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Have the F.A lost the plot?

Although this article is posted on a Pompey web-site, it goes a bit deeper than that.

The catalyst for my thoughts was the news that Harry Redknapp has been charged for his comments against Mike Dean during the half-time interval against Man City after watching Pedro Mendes again carried off after what almost amounts to assault.

Joey Bartons tackle was not even half as bad as Thatchers all out attack, but he got off incredibly lightly with a yellow card, as did Thatcher. The intent was shown on Thatchers face as he smashed his elbow into Mendes, but the same cannot be said of Barton, the bloke is either a great actor or a calculated thug or he just came in late, either way he took out Pompey's most influential player on the day.

My point in this rant is that he stayed on the pitch and started to influence the game once Mendes got carried off, rightly or wrongly, what is for certain was the hand gestures Barton gave to Pompey fans as he left the pitch, what do the F.A do? Nothing. Redknapp gets charged for telling the ref how it is, and gets an F.A charge and probably a fine and touchline ban. Barton gets called up for the next England squad.

To put a finer point on the F.A's great powers of fair play, AFC Wi?mbledon, a club that rose from the ashes of the old Wimbledon side and started by disgruntled fans who lost their local side, are fined £12,000, docked all 18 points gained whilst playing an ineligable player and thrown out the F.A trophy. Their crime? Not getting International clearance for an Englishman from Hackney who played in the distant Country of Wales in an English league! The punishment really fits the crime on that one, Pompey and West Ham have been accused of registration law breaking ourselves, but we have the luxury of sitting in the Premier league and will probably get off with a stern talking to, but if these players were registered and sanctioned to play, surely its the F.A's responsibility to spot any errors when the paper work lands on their desk?

Rant over from me, but good luck to AFC Wimbledon in their appeal, and if they fail God help the future of English football.




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Writer: paultsmouth Mail feedback, articles or suggestions

Date:Monday February 12 2007

Time: 9:36PM

Your Comments

the wimbledon situation is criminal
paultsmouth
it is mate- good article/rant
VitalPompeyAdmin
What is £12k in percentage of their turnover. No doubt bl00dy high. The FA now FA.
storagematt
that should be 'know'.
storagematt
lol i had to read that 5 times to get it :) The f.a know the f.a what haha
VitalPompeyAdmin
When did they actually have it to lose?
sandgroanun
rules is rules
russellm
and they will bend em rather than face facts about the standard of refs/ assistant refs in this country. And that appalling ref supremo hacket... what a disaster for the game he is, why cant refs be forced to explain decisions to mangers after games? Or the system as used in Rugby where you can hear the refs interpretation? or why not have referee press conferences? When it suited them they couldnt get pointless Poll's face in front of enough cameras but Lets be honest none of the referees try to be anoymous anymore.
russellm
Excellent article Paul, so very true as well. Personally, I've been saying for some years that the biggest problem with English football is the very heart of it - the FA. We need to get rid of much of the deadwood that resides there and replace it with people who are of this era rather than the Jurassic fossils who are there now.
Good luck to AFC Wimbledon, however I do feel that they too are as responsible as the FA for this oversight.
TruePompeyBlue
Until the FA acknowledge that they are providing a service which is paid for then nobody will ever have a right to complain. Let's face it, under the Sale of Goods Act, statutory rights have been provided to ensure fair trade between the seller and the customer. In this case, the FA are the seller and Pompey are the customer. In that point of view, any club having a problem with the goods or service that has been provided to them have a right to complain - or are the FA now saying they are above the law?

I feel that any club who has a problem with an official's performance has a right to complain and would dearly love to see a club take the FA to court over this.
TruePompeyBlue
Much like Steve McLaren the FA are spineless... AFC Wimbledon have been harshly treated, good luck in their appeal but I fear they will get nowhere, have to agree with TruePompeyBlue to a degree about it being their responsability also...
pompeyrug
When asking the question, 'Have the F.A. lost the plot?', maybe we should refer back to the appointment of Steve McClaren. I rest my case.
The Rabbi
While Wimbledon must take part of the blame, they probably don't have the luxury of a top live-in lawyer who can interpret what I suspect are complex rules and laws from the FA and Fifa. On the face of it you have to feel sorry for them.
Et_tu_Pompeii
The FA have been a joke for years, they have always hit the least powerful clubs with the maximum they can and protected the top sides. How the hell they say they are the custodians of the game defeats me, they have no idea, never will have
Fratton del Sol
Brilliant article Paul. It's about time fans ran the FA so we can start to get footie back. I hope AFC Wimbledon win their appeal, dock Franchise instead they are just a bought footie club not a proper one!
bmb
when you think prem clubs will get £50 m next season, punishing little fan based clubs is just f.a big wigs pushing their weight around
paultsmouth
great article. Barton deserved to be kicked in the midsection for that.
G4L
The FA will also share in the "new" money stumped up by the new TV deal, will people also expect England game tickets to be reduced or is England a seperate account..... thought so..
col8
The FA clearly do not deal lightly with 'breakaway' clubs. Their bias is rife and should be highlighted as an area of embarrassment and harrassment....no rhyming intended.
pompeygray
When you all put it like that it starts to sound quite corrupt
Et_tu_Pompeii
ow it is corrupt- it's football!
VitalPompeyAdmin
Careful - you can say that there may be allegations of corruption, but unless you can point to clear evidence of it then you must steer away from actually saying there is. You can say "alleged", "allegedly" or "allegations", but never make a factual statement without proof.
TruePompeyBlue
But it certainly appears to be just that Et_tu_pompeii.
TruePompeyBlue
Yes is the answer to the banner
russellm
ow it is (maybe) corrupt- it's football
VitalPompeyAdmin
The FA have lost the plot when it comes to Referees A referee can cost you a result nothing done to the ref but manager keep thier jobs based on results. Refs have gone Pro but the FA are the only ones not treating them like it
ccfcks
The appalling standard of referees at all levels in this country is 1 topic that fans of all teams can actually agree on and one I'm sure could keep us chatting for years!
bmb
But we now know that the FA stand for do and know F**K ALL
ccfcks
 

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