Someone at Burnley must have spotted that Dunk is a chief culprit for this and had a word with the ref before the game as when the corner was being taken he was only watching Dunk and nothing else as if he was waiting for any sign of a shirt pull
Punish ALL offences in the box that would warrant a free kick on the pitch with a penalty. No holding, blocking off,clothes lining or pushing , John Terry's career would be over in a week. There would be chaos in the form of sendings off and penalties until the players learn what is unacceptable.....could be great fun !
or maybe if they stamp down on it, eventually these offences will reduce! there hasn't been a rule for at least 30 years (when i first learnt to ref) where it is ok to push, trip or pull shirts.
I heard an interview with former referee Graham Poll a few weeks back about this very thing. He said that no offence occurs until the ball is actually in play. I'll admit I didn't appreciate that. He went onto say to give a penalty the ref needs to watch the corner being taken and the players at the same time, not easy. To give a penalty the ref would have to be absolutely certain that the defender committed the first offence, again not easy if you're also watching the corner being taken. He did say that the best defenders time their release of the shirt/player at the time the corner is taken to perfection and quite often attackers get penalised because they don't. In Dunk's case he was probably very naïve by continuing to pull Keane's shirt up his back after the corner was taken, he should have let go sooner & Keane would have probably pulled him over.
So what Mr Poll is saying that I can wait for the ball to go out of play or the whistle blow for half or full time and then kick someone or push them over and I havent committed any offence as long as I walk away before the ball is back in play? I somehow dont see that.
