By Simon Wright – Follow me on Twitter
@Siwri88
Premier
League referee Kevin Friend has had his integrity as a top man in the middle
called into question over the past 72 hours after he produced one of the craziest
red cards seen in the Premier League’s recent memory.
Friend sent
off Sunderland defender Wes Brown midway through the first half of the Black
Cats’ 2-0 loss to Stoke City at the Britannia Stadium on Saturday. It was a
straight red card, despite the fact that Brown had cleanly taken the ball in a
committed but fair tackle on Charlie Adam.
Friend’s
decision has been a costly one to him as he has now been left off the referee
roster for the next fortnight and it seems like referee’s chief Mike Riley had
no option.
Sunderland
boss Gus Poyet was absolutely incensed by the decision, so much so that he
ripped his jacket off and threw it on the touchline in sheer disgust. Brown’s
early bath was the third red card he has already overseen in just five matches
in charge of the Wearsiders.
The club (players pictured looked aghast) launched an appeal on the red card on Monday and it is widely expected that the
FA will overturn the decision later this week, clearing Brown and allowing him
to be available for selection for Saturday’s trip to Aston Villa.
You feel that
overturning the initial decision is the only option. The game does move at a
much faster pace than it did two decades ago but it is a concern when the fans
see the ball being taken in clean tackling are now being rewarded with red
cards. England’s main governing body will look rather pathetic if the dismissal
is upheld.
It might not
be the most ridiculous red card ever seen in the Premier League era. In 1994,
Blackburn Rovers defender Henning Berg was involved in a shoulder to shoulder duel
with Lee Sharpe of Manchester United. Rather than accept that it was an accidental
collision, the late Gerald Ashby gave the Red Devils a penalty and even more
incredibly, sent Berg off as Blackburn lost the match at Ewood Park 4-2.
While Stoke
were already a goal up and were favourites to go on and win the game, which
they eventually did 2-0, the red card ruined the match as a spectacle and
zapped all of Sunderland’s confidence following their excellent win over
Manchester City before the international break.
For Friend,
it is the right decision to leave him off the referee list for two weeks while
he thinks about his bizarre call. The 42-year-old, who refereed the League Cup
final in February, officiates on average in around 30 games per season and is
considered as one of the more consistent officials of today’s game in this
country.
He has to accept
that he made a mistake and consequently needs to be punished for that. If that
means a two-week absence from Premier League officiating, then so be it.
Referees have
a tough job in the 21st century football generation with all the
play-acting, diving and pressure they receive from players but sometimes, they
don’t help themselves. Let’s hope the FA see what the neutral saw and overturn
Brown’s red card or the integrity of making manual decisions without the use of
technology will come under scrutiny once again.
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