Following the dismissals of
Manchester City’s Martin Demichelis and Arsenal’s Wojciech Szczesny in their respective Champions League
matches this week there has been much debate regarding the so-called “triple
punishment” of those situations.
The idea behind the
triple punishment concept is that it is too severe because there are three
separate punishments for the offending team over one incident.
Firstly, there is the
penalty the team has conceded which is – more often than not – going to result
in a goal for the opposing team.
Next there is the
dismissal of your player meaning that you have to play the remainder of that
particular game with only ten men.
And finally there is the
fact that you will have to play a certain number of games – dictated by how
long his suspension is – without that player.
Some feel that this is
too harsh and that the referee in both games should have just awarded the
penalty instead of also dismissing the players.
First of all I would
like to absolve the referees of all blame.
They are merely there to
uphold the laws of the game whether that is something as serious as violent
conduct or as trivial as a player being cautioned for removing his shirt when
celebrating.
They are the enforcers
of the law rather than the actual lawmakers.
So in this instance
those people who are blaming the referees should be focusing their anger at
UEFA or FIFA because they are the ones who decide what the laws should be, not
referees.
Then we come to the
actual issue of whether the punishment fits the crime.
Personally, I think it
does.
Yes, you can argue it
ruins the game as a spectacle but this is a competitive sport first and
foremost and the punishment handed out was – in my opinion – appropriate.
Look at it from Bayern
Munich’s point of view.
Arjen Robben was fouled
by the goalkeeper in a situation where he had a clear goalscoring opportunity.
If the referee does not
send off the offender in that situation then all Munich are left with is a
missed penalty.
That is unfair.
Wojciech Szczesny knows the rules.
He understood the risk
he took in attempting to beat Robben to that ball.
It’s quite simple.
He has to be sent off.
