Does the Punishment Fit the Crime?

PASSION. One of many words associated with football. Unfortunately idiocy is another one that fits the bill perfectly. The mind boggles to come to terms with why Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney has been slapped with a two match ban for merely showing his enthusiasm.

The England man said that the automatic two-match ban was "clearly excessive" and I completely agree.

There is always going to be swearing in modern day football, it is part and parcel of the game, it is the culture that we live in. Tempers are running high and emotions are boiling over, and showing your passion is a crime now...apparently.

It seems that, lately, the FA are doing all they can to undermine United. First by hitting Sir Alex Ferguson with a five game touchline ban for improper conduct after his rant at Martin Atkinson, and now the ban dished out to Rooney for foul and abusive language. This means both will be in the stands for the crucial FA Cup semi-final tie against local rivals Manchester City.

It is such a harsh and petty punishment for Rooney, who has done worse things in his life than swear down a television camera. Yes, there would probably be children watching at home, but it is nothing that they will not hear in the playground in a few years time anyway.

Live matches always have abusive chants coming from the stands that cannot be edited out. Is this just the FA trying to even out the law for when Rooney should have been suspended for elbowing James McCarthy in the fixture against Wigan Athletic?

If so, it is a terrible way to go about it.

The absence of the former Everton man in the semi-final clash will have a drastic impact on moral in the City dressing room. Although Rooney has not hit top form at all this season, he still has all the capabilities to cause problems, and Roberto Mancini will no doubt be relieved that his name will not be on the team sheet.

I do not think that anyone particularly cares that he swore down the lens of a camera. It was certainly inappropriate, but there are much worse things in life at the moment.

So does the punishment fit the crime? Not one bit.

The English game is becoming a complete farce. It is high time the FA took a long hard look at some of their actions and realised how truly pathetic they are.

Twinning Mentality the Future Foundations

THE FA CUP quarter final gave the nation a glimpse at Manchester United's future. Rafael and Fabio da Silva. At just 20-years-old, the Brazilian twins are two of the most exciting prospects in the Premier League. But it feels like they have been around for years.

Scouted from Fluminense, who also produced Real Madrid left-back Marcelo, the twins have made a name for themselves at one of the highest levels of football, with both claiming honours in their three years at Old Trafford.

The watchful eye of Sir Alex Ferguson has enabled the nimble full-backs to be nurtured by senior squad members, with Gary Neville and Patrice Evra the perfect role models for aspiring, young footballers.

Ferguson is building the foundations for another fantastic squad - just like he had during the days of Gary Pallister, Steve Bruce and David Beckham.

Chris Smalling is another rising young star. His performances in his last few games have been fantastic, he too is being nurtured by senior squad members Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand.

We all know that Fergie is no mug when it comes to transfers - Eric Djemba-Djemba and Kleberson aside - and he has unearthed some real gems in the shape of Smalling, the Silva twins and fellow South American Javier Hernandez, who has been a revelation for the Red Devils this season.

England striker Wayne Rooney's constant misfiring this term has meant that Chicharito has been the main man for United this and boy has he stepped up to the plate. I have lost count of the amount of crucial goals the Mexican has popped up with this season.

Lots of people are saying that there is no future for United, but I have to disagree. Yes, the veterans Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes will soon be leaving the Premier League. The only question is whether it will be at the end of this season like Edwin van der Sar.

But despite the spine of the team being ripped out through old age, there is some incredibly bright talent waiting in the wings to become the new Stretford End heroes.

There have been rumours floating around for months that there will be a huge clear out at Old Trafford, with Fergie getting rid of anyone he considers to be 'dead wood'. The Scot needs some talent in the engine room if they are going to continue to challenge for major honours. It is quite clear that Darron Gibson, Michael Carrick and Darren Fletcher are not the key to success.

If van der Sar can be replaced, Sir Alex needs to secure the signatures of exciting, young midfielders. If he can do this, the Red Devils will continue challenging at the highest levels.

Kolo's Drug Disgrace

WHY do football players feel the need to take drugs? As if they do not have everything already, they feel the need to have even more and even find themselves above the law. Manchester City's Kolo Toure is the latest example to be disgraced after the FA informed him that he tested positive when he gave an A sample.

The Ivory Coast international, who was not involved in last night's 3-0 FA Cup fifth round victory over Aston Villa, has been suspended by the club. And quite rightly so.

Why should any player be treated differently? We saw former Chelsea striker Adrian Mutu test positive for cocaine in 2004, which led to the Romanian being sacked and fined £20,000 by the FA, along with a seven month ban. Mutu still has to pay his transfer fee back to the Stamford Bridge outfit.

In 2006, former West Ham United midfielder Shaun Newton also tested positive for cocaine and, like Mutu, was banned for seven months, while in the same year Wolverhampton Wanderers striker Chris Cornes was banned for six months for the same indiscretion.

Surely the former Arsenal man should receive the same treatment, even if it is not cocaine. Drug use is the same, no matter what language you speak, and anyone who abuses the system should be handed a fine and a ban.

Dwain Chambers was banned from athletics for two years after testing positive for tetrahydrogestrinone (THG). Many believe that the British track star should have been handed a lifetime ban, but he returned to the athletics scene in 2005.

He is not the first City player to be involved in a drugs scandal. In 2003, Christian Negouai was fined £2,000 by the FA after missing a drugs test, although the man signed from Charleroi for £1.5m was stuck in traffic but was willing to take the test.

This case was used by rivals Manchester United who tried to appeal against Rio Ferdinand's eight month ban, but FIFA President Sepp Blatter claimed that there were distinct differences between the cases, stating that Ferdinand was unwilling to take the test.

Should Toure be found guilty, the FA should hand out the strictest punishment possible in order to get the message out that drugs are completely unacceptable in sport.

The Incompetence of Officials

THIS season, the standard of officials has dropped dramatically. Games are won and lost in the split second that a blatant offside is not flagged, or penalties for virtually nothing are awarded.

Chelsea collected three points last night in a 2-1 victory over Premier League leaders Manchester United and, although referee Martin Atkinson got the penalty decision spot on, Blues defender (and scorer of the first goal) David Luiz should have been dismissed for a second bookable offence after upending Wayne Rooney off the ball.

I criticised referee Mark Clattenburg for his decision not to send off Rooney after the England striker savagely elbowed Wigan Athletic midfielder James McCarthy at the weekend, so I think it is only fair to tar everyone with the same brush.

Although there was no malice in Luiz's challenge, there was certainly intent, as there was in an earlier altercation with Mexican Javier Hernandez. We saw Nemanja Vidic sent off for two bookable offences that were no where near as bad as what Chelsea's £21.3m Portuguese defender committed.

"When I saw who the referee was I feared the worst," said Red Devils' manager Sir Alex Ferguson, who has had previous run-ins with Atkinson. Just last season he awarded a dubious free-kick in this encounter, which lead to Chelsea skipper John Terry nodding home the only goal.

"That's three years in a row now. It's hard to take," added the furious Scot.

Now, as a Manchester City fan, watching United lose last night gave me a great sense of pleasure, but as a football fan, watching some of the incompetent decisions being made took a bit of gloss off the occasion. I would suggest demoting Atkinson for his performance, but that would only mean some poor Championship clubs being lumbered with his horrific errors.

But the FA do not seem to work that way. Remember the curious case of Stuart Attwell? His unbelievable decision to award Reading with a goal at Watford when the ball had gone out of play and hooked back in by Royals player Noel Hunt on September 20 2008. Yet, the man who graduated from Staffordshire University in 2004 was awarded with promotion to the Premier League. Marvellous.

But, that is not the most shocking decision we have seen. Attwell is merely the tip of the dung heap. Does the name Robert Shoebridge spring to mind? It should do if your are a Crystal Palace fan. His decision to award a goal kick when Freddie Sears shot bounced out of the net after hitting the stanchion at Bristol City on August 15 2009 is one of the worst decisions in refereeing history, and all he got was a two week suspension.

And do not even get me started on Graham Poll after his horrendous display at the 2006 FIFA World Cup. It is amazing how one man can humiliate a nation even more than the terrible performance of the national team.

The list goes on, so surely the element of human error is enough evidence for FIFA President Sepp Blatter to introduce some sort of technology into the game that gives officials the help they so desperately need. Especially after the farce at the 2010 World Cup where Uruguayan referee Jorge Larrionda controversially ruled that Frank Lampard's shot had not crossed the line in the last 16 tie with Germany.

UEFA are experimenting with two officials at either end of the pitch to give extra support, but again, these officials are susceptible to errors.

We have seen the effect of technology in cricket, tennis and rugby, so why is football still living in the dark ages when so much is at stake for a club that is on the wrong side of an atrocious officiating decision?

If any technology is introduced, it would be better than the sorry state we are in now.

Premier League In Roo-in

AFTER hearing that Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney has escaped FA punishment for his sickening elbow on Wigan Athletic's James McCarthy at the weekend, I can frankly say that I am appalled. What he did was no more than a vicious assault. If that happened in the middle of a town centre, police would have had the 25-year-old arrested.

But no. Because Sir Alex Ferguson has the FA sat snugly in his top pocket, the former Everton man has had a major let off. Where is the justice in that?

I can only agree with what John Hartson said on Match of the Day 2 last night. While arguing that Rooney is undoubtedly one of the most talented players in the world, we have to take into account that if it were any other player - for any other club, might I add - the FA would more than likely have taken action.

"How on earth you can defend that?" stated the former West Ham United striker. "Having seen those pictures, I do not know. We like the fact that Rooney gets stuck in, he's a really good footballer. But it's not about him. We are not singling him out here."

The FA are far to scared to persecute players who are perched alongside Fergie and his crony Mike Phelan, who said; "We can't dispute the referee's decision. He's kept the game flowing and we're happy with that."

Reading between the lines, to me that sounds as though Phelan is relieved that referee Mark Clattenburg did not see the incident - not that it is the first time an official has shown signs of blatant incompetence to show a red card to a Red Devils' player. I distinctly remember a certain Gary Neville getting away with what should have been a second yellow card at the Britannia Stadium on October 24 2010, but Andre Marriner bottled the decision and United went on to win 2-1.

Just earlier this season, Ryan Babel was strung up and charged with improper conduct for posting a picture of referee Howard Webb in a United shirt on his Twitter page following the FA Cup 3rd round tie at Old Trafford.

What the Dutchman did was a matter of opinion. Yes, it was ridiculously idiotic, but passions were running high. It is not as if he walked up to Webb and cracked him round the skull with a baseball bat or kneecapped him. If the boot was on the other foot and Rio Ferdinand had posted an image of Webb in a Liverpool shirt, would the FA have took action, or would they have cowered, scared of United's Scottish leader?

I am not saying that it is United's fault that referees are more inclined to give decisions their way, I am saying that the FA are scared of Sir Alex and the power he seems to have at the club.

It is about time that our football governing body strapped on a pair and dished out a hefty fine for what was nothing more than a brutal, thuggish attack by a stupid, moronic imbecile.