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Should there be tougher penalties for dangerous soccer tackles?
Results so far:
| No | 40% | 31 votes | Total: 78 votes | |
| Yes | 60% | 47 votes |
No
by Tim Harry
Created on: August 03, 2008 Last Updated: October 31, 2008
FIFA has already set down the laws of the game, and have set the penalties to be issued by referees when a dangerous tackle is made. This penalty is either a free kick or a penalty, a yellow card or red card. With a straight red card there is also an additional punishment of a suspension from the game. I beleive that these sanctions are sufficient, and in general a three match ban for commiting a foul worthy of a straight red is an apt punishment.
In the world of football there is a huge difference between a tackle and a foul. Football is a contact sport, and tackling is a part of the game. There is nothing worse in my opinion to see a defender making a great tackle on an attacking player, winning the ball cleanly and yet penalised because the tackle came from behind or because the attacker fell over the legs of the defender after the ball was cleared.
At the same time there is nothing better than seeing a last ditch tackle being made to save a certain goal. The FA Cup from the 2007-2008 season showed when Distin tackled Carrick on the line. Look back thirty years to the time of Norman Hunter, Tommy Smith or "Chopper" Harris, in today's game they would have been suspended for more games than they played, and yet in essence they were hard men but they knew how to tackle.
In the whole history of the game I can think of only a couple of times when I think a tackler has gone in with the deliberate intention of hurting the opposing player. When this happens it is fairly obvious as the tackler will have little thought for the ball and his eyes will be on the man. One of these occurrences happened in the Portsmouth-Man City game from a couple of seasons ago. These tackles should be dealt with through an extended ban, longer than the normal three-game suspension for a red card.
These occurrences though are the exception; most players will know that a bad tackle can cause the end of a career, and that they could easily be on the end of such a tackle. As such if a bad foul is made then the referee on the pitch should deal with it, be it a yellow card or red. If the referee misses it then it should be left to video replays to deal with the offence.
I know that players get injured when they are fouled, and yet players also get injured in some of the most innocuous of challenges. Eduardo suffered a broken leg after a foul by Martin Taylor, and there were calls from certain circles to ban Taylor for life, and yet it wasn't even the worst tackle in the game. Yes it was worthy of a red card, and that was what Taylor received, and deserved nothing more.
There are many worse things in the modern game than a bad foul, I would much rather see tackles being made with the occasional foul rather than see players diving in an attempt to get an opposing player sent off, or to feign injury. As such tackles should remain, and dangerous fouls should be dealt with in the manner they are at the moment, a ban from playing is enough of a punishment, and extended bans should only be given out for those players who on rare occurrences set out to injury an opponent.
Learn more about this author, Tim Harry.
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Yes
by Simon Wright
Created on: March 18, 2008 Last Updated: October 31, 2008
It is an oddity that a player can get a three match ban in football (soccer) for gently slapping an opponent and get an equal length of ban for a two footed lunge that breaks an opponent's leg. Indeed, this was more or less highlighted during 2008 by the cases of Jeremie Aliadiere and Martin Taylor.
Slightly built Middlesbrough player, Aliadiere slapped a Liverpool player gently on the face in reaction to aggravation from the Liverpool player. Most onlookers and experts reckoned that a yellow card and a telling off would have sufficed but the referee chose to send the player off. I don't have a huge problem with this if you're stupid enough to raise your hands to an opponent then you risk being sent off. However, what really was ludicrous was that Aliadiere was then given a three match ban and, when his club appealed the decision, the English FA increased the ban to four days.
Meanwhile, Birmingham defender Martin Taylor shattered Arsenal forward Eduardo's leg when he lunged for the ball, with studs showing, and caught the player rather than the ball. Now, I'm not saying that Taylor intended to injure Eduardo. In fact, I think he intended to get the ball. However, his challenge was dangerous and the sort of challenge that FIFA (the sport's governing body) have been trying to cut out. Eduardo will be out for a minimum of six months, whilst Taylor will be back after serving his three game ban.
Perhaps more alarming than Taylor's challenge, although less publicised, has been the increasing trend (in the English Premier league at any rate) for players to make two footed lunges. Such challenges can end careers and referees have rightly been instructed to issue red cards whenever they are perpetrated. They perhaps stem from the fact that the art of tackling has been disappearing from the game and there are less players who genuinely know how to tackle properly.
My view is that it's high time that national associations were given scope to impose sliding scale penalties of players who are sent off. For a petulant but non career threatening transgression (such as Aliadiere's) a one or two game ban would be sufficient. For others, the standard three game ban isn't enough and football should look at more lengthy forced absences for dangerous and/or malicious transgressions. To an extent, this scope is already there. I can remember the former Arsenal midfielder, Paul Davis, getting a lengthy ban for breaking an opponent's jaw. However, some form of consistency would be required and this requires rule changes to create guidelines for cases to be assessed against. Having transgressions (and the length of suspensions) being assessed by former professionals (who understand the game) would be another huge step in the right direction.
Learn more about this author, Simon Wright.
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