Yesterday’s game between Arsenal and Manchester City was an interesting one and not just for the ordinary reasons.
Yes, there were goals and a penalty miss to discuss but they are the things that interested me. The first of the reasons, briefly, were the red cards. Laurent Koscielny and Vincent Kompany got sent off during the game and they were sent off for very different reasons which, to me, typify some of the problems with modern defending and modern referring.
Koscielny wrestled with Edin Dzeko in the box, wrapping both of his hands around the striker’s waist and then he and many others seemed to be very surprised he got sent off. A slightly harsh decision perhaps but that sort of “defending” needs to be eradicated from the game. Hopefully the discouragement that a red card provides might help. Later in the game Manchester City’s captain, Vincent Kompany got sent off. His dismissal was for a tackle that was full blooded, at speed and in which he took the ball. I have seen several players needlessly sent off recently for similar “offenses” and he time it happens I despair a little bit more. The game is fast and referees struggle to keep up. Give them some help they get things wrong but they don’t have to.
However, the main reason that the game interested me is the boycott that some 900 Manchester City fans conducted over ticket prices. The Emirates Stadium is a wonderful stadium but charging £62 for a ticket is ridiculous. Away fans are an important part of the atmosphere at a game and they are an important part of the football club they follow. To charge them that amount of money is prohibitive and totally unnecessary. Away fans should be applauded not driven off.
At least the linesman at the game had the right idea as he suggested to the City players that they should go to the away end and acknowledge their fans.
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