Speaking purely in football terms here I ask the question.
It seems in recent weeks Manchester City Football Club especially its manager and players have come in for some tough treatment at the hands of the FA, with Kompany, Balotelli and wide spread criticisim for Mancini and the imaginary card waving incidents. Obviously many will argue it is an agenda against the club, the press are in on it, the refs etc. but what if it isn't what if purely the fact that the players and manager involved are not English/British?I'll use the three examples of Kompany; Mancini; and of course Balotelli, but they all interlink:-
Firstly Kompany's tackle. Debatable, some will argue dangerous, others a good strong tackle. Foy sent him off and the FA could do very little to overturn the challenge due to its law breaking stance of two feet off the ground. OK fair enough. But then Glen Johnson (an Englisman, by some conincidence) comes in with a similar, arguably worse challenge on Jolean Lescott and the ref waves play on. Now I ask if this player was say Vincent Kompany would he have seen red? Quite possibly, because as we already know from the mouth of our favourite salt of the earth Scot "He's got previous"
Bringing me to my next point, why is it that imaginery card waving is condemned nationally across the media and the FA, but saying derogatory remarks about players or say shouting in the referee's ear to get a player sent-off, and consistantly surrounding the man in black is not even seemingly a reproachful offence? Not that any balding Englishman can be seen doing that every week on the pitch, therefore it becomes acceptable behaviour by everybody. Furthermore when certain managers make post-match comments about events on the pitch whereby a man has committed a challenge in today's society is considered to be dangerous, he is seemingly unheard. All the while being abused by a scouser, who by all accounts is not unknown to attack people with more than just words off the pitch, who seems to gain a great deal of positve press from such abuse. Yet another manager, whom we know to be a completely upstanding member of society, probably completing his taxes long before Moira Stewart comes on the radio, words are immediately taken as gospel truth and have the press and the FA scratching their notepads with the red pen on a particular number 45. Again could it be because one set of people in this story are Italians, who the some seemingly believe spend thier days off doing the plumbing and chasing tortoises, and the others are proud Englishmen?
And finally we come to the Mario Balotelli incident. Now for this I have to say there is little doubt in my eyes that seemingly Mr Mario extented his leg in a unusual kicking motion for falling over, however, and this is the key, even with the video it can hardly be proved that he wasn't just trying to regain his balance, as at the time he had a player leaning on his back. It certainly was not, as our honest friend, who is seemingly as popular as the Pope considering he spent the day behind bullet proof glass, would have you believe a deliberate stamp on somebody's, who again, shockingly, is a floppy haired English darling, head. If such roles were reversed I ask myself, would such media attention have been focused on such a trivial tumble by our little-legged Hugh Grant? Doubtful. Even more doubtful if said person, was a rather well stocked scouser, whom ever level headed temprement would not see him accidently tumble onto somebody's head, no, much more likely to have a clear memory lapse on what a ball looked like and mistake a person for it. If such a travesty of justice as this saint was to have a red card brandished at him, the FA would seek to condone said action, more than likely under the pretence that "He was one of those bloody foreign chaps, more than likely dived into our Wayne's foot in an attempt to kiss it. It wouldn't happen in England". And it seems as though Lescott, who Graeme 'One flew over the Cuckoo's Nest' Souness noted also deserved a red card in the match just as much as Balotelli, did not recieve any punishment, could it be because he plays for England? Not that I am advocating that he recieves a suspension either, will just make the point that if the people involved in the two incidents yesterday were reversed would we be talking about Balotelli being banned for an elbow? Sadly I think we would.
Now I have got all that off my chest I can say it is actually Howard Webb that has admitted Balotelli would have been sent off if he had seen the incident, not the FA. This is why I ask the question, this post has given an answer, but it may be incorrect if Manchester City Football Club decide to appeal, and the Football Association decide to prove me wrong by overturning the ban. Somewhat doubtful I fear.
