Portsmouth News 24/7Writer: 
Date:Thursday August 24 2006
Time: 11:21AM
UK time is: 12:32:20
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'Potentially Life Threatening'
Disgrace!
That is the only word that I can possible think of that even comes close to describe how horrific the challenge was. The word I would be using to say what I think of the player, I`m not allowed to use!
The following is my brother, a trained first aider`s, views on the incident;
The player clearly has no intention of playing the ball but to catch Mendes in chest and send him flying. Not only did he miss the ball but he missed Mendes chest and caught him in the head. This knocked Mendes out instantly, hitting the floor unconscious. The problem with being unconscious is that the tongue, (which is a muscle) like any other muscle relaxes. When the tongue relaxes it naturally falls to the back of the mouth, covering the air ways. This is obviously a life threatening situation if the person air ways are not cleared. The Pompey medical team would have needed to make sure that Mendes was still able to breath, which would have been made harder by the player suffering a seizure (fit). The medical team would have been able to deal with this without too much difficulty. Presuming that the player hasn`t suffered any spinal or neck injury he should recover quickly!
Ben Thatcher is likely to escape punishment as the F.A rules state that the referee has already dealt with the incident and therefore no further action can be taken.
Many Pompey fans came onto Vital Pompey in the early hours of the morning to show their disgust towards the player.
It`s 11.08 am, and I haven`t seen an apology from the player yet!?!
It goes without saying that everyone on Vital Pompey wishes Mendes a healthy and speedy recovery!
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Your Comments
should be banned for atleast 3 weeks, maybe 5
lmatthews
should be banned for 3 games lol avin a laugh should be banned for life for that challenge u could see he wanted to hurt im lock im up for asult cheatin pr***
geordie boys
I'm sure the FA will act on it, they're trying to stamp this sort of thing out. If they can change red cards to yellow or remove them all together as they correctly did with Todd's on Saturday, i see no reason why they can't upgrade a yellow to red & charge him with something more serious.
Steve C
aslult he should be locked up deliberate challenge theirs no place 4 him in football with a life threatin challege like that should be banned 4 life if any won had any sense they would ban him from football any won who dod't agree well wot kind of fans r ya
geordie boys
Accoring to the BBC web site the FA have confirmed they are investigating Thatchers challenge.
Steve C
The FA will act on this, if they don't people will get away with attempted murder (LITERALLY!) all the time. I'd be VERY, VERY surprised if Thatcher turns out for City when they come to Fratton, Pearce is a brave man, and Thatcher obviously ...........(fill in the blanks as you see fit) but not even Pearce(if he's even in charge, which I hope he is as I like the guy) will risk sending him out in front of a fratton crowd looking for blood...
pompeyrug
I like the use of the word "challenge" we all keep saying, wasn't really a challenge was it...
pompeyrug
we are using challenge because we're not allowed to say what it really was.
Steve C
Totally disgraceful and has been the focus of our football chat in the office this morning. 10 Match Ban and fined 3 months wages. Until the FA take action with this kind of stupidity it will continue to go on.
Anyway seen it on video yet?
bluedr
I've seen it over and over, and it only gets worse each time. Obviously I'm not Thatcher, but he looks as though he knows exactly what he's going to do. Mendes gives him a look, Thatcher a LONG look back and Mendes then looks worried, think he knew he'd have every right to worry...
pompeyrug
if that happened on the street he would be bangedup!! The FA MUST take action, he is a discrace to the game...cant wait to see him at Fratton Park...best wishes to Mendes
CharlieChimes
I agree with rug, saw it on football first and it's worse everytime you see it. There's no attempt to play the ball his only intention was to flatten Mendes. Mendes was out cold before he hit the floor.
Steve C
how about police? didnt duncan ferguson get banged up for an elbow incident? if that happened off the pitch he would prob be standing up in court?
pompeyben
It's shocking isn't it Steve, no matter what angle, or how many times you see it it gets no better, just makes Thatcher look more guilty. You really can see the fear in Mendes' eyes, and lets face it Mendes is no p***y...
pompeyrug
If the FA fail to act then Mendes should complain to Greater Manchester Police who have said they will only act if he files a complaint.
Steve C
Fifa guidelines say the Referee's decision is final so how can the FA step in and change red cards to yellow etc If they are not allowed to change things the other way?
Steve C
it is the worst thing i have ever seen in football he should be bad for 10 games and a big fine of the fa and also a club fine
d-merry
The FA have a fans view line which you can ring and have a rant. Number is 0207 745 4999, If we all ring demanding action then the FA may listen!
bluedr
The FA are going to re-wirte there own rules because of this. Regardless of what action they take, mendes get down the nick and get him done. What sickend me even more was thatchers reaction even after he had done it "Told him to ******** get up" Id like to see him at fratton. Wouldnt be surpised if he gets one back sometime... ******** deserves it
Play Up Pompey
im all up for the FA investigating it, i only saw the challenge for th first time about half an hour ago and it didnt look pretty at all, i didnt know we were allowed to incorporate boxing into football! My other rant will be to the FA. Thatcher may get a match ban and a fine but lets be serious, 3 matches and 2 weeks fine, oh diddums. lets be serious about this. if the FA want to take it seriously then charging a normal human being £30 for smashing someones face in isnt gonna stop anyone, nor is a 3 match ban. i say 1/2 season ban and no wages for that entire period. thankyou and goodnight. thatll teach the cheating scum to try that one again. maybe make other dirty bastads take up notes and sort their acts out.
pompey pessimist
As far as I am concerned :
Option 1 : He should be charged with assault. Mendes must put in a charge to the police.
Option 2 : Charged with behaviour likely to cause breach of the peace.
Option 3 : FA should charge him for his 3 other elbow challenges that the ref failed to spot - if they cannot act on the one he did see, they can certainly act on the ones he did not.
His behaviour is animal, and Pearce's lack of condemnation is all the more disappointing. The FA has to resolve this. The stewards would have thrown you out, and had you arrested for far less than that, and yet he goes unpunished. If i was a steward there I would have been waiting for the riot to follow, I think the main reason it didnt is because although it was seen i dont think anyone quite believed how bad it was until they saw the TV replay of it. Even the photographers next to where it happened were so shocked they stood and watched instead of taking pictures at first, and when a journo is too shocked to take the scoop you know it's bad!
wakey
what is good is stuart pearce's reaction. As type cast as they come (hello tabloids!), Pyscho spouted the usual ***** about his player going for the ball and going in at 110 mph. Why do managers spout this rubbish. Thatcher is a thug and caused Mendes to have a fit on the pitch! If this was outside a pub on wednesday night he would be looking at a three month stretch at the minimum. If the FA choose to ignore the situation, like the referee (a yellow card), then Pompey should complain loudly and strongly until Thatcher is given a custodial sentence. if the roles had been reversed then pearce would have been sure to have seen the incident. Mendes then would have no doubt been cast as a dirty foreigner. I suggest the FA give Thatcher a long ban, a large fine, and the courts the deal with him for GBH. Maybe whathisname Summerbee, who Thatcher also assaulted a few years back could act as a character witness?
The Rabbi
Hi Guys, they are showing "le tackle diabolic " here in france as well. the frogs are also saying that Thatcher has previous form for this sort of thing and furthermore they say he was "animalistic" during the game . Furthermore Dessailly for l'equippe said that Pearces explanation was at best pathetic.and they wonder if any sanction will be made against the referee Gallagher. On the game, early days yet but winning at home and drawing away is good mid table form.
russellm
cool! nice to know thatcher has been ashamed all round the world
lmatthews
haha make sure you get the right guy!!
lmatthews
It was a horrific challenge and i'm pretty sure the FA will take the appropriate action against him. I have never seen a worse challenge than that before. Can anyone think of any?
POMPEYMEV
Scum like that should be banned for a minimum of 6 prem games. How long before Mendes is back. The player suffers, the club suffers & Thatcher gets a yellow. About sums up justice in this country.
storagematt
If a fan done this on the terraces then they would be banned from every stadium in the country and probably receive a 3 year jail sentance. With good behaviour let out after 18months that is what Thatcher should receive.
nelson
i think pedro should get a restraining order so he cant come within 150m of him. That would be funny when city return to the fortress. I aslo think he should not be allowed to play for as long as pedro is out or if thats not that long hopefully. 6 months at least
Play Up Pompey
what is quite heartening is from Geordieboys to here in toulouse, the football world seems united in condemning this "tackle" although i dont know how pearce could call it that. In france they are saying that our FA will probably do exactly that... F A... they do raise the question that nobody seems to have in England, what about the ref, why has he not made a comment, and why have people not commented his performance. i dont know if many of you have seen it but in france they have shown 3 other incidents what one could term "Thatcherism" during the match and an elbow on what looks like to be a sunderland player.it seems he also critically injured a play6er on their tour of china.
russellm
i warn you it's pretty gruesome but try this pessimist http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTRaS7ffyWg
Steve C
ok ive seen it many times now and i got no words to describe it. elbow my backside, you can see quite clearly that thatcher moves his arm back and gives pedro a good swiping punch to the face. my question is: pompey are defending pedro goes to clear the ball but why did thatcher storm in from there? could he really control the ball and start another attack? wheres the eye contact on the ball? these players both played at spurs from what i gather? did they have a rift?
pompey pessimist
There were quite a few years between them being at Spurs - about 5 or 6, so nothing there. I'm a Spurs fan & came on here to see if there was any update on Pedro's condition. We loved him there & were very sad to see him go. Hope he makes & quick recovery & gets back on the pitch soon. Good luck for the season & well done for the amazing turn around last year.
mesmo
The most important thing in this situation is Pedro Mendes. Not what penalty Thatcher will receive for his assult, let the FA sort that out. We want Pedro up and running and match fit as soon as he is able to. Get Well soon Pedro
nelson
Apparently he is on the MENDES well. And as for the culprit well you can't trust BT can you !!
pompeygray
The Similarity between Ben Thatcher and British Telecom is therefore the initials. The difference is that Ben Thatcher (Ben Hatchet from now on) is that at least Ben knows how to make a connection !! - ouch, sorry about that one.
pompeygray
n1 pompeygray! haha. if i was mendes my confidence in going on a pitch and performing might be slightly dented after that.
pompey pessimist
Of course Pedro is the most important thing but what has almost equal importance is making sure that Thatcher or anyone else for that matter does not do it again. Leaving aside the other challenges he made in the City game he's now put 2 people in hospital since pre season started, that can not be acceptable behaviour at any level of the game, let alone the highest level.
Steve C
Outrageous challenge. Should be banned for the season. Disappointed in Pearce too, think he should be more vocal in his criticism of Thatcher. Hope Thatcher gets prosecuted and banged up!
ValsPal
Michael Brown v Sean Davies last season and now Ben Thatcher v Pedro. Must be a jealousy thing, how come you got transfered to Pompey and I got Fulham or Man City.
TeddyLyon
Pearce has been much more critical of Thatcher today.
Steve C
what do want? thatcher out! when do we want it? Now!
what do want? thatcher out! when do we want it? Now!
what do want? thatcher out! when do we want it? Now!
what do want? thatcher out! when do we want it? Now!
(repeat to fade)
The Rabbi
My condolences. I remember him with some fantastic goals last season. Get well soon!
jogabonito
Let's hope he recovers quickly and get's back playin for Pompey as soon as poossible!
Westov
It's good to see the FA have charged Thatcher with Serious foul play. even if that is an understatement.
Steve C
and once again i raise the issue of the referee, three times thatcher committed cardable offences, why isnt gallagher demoted to the championship,,,,,mind you what have they done to deserve such a dangerous person as that.
russellm
Your brothers a trained first aider!!! he needs his eyes testing if he thinks Thatcher was aiming at his chest he knew exactly what he was doing. He should be banned until he faces a police trial for serious assualt. The referee needs to be questioned, how could he only give a yellow card! he will send somebody off this weekend just for kicking the ball away!!!
dazza71
haha no one knows what thatcher was trying to do, moment of madness
lmatthews
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