FA has history of favouring Liverpool players
Today’s Steven Gerrard farce has got me thinking about other instances where Liverpool players were looked on favourably by the incompetent FA, while United players have been punished for identical incidents. Below are just a few off the top of my head. I’m sure there are many more.
1. Robbie Fowler celebrates in front of Manchester United fans, showing his fingers to symbolize their success in Europe. No punishment. Gary Neville kisses the United badge on his shirt in front of Liverpool fans. Fined £5,000 and warned about his future conduct.
2. Steven Gerrard and Neil Mellor sent off in the 2003 Amsterdam tournament. No bans are handed out to the two Liverpool players. Wayne Rooney and Paul Scholes are sent off in the 2006 Amsterdam tournament. Both players are forced to sit out the first 3 games of the Premier League season as the FA bans them for the red cards.
3. Javier Mascherano swings an arm at Leeds’ Jermaine Beckford, leaving the striker on the floor. No action was taken by the FA. Weeks later, Rio Ferdinand is involved in an identical incident with Hull’s Craig Fagan. He was banned for 3 games, which was extended to 4 games on appeal.
Today’s decision by the FA to let Steven Gerrard walk free just compounds the problem.
The FA have consistently shown that they’re completely incompetent and incapable of applying the rules properly. And that they continually like to ban Manchester United players while letting Liverpool players off with the exact same offences, and I haven’t even gone into his two fingered salute to the referee last week, another offence he got away with!
Is it so wrong to expect them to actually do their jobs and apply the rules?
March 16th, 2010
i think thats a bitter manchester united fan talking, please focuc on your own team
March 16th, 2010
“1. Robbie Fowler celebrates in front of Manchester United fans, showing his fingers to symbolize their success in Europe. No punishment. Gary Neville kisses the United badge on his shirt in front of Liverpool fans. Fined £5,000 and warned about his future conduct.”
….erm, the fact that gary neville legged it 70 yards away from his own celebrating players, to go bezerk, on his own, in front of the liverpool fans might have had something to do with it. hardly comparable.
March 16th, 2010
The ref saw it and dealt with it so according to FA rules they cannot act on it
As for the two fingered salute he could have been saying to the ref thats twice you let something go… how can anyone except Gerrard and the ref know what he was saying / doing?
Time to move on
March 16th, 2010
and what about the cheeky scouser with sir alex ferguson
tops the lot no action taken by the FA its a disgrace?
March 16th, 2010
Dry your eyes!!!!
March 16th, 2010
Totally agree. We never seem to get any decisions.
March 16th, 2010
You can probably ask Gary Neville itself why it is like this….”YOU GET WHAT YOU DESERVE” ….. (Refer to the newspapers in december 09 mid)
March 16th, 2010
Simply rule… if Referee as issued punishment, whether it be a freekick or card, the FA will take no further action – regardless of club.
March 16th, 2010
Yeah like referee’s aren’t more biased towards manu than any other team! Try injury time being added to a game as until united score if they need a goal! And how much does fergie get away with as the FA & PL are bizarrely afraid of him! What about all the diving that rooney does? Search on youtube for a fascinating insight into this. Stop whining, you’re beginning to sound like chelsea fans!!!
March 16th, 2010
1) Robbie Fowler was a City player at the time, so that point is null and void.
Even if he was a Liverpool player, the two incidents were very different. Fowler scored in front of the United fans and he did was raise his hand showing 5 digits, whereas Neville’s was more like Adebayor – running back towards the opposite end. If anything, the FA’s decision to only warn Neville in September for running the pitch to celebrate to the City fans is questionable considering the fact they banned adebayor a short while later.
2) The reason Rooney and Scholes were suspended is because match referee Ruud Bossen decided to send a report to the Dutch FA, who forwarded it on to the English FA – who were then forced to suspend the duo.
Normally in friendlies, referees don’t send reports. In the amsterdam tournament in 2003, there was no report send, so the FA didn’t act, but once the report was sent to the FA, they had to ban them.
3) Mascherano and Ferdinand’s incidents were both viewed again by referee (the protocall when the referee hasn’t seen it). Alan Wiley watched the Mascherano incident again and deemed it to be accidental. Steve Bennett viewed the ferdinand incident again and deemed it to be deserving of a red card.
4) Gerrard foul. There was a free given against Gerrard. Once the referee has seen the incident – they cannot give a suspention. Similarly, if he had given a yellow card, they couldn’t have done anything. Happens all the time.
5) Gerrard’s 2 fingers. Referee stated he took no action because Gerrard said to him something like “I’ve been fouled 2 fucking times without getting a free”. the 2 was because of that – not 2 figures.
But you will notice how Neville only got a warning this season for showing the finger.
March 16th, 2010
“not 2 figures” – should be “not the 2 fingers”
March 16th, 2010
i think your spot on about scousers getting away with it they have even started insulting sir alex when he does his interviews and nobody including the FA do nothing about it ? proof http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2splrLIZiRE
March 17th, 2010
Let the FA back the scousers, we’ll just keep winning championships. Losers never walk alone.
March 18th, 2010
hey wayne Let the FA back the scousers ?, we’ll just keep winning championships. with scousers like rooney owen ect ?