Violence and abuse in football - who should deal with it?
It has been reported recently that Everton striker Victor Anichebe has settled out of court with Newcastle after instigating legal action over a tackle from Kevin Nolan that left him sidelined for 11 months.
The authorities dealt with Nolan by way of the referee issuing a red card for the offence on the pitch and him subsequently being banned.
This raises the issue of dealing with on the field incidents off the field in addition to sanctions within the game, sometimes in civil courts, occasionally in criminal proceedings.
Law 12 of the FIFA Rules of the game state that, ‘if a player kicks, trips, jumps at, charges, strikes, pushes or tackles an opponent in a manner considered by the referee to be careless, reckless or using excessive force’, a direct free kick is awarded.
A player can be cautioned for a variety of offences including, ‘persistent infringement of the Laws of the Game, a player can be sent off for serious foul play, violent conduct or spitting at an opponent or any other person.
So there we see that there are plenty of offences you can commit on the field and sanctions for breaking the laws of the game. But what about incidents like that in your local high street, place of work, down the pub, in fact anywhere at all. Commit offences like that and you could feel the force of the law and end up in court charged with a criminal offence. So why aren’t more players hauled before the courts?
Sanctions off the field?
Should on field violence be treated the same way as if it happened anywhere else? There have been well publicised cases of that happening, Duncan Ferguson received a prison sentence for butting an opponent, there was another case where one player broke another’s leg and was brought before the court. The defence stated similarities between this incident and the tackle on Aaron Ramsey which broke his leg in another game at the time; and the fact the defender responsible for that tackle did not face criminal charges. The Judge rejected this suggestion and said it was a totally different situation. 'This is a deliberate act, a premeditated act,' he said. 'A football match gives no one any excuse to carry out wanton violence.
There are lots of examples of bad tackles deliberate or not. De Jong’s tackle on Ben Arfa, Carragher’s tackle on Nani, the various incidents even at the highest level, the World Cup final between Spain and Holland in 2010 with special emphasis on De Jong’s studs going into the chest of Xabi Alonso. These types of ‘tackles’, do nothing to foster a good spirit in which the game should be played even when the stakes are so ridiculously high, maybe I am hoping for a utopian society in which to live, play and watch sport.
What is deliberate? Intent is notoriously hard to prove, how many times have you heard from pundits recently that a tackle was not a foul as the player won the ball even if serious injury is caused to the player on the receiving end. This seems to be irrelevant if you look at the laws, if a tackle is careless, reckless or using excessive force, it is an offence. If the referee deems it deliberate and cautions or sends off the offender, should there be an option to take it further. Does the player or representative have to report this offence to the police to prosecute the offender; can the police take independent action themselves having witnessed the incident?
Grey areas indeed, the football fraternity do not take kindly to the police having an opinion on incidents occurring on the field. Witness the recent publicity surrounding Wayne Rooney swearing at the camera after scoring against West Ham. A police officer likened his behaviour to large numbers of aggressive people out on a Saturday night stating that if Rooney behaved like that whilst out he would be locked up. Up stepped his manager who demeaned the officer calling him, “a wee guy needing to be noticed”. I know which opinion I prefer, maybe disturbances and assaults in public would be diminished in the perfect world of having enough police to lock all people up who behave in such a terrible, violent anti-social manner.
Back to on the pitch, if you get punched or deliberately kicked by a fellow professional, what options are open to you? The old adage of hitting them back cannot apply or you will be sent off. What about if someone intentionally spits in your face, which must be the nastiest most cowardly way of behaving towards another person. Turn the other cheek whilst wiping off the spittle from your own face? Emotions are high, players must exercise extreme self restraint or they will be classed as an offender and be dealt with along side the real guilty party. That cannot be fair; players must be protected against this extreme behaviour.
Players v ‘fans’
Eric Cantona has made the headlines again, he recently referred to the incident after his sending off at Selhurst Park in 1995 where he delivered a kung fu style kick to, and punched a ‘supporter’ who was subjecting him to horrible abuse. He said that violence at football matches can sometimes make supporters "happy". "I think that maybe it's like a dream for some people sometimes, to kick these kinds of people. So I did it for them”. The trouble for him at the time is that it extended his ban to 8 months, this after he was sentenced to 120 hours Community Service. That was his way of dealing with the often vile abuse directed at players.
Vedran Corluka of Tottenham was involved in an incident only last week at the Tottenham v Stoke game where he called a ‘supporter’, an “idiot” saying that the individual had been moaning all through the game and not supporting the team. I suspect that the ongoing moaning may have contained some choice words and the abuse Corluka apparently received at the end of the game was the straw that broke the camel’s back. I know that there is a view that says as you pay your money you are entitled to have your opinion heard, but personally I haven’t heard much, if any constructive criticism of player’s performances at games. The result is that we hear Corluka may be sanctioned by the FA, while the mystery fan remains anonymous.
Now there is a sending off offence in the laws of the game of using offensive, insulting or abusive language and/or gestures, players and anyone else for that matter understand that.
In the general world, if you use threatening abusive or insulting words or behaviour within the hearing or sight of a person likely to be caused harassment, alarm or distress, you commit an offence under the Public Order Act. Could a player be harassed, alarmed or distressed by such behaviour from a ‘fan’? What is the possibility of legal sanctions outside of football for individuals who use such behaviour towards players? Is being ejected and banned from football grounds punishment enough? Would a player have a right to institute legal proceedings against a ‘fan’? Questions, questions, will these circumstances ever occur and the questions be answered. Somehow I doubt it.
Another incident occurred at the end of the game where Ricardo Fuller allegedly grabbed a ‘fan’ around the neck after being shouted at. This brings the next few questions up. If Fuller is found to have performed this act, it could be construed as an assault. If the person complains to the police, he could be dealt with criminally. Should players be held to higher standards of behaviour? Is this fair? Who will examine the behaviour of the person in the crowd who delivered the abuse at Fuller?
Exploring the theme of supporter interaction, there must be mention of racist chanting/abuse towards black players. Kick Racism out of football is the message. This does not seem to have got through to the more unenlightened members of society especially with the more frequent examples cited from abroad. It still happens in this country; players have regularly come out and said that they hoped that those days had gone. Unfortunately no-one told the person at the recent Brazil v Scotland friendly who threw a banana in the direction of Neymar.
Completely unacceptable in today’s society, what would happen if a player reacts to something like that? Same as before, they would potentially be dealt with as an offender and sanctioned by the football or judicial authorities.
Criminal or not?
On the field players should be protected against deliberately inflicted physical harm with the offender knowing that the appropriate punishment awaits which may include a visit to the courts ending up in prison. Players have a responsibility to play the game in a competitive manner but have a moral responsibility not to cause serious injury to fellow man. There are some who argue that because of the very nature of the game and it being a contact sport, these things will happen, and what happens on the field should stay on the field as the authorities have sufficient powers to deal with it. Another opinion is that deliberate bad tackles otherwise known as assaults on the field should be punished criminally in some circumstances. Fans have a responsibility to behave in an appropriate manner and not cowardly abuse players and hide behind the anonymous safety of thousands of others. Whatever your view, everyone has a responsibility in the game to raise the standard of behaviour and conduct on occasions.
