What a shame for Sheffield United...and the game
by Paul O'Donnell
You may have read my rant about this one back in March and now you can understand more clearly why I was so upset over what had happened. Several teams in the EPL are now backing a legal challenge regarding the huge fine imposed on West Ham versus a point penalty which would obviously change the fate of at least one team. Had the on field officials not botched it on the pitch that day none of this would be happening. The unfortunate thing about what is happening now is that the real source of the fuss is being shrouded in a cloud of smoke and bellicose rhetoric.
The focus is on the Hammers signing of Carlos Tevez and Merscherano, both Argentine players of the top class internationally. While I'm not at all up to any prior such affair and imposition of point deductions, etc, the shame of it all really is that the focus is on the wrong answer. Wrong because if they would only fix the problem of the on field officials repeatedly failing to get their decision correct, Sheffield United would be in the EPL next season and West Ham relegated. Problem solved. In other words, addressing this in the courts is no solution at all, its a patch. Fix the right thing and none of this would be happening at all. It would be decided on the pitch where soccer is played and not in a court.
Rather than do that, we see such antics as this media war to take them to court with the loud and nasty remarks about all concerned. All that is really off the mark because in this case failing to fix, or at least give it a good run, the failures of the officials or to correct them when the evidence is overwhelming what we end up with is this sort of ugliness.
Make no mistake, the Hammers have survived and Sheffield United relegated on the final day of the season in large part because the FA and the league have not done enough to ensure the game is handled in the best way possible. In this case, the league's failure to address this problem has led to a mess that will likely become a black eye for not only a few teams, but the FA and EPL too.
What isn't being said, but what is really behind all the fuss going on, is this is the biggest impact in terms of money on several teams and the league itself. It is the latest and most costly of examples of the failure of officials to get their decisions on the pitch correct. In fact, the numbers of dollars are startling with $80 million of them being one amount that is really at stake here. When that amount of money is the core of the issue wouldn't you think the teams and the league would want to see everything possible was done to fix the real problem here? Point deductions are not the answer that should be the focus here. The real fix is much closer to the action on the pitch.
Really? Yes sir. Rewind your clock to St. Patrick's Day. The Hammers visit Ewood Park after having lost five straight and mired at the foot of the table looking to all the world as a team going down.
To set the stage Rovers held the lead 1-0. Then in a four minute span that was overturned by the referees whistle. An undeserved penalty was given and Carlos Tevez converted it easily getting Friedel going the wrong way. Four minutes later Tevez, in an obvious offside position nearly a full yard behind Freidel and standing on the goal line actually prevented Bobby Zamora's shot from crossing the line. The goal was given despite not crossing the line and in total neglect of his offside position too! Amazing!
That few moments in time handing West Ham a victory on the road and the attendant undeserved and unearned 3 points due to the egregious errors of the on field officials has now set the ugliness we're seeing in motion. IF the league would work as hard at ensuring they solve this problem that plagues the soccer world, not just the EPL, we wouldn't have to put up with such nonsense. Fix it on the pitch, not in the courts!
Truth is the league and the FA have done little, or perhaps I should say what they have done, whatever that is, surely has not had much in the way of positive results. It would certainly be much better for all involved, including the fans, if they would fix this and get it right.
Compensating those concerned by deducting points (after the fact) might appease some but it is not the answer. It would only postpone fixing the real problem. In this situation, if the officials had gotten their decision correct on that St. Patrick's Day, all this fog and smoke about a legal battle wouldn't be happening. Why? Because West Ham would be going down instead of having been handed those 3 points that they didn't deserve.
The real injustice being hidden by all the fuss about a legal challenge offers the league and the FA shelter. They simply have not done enough to make sure such things are corrected. I suppose you could say they're getting what they deserve in a way for not fixing this often egregious fault in how they handle the game itself, on the pitch, as it is being played.
I'm not suggesting you can eliminate all human errors, that's not achievable of course, but the failures of the officials on St. Patrick's Day at Ewood Park have precipitated the current mess. The league and the FA itself have not done what needs to be done to fix it.
The fuss and furor about raising a legal challenge is providing the league and FA a smoke screen to hide behind when the real focus should be on the faults that have precipitated the current mess. If they'd only fix that, we wouldn't be in the current ugliness at all and the season ending would have been decided on the pitch just the way it's supposed to be.
Since this all really began at Ewood Park last St. Patrick's Day it sort of makes you wonder what "the luck of the Irish" really means doesn't it?
The real best answer to this whole thing is for the league to get it right, on the pitch, and keep the lawyers out of it. Results of matches need to be decided on the pitch not in the courts. For that to happen the powers that be need to do what it takes to fix these sort of errors when they happen. Better yet, they need to provide more eyes, whether that’s techno wizardry or not, to ensure the decisions are as correct as possible when they happen and not after the season is over. And surely not in a court of law.
Fixing it, or attempting to I should say, in the courts is a boon to only the lawyers. It is not the place to decide a soccer match, or the end result of a 38 game season either.
