After Tuesday night’s
controversial clash between Manchester United and Real Madrid, I
found myself asking a question, it’s a question I’ve asked myself
many times before, and no doubt I’ll ask again. What on earth was
the referee thinking?
When Luis Nani leaped
into the air, extending his leg in an attempt to control the ball, he
collided with Alvaro Arbeloa. Was it clumsy? Yes. Did he deserve a
booking? Yes. Was it worthy of a red? No chance.
There can’t have been
many in Old Trafford, not even the most optimistic of Madrid
supporters, who expected Turkish referee Cuneyt Cakir to reach for
his back pocket, and in doing so, ruin what had been an enthralling,
end-to-end match, ultimately costing United their place in the
Champions League, dashing their hopes of achieving another historic
treble.
So I’ll ask again,
what was the referee thinking? I think it’s about time we started
to find out…
We have post-match
interviews with just about everyone these days, players, managers and
even the odd celebrity fan like to pop down and have a good old chat
with Geoff Shreeves. So why don't referees? Rather than the usual
clichéd tripe from some half-soaked footballer telling us “It was just all about
the three points today, and luckily we got that” why not have
something people would actually want to listen to?
“So Cuneyt, why did
you feel it was a red card for Nani?” “Well I felt that his foot
was too high, and it was a dangerous play from him, after consulting
with my assistant I decided that a red card was the right call to
make”
At least now his
decision would be justified, it still might not be the right one, but
it's been explained.
It's common sense at
it's best, but common sense is something FIFA has tended to lack over
recent years...
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