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If I could one have one wish granted in ways to improve the A-League in “Version 5.0” (come to think of it, is there a statute of limitations on “versions”?) it is do away with this ridiculous rule that on-field trangressions cannot be dealt with by the FFA Match Review Panel if the referee at the time of the incident saw fit to not place it on report.
Kevin Muscat, the dirtiest-cum-craftiest player in Australian football got away with a raking action foot stomp on Daniel Mullen this week, the FFA declaring “as the matter did not escape the attention of the referee, the MRP has no authority to intervene.”
Meanwhile disgruntled Brazilian Cassio is being hauled over hot coals for making a fist-pumping gesture to the crowd after copping his second yellow card.
“FFA has alleged that Cassio has breached the National Code of Conduct in relation to his conduct following the issue of the second yellow card.”
His punishment will be decided Wednesday.
There is something very wrong with the system if stomping on a prostrate, defenceless player goes unpunished while a heat-of-the-moment harmless rebuke of the crowd is deemed sanctionable.
Look at the video yourself and make up your own mind. In my opinion, there appears to be premeditation, his knee cocked inward, his left foot coming down on an unusual angle for someone supposedly attempting to recover a ball.
The ball itself is a good foot away from his boot.
There should certainly be enough doubt about Muscat’s intentions to at least place the incident on report to be dealt with after the match, in the manner high tackles are reported in rugby league.
Why is that so hard to do in football?
I can guarantee you that if such refereeing provisions were in place that the incidence of “dirty” behaviour in football would be dramatically reduced.
As it is stands presently, though, many players are quite happy to slip in a punch, an elbow, a sly kick, knowing chances are they will get away with it.
Make no mistake: Muscat is a formidable character on the pitch and it is a brave referee who comes up against him. But he is not a protected species, so why does it appear he is consistently treated as such?
A cynic would say that Muscat hasn’t been sanctioned for his rake of Mullen because the FFA wouldn’t dare suspend him for the grand final.
In all honesty I don’t think that is the case but, all the same, a grand final without Muscat would be disastrous for the code.
However the National Rugby League, it should be pointed out, didn’t allow Cameron Smith’s stature in the game to permit him to play for Melbourne Storm in last season’s NRL grand final following his “grapple tackle” on Brisbane forward Sam Thaiday in the finals.
Smith was slugged with a two-game ban on the basis of video evidence.
He wasn’t even placed on report. At the time, all his indiscretion warranted at the discretion of the match referee was a penalty.
But the NRL, in its commitment to eradicating the scourge of this dangerous tackle from the sport, showed some nerve and charged Smith anyway.
The FFA should have done the same with Muscat. And in letting it go, they’ve let us all down.
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