Ben Thatcher incident

[SoccerPaper]

Vicious hit on Pedro Mendes from Ben Thatcher of Man. City.

What should his punishment be?

(If you don't know what I'm talking about... view it yourself):

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=ben+thatcher&search=Search

 

[Sliver]

I heard about the elbow but hadn't seen the video yet. That's an ugly incident, looked like some dirty elbows you see in hockey.

 

[Dude]

Wow. Ref must have missed seeing the elbow. Pretty easy to miss if your're at the wrong angle...otherwise looks like he ran through Mendes.

Ugly. Don't know the precedence, but have to give Thatcher a whpping suspension on that, to send a message. 10 games?

 

[striker14]

Absolutely brutal...the Ref must have missed it...I say throw the book at him...wasn't goin' for the ball at all...clearly meant to harm the chap!

striker14

 

[Rangerforever]

Man City take it seriously...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/m/man_city/5300184.stm

 

[Zaurrini]

Only a yellow card...amazing.

You would have thought Walks was reffing again....

 

[Keeper]

I want the players to play at a high tempo near the ball and it looks like the tackle was a bit mis-timed.

So there's a better time for an elbow?

I haven't seen a forearm like that since Brett Heart.

 

[SoccerPaper]

^ Haha! That was plenty quippy.

I was surprised that the ref only gave Thatcher a yellow... the unfortunate thing is, because the ref made a call, the league's hands are tied when it comes to suspending Thatcher (although, they may choose to ignore that provision due to the gravity of the situation).

Also, you'd think Mendes' teammates would be smart enough not to touch his neck right after he'd sustained an obvious head injury?

 

[SoccerPaper]

Also: i can't resist...

What do the English HAVE against the Portuguese?

 

[dezza]

Thatcher is not English. He's Welsh.

 

[Buckfast]

He's Welsh.

His Christian name is Baaaaaaaaen Thatcher. There's too much discrimination in this toon. Had to change it.

 

[Keeper]

Strange that they take action against the ref faster than on the player.

Ref dropped after Thatcher horror challenge

Dermot Gallagher has been dropped from the League Two match he was due to referee today after failing to send Ben Thatcher off for the Manchester City defender's crude challenge on Portsmouth's Pedro Mendes on Wednesday.


Thatcher has been suspended by City and charged with serious foul play by the Football Association following the incident which put Mendes in hospital.

Gallagher, who only booked Thatcher, was due to take charge of Bristol Rovers' match against Shrewsbury this afternoon.

But Tim Vine, spokesman for the Professional Game Match Officials Board, told The Daily Mirror: 'Dermot has been removed on the basis of his handling of the incident on Wednesday night.'

Andre Warriner will now take charge of the League Two match.

 

[Dude]

Likely two separate governing bodies; besides, if they were going to suspend him, had to do it immediately. If they are deliberating on Thatcher because they intend to "get it right", that may be a good thing.

 

[dezza]

I think it's more a case of them deciding if they actually can suspend Thatcher and if they do, what precedent will they be setting?

The rule has always been that if the incident is viewed by the referee and he makes a decision on the play (in this case a yellow card) then the player is deemed to have already been disciplined and cannot receive further sanction. This is exactly what happened in the Portugal vs. Holland game at WC when Figo got a yellow for his head-butt and got to play the next game against England when he obviously should have been banned.

 

[utah]

I read somewhere that Man City themselves suspended Thatcher for six games and also six weeks salary.

 

[trece verde]

Wasn't Dermot involved in a controversial match decision before? His name rang a bell...

potstirring,

Trece

 

[Keeper]

I read somewhere that Man City themselves suspended Thatcher for six games and also six weeks salary.

Yeah, I think you read it about 10 posts above.

 

[utah]

That,s where it was. Thanks Keeps.

 

[trece verde]

Not the player, you donkeys; the ref.

Check the names again:

Ben Thatcher = player
Dermot Gallagher = referee.

 

[Dapotayto]

I read somewhere that Man City themselves suspended Thatcher for six games and also six weeks salary.

Yeah, I think you read it about 10 posts above.

Ah, Trece, sorry to be the bearer of bad news but I don't think they were referring to your post during their little tea-party.

Trece=gun jumper
Dapotayto=clarifier