The Terry Red Card Debate
By dixon9
September 15 2008
Chelsea’s slick 1-3 victory against Man City at Eastlands was partially marred by an unfair red card for Terry. City striker Jo was pulled down by Terry to prevent him going through on goal but he was not the last man as Carvalho was running across to cover – nevertheless, a red was shown by referee Halsey and further confusion reigned when the 4th official said the offence was “dangerous play”.
Chelsea will almost certainly make an official appeal to the FA Premier League today but despite general opinion that the red card was an error it appears unlikely that the appeal will be upheld. Red cards are very rarely rescinded or in Terry’s case, downgraded therefore leaving him with a three-match ban which means he will miss matches against Man Utd, Portsmouth (League Cup) and Stoke.
IF Terry’s block is officially noted as “serious foul play” rather than a professional foul Chelsea must demonstrate that Terry should not have been booked in the first place which given the cynical nature of the foul, seems highly unlikely.
But what do FIFA say about the definition of the offence?
“A player is guilty of serious foul play if he uses excessive force or brutality against an opponent when challenging for the ball when it is in play. Using excessive force means that the player has far exceeded the necessary use of force and is in danger of injuring his opponent.”
“Any player who lunges at an opponent when challenging for the ball from the front, from the side or from behind using one or both legs, with excessive force and endangering the safety of an opponent, is guilty of serious foul play.”
This is clearly not the case with Terry’s offence on Jo – but apparently this is what Halsey gave a red for!
Now, IF the red was given for a professional foul then again, a red card in Terry’s situation was incorrect given that he wasn’t the last man – which is exactly what happened in the case of Vidic against Keane during the Liverpool v Man Utd clash at Anfield just hours earlier. Ferdinand was ready to cut across to cover, therefore Vidic was awarded a correct yellow card.
Even Graham Poll, who’s made no bones about his opinion of John Terry in the past, has come out in support against Halsey´s decision (I had to pick myself up off the floor!):
Unbelievable. I am asked to monitor two games and witness exactly what infuriates fans - two similar incidents which appear to be punished inconsistently. It looked as if Mark Halsey had dismissed John Terry for the denial of a goalscoring opportunity. With his opponent, Jo, still having more than 40 metres to cover and Ricardo Carvalho in close attendance, it would have made Webb's punishment of Vidic appear lenient. However, as Halsey has reported Terry for serious foul play due to the cynical nature of his challenge then the FA will be hard pressed to overturn the dismissal.
This is very hard on the England captain who, in my opinion, only deserved a yellow card and, if banned, will not only join Vidic on the sidelines next week but also miss Chelsea's two games after that.
Chelsea could also feel particularly hard done by as Halsey also missed a very clear and obvious penalty and red card for denial of a goalscoring opportunity when Micah Richards shoved Nicolas Anelka as the Chelsea striker was about to shoot.
Who’d have thought Poll would defend us?!!!
Chelsea fans know that Halsey is a QPR fan but we can be sure that a referee wouldn´t really let his personal feelings influence professional decision making? Nevertheless, Halsey has history with Chelsea; It was he that gave Cuducini a bizarre red in a match against Middlesboro and sent of Hasslebaink against Spurs in a case of mistaken identity when he should have penalised Melchiot.
It seems clear that on either count of dangerous play or a professional foul Halsey shouldn’t have a leg to stand on – I say shouldn’t – but this is Chelsea remember, who in the past have come in for some breathtaking discrimination in terms of punishment compared to other clubs.
It would be good to see Halsey do the right thing – admit he made a mistake. Could it happen?
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS AND SENDING OFF
http://soccernewstv.com/epl-manchester-city-1-3-chelsea-highlights/
LINK
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"It is born out of hypocrisy and fundamental insecurity. There have been two kids on the block for the past 12 years. Suddenly, there is a third and that one is threatening to be more successful than the others and they don’t like it." P Kenyon.
..at the weekend Eboue dived....he was wrong...im not going to defend him....you should'nt defend Terry either using semantics....it was cheating pure and simple. he thought hell a yellow is the worst id get....he was wrong and how do you know if Carvalho would have got the ball of Jo at full tilt?
NEVER A RED CARD IN THE FIRST PLACE... Rugby tackle or not, Carvalho was in a covering place and to warrant that decision as Serious fould play is a load of Barry Hollocks.
Richard Dunne got away with it in the same game - no consistency as for Vidic, no comparison he earned TWO yellows!!!
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Well of course it is "cheating" and "against the spirit of the game" - THAT IS NOT UP FOR DEBATE.
What is up for debate is that the referee DID NOT give the red card for the professional foul - he gave it for serious foul play (of which the definition is above). Terry clearly did not cause any danger to Jo´s health so why did the ref give it for that?
IF he had given it for a different offence i.e a professional foul then he would have had to give a yellow - just as Vidic received a few hours earlier at Anfield.
Whichever way you look at it, Halsey got it wrong.
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"It is born out of hypocrisy and fundamental insecurity. There have been two kids on the block for the past 12 years. Suddenly, there is a third and that one is threatening to be more successful than the others and they don’t like it." P Kenyon.
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"It is born out of hypocrisy and fundamental insecurity. There have been two kids on the block for the past 12 years. Suddenly, there is a third and that one is threatening to be more successful than the others and they don’t like it." P Kenyon.
Glad the authorities saw sense and rescinded the red card.
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Quote:perrygroves
guess Vidics first foul will be recinded also...therefore nullifying the red....
You seem to be DELIBERATELY missing the point Perry. Have you even READ the article?
As Since 66 points out, It SHOULD have been a yellow for the professional foul BUT Halsey fked up by giving a red for serious foul play instead. Nobody would have contested a yellow for the professionbal foul as Vidic got for the foul on Keane BUT according to the ref, he didn´t punish Terry for this offence.
If you want to blame anyone, blame the ref - he´s the one who gave a red for an offence which didn´t exist.
I´ll try and put the situation into terms which you might be able to understand:
An offender breaks into a car and caughts in the act by the Police. The Police officer makes a mistake and charges the offender with STEALING the car - not breaking into it. It goes to court and the evidence quite clearly shows that he didn´t steal the car AND the court can´t punish the offender for breaking into the car because he was never charged with that offence. The Police officer fked up.
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"It is born out of hypocrisy and fundamental insecurity. There have been two kids on the block for the past 12 years. Suddenly, there is a third and that one is threatening to be more successful than the others and they don’t like it." P Kenyon.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2008:09:16:17:55:08 by dixon9.
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Vidic should have got a red for both fouls. Ferdinand had as much chance of catching Keane, as he did in catching the dope tester.
Quote:Yes you watch it,the guy could have stayed on his feet.perrygroves
"when he saw carvalho he went down,thats cheating in my book"......seriously...
Quote:Vidic cannot appeal.perrygroves
guess Vidics first foul will be recinded also...therefore nullifying the red....
It is as yet unconfirmed whether the Guinness Book of Records has managed to capture the accurate speed of Halsey’s red card for John Terry but it was the latest incident in a long rap list.
It was Halsey who sent off Carlo Cudicini, one of the mildest of men, when he was rugby tackled into the net by the delicate Dean Windass, Halsey then, unusually, went on TV to defend “Dean” against the “Chelsea keeper”; this red card was overturned but Halsey bounced back by then sending off the same player at St. James’s Park.
He was also the referee who booked Drogba at Aston Villa when he should have given him a stone wall penalty sparking one of the great early Mourinho rants in English football; he sent off Mikel at Old Trafford last season for a yellow card misdemeanour; he sent off Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink for a Melchiot handball at Tottenham (again overturned.) In the same match he missed a punch by Tarrico and didn’t even speak to Sheringham when he sliced open Zenden’s thigh with a high and nasty studs up challenge.
It was Halsey who allowed a Blackburn side to kick us from one end of Ewood Park to the other with impunity culminating in an attempted disembowelling of Cech by Dickov when our keeper had the temerity to save a penalty. I could go on, but I only have 800 words
Halsey’s Saturday’s performance was beyond appalling — not just the Terry red, but the award of the free kick for the City goal, the penalty that we should have received and the lack of consistency for fouls and cards given throughout the game. I wonder, once retired, will Halsey, like Poll, make his living from after dinner speaking, telling all and sundry how much he hates Chelsea? He’s a QPR fan by the way. Still justice has been done.
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"It is born out of hypocrisy and fundamental insecurity. There have been two kids on the block for the past 12 years. Suddenly, there is a third and that one is threatening to be more successful than the others and they don’t like it." P Kenyon.
In my opinion it deserved at least a yellow card so really the ban should of stayed.
oh well....
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2008:09:17:20:44:10 by carefree2008.
And I am not to sure what Chelsea Lad is on about - perhaps he got too excited about the decision?
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Quote:Chelsea Lad
over the moon at the decision alougth i believe it is the wrong one. So the people who overturne the decision didnt even deem the offence a yellow as you cant change a red card to a yellow card.
In my opinion it deserved at least a yellow card so really the ban should of stayed.
oh well....
I THINK I know what you mean. From a moral standpoint it should have been a yellow for a professional foul? - and if Halsey would have had any common he would have booked Terry for this offence? That would have been the correct decision (same as Vidic against Keane at Anfield).
Trouble is, Halsey (it appears in a bit of a rage as he seems to have something against us) lost it and decided to give a red and be clever by saying in his report that the red was for A DIFFERENT OFFENCE.
Once the referee fills out his report he can´t change it - and this is why Terry had his appeal upheld - there was absolutely no way Terry committed serious foul play as defined in the regs. Because of Halsey´s prejudice..or co.c.k up...or both...Terry got the red lifted.
If Halsey would have done his job properly Terry would have a yellow and nobody would have argued. As it is, the referee or the FA can´t change the offence reported by the ref - all they can do is examine the video evidence to see if the OFFENCE THE REFEREE REPORTED WAS COMMITTED by the player.
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"It is born out of hypocrisy and fundamental insecurity. There have been two kids on the block for the past 12 years. Suddenly, there is a third and that one is threatening to be more successful than the others and they don’t like it." P Kenyon.
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2008:09:17:22:58:11 by dixon9.