Retrospective refereeing

A journalist once said of FIFA president Sepp Blatter, "He has fifty new ideas every day, and fifty-one of them are bad". I do intend to have a great big rant about his irrational decision not to proceed with goal-line technology. Don't worry, it'll happen (the rant, not the goalline technology). I bet you can't wait.

But I'm just been watching the highlights of Spurs-Chelsea. 4-4. Some game, I tell you. Why Sky chose Man U-Bolton is a mystery. But the moment I want to focus on happened just moments before half-time.

A bouncing ball ricochets pretty harmlessly towards Alan Hutton (note I've suddenly become more protective of him as he's no longer a hun) at the halfway line, right in front of the dugouts. Cue the arrival of Ashley Cole who with the Scottish full-back having flicked the ball away, absolutely pole-axes him. I'm talking studs up, straight leg, catching Hutton's shin halfway down. This is with Hutton's leg already off the ground to deal with the bouncing ball, so in reality it's about knee height. God bless shin pads and the man who invented them. As you would expect, the Spurs bench goes apes**t.

The Chelsea response to the situation? Ashley Cole, flanked by the usual mottley crew of Terry, Carvalho, Lampard etc. storms up to the ref, Mike Riley, giving him proper abuse (only the very basic lip reading skills can tell you that) and claims wildly that he got the ball (he wouldn't have got the ball even if it was in the vicinity, replays show that quite clearly) and then, while Riley grins inanely at him, just turns his back, walks away and refuses to come back. For the grand total of Serious Foul Play, Foul And Abusive Language and Dissent, Ashley Cole (and his minions) get a grand total of one yellow card. This is in the same week as the FA launched their "respect" agenda, in an attempt to significantly reduce the mouthing off.

Any person who has ever been with one thousand miles could tell you that the tackle deserved a straight red and abusing the ref probably warrants some punishment too. Okay, to call Mike Riley "weak" is like calling Katie Melua "not unattractive", but that's ok, isn't it,because bad tackles and violent conduct offences get cited and punished all the time, don't they.

Unfortunately, on Mr. Blatter's say-so, if the ref sees what has happened and punishes it competely inappropriately (or fails to punish it at all), the decision doesn't get changed. If the ref sees a foul when two players go up for a high ball, yet fails to send one off for a deliberate elbow in the face, then as long as he's given a free kick then no further action can be taken, even if the victim's nose is disintegrated in the process. Apparently dishing out worse punishment after a match "undermines the referee's authority".

On the other hand, we also know perfectly well that there is no apparent problem with retrospectively rescinding red cards, or changing them to yellows afterwards. Now, can someone please tell me where the logic is in that?

It's all very perplexing.

So, anyway, what it means is that that little thug of a Chelsea full-back ultimately gets off scot-free, in the same week as that twit Blatter talks about trying to extend Martin Taylor's ban.

One of these days, Sepp Blatter will do something, as FIFA president, that will actually benefit the world game. However, you have to say, on previous experience, that there is a distinct possibility that this will consist of either his resignation or death.

L.