Yeah, it was an awful tackle. But Matic shouldn't have reacted like that. Should have been a red for both players.
Just seen it on MOTD. Terrible tackle and he deserves a ban for it. Very harsh on Matic if he misses a cup final, or any game, as his reaction was understandable and not actually that aggressive.
wtf - Matic just gave him a push and the c@nt goes down in a heap as if Matic did a leg breaker on him!! May be yellow for Matic, stonewall Red for that s#!t Barnes.
sorry of this has been brought up before but there are definite parallels between the Matic incident and earlier in the season with Wayne Routledge. He was the victim of a nasty tackle from Karl Henry and reacted with a bit of a kick out and grabbing Henry's collar. Routledge got red, Henry a yellow! But the good news is that the red card was rescinded, but for the same to apply to Matic would mean some consistency from the FA which may be a bit much to hope for!! Hope he gets to play the final, not a Chelsea supporter but he is one class player.
thank you. But there is no media or FA movement for this valid reason. Matic shouldn't receive any ban. Also Jose mentioned there is no hope for any appeal just because Matic plays for Chelsea. We already paid with 2pts thanks to the crook Atkinson, and looks like we will get more raw deal.
I actually think Matic did well to only push him over. It was a horrible challenge and Matic's season (or worse) could have been over. If Matic gets a 3 game ban and Costa gets a 3 game ban for his 'stamp' and this prick gets nothing, what does that really say about the FA? It says to me that potential career ending challenges are fine but a bit of 'handbags' that cause no injury at all are not.
Matic annoyed me you see. Because a professional footballer should know that these days, if you lay hands on a player, you will get sent off. I guess I didn't take into account that in the heat of a moment, in a tackle that could have snapped his leg, your anger would get the better of you. Just wish these guys would count to 10 sometimes though!
I thought it was more than justified. Those challenges can end careers and that will have gone through Matic's mind when it happened. Ref had a shocker on Sat. I try not to complain about referees as I believe they have a tough job and bad decisions even themselves out over a season, but there's no excusing Atkinsons performance on Sat.
Not saying it wasn't justified on a moral level. Head butting the little bastard would have been justified. But the rules on the football pitch are that if you lay hands on a player, you will go. So in that sense we cannot argue with the red card. I can forgive Matic on a human level for the moment of madness because someone nearly just broke his leg, and the reaction in that respect is understandable, but that doesn't change the rules. Barnes not even getting booked however......thats ****ing criminal and the guy should have a ban slapped on him.