HOWARD WEBB has warned footballâs cheats: You could cost a player his life. ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// When you realy think about it, Webb has a very valid point. ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepag...Webb-Cheats-could-cost-a-player-his-life.html The Premier Leagueâs top referee was in charge when Fabrice Muamba suffered his cardiac arrest at White Hart Lane. Webbâs quick thinking helped the Bolton star get the treatment he needed that ultimately saved his life. But the World Cup final whistler fears officials could be forced to ignore potentially fatal incidents because players are frequently feigning injury to try to gain an advantage. Webb said: âOne of our obligations as a referee is to try and observe fair play and keep the game flowing when we can. "But, if players cry wolf too many times, then there is a possibility that maybe we will not react in the way we need to do based on what we saw there. âIf we come under criticism for stopping the games too many times for doctors or physios to enter the field of play then referees might be inclined not to stop the game. âIâm not saying itâs a particularly big problem but I have seen games stopped where players werenât as seriously injured as they would have you believe and that is an issue when you are dealing with something as serious as this.â Webb revealed he instinctively knew that Muambaâs situation was not such a case. He recalled: âI turned and saw Fabrice Muamba lying face down on the floor with no one else nearby â this was clearly a major concern and clearly something more than a normal injury. âThe fact that he wasnât rolling around screaming in agony, the way he went down with no contact, meant immediately it was serious. And it was not only me â the players recognised it. You see William Gallasâ reaction â an opposing player â immediately waving to the bench to come on. âIf the game had not been stopped within 20 or 30 seconds, that might have made a difference to his chances of recovery.â Muamba is recovering well after his heart stopped beating for 78 minutes following his collapse at Tottenham in March. And Webb believes the reaction of the White Hart Lane crowd helped pull Muamba through his ordeal. He said: âThe sensation I got was that the crowd was pushing with (Bolton doctor) Jonathan Tobin and his colleagues to get Fabrice Muambaâs heart going. âIt was amazing, absolutely astonishing. It was just the most unbelievable crowd reaction I have ever experienced in football and thinking about it now makes me feel emotional. âIt just puts things into perspective. The game is important, the result is important and it does affect peopleâs livelihoods, we are reminded of that on a regular basis â but without life there is no football at all.â Webb revealed he had had little hope initially that Muamba would survive. He added: âThere was a numb sensation about what youâd witnessed, what youâve seen. âWe thought it was a slim hope that he would pull through. âNo news was good news as I was going back up the motorway, toward to the north of England, back home. I was listening to the bulletins. âThe next morning, still no news and we thought 'Wow, this is maybe a good sign'. âThat he has made the recovery he has now is an unbelievable miracle.â A global survey by FIFA showed 84 footballers suffered sudden cardiac arrests on the pitch during the last five years. FIFAâs medical committee chairman Michel DâHooghe said Muambaâs collapse highlighted the need a defibrillator to be available at every match.
Everything in his statement just about sums up the cheating by feigning injury that affects the game today. It amezes me how players can fly through the air do a couple of roly polys then a minute after play has been held up is running around like a colt. Bearing Muamba incident in mind all players who go down and appear to be out should serve a minimum of 5 mins under observation by appointed staff before being allowed back on. See how many injuries happen then.
How could you tell if they were feigning injury though. I mean they might have different pain thresholds. Eg when Sess flattened Tiote , Tiote is just a big soft twat, however, someone a bit tougher like say Dale Winton would have been too embarrassed to go down with so little contact.
How could you tell if they were feigning injury though. I mean they might have different pain thresholds. Eg when Sess flattened Tiote , Tiote is just a big soft twat, however, someone a bit tougher like say Dale Winton would have been too embarrassed to go down with so little contact. Read Webb again - from the reaction of the players he knew something was amiss. Back ti my solution, all players going down with a perceived "" injury" must leave the field for at least 5 mins controlled by the 4th official. Any team down a player for that time bear the brunt of cheating rather than the opposition. Not an ideal solution but at least it is a start to try and curb holdups.
That's all fair enough but, he fails to grasp that his and his colleagues ****e decisions all of last season have cost teams big money and some of the worse players and some staff their lively hoods. Think he should get his own house in order before shouting the odds about players, personally speaking you will never get shot of the diving until there is a realistic punishment for it retrospective banning of the offending player for 3 games could get rid of most of it.
