First of all let us all pray for Nanu of FC Porto who sustained an unnecessary injury. Hope he recovers fast and returns to play soon.
There are already some fouls punished by red cards in this beautiful game but a few remain that are not addressed at all. Fouling is the ugly side of football. There is nothing joyful about it for the players and spectators. It turns the game into a battle ground that looks nothing like football and often the results of a match can be very unfair if particularly these fouls are not called by the referee. There is already a red card punishment for:
Committing particularly violent or serious foul
Using foul language (either against your opponent or your own team!)
Receiving a second yellow card
But discretion is given to the ref to decide whether the foul was violent or not.
However, there are certain fouls that should automatically be given a red card when it takes place. One of these is the punching of the ball by the keeper. When a keeper punches the ball often the ball is very close to the players’ heads and if he misses he could punch the player’s head instead and that happens often. In Nanu’s situation there were two violent fouls: one was the defender’s raised foot to his head and the other was keeper’s fists, both of them, with full force meaning to punch the ball but instead hitting Nau’s head.
It is high time that FIFA revises some of the fouls and brings in new rules to protect the player’s safety and make this game more pleasant and joyous to watch. Keepers punching the ball should be disallowed as this could cause serious injuries as we witnessed last night.
There are already some fouls punished by red cards in this beautiful game but a few remain that are not addressed at all. Fouling is the ugly side of football. There is nothing joyful about it for the players and spectators. It turns the game into a battle ground that looks nothing like football and often the results of a match can be very unfair if particularly these fouls are not called by the referee. There is already a red card punishment for:
Committing particularly violent or serious foul
Using foul language (either against your opponent or your own team!)
Receiving a second yellow card
But discretion is given to the ref to decide whether the foul was violent or not.
However, there are certain fouls that should automatically be given a red card when it takes place. One of these is the punching of the ball by the keeper. When a keeper punches the ball often the ball is very close to the players’ heads and if he misses he could punch the player’s head instead and that happens often. In Nanu’s situation there were two violent fouls: one was the defender’s raised foot to his head and the other was keeper’s fists, both of them, with full force meaning to punch the ball but instead hitting Nau’s head.
It is high time that FIFA revises some of the fouls and brings in new rules to protect the player’s safety and make this game more pleasant and joyous to watch. Keepers punching the ball should be disallowed as this could cause serious injuries as we witnessed last night.
Comment