I'm not making excuses about the Dawson bloody nose incident. We are where we are based on performances over the whole season... But... If the same situation had happened with a goalkeeper the game would have been stopped while he received treatment, so why is a vital defender forced to leave the pitch at a crucial corner? The rule is for Health and Safety reasons and has nothing to do with football yet it is applied so rigidly that it's effect on the game is totally ignored. FIFA or the FA or whoever need to understand that if Health and Safety Regs. overshadow the rules and fairness of the game then you have no game. Also; Did anyone ever catch HIV Aids during a football match or during any other sporting occasion for that matter?
He complained to the ref about his nose bleeding so he told him to go off He should have waited till after the corner was cleared
He was making a point that he was fouled - the ref wasn't bothered. He also wasn't bothered that the ball went out of play off a Burnley player - should either have been a foul, or a goal kick. We got neither.
In football in general you carry on if someone has to go off. We try to rule out needless stoppages. If it was a keeper it would make a complete farce of the game, but it shouldn't be that much of a problem with an outfielder. It's no one's fault but ours that he was our only big lad on the pitch, and people go off for treatment all the time without teams conceding immediately.
Did he have treatment? I thought he was having to change his shirt,the ref would n't let him change it still on the pitch. Then the ref would n't let him back on. It was only a scratch at most, very costly.He appeared to be ready to come back on before the corner was taken. It seems there is plenty of these decisions go against us every game, thinking back to throw in against Stoke for example.
