新澳门开奖结果

FA and PGMOL to review assistant referee鈥檚 鈥榚lbow鈥� on Andy Robertson

When linesman Constantine Hatzidakis was involved in an altercation with Liverpool defender Andy Robertson, a charity that represents referees asked for significant reforms to the game’s laws.

The PGMOL has suspended Hatzidakis while the FA examines the incident that occurred during halftime of Liverpool’s 2-2 draw with Arsenal on Sunday. The assistant referee is accused of elbowing Robertson after the whistle was sounded.

The shocking event is just the most recent in a long line of high-profile fights between players and officials. Fulham striker Aleksandar Mitrovic was suspended for eight games earlier this month after grabbing referee Chris Kavanagh by the arm, but Manchester United player Bruno Fernandes was spared punishment for a similar incident involving linesman Adam Nunn. Ref Support UK, an independent charity that represents officials’ interests, is concerned about the recent events and has called on the FA to take quick action. While he will not defend Hatzidakis’ actions, Martin Cassidy, the charity’s chief executive, believes the episode is part of a larger concern in sports.

鈥淭he official appears to have been out of order,鈥� he told the media. 鈥淎nd if it was intentional and it was aggressive then he needs to be banned like any other player 鈥� not for more, but the same [length of time]. The learnings here are: what was a player doing going over and manhandling a match official yet again?鈥�

He added: 鈥淎ddress the result of it, but you have to address the cause of it too. What caused that elbow to hit him in the face? He grabbed a match official. What happened with Mitrovic? He grabbed a match official. What happened with Fernandes? He touched a match official. Don鈥檛 touch a match official. It鈥檚 not rocket science.鈥�

Cassidy formerly served as a match official and is concerned about players’ disrespect for referees. He feels that if players were not allowed to approach officials in the first place, these occurrences would not occur.

鈥淲e鈥檝e called for a two-meter rule,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e had this coming out of Covid. It would have been very easy to say: 鈥業f you come within two meters of a match official, uninvited, in an aggressive manner, you get a yellow card or get sent off.鈥� There are no boundaries at the moment.鈥� The FA has dished out over 拢 1.3 million worth of fines this season to clubs for failing to control their players, with Manchester United the worst offender, having racked up 拢202,000 in fines. Cassidy thinks the sheer number of fines shows the system is not working and a different approach is needed.

鈥淢oney punishment doesn鈥檛 work at any level of football,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey鈥檝e been taking money as punishment for ages and I don鈥檛 think it鈥檚 good that anyone makes money out of the abuse of referees.

鈥淭he individual that gets abused gets no benevolence whatsoever 鈥� it鈥檚 the wrong approach. We need to start deducting points. So if someone is found guilty of abusing a referee, that person鈥檚 team loses points. The deterrent will be there.鈥�
The Robertson incident is merely the latest and most high-profile incident of officials clashing with players. Cassidy pointed to the case involving referee Darren Drysdale and Ipswich player Alan Judge, which saw Drysdale suspended by the FA in March 2021 for squaring up to the midfielder.

He said: 鈥淭hese things are happening. What is the straw that鈥檚 going to break the camel鈥檚 back in football? There have been little reckonings here and there, but something big is going to happen.

鈥淚t鈥檚 just around the corner. We believe a match official isn鈥檛 far away from getting killed on the field of play. I also don鈥檛 think we鈥檙e far away from a match official having enough and turning around and smacking someone.鈥�