 @ 10:05am | Report comment
You exist in parallel universe Fussball.
I sincerely hope that this is the last game Muscat ever plays. That you can defend him in this instance simply emphasises your chronic disconect with reality.
And your witty little “no pun intended” was in the worst possible taste under the circumstances.
January 23rd 2011 @ 7:08pm
Fussball ist unser leben said | January 23rd 2011 @ 7:08pm | Report comment
Hey, Realfootball aren’t you a GCU supporter? Steve Panteledis, punched Robbie K in the throat last season, behind play, and then ran off. What has been your reaction and advice to Mr Panteledis?
PS: Didn’t you just love the way Harry stuck the ball in the back of the net this morning against Iraq – he was just too quick in mind and body for his younger opponents … I reckon that goal was specifically for you and the other non-believers. Looks like Harry and the lads really appreciate NOT having your support – they just keep on winning.
January 24th 2011 @ 9:45am
Realfootball said | January 24th 2011 @ 9:45am | Report comment
I am most certainly not a GCU supporter. I am a Roar supporter, though I faded away in the Tiatto/Miller/Moore era, for the same reasons that I believe Muscat shouldn’t play again. Tiatto was a barbarian on the pitch.
Good on Harry – I was as happy as anyone else. Doesn’t change anything. He is a shadow the player he once was, and apart from that goal, as a striker he is actually quite ineffectual. He is shooting is generally awful.
January 23rd 2011 @ 10:43am
Brendan B. said | January 23rd 2011 @ 10:43am | Report comment
Only a Melbourne Victory supporter could hurl such rot.
Muscat is the definition of coward. His coach Merrick is not much better sitting on the fence constantly.
I hope the young fella Zahra makes a full recovery, if not I hope he sues for damages & takes Muscat to court.
January 23rd 2011 @ 11:09am
gawa said | January 23rd 2011 @ 11:09am | Report comment
Totally agreed, it wouldn’t be the first legal action against for this type of thing either.
January 23rd 2011 @ 11:34am
MelbCro said | January 23rd 2011 @ 11:34am | Report comment
@ Fussball ist unser leben
knee jerk reaction? He has had a career full of people reacting to him as we see now, but you describe that as knee-jerk? Is that meant to be a joke? Take a long hard look at yourself and stop being a Muscat fanboy
And Muscat not a coward? Having watched the fool since he played in the NSL, I can confirm he is without doubt a gutless coward. What do you know, you had never even heard of the guy until 2005. lol, new dawners trying to lecture people, who do you think you are ffs
January 23rd 2011 @ 11:52am
Aka said | January 23rd 2011 @ 11:52am | Report comment
FIUL, what Muscat did was cheap and cowardly. Zahra is committed to playing the ball. Muscat in his endeavor to play the man missed the ball completely. What Muscat does is cowardly because, in the position he plays, it’s very difficult for a forward to impose the same sort of physical ‘presence’ – elbows, tackles with intent to hurt etc – back on the defender, even if they wanted too. He knows that.
I hate it when these defenders that play rough-house tactics are described as tough men. They are not – they are weak men. IMO Robbie Kruse is one of the toughest players in the league. He has been absolutely battered by the opposition since he started playing for Victory – especially last year – yet he can get up again and produce the goods.
January 23rd 2011 @ 12:31pm
peeeko said | January 23rd 2011 @ 12:31pm | Report comment
out of all the ridiculuos cooments you have made on the roar, this is surely your best. “cowardly and street thug behaviour occuring nearly every week in league”. cowardly king hits and eye gouging occur about once a decade
January 23rd 2011 @ 12:53pm
Douggie said | January 23rd 2011 @ 12:53pm | Report comment
You’re kidding aren’t you Fussball?
Ask Matty Holmes, Dugarry or Bellamy about Muscat – he’s being intentionally causing injury for far too long and should be drummed out of the game.
He was dubbed the most hated man in football during his time in England – do you think that was because he was better than everyone else.
Hopefully Zaha sues him like Holmes did.
I know you’re a bit biased as a Victory fan but if the only way you can win is to have thugs on your side perhaps you should look at switching your support.
And yes, it would make it less sad for zaha if he got injured in a fair but strong tackle rather than a deliberate act iof malice.
January 23rd 2011 @ 2:08pm
damos_x said | January 23rd 2011 @ 2:08pm | Report comment
I’ll assume that the number on your Kevin Muscat Fan Club keyring is #1 !
I’ll also assume the reason you hope Muscat sees the writing on the wall & retires is because you want to remember the good old days when he was a lot better at this hacking stuff & could really give a bloke a good kicking.
Harsh ? You betcha ! Football is our life ?! what a load of crap mate.
January 23rd 2011 @ 9:10pm
wacko said | January 23rd 2011 @ 9:10pm | Report comment
“Fussball ist unser leben” sie sind schiesse, du arsloch. GO HEART.
Muscat is a discrace, retire and keep his head down in shame the rest of his life.
January 23rd 2011 @ 8:34am
Swampy said | January 23rd 2011 @ 8:34am | Report comment
I have long been a defender of one Kevin Muscat, I’ve often thought that most pundits reactions to incidents he has been involved in have blown them completely out of proportion. Sure he treads a fine line at the edge of the rules but so do many others. Last evening’s tackle is indefensible. The fine line was more than crossed.
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January 23rd 2011 @ 8:36am
Chris said | January 23rd 2011 @ 8:36am | Report comment
What’s just as shameful is that Ernie Merrick claimed not to see the Muscat tackle. Merrick had a choice, he could have said the tackle was terrible and that muscat deserved the red card but chose not to. That’s as close to condoning the tackle as you can get.