And then Tom wouldn't be able to shout at Nathan Jones telling him his football is **** Not necessarily related to this conversation but I honestly believe we're only about 15-20 years from some clubs trying to ban swearing in grounds.
Maybe I wasn't being clear enough. I wasn't talking about the generic chants from the stands. I was more thinking of incidents like what happened to Anthony Taylor after the EL final last year. Mourinho went off on one, confronted him in the car park after the game. The Roma fans saw that then harassed him and his family at the airport. That's what I'm talking about by verbal abuse. The fans saw Mourinho do it so it gave them the confidence to confront him in the airport. That's why I was referring to racist language.
All Turkish football has been suspended indefinitely so looks like there will be serious consequences.
Maybe they've been influenced by what's happening in Greece. Good to see some European nations actually taking action at last.
Greece was more to do with fan violence wasn't it? But yeah, good to see these nations take strong action.
It's a disgrace. The prick that started it all with the punch should go to prison and both teams should be kicked out of the league.
The professional clubs are the ones that SHOULD be setting the right examples for everyone to follow, but they do the opposite. I’ve told this story before as an example of the difference between football and rugby union fans. I was watching a game at Syston (near Leicester and the home of Pukka Pies) refereed by a lad who was either late teens or early twenties. The club has good support, including several ex-players, standing on the sidelines. At one point the referee made a decision that one of the ex-players (50+ years old) disagreed with and he let the ref know by saying “I think you got that decision wrong, sir”. The respect for the referee is amazing, even at ground roots level, and long may it continue.
I would be a fan of introducing a rule, like rugby, where protestations result in a free kick being moved forwards 10 yards, or as close to it if it's less than 10 yards outside the box originally. It could act as a warning before the yellow card comes out. It would be a good deterrent for surrounding the referee for example.
I’ve been saying this for years. Why not turn a free kick outside the box into a penalty if there’s dissent though? Players would soon learn to behave.
That would cause more trouble than it's worth I think. Players and coaches would argue how a penalty could be awarded for an offence outside the box.
Good. I swear like a trooper at home, or with pals. But in a public space, including at the football, I`m conscious that there are children around, and people who I don`t know who might find it offensive, so I refrain. I can still shout or sing without swearing.
That's what I posted earlier and also mentioned the rule being used in Glasgow evening leagues played on red blaes pitches around 1987/88. I was working on assignment in an engineering office on George Street, good times back in the day.
Because it would be the law, if the law was changed. Like I say, players would soon learn, just as rugby players did.
I hate penalties. Just move the free kick into the box. And keep getting closer to goal until they shut up.
Umut Meler, the referee who was assaulted, has unsurprisingly quit. He was a FIFA referee, on UEFA's elite list so this is going to have repercussions way beyond Turkey. I think a referee strike is not far away. It almost happened in England when Clattenburg was falsely accused of racial abusing Jon Obi Mikel. I think a strike may well be necessary. Let's see what happens when fans miss out on going to games at the weekend and broadcasters miss out on TV revenue and pundits miss out on getting paid.
Hope the ref sues the attacker for all his money. Suppose he was lucky it wasn’t a knife or gun. Greek and Turkish football owners are well out of control.
I thought was just me going mad and remembering this. Good to have company! Yes, it was dreadful from memory, and actually disadvantaged free kicks that were at the perfect distance from the goal.
