Being a Kentish man (I live 200 yards away from the River Medway's western shore) I was dead proud this weekend to see three Kentish officials in charge of the top weekend match, Man Utd v Liverpool. Bennett, Yerby and Gosling performed admirably, but Steve Bennett was at his unflappable best, even in the face of the thuggishness of Mascherano.
It is sickening to see Rafael Benitez and other players tell downright porkies about Mascherano's behaviour during the incident and in the 43 minutes leading up to it. He was a red card waiting to happen. It was clear that he was arguing incessantly with Bennett. Despite the referee's warnings, he clearly felt he was untouchable and carried on. Result: red card. His reaction then reminded me of the worst excesses of park football. It seems clear that if he had not been restrained, he would have attacked Bennett.
Every referee around the country will be watching the FA to see what Mascherano's punishment is. Many a ref will be wondering if it's worth it to carry on if he does not have a hefty suspension imposed.
But even worse was to hear Benitez defending him. He was only asking why, said Benitez. Well, I'm sorry, but the laws give the bloke in black the authority to make decisions. Once the decisions are taken, get on with the match. Or should we stop the game everytime a player wants to argue and have a five-minute discussion, ending, of course with the ref admitting that, of course, the player was right because he's paid 80,000 quid a week, has a brain the size of a pea and does not give a damn if he cheats his way to victory.
Or perhaps we should all calm down and respect the referee's decisions.
1 comment:
Atkinson? Hope Ian Gosling doesn't read this! Hats off to Bennett though. Hopefully this will act a warning to those players across the country at every level.
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