Montgomery Burns
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- 14 Apr 2007
- Messages
- 514
The first of what might become a series of letters has been sent to the FA in connection with 'FA Watch', a campaign to highlight the inconsistencies in the way the FA and its officials apply the rules of the game, particularly in relation to the so-called Big 4. Today's chosen subject is Robin Van Persie, simply because last Saturday's match started the whole thing off. The letter reads:
Readers of the Manchester City fan site <a class="postlink" href="http://www.bluemoon-mcfc.co.uk" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.bluemoon-mcfc.co.uk</a> have started to monitor on-field incidents in the Premier League where disciplinary action has not been taken; looking for apparent inconsistencies in the way the FA and its officials apply the rules of the game.
The campaign is entitled ‘FA watch’ and has arisen as a belief in certain quarters that the FA as an organisation are either unable or unwilling to police the laws of the game in a fair an objective manner, in so much they appear biased towards members of the so-called Big 4 clubs. The campaign will look for specific examples of such perceived bias.
The trigger for ‘FA watch’ was the media campaign which highlighted some, but not all of the recent incidents at the City of Manchester stadium at the recent Manchester City v Arsenal match. At the heart of our campaign is the simple belief that all should be treated fairly before the law, which should be applied in a consistent manner. One of the aims of the campaign is to highlight similar incidents which may have been or are in the process of being treated differently by the football authorities.
I will write to you in due course referring you to various incidents, asking for your comments. As a matter of course my letters to you will be copied to various media outlets and you are free to copy your responses to them if you so wish.
As far as this letter is concerned I will restrict myself to two incidents at the Manchester City and Arsenal game involving Robbie Van Persie, and will deal with these in chronological order.
Goal celebrations
Mr Van Persie scored an excellent equaliser early in the second half at the South Stand end of the ground, where Arsenal fans were situated. But Mr Van Persie did not go to his own fans to celebrate however, as one might have reasonably expected. As the TV footage showed, he went instead towards the Manchester City fans in the opposite corner in a somewhat aggressive fashion, allegedly shouting, and it pains me to write this, ‘fuck off, fuck off, you bastards’. If that were not bad enough he left the field of play to do this. A complaint has been made to Greater Manchester Police in relation to Mr Van Persie’s conduct.
One would normally expect a yellow card to have been issued by Mr Clattenberg in the circumstances so described, but whilst he booked Mr Adebayor for his goal celebrations he did not book Mr Van Persie. In the interests of wishing the laws of the game to be applied in an even handed and consistent manner I would ask why a yellow card was not issued to Mr Van Persie in this instance. Perhaps you can enlighten me on this.
More specifically:
(a) Did Mr Clattenberg see the incident?
(b) Did Mr Clattenberg make reference to this incident in his match report?
(c) If he saw the incident but did not deem it warranted a booking please explain why.
(d) If Mr Clattenberg did not see the incident, are you prepared to investigate the circumstances of the incident, using the video evidence available? If not, why not.
(e) Irrespective of the fact Manchester City fans did not riot do you think Mr Van Persie’s behaviour could have incited fans to an extent that at the very least a breach of the peace may have been committed?
Violent conduct
The circumstances surrounding Mr Adebayor’s ‘stamp’ on Mr Van Persie have been well documented, but Mr Van Persie’s role in events leading up to this have not been examined in anything like the same detail.
As the TV footage showed, Mr Van Persie made a two-footed challenge on Mr Adebayor from behind, right in front of Mr Clattenberg, who can be seen waving play on.
One would normally expect a red card to have been issued by Mr Clattenberg in the circumstances so described, but in this instance did not even award a free kick, never mind issue a card to Mr Van Persie. Once again, and in the interests wishing the laws of the game to be applied in an even handed and consistent manner, I would ask why a card was not issued in this instance. Perhaps you can enlighten me on this.
More specifically:
(f) Did Mr Clattenberg see the incident?
(g) Did Mr Clattenberg make reference to this incident in his match report?
(h) If he saw the incident but did not deem it warranted a booking please explain why.
(i) If Mr Clattenberg did not see the incident, are you prepared to investigate the circumstances of the incident, using the video evidence available? If not, why not.
I look forward to hearing from you in due course. (end)
I will update this thread as and when I hear anything back.
The next incident to be raised will be Nemanja Vidic for his challenge on Rodallega the other week.
Readers of the Manchester City fan site <a class="postlink" href="http://www.bluemoon-mcfc.co.uk" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.bluemoon-mcfc.co.uk</a> have started to monitor on-field incidents in the Premier League where disciplinary action has not been taken; looking for apparent inconsistencies in the way the FA and its officials apply the rules of the game.
The campaign is entitled ‘FA watch’ and has arisen as a belief in certain quarters that the FA as an organisation are either unable or unwilling to police the laws of the game in a fair an objective manner, in so much they appear biased towards members of the so-called Big 4 clubs. The campaign will look for specific examples of such perceived bias.
The trigger for ‘FA watch’ was the media campaign which highlighted some, but not all of the recent incidents at the City of Manchester stadium at the recent Manchester City v Arsenal match. At the heart of our campaign is the simple belief that all should be treated fairly before the law, which should be applied in a consistent manner. One of the aims of the campaign is to highlight similar incidents which may have been or are in the process of being treated differently by the football authorities.
I will write to you in due course referring you to various incidents, asking for your comments. As a matter of course my letters to you will be copied to various media outlets and you are free to copy your responses to them if you so wish.
As far as this letter is concerned I will restrict myself to two incidents at the Manchester City and Arsenal game involving Robbie Van Persie, and will deal with these in chronological order.
Goal celebrations
Mr Van Persie scored an excellent equaliser early in the second half at the South Stand end of the ground, where Arsenal fans were situated. But Mr Van Persie did not go to his own fans to celebrate however, as one might have reasonably expected. As the TV footage showed, he went instead towards the Manchester City fans in the opposite corner in a somewhat aggressive fashion, allegedly shouting, and it pains me to write this, ‘fuck off, fuck off, you bastards’. If that were not bad enough he left the field of play to do this. A complaint has been made to Greater Manchester Police in relation to Mr Van Persie’s conduct.
One would normally expect a yellow card to have been issued by Mr Clattenberg in the circumstances so described, but whilst he booked Mr Adebayor for his goal celebrations he did not book Mr Van Persie. In the interests of wishing the laws of the game to be applied in an even handed and consistent manner I would ask why a yellow card was not issued to Mr Van Persie in this instance. Perhaps you can enlighten me on this.
More specifically:
(a) Did Mr Clattenberg see the incident?
(b) Did Mr Clattenberg make reference to this incident in his match report?
(c) If he saw the incident but did not deem it warranted a booking please explain why.
(d) If Mr Clattenberg did not see the incident, are you prepared to investigate the circumstances of the incident, using the video evidence available? If not, why not.
(e) Irrespective of the fact Manchester City fans did not riot do you think Mr Van Persie’s behaviour could have incited fans to an extent that at the very least a breach of the peace may have been committed?
Violent conduct
The circumstances surrounding Mr Adebayor’s ‘stamp’ on Mr Van Persie have been well documented, but Mr Van Persie’s role in events leading up to this have not been examined in anything like the same detail.
As the TV footage showed, Mr Van Persie made a two-footed challenge on Mr Adebayor from behind, right in front of Mr Clattenberg, who can be seen waving play on.
One would normally expect a red card to have been issued by Mr Clattenberg in the circumstances so described, but in this instance did not even award a free kick, never mind issue a card to Mr Van Persie. Once again, and in the interests wishing the laws of the game to be applied in an even handed and consistent manner, I would ask why a card was not issued in this instance. Perhaps you can enlighten me on this.
More specifically:
(f) Did Mr Clattenberg see the incident?
(g) Did Mr Clattenberg make reference to this incident in his match report?
(h) If he saw the incident but did not deem it warranted a booking please explain why.
(i) If Mr Clattenberg did not see the incident, are you prepared to investigate the circumstances of the incident, using the video evidence available? If not, why not.
I look forward to hearing from you in due course. (end)
I will update this thread as and when I hear anything back.
The next incident to be raised will be Nemanja Vidic for his challenge on Rodallega the other week.