SO MANY RED CARDS were handed out during last Saturday’s English Premier League fixtures, one might have thought it was Valentine’s Day.
But there’s little love being spread by the officials these days.
It seems that referees making football games more about them and less about football is nearing a tipping point. At least I hope it is.
(A quick aside: I used tipping point for a couple of reasons there. One, because I’m hopeful that refs realize their overly meddlesome behavior has got to stop and two, because I want to plug a book I just read, The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell. It’s already sold a gazillion copies and most of you have likely already devoured it, like I did recently. But in case you haven’t read it, I encourage you to do so. Go buy it. Now. You won’t be disappointed. Now, back to the Corner Post.)
The whistle-wearers handed out eight red cards to Premier League players last Saturday, a one-day record. If one more had been given on Sunday, it would have tied the all-time record for a weekend of Prem action.
I’m shocked the refs didn’t shoot for an even 10.
While some of the reds were no doubt deserved — Kenwyne Jones’ flooring West Ham’s Herita Ilunga immediately comes to mind — others were, to put it mildly, questionable.
Hull City’s Geovanni was sent off for a challenge that seemed to have little intent or malice behind it. Everton striker Diniyar Bilyaletdinov (make up your own pronunciation there) saw red during the Toffees home draw with Aston Villa after what Villa manager Martin O’Neill labeled “a really nasty challenge.”
Nasty? Perhaps. Really nasty? Doubtful. Nasty enough for a red card? I say no.
Red cards and their distribution are constant fodder for argument. What one person sees as a cardable offense another sees as part of the English game. No doubt there are some cases where a red card and the ensuing ejection from the game are the only course of action for officials to take against a player.
But many times, red cards spark debate, and I’m not sure that should be the case. Reds should be reserved for blatantly dirty, malicious or unsporting behavior. It should be cut and dried.
Referees must assume some of the blame for the recent proliferation of reds. It’s as if they’re acting like a highway patrolman who needs to reach his ticket quota by the end of the month, so he writes up a motorist doing 38 in a 35 miles per hour zone.
Was the driver speeding? Technically, yes. Could he have gotten away with a warning, which in the football world is a yellow card? Absolutely.
Nobody wants to see eight players get sent off in one day of Premier League action. The English game is physical and pansies aren’t welcome, but it’s not a dirty league, even though officials are doing everything they can to make it seem that way.
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