With the FA issuing Joey Barton a 12 match ban for violent conduct, which wasn't exactly very serious ( i.e no injury to any players ) the FA have completely undermined themselves ( once again ) when Suarez was found guilty of racism towards a player he was issued with just an 8 match ban, 4 matches less than Barton. Although Bartons actions were wrong, it seems to me that the FA are implying that minor violence, resulting in no injuries is worse than Racism!?
Not sure you can compare like that....Barton would've got at least 8 games (second red of the season plus another clear red card offence after the dismissal)....that's pretty much by the book. Throw in his history and he was always going to get more than suarez but doesn't mean it's a more serious offence. If anything the FA should increase Suarez's ban in retrospect!
And they're right too. Which would you prefer: To be called a pale-skinned Limey or be elbowed in the mush? Q.P.R, you don't have a leg to stand on mate.
Barton and Suarez both got the same length of suspension, which is eight matches. The initial four game suspension is mandatory and standard for the red card offence against Carlos Tevez, but obviously when you add them together it comes out as 12 and looks and sounds worse. Had Suarez been red carded in the same game, he would have served a three or four match suspension on top of the eight matches he received. When you are sent off more than once you receive additional games, so if you're sent off twice you get three games plus one additional match, if you're sent off a third time, three games and then two additional matches, etc. Conceivably if the FA went on technicalities and the letter of the law as outlined above, Barton could have got a 15 game suspension for picking up what would have essentially been his third and fourth red cards of the season.
Then surely that must work both ways? The officials and authorities must be aware that players such as Barton due to this history, will be targeted by scurillous opponents. Thus bringing the game into disrepute. Do they not embrace attempts at rehabilitation for the sake of the good name of the game? Obviously not because Tevez and Bradley (who?) Johnson have escaped scot free. I'm not condoning Barton's following actions here.
Hes being targeted because hes brought it on himself Ninesy. And if he can't control himself, the more he'll get targeted. And all the better IMO because he'll then react and get punished and we can offload him. There's not one bad thing that's come out of this whole thing so I salute the FA's incompetence!
Why?. Because Barton(with loads of previous)got his arse kicked after numerous warnings about his future conduct and you're upset? If Suarez is ever found guilty of racism again he should get a bigger punishment than 8 weeks,just like Barton got a bigger punishment than his last one.
The problem Barton has is "intent". It doesn't matter that he didn't connect, all that matters was that he showed intent and in today's game that's a red card offence. This was exactly the same reason why he was sent off against Norwich, where he arguably showed less intent on that occasion and was harshly treated given the circumstances. But once that red card stood, it becomes a red card, so there's no reason for the FA to apply any context to it other than treat it as fact. In the circumstances, the Kompany incident could have warranted Barton six games on the technicalities and going by the letter of the law, as it was the fourth occasion they considered and could have been deemed a red card plus three additional games for it being the fourth one of the season. They usually treat these incidents in isolation, but obviously they've applied context to the day here as well, and seeing as he had just elbowed and kicked someone seconds before the attempted butt, well, the writing was always going to be on the wall for him, particularly as all three offences were against different individuals. Overall I think his 12 game punishment is fair and that in the end, he got off lightly.
Hope this is a precedent for future. I've few of those intent moves this season and players are getting away with them. Well ,barton is different case and they are makin a example of him. Thats perfectly ok but i still wonder how on earth tevez gets away without any punishment. Not even talking with ref....Well he might be a true gent then.
If Suarez is ever found guilty of racism again IMO he should be banned and the same goes for Terry or anyone else fund guilty of racism
Sorry, I wasn't too bothered by the length of suspension until reading your post. You can't talk about the context of the day as a reason for punishment - our lives could have hinged on it - the fans dreams and the business bods £100M (or whatever the figure is this week) towards keeping the club solvent. We may have rich owners but their personal wealth shouldn't undermine that sum of money. The sending off was at least provoked in a game that truly counted for so much (plus had masses of hype every day for a full week). I think most people would snap at the thought of injustice (conveniently neglected by said FA) under those circumstances. He rightly gets criticism of damaging the club and the sport's name but many on here would undoubtedly have been unhappy had he not shown any emotion while leaving the pitch either.
I don't particularly agree with the system myself, but if that is the system, then they've gone about things in a relatively straightforward and obvious manner. There's definitely a lot of holes and a lack of common sense being applied, but the letter of the law is usually there to attempt to knock out grey areas and make things black and white. I think a lot of our red cards this season were relatively harsh in the great scheme of things.
I'm not talking about the context of the day from my perspective, the statement released on the FA's website suggested that the context of the occasion was taken into consideration, which I would question myself as perhaps being unfair, though they've decided to take a wider look at the problem and treat it as an exceptional circumstance (given that 260 million people watched the game). Barton might have been provoked, but it does not excuse reacting in the manner he did. For us, he lacked focus and that's a shame, particularly given our disciplinary record across the season and the repeated calls from Mark Hughes to the players to keep themselves on the pitch. It doesn't matter whether anybody is happy or unhappy with how he left the field, the fact is he broke the laws of the game by doing what he did and has been punished accordingly for it. What you say about our future is fair, but it's irrelevant by the laws of the game if they are to be applied in accordance to the laws, which they have been to some degree, but if they were to the absolute letter, Barton could have had a longer ban in my view.
That still is unwaiveringly harsh if the size and scale of the occasion are used as reasons to make an example of him but the significance of the match (which is why it was such a big game) to the players (thus resultant pressure) is not taken into consideration. It wouldn't surprise me that the FA work to this double standard though. I assume that a good few million people globally were watching Ashley Young dive but they did nothing. Then again, should TV viewing really be a multiplying factor when there are divers at every club that go unpunished. There are also brawls all the time (but if two start it with equal footing then an entire melee gets brushed aside with a couple of bookings) that happen at a marginally lower level that carry more threat to more people (and the game's reputation).
