FA Watch

[jack]

Today is the day.

If the FA ban Ade i will be seething (i am seething now just thinking about it) and i hope City will not accept it due to the many many other incidents inc Van Pussy leaving the pitch to celebrate his in front of us, i am sure they have on file that went unpunished. Any sort of ban and i hope city throw thier weight behind thier solicitors and seriously go after the FA.

For me, and also fans of other teams who i work with, including Arsenal. Spurs, West Brom and Leicester , not a single one of them think he did anything wrong. 44 seconds from the goal to the kick off so no time wasting. Didnt leave the pitch, didnt remove his shirt, didnt make any gestures. So what if he ran to the other end of the pitch, its happened before with no punishments.

I even think a fine will be harsh on him, as he did no wrong. He cant be held responsible for the actions of the Arsenal fans who were totally out of order.

Who seem to have got off scot free for a near riot.

 

[Montgomery Burns]

Today is the day.

If the FA ban Ade i will be seething (i am seething now just thinking about it) and i hope City will not accept it due to the many many other incidents inc Van Pussy leaving the pitch to celebrate his in front of us, i am sure they have on file that went unpunished. Any sort of ban and i hope city throw thier weight behind thier solicitors and seriously go after the FA.

For me, and also fans of other teams who i work with, including Arsenal. Spurs, West Brom and Leicester , not a single one of them think he did anything wrong. 44 seconds from the goal to the kick off so no time wasting. Didnt leave the pitch, didnt remove his shirt, didnt make any gestures. So what if he ran to the other end of the pitch, its happened before with no punishments.

I even think a fine will be harsh on him, as he did no wrong. He cant be held responsible for the actions of the Arsenal fans who were totally out of order.

Hi Herts Blue,

I remember asking a while back about how many seconds it was between goal scored and restart and didn't see a reply - but 44! That just shows how desperate the FA are to fudge things so they can stick this extra charge on Adebayor.

A half decent barrister shouldn't have too much difficulty in blowing the FA's case apart and I'm confident that City's legal representatives will do this. The problem is though is that today's 'match' is behind closed doors with no (impartial!) referee, no TV cameras, no crowd, no opportunity to replay what happened after the event and dissect it in minute detail.

And that's a massive problem. Because the FA has already decided it's verdict - it's a bit like next year's Russian election result, as the old joke goes. The FA would not have gone to the lengths it has to get Adebayor in the dock unless it was pretty sure of the eventual outcome. Because who decides the outcome? The FA's placemen!

I think we all have to prepare ourselves for the worst today, with the inevitable fury that will come afterwards. But the real fight won't be in the FA's kangaroo courtroom today - you are witnessing a corrupt organisation in action in front of your own eyes after all - the real fight will come afterwards. Hopefully City will play their part, with a legal challenge to the FA outwith the FA's processes and therefore control. But they will be strongly discouraged against by all in the football industry for sure, and the club might just accept say a one match ban as part of a deal done behind the scenes before the trial even starts - this would enable the FA to save face, having made its point whilst the club would be relieved it could have been worse.

But such a verdict will hopefully be a recruiting sergeant for us in FA Watch, and will be a rallying call for all who believe in fair play and just want a fair crack of the whip. Remember our mantra - no special favours for us - just equal treatment for all.

Is the FA going to surprise me?

Mark

 

[bluemoonmatt]

Mark, Is this just a City thing or are we getting fans of other clubs (obviously not the ones that seemingly benefit from the bias shown) involved. It would surely be beneficial if this isn't seen as a one club crusade.

 

[0103]

But such a verdict will hopefully be a recruiting sergeant for us in FA Watch, and will be a rallying call for all who believe in fair play and just want a fair crack of the whip. Remember our mantra - no special favours for us - just equal treatment for all.

I too am fearing the worst, but if Adebayor does get a ban it will re-enforce to me that changes need to be made.

And at the moment, the best way to make the changes is to clearly demonstrate that the current process is flawed.

ie FA Watch

 

[Montgomery Burns]

Mark, Is this just a City thing or are we getting fans of other clubs (obviously not the ones that seemingly benefit from the bias shown) involved. It would surely be beneficial if this isn't seen as a one club crusade.

As things stand, the 'campaign' started on here two weeks ago and we already have plans in place for 20 of our volunteers to take this out to fans of the Premier League clubs. This will happen the moment our new website <a class="postlink" href="http://www.fawatch.org" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.fawatch.org</a> goes live - it is currently under construction and we are in the testing phase at the moment. We do not want to go 'live' with this website until we are absolutely ready, as it is important to get this thing right from the start and put out a statement that we are a professional outfit who want and deserve to be taken seriously by the football authorities.

Once the website is 'live' everyone from here, there and everywhere will be invited and welcome to join us in our campaign. I couldn't agree more that this should not be seen as a City-led thing, although cannot escape from the fact it was a City-inspired thing.

Fairness for all is what we want - the FA, as guardians of the national game, should be ensuring this - but they are not, so it is up to us and people like us to try and give a public voice to the anger and discontent articulated by fans across the board.

None of us want special treatment for 'our' team - that would destroy our credibility if we ever went down that road. We just want everybody to be treated the same, irrespective of which club they happen to play for. That to me doesn't seem an unreasonable demand.

If you're with that then com and join us - 0103 and Moonbeams can always do with extra volunteers - PM them if you can give them a bit of your time.

 

[Montgomery Burns]

But such a verdict will hopefully be a recruiting sergeant for us in FA Watch, and will be a rallying call for all who believe in fair play and just want a fair crack of the whip. Remember our mantra - no special favours for us - just equal treatment for all.

I too am fearing the worst, but if Adebayor does get a ban it will re-enforce to me that changes need to be made.

And at the moment, the best way to make the changes is to clearly demonstrate that the current process is flawed.

ie FA Watch

Adebayor escaping further punishent today would not make one bit of difference to the points FA Watch have been making. The fact the FA would seem to have conspired internally to bring about this 'trial' is in itself an utter disgrace, and seperate to this we have seen enough examples of the types of inconsistency we are targetting in the two weeks this has been here. Many are convinced the FA are institutionally corrupt, no matter what the verdict is today.

The remarkable thing, when you think about it, is that something of the nature of FA Watch hasn't been done before - or not as I recall anyway. Perhaps that's why it's seemingly becoming so popular.

 

[Blueranger]

The FA are the biggest threat to the future of football in this country! It is the last bastien of the old boys club. Whatever the outcome today Mark and his associates should continue with the full support of every football fan of every club.

Todays Adebayor is tomorrows Keane, Beattie, Cole etc.

 

[DruryBlue]

Thought you might be interested in my correspondence with the FA - unbelieveable comment from Howard Webb!

My e-mail:

Dear sirs, Following the Wigan v Man Utd game, I understand that the FA had indicated that they would consider the incident where it appears that Vidic struck a Wigan forward Rodallega. I would like to know if this review\investigation progressed and what the outcome was. Further, I am aware of a number of formal complaints against Van Persie for his celebration in front of Man City fans where it is alleged that foul and abusive language was directed to said fans. Are the FA aware of those complaints and what stance is being taken? The credibility of the FA is being compromised by a lack of consistency. I like many Man City fans support the ban given to Adebayor for his incident with RVP; however, it can only be 'accepted' with grace if the same approach is adopted for all. It will also be interesting to see how the incidents involving Gary Neville and his celebration in front of Liverpool fans compare with the expected punishment for Adebayor's celebration - both having been subject of outrageous vitriol during the course of the game. We, as fans, cannot expect to hand out such abuse (and I am not in that mindless category) without expecting some response from players. Yours faithfully, Darren Griffiths


Their response:

Thank you for your email.



The FA requested that Howard Webb review the relevant television footage after the Match Referee confirmed that he did not witness the whole event. Having viewed the footage, Howard Webb felt it was not sufficiently clear and accordingly could not recommend issuing retrospective charges against Vidic for a red card offence.



With regards to Robin van Persie’s goal celebration, having reviewed the incident and spoken with Greater Manchester Police and the Match Official, The FA have contacted Robin van Persie to remind the player of his responsibilities as a professional with regards to his future conduct. No further action will be taken.



Thank you for taking the time to write. Whilst I appreciate this may not alleviate your concerns I trust this clarifies our position on this issue.



Kind regards

 

[BluePurgatory]

I have never agreed with people who play the race card to make a point, but we are not talking of a level playing field here so we have to fight fire with fire!
If Adie is treated any differently to Van Persie and Nevile, ie is banned then every Blue should make a complaint to the Race Relations Board.
They will have to investigate it and it will be the FA in the dock.

 

[Ricster]

Thought you might be interested in my correspondence with the FA - unbelieveable comment from Howard Webb!

My e-mail:

Dear sirs, Following the Wigan v Man Utd game, I understand that the FA had indicated that they would consider the incident where it appears that Vidic struck a Wigan forward Rodallega. I would like to know if this review\investigation progressed and what the outcome was. Further, I am aware of a number of formal complaints against Van Persie for his celebration in front of Man City fans where it is alleged that foul and abusive language was directed to said fans. Are the FA aware of those complaints and what stance is being taken? The credibility of the FA is being compromised by a lack of consistency. I like many Man City fans support the ban given to Adebayor for his incident with RVP; however, it can only be 'accepted' with grace if the same approach is adopted for all. It will also be interesting to see how the incidents involving Gary Neville and his celebration in front of Liverpool fans compare with the expected punishment for Adebayor's celebration - both having been subject of outrageous vitriol during the course of the game. We, as fans, cannot expect to hand out such abuse (and I am not in that mindless category) without expecting some response from players. Yours faithfully, Darren Griffiths


Their response:

Thank you for your email.



The FA requested that Howard Webb review the relevant television footage after the Match Referee confirmed that he did not witness the whole event. Having viewed the footage, Howard Webb felt it was not sufficiently clear and accordingly could not recommend issuing retrospective charges against Vidic for a red card offence.



With regards to Robin van Persie’s goal celebration, having reviewed the incident and spoken with Greater Manchester Police and the Match Official, The FA have contacted Robin van Persie to remind the player of his responsibilities as a professional with regards to his future conduct. No further action will be taken.



Thank you for taking the time to write. Whilst I appreciate this may not alleviate your concerns I trust this clarifies our position on this issue.



Kind regards

Keep that reply on file. It may be needed if the outcome of todays hearing goes against Adebayor.