UEFA Continue Vendetta Against Common Sense
By: Wayne Farry | May 11th, 2009
Well, they’re nothing if not consistent in their eternal battle against football and common sense. For today, UEFA threw out Man Utd’s appeal that Darren Fletcher’s ridiculous red card be rescinded. And what reason did they give for not overturning the red card? That’s right, because Man Utd didn’t appeal within the twenty-four hour period after the match.
Seriously, these guys at UEFA appear to have very little idea of what they’re doing. I’m fairly confident that me and a few of my mates could do a better job after a few beers.
But it’s over and done with now, as United have decided against appealing the decision to discard the appeal. Confusing, I know. Barca, too, had their appeals thrown out. They appealed against Eric Abidal’s red and Dani Alves’ yellow card, which rule both players out of the Champions League Final. Can’t say I’m too disappointed about that.
But after this being brought to light, UEFA seriously need to rethink their appeals system. I don’t know anyone who’d be against a Premier League style system, in which a decision can be overturned because it was the wrong decision, not just for mistaken identity. I mean, for fuck’s sake, this isn’t an episode of Scooby Doo!
Both Fletcher and SAF appeared to be resigned to his missing the Final even before the appeal, which I guess will soften the blow of the unsuccessful appeal. But still, it’s an awful way for a player to miss the biggest game of his career, but this debacle should teach UEFA a lesson in the one thing they despise most; common sense.
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Comments
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Lol great title!
Seems like they only went through the appeal process just so that they could say they did it, not because they actually had any intention of rescinding the card. But it is a step in the right direction.
Posted from
United States
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Firstly, Fletcher deserved that Red Card for serious foul play, it doesn’t matter if you get the ball but completely take out the player. If you want that to not be a foul we might as well just play rugby.
Secondly, this is Man U’s front offices fault, the rules are known, they should’ve filed their appeal earlier.
Posted from
United States -
Wayne, I think UEFA applied the rules in this case. They can’t Put common sense over what the books say. Because it will be a start to more “common sense ” in the future and little by little Justice will become more and more based on subjective perspectives.
Posted from
Germany -
@Ramzi: When I’m referring to common sense I’m talking about their appeals process in general.
Technically they played it by the book, but that’s what they do. They don’t take into account anything other than the rules, and I think they should. There’s a human side to football that UEFA just don’t get.
@Dustin Edwards: This is the third time you’ve commented on different articles with the same spiel about this red card. You don’t need to continually post the same thing. I’ve got nothing against having an opinion but surely you have an opinion on more than just this issue!
Posted from
Ireland -
I kind of agree with Ramzi in the sense that, since this appeal was really unprecedented and the rules of UEFA don’t allow for appeals, we couldn’t have really expected much (as with Barca’s appeal of Abidal’s card). I do hope, though, that they make major changes to the rulebook about these situations after this year, but only allow appeals for the quarter and semifinals.
Dustin, there were no set rules regarding this appeal. If you think that that was a rugby tackle, either you have never seen a football match or you have never seen a rugby match. Or probably both.
Posted from
Poland -
Yeah you’re right SP. I wasn’t expecting a successful appeal to be honest, but more criticising their current rules. Because any appeal made is restricted by their current appeal system structure.
Posted from
Ireland -
Well, to be fair, Wayne, they did say that, even had the appeal been filed in time, it would not have gone through. Still, the big mess that has been made by both ManU and Barca this year might be a step in the right direction for UEFA to improve its appeals process.
Still, as you say, that might detract from its battle against common sense.
Posted from
United States -
Arsenal fan here. As an attorney, I understand you have to have rules and procedures that need to be followed. But it really is a shame that both Fletcher and Abidal, neither of whom deserved to be sent off in the first place, have worked so hard this season and won’t be able to play in what would be the biggest game of their lives just because they were on the wrong end of a couple of bad calls.
And yet I’m sure somehow when Drogba and Ballack get suspended they’ll be able to appeal and get their suspensions reduced…
Posted from
United States -
I think its weird that everyone realises that Abidal shouldnt have been sent off, but dont seem to mentioned that Anelka fell…
My opinion is: I can understand that referees make mistakes in a match, that is unavoidable (unless you bring in technology). Sometimes these mistakes can affect the whole game, that is also unavoidable, and so reasonably acceptable.
However, when a referee decision affects a match that he is not officiating, e.g. the next round, this is not fair. We probably won’t miss Fletcher as much as Barca miss Abidal, as we have plenty of reliable replacements, but still the game is affected, nonetheless.
If it hadn’t been for Fletcher’s case, I thoroughly believe that UEFA would have recinded Abidal’s red card.
Posted from
United States -
Is one possible suggestion to have everything re-set for the Final, so that both sides start fresh? That’s the one suggestion I would have. It would take into account capricious referee decisions, while still giving fans the benefit of a fully-staffed final.
UEFA would have, even had the appeals been filed on time, denied them due to insufficient grounds for overturning the referee’s decision. In other words “right or wrong, it’s our ref.”
But shouldn’t there be some mechanism, as has been suggested, in place to right a wrong? Alves earned his, right as rain. He should have played with more circumspection. And in real time, the “offenses” of both Fletcher and Abidal become clearer.
What then? As it stands now, nothing. Wonder if UEFA would be feeling different if the red was affecting CRonaldo or Messi?
Posted from
United States -
That’s a very interesting final point you make Kxevin, but I guess we’ll never know.
Posted from
United States -
another solution they could do is to have the same rules as in the world cup. refresh cards after the group stage and refresh after the quarterfinals. in the world cup it works easier because there is only one leg in the semifinal so the only way you can miss the final is by getting a red (card accumulation would be a double yellow anyway). of course, the champs league has two legs, but i still think the rule would work well.
at the end of the day, football is about the fans and the fans want to see two full-strength teams taking each other on.
Posted from
Poland
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