- Jul 7, 2003
- 47,639
Happened in a Doncaster Rovers game either this season or last. Referee suggested one team then let the other side walk one in. They did.
I'm pretty sure that when I first started watching the Albion (late 1980s), it was comparatively rare for the ball to be put out of play because of an injury to a player. I remember, because it was considered worthy of applause on the occasions when it did happen. Players would limp around if they got a knock, or hop off the touchline, until the next break in play. If one of them stayed down, it was usually because there was a genuinely serious injury.
Now, barely a game goes by without the ball being knocked out due to a player's apparent agony. It's all very sporting and noble, but you know damn well that 99 times out of a hundred, the injury is nothing more than a slight knock, upon which the physio's presence will have absolutely zero impact in any case. At least part of the issue now is that modern players make so much of every knock, every foul, or perceived foul, or even perfectly decent tackles that they're trying to con the officials over, that the poor referees have no chance of knowing whether it's nothing, or a broken leg. Players go down, the other team tentatively plays on, as though unsure of the etiquette, the crowd howls (if it's their player down) or boos (if it's the opposition), and eventually the team with the ball are shamed into putting it out. It happened at Bristol City on Tuesday.
The referee has the jurisdiction to stop a game at any time if he feels an injury is such that a player needs urgent attention (they generally do so automatically in the case of a head injury). Why not go back to letting the officials decide when to stop play? I'm not sure how you go about enforcing this, as players can put the ball out whenever they like, and it's at their opponents' discretion as to whether to return it. But it needs to happen. Too many times now, the game is spoilt, almost inevitably by the side winning by a narrow margin near the end of a match, by somebody going down at a convenient moment when his opponent has the ball in an advantageous position, and demanding the game to be stopped. Something that was once about good sportsmanship is these days being abused by cynical footballers, and has turned into yet another means of cheating opponents.
Call me old fashioned, maybe unsporting but, if an opponent goes down apparently injured, I expect my team to press home the temporary numerical advantage rather than kick the ball out. Reason is you just don't know nowadays how much the opponent is hamming it up. But if the practice of putting the ball out stops, then I bet the number of players staying down will diminish too and overall improve the game. How do you stop it? Just make putting the ball out deliberately a bookable offence as play should be continuous.
Call me old fashioned, maybe unsporting but, if an opponent goes down apparently injured, I expect my team to press home the temporary numerical advantage rather than kick the ball out. Reason is you just don't know nowadays how much the opponent is hamming it up. But if the practice of putting the ball out stops, then I bet the number of players staying down will diminish too and overall improve the game. How do you stop it? Just make putting the ball out deliberately a bookable offence as play should be continuous.
I trust that's a joke right... right?
The best player in Jnr's under 11's team can't stand up if another child touches him.As a relatively new, soon to be qualified, under 9s coach I can tell you this isn't limited to the pros. A lot of kids have watched the pros do this and now they go down at the slightest touch if the other team is through, my own son included
In the pro and semi pro game it should be down to the ref and not the players as [MENTION=435]Stat Brother[/MENTION] says. But there needs to be a crackdown on simulation full stop because, if nine year olds are going down like this you always have to err on the side that they are injured for safeguarding reasons. Today's spoiled prima donnas who expect the ball to be kicked out for a hair strain are actually making the younger generation dishonest and the job even more difficult for grass roots coaches.
As a relatively new, soon to be qualified, under 9s coach I can tell you this isn't limited to the pros. A lot of kids have watched the pros do this and now they go down at the slightest touch if the other team is through, my own son included
In the pro and semi pro game it should be down to the ref and not the players as [MENTION=435]Stat Brother[/MENTION] says. But there needs to be a crackdown on simulation full stop because, if nine year olds are going down like this you always have to err on the side that they are injured for safeguarding reasons. Today's spoiled prima donnas who expect the ball to be kicked out for a hair strain are actually making the younger generation dishonest and the job even more difficult for grass roots coaches.
Call me old fashioned, maybe unsporting but, if an opponent goes down apparently injured, I expect my team to press home the temporary numerical advantage rather than kick the ball out. Reason is you just don't know nowadays how much the opponent is hamming it up. But if the practice of putting the ball out stops, then I bet the number of players staying down will diminish too and overall improve the game. How do you stop it? Just make putting the ball out deliberately a bookable offence as play should be continuous.
I trust that's a joke right... right?
You trust wrong.
Saw a video of something similar happen in the dutch league a few years ago. The player immediately held his hands up and they allowed the other team to walk the ball in, same really should have happened here although it's a bit of a grey area, I think everyone should just play to the whistle.
Something like this?
Shall we see tonight how many players would be left on the pitch if every player who conceded a throw-in was booked?