Fellaini's elbow is another example of the media focusing on the wrong thing: **** the handful of Fellaini's afro in Huth's right hand, pay attention to Huth wrapping his left arm around Fellaini's throat at the same time.
It's often not both players that are taking place, though. Defenders grab hold of attackers and then get pushed off.The ex refs on SSN frequently say that when players jostle with each other in the box at set pieces, there is no foul. The inference is that either jostling is fine if both players concerned take part or that if both are committing fouls, the ref is powerless to act in any meaningful way.
What should be done? Tolerate it as part and parcel of a contact sport or have the ref blowing his whistle every few seconds and disrupting play (as appears to happen with similar off the ball contact in rugby)?
Sheringham's way of dealing with the likes of Julian Dicks was to time his jump so the first time they came flying towards his shins he's jump clear over them, but every time after that he'd jump just a little lower until he caught them with his studs as they slid through.I used to like Berbs, if you watched carefully he had a habit of standing on the defender's toes.
I was captain of the tennis team, if you must know. Perhaps more to the point, I helped to organize a fight club long before it was fashionable, and boxed a bit in college. I was trying to explain the moment you feel your head suddenly jerked back. Somebody at that point could--could-- break your neck. Calm reflection would reveal that possibility is remote at best. But the jolt of adrenaline you feel would make you strongly inclined to hit whomever is jerking your head around, and justifiably so. You get a similar reaction from having your air supply cut off by a choke. People say "risk your neck" for a reason. It's a very vulnerable point and will trigger a fight-or-flight response when subjected to attack.
Put another way, if one person grabs a second's hair and yanks his head back, and the second knocks him cold, who has done something wrong?
Also, please make fun of my comment to your heart's content, but personal abuse is not permitted on this board.
Part of the problem is that the normal foul rules don't apply when the ball is not in play. Why not penalise offences at corners, throwins and free kicks even before the set piece is taken. That would stop the grappling at sourceIt's often not both players that are taking place, though. Defenders grab hold of attackers and then get pushed off.
Referees can easily stop this by just calling it when fouls are committed. There'll be a load of penalties for a while and then it'll stop.
I love how we're all ignoring that Fellaini's arm is swinging long before Huth grabs a fist full of his hair.
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Would that be the "arm is swinging" that could not make contact with Huths' head
because Huths' arm is draped across Fellainis' neck from behind (0-2 seconds) ??
Or some other incident ??
He brings his arm forward to gain the momentum needed to hit Huth as hard as he can.
Dramatic late goal for Brighton. Likely means absolutely nothing as they stil need to win at Boro if Burnley don't lose later but it's a good moment for them anyway. Hope they go up, would be great to have Hughton back in the PL.
So what you are saying is that Huth has pre-cognitive ability, which is why he was
willing to commit a foul (and therefore a penalty offence) before Fellainis' arm begins to
move backwards ??
It is both sides. We see attackers pushing defenders away or over and backing in. We see decoy runners manhandling defenders out of position to create space. And we see a lot of blocking - where players intentionally get in the way or stand very close to defenders or the goalkeeper to obstruct them. With defenders using equally dubious tactics too, we seem to have a stalemate where jostling has become acceptable.
Eh? I'm saying that he was swinging his arm before Huth pulls Fellaini's hair in response to somebody's ludicrous suggestion that the elbow was an act of self defense.
It's always been acceptable, it's when you're holding a player as they try to make a run, or preventing them from jumping that isn't acceptable. The trouble is that it's very difficult for the referees to see when a player does foul another in the box making it a risk worth taking for many teams.
Jostling in the box is great, I love it and would hate to see it go out of the game. I think referees need to work more on how they deal with corners though. They need to work out what the best postion is for them and the linesman to have as much of the action in their view as possible and they also need to have the bottle to give the decisions when there's a clear infringement.