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I’m just going to come right out and say it: the Kevin Muscat incident – the challenge on Adrian Zahra in the Melbourne derby – has been blown out of all proportion.
From the moment that the “tackle” occurred, Brenton Speed had it in for Muscat, to the point where Paul Trimboli – the only person to calmly and accurately assess the situation – would no longer even engage with him on the issue. Bosnich and Slater were overly emotional, caught up in the tension and drama of the derby, their ability to see what actually happened gone in a haze of perceived red mist.
Let me make one thing clear: I’m not condoning violent tackling in any way shape or form. The simple reality is that I simply didn’t view this as a violent or malicious tackle, merely a case of a quick young winger exposing an old, slow defender who completely botched his attempt of a tackle, the resulting collision ending in carnage.
Thankfully it looks like Zahra isn’t too seriously injured, and is likely to be back fit for the start of next season.
What Muscat was thinking, sliding in on the edge of the box when already on a yellow, with the game tied at 2-2, was completely beyond me. I was expecting a second yellow, and after watching the tackle countless times, I still think that is what it warranted.
The tackle was far from the worst that I’ve seen in the A-League, that dubious honour goes to none other than Michael Zullo’s leg-breaker on Jeremy Brockie almost 12 months ago to the day. The tackle was devoid of any form of technique or timing for a player of such perceived talent (even Paul Scholes would have cringed), yet there was no recriminations levelled against Zullo – there was barely a tear shed for Brockie and for the World Cup that he very nearly missed as a result.
In fact, the Muscat tackle wasn’t even the worst tackle of the game. That finger of blame can be pointed squarely at Grant Brebner. His effort in the opening moments of the match on Josip Skoko was late, had studs showing and made clear contact with the shin. There is a clear case for a red card, yet he escaped with barely a talking to.
It was from this very early point that Chris Beath lost control of the match. In games of high emotion, such as local derbies and Cup finals, the tone is set in the opening minutes of a match; how the match officials react to those first ten or so minutes will determine how the rest of the match will proceed. By allowing the blood and thunder that took place to go on unpunished, it was inevitable that it would spiral out of control at some point (seven yellows and a red is spiralling out of control). As the Heart proceeded to apply the pressure on the Victory, the bookings for things not in keeping with the initial tone set began to mount; it was always going to happen.
If you think that I’m just making excuses, then that’s fine, however I would encourage you to rewatch the 2010 World Cup final where Howard Webb didn’t stamp his authority early. Furthermore, check out any Merseyside, Manchester or London derby as well as Man Utd v Liverpool or Man Utd v Arsenal match (traditionally fiery encounters) from the last ten years and you will see a wide variety of performance by officials in this regard and the impact it has on the match itself.
With the quality of the A-League now considered to be at an all-time high, I’ve heard it said many times that it is the standard of the officiating that is now holding the game back. A strong referee than Beath would have stopped the game sliding into the spiteful contest that it did, by being firm early.
As for Muscat, despite being a club legend and a great leader of his troops, he was found out badly for pace. Even the most biased, diehard Victory-loving, Muscat-backing fan will tell you that his legs are gone, however never before has it been as clearly illustrated as this. Hopefully the club will use this opportunity to put sentimentality to one side and shift him into coaching and media work, and bring in a quality centre half to replace him.
I think that Muscat has been tried and convicted (both on and off the field) based on a perceived reputation. One that is hard to justify given that he has only five red cards in his near six year A-League career, and that two of them have been in his two previous matches.
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