I know it's taken me a while to get arouind to this, but Demba Ba and Chelsea really should have been awarded a penalty against Newcastle when Fabricio Coloccini broke his nose with a high kick.
It's true that referees commonly do not penalise defenders when an attacker has actually got his shot or header away before being felled by a tackle that was meant for the ball but in fact only managed to get the player.
I have frequently let these challenges go unless they are reckless or violent.
And that's actually wrong. A foul is a foul, whether it's before the player gets the ball, while he has it or after he has released it.
And the challenge on Ba was very reckless indeed. I don't think there was any violent attempt, but by swinging his foot so high there was a real risk of injuring Ba.
And the end result was that Coloccini did not get the ball at all but connected with Ba's face. The fact that Ba's header missed the goal is, I believe, irrelevant. It was foul and should have been sanctioned with a penalty.
Please don't let that detract from Newcastle's inspired performance against a feckless and hapless Chelsea.
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