Physical Football..

CrazyBadger

Member
Location
Ware
Country
England
In the fall out of the 'hair pulling' debacle or the ManU Leeds game last night, It's clear that football is strife with overly physical displays, with defenders hugging players in the box, or the defending team grabbing players, pulling players back on occasion throwing both arms around the player with the ball in an attempt to stop them..

My question is, How did this become acceptable in football?

Football is at it's core a semi-contact sport - where contact should not be intentional, but is considered unavoidable. The only acceptable form of 'intentional' contact is the 'shoulder barge', and possibly 'shielding'. But nowadays, it is most definitely being played as a full contact sport. Grappling and shirt pulling should not be allowed in any way. It makes the game ugly and limits attacking flair and skill, but it's so commonplace in every facet of the game that we seems like we cannot get rid of it.

The Refs try every year by saying things like 'more pens will be given for excessive contact' etc and we do see it being penalised often, but offenders get away with it constantly and everyone is guilty.

There was a moment in the Spurs/Sunderland game this weekend where one of Spurs players threw himself all over a Sunderland player (literally, with both arms) the Sunderland player tried to resist and shove him back, and he got penalised!

Can we ever eradicate this from the game? and how do we do it?
 
For me - the ref has to stop this practice of getting involved with reminding players before the corner that its not allowed, just give the penalty for the first clear cut hugging / manhandling, whatever you want to call it - for sure there will be a lot of penalties in the first couple games of the new season, then when players realise that they cant get away with it any more knowing it will be penalised, it will stop them doing it.
 
For me - the ref has to stop this practice of getting involved with reminding players before the corner that its not allowed, just give the penalty for the first clear cut hugging / manhandling, whatever you want to call it - for sure there will be a lot of penalties in the first couple games of the new season, then when players realise that they cant get away with it any more knowing it will be penalised, it will stop them doing it.
that's been done. It lasts about a month, til september, then is forgotten about for the rest of the season. and it's not just about that, take the example I gave earlier;

Sunderland vs Tottenham Hotspur: Should Brian Brobbey have seen red against Spurs? Jamie O'Hara has his say!

Porro loses the ball to Brobby, and then proceeds to jump all over the back of Brobby. What's Brobby supposed to do? Porro should be penalised for jumping all over him, but instead, Brobby gets a yellow, and people like O'Hara shout it should have been a red, and Porro is innocent in all of it
 
I agree that the contemptuous behaviour of some players has become something of a blight on our game. Clubs too, show utter disrespect for the rules - Arsenal are major culprits.

It's got to be down to the refs to demonstrate authority and punish players who continually push, shove and grab players, particularly in set piece situations. It's overtly unsportsmanlike and I hate to see it.

Wasn't there a situation one time when an assistant referee stood on the goal line for corners? An extra pair of judicial eyes might help to pinpoint the problem. I am no fan of VAR, but........
 
For me - the ref has to stop this practice of getting involved with reminding players before the corner that its not allowed, just give the penalty for the first clear cut hugging / manhandling, whatever you want to call it - for sure there will be a lot of penalties in the first couple games of the new season, then when players realise that they cant get away with it any more knowing it will be penalised, it will stop them doing it.
The issue is one has witnessed incidents where both the defender and attacker at a corner are both pushing and shoving, six and two threes and both players remain on their feet, accordingly no penalty is awarded.On occasions both players will go to ground but it is adjudged that both were culpable.
 
The issue is one has witnessed incidents where both the defender and attacker at a corner are both pushing and shoving, six and two threes and both players remain on their feet, accordingly no penalty is awarded.On occasions both players will go to ground but it is adjudged that both were culpable.
exactly, it's how the game has evolved. everyones at it.
 

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