Rooney's Elbow

Discussion in 'Referee' started by SccrDon, Feb 28, 2011.

  1. SccrDon

    SccrDon Member+

    Dec 4, 2001
    Colorado Springs
    Club:
    Colorado Rapids
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I'm very interested to hear what you refs think about this incident in the ManU - Wigan game Saturday:

    [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPzQ9Y-oziY"]YouTube - Wigan Vs Man Utd (Rooney Elbow) 26/02/2011[/ame]

    Foul? Yellow? Red? Severe warning? All comments keeping in mind that this is the EPL, not U16, of course...

    Thanks for your input. This is my favorite forum in BigSoccer.
     
  2. soccerking1990

    Aug 11, 2010
    Texas
    Club:
    Arsenal FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I don't see how that is not violent conduct. That should be red at any level.
     
  3. gosellit

    gosellit BigSoccer Supporter

    May 10, 2005
  4. fire123

    fire123 Member+

    Jul 31, 2009
  5. soccerking1990

    Aug 11, 2010
    Texas
    Club:
    Arsenal FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    If Rooney threw the elbow at even rib level, I would still consider this violent conduct. He's sending a message of intimidation that should not be tolerated.
    The fact that no action will be taken just amazes me. Stop protecting the stars and protect all players equally.
     
  6. PVancouver

    PVancouver Member

    Apr 1, 1999
    I would have called a foul against Wigan and cautioned Rooney.
     
  7. glutenfreebaker

    Oct 3, 2009
    Mount Vernon, WA
    Club:
    Seattle Sounders
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    My thought is that it should have been a red whether U8, EPL or anything in between. I hope the FA gives him a few games off, but I'm not counting on it.
     
  8. bluedevils

    bluedevils Member

    Nov 17, 2002
    USA
    this is the problem when a referee says he 'saw' something that happened during a match. Sure, maybe he was looking at it when it happened, but there's no way Clattenburg really grasped what Rooney did.

    It was definitely violent conduct, no form of self-defense. Yes, the opponent looked like he was putting his arm out to keep Rooney from running through. That definitely was a foul. But Rooney's actions were violent conduct all the way.
     
  9. PVancouver

    PVancouver Member

    Apr 1, 1999
    Maybe so, but if I say I would have red-carded Rooney, I will never get an EPL game :) .

    Clattenburg's statement is mindboggling, assuming it is being reported correctly. It's pretty clear he wasn't looking directly at the incident, nor should he have been.
     
  10. GoDawgsGo

    GoDawgsGo Member+

    Nov 11, 2010
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    The level of play makes no difference here. Red for violent conduct. Although referees have no impact on length of suspension, if I were a league administrator that should be 3 games.

    There is no way he saw that. Can't believe he lied about it. I'm wondering if he said he saw it before he actually saw a video replay, thinking it wasn't a big deal. It's almost as if he is confirming he is an idiot.

    Haven't seen the whole game, so what was Rooney retaliating for? Something in this game or do these two have a history?
     
  11. Alberto

    Alberto Member+

    Feb 28, 2000
    Northern, New Jersey
    Club:
    New York Red Bulls
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    It was done with purpose and the intent to hurt an opponent. This is a text book example of violent conduct. It never ceases to amaze me how immature and stupid Mark Clattenburg can be.
     
  12. andymoss

    andymoss BigSoccer Supporter

    Sep 4, 2007
    Nashville, TN
    Club:
    Manchester City FC
    Nat'l Team:
    England
    Rooney is a thug and needs to be made an example of.

    He looks to see where Clattenburg's attention is as he runs towards Caldwell.

    Premeditated, cynical, brutal.

    He is a complete disgrace.

    But he plays for Utd, so he'll get away with it time and again.
     
  13. Alberto

    Alberto Member+

    Feb 28, 2000
    Northern, New Jersey
    Club:
    New York Red Bulls
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    In cases like this the FA or any other national or professional association should correct the mistake and punish the offence. It is not enough for Clattenburg to say in his opinion he saw the foul and dealt with it. His actions dealing with the misconduct were proven wrong in the subsequent video replays. It is quite clear there was intent and force applied by Rooney. This was not a case of his accidentally running into the opponent. He purposely seeked him and struck him with his elbow. Just because Clattenburg states he is ok with a foul call or foul and caution, does not make the call correct.
     
  14. Paper.St.Soap.Closed

    Jul 29, 2010
    VC, no question (PV, I'll say it because I won't get an assignment regardless lol). I hope this is one of those cases were the referee catches the contact out of the corner of his eye but doesn't recognize it for what it really was. I've been there. You "feel" that something happened but can't be sure. If that's what Clattenburg faced, that would explain why only a foul was called.
     
  15. code1390

    code1390 Moderator
    Staff Member

    Nov 25, 2007
    Club:
    Tottenham Hotspur FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
  16. bluedevils

    bluedevils Member

    Nov 17, 2002
    USA
    Yes and yes.
    That's not how I see it at all. Sometimes you seem to take an overly negative view toward certain high-profile referees.

    As Paper.St.Soap.Co said, it seems that Clattenburg probably caught it out of the corner of his eye but didn't really understand or see what it really was so he couldn't pull out the red card. Would have been nice if one of his crew had caught it and he had the sense to check with them before dealing with the situation, but it seems that probably did not happen. He called the foul and talked his way out of the situation.
     
  17. Rufusabc

    Rufusabc Member+

    May 27, 2004
    Simply amazing......he's no longer a kid, but he still remains petulent.
     
  18. bluedevils

    bluedevils Member

    Nov 17, 2002
    USA
    I have never understood this approach. Can anyone explain to me the thought process for why the FA will not take further action simply because the referee states that he 'saw' an incident? It's like the FA need to define the word "see" to clear this up. They seem to take a very broad view of what "see" means.
     
  19. jayhonk

    jayhonk Member+

    Oct 9, 2007
    THe thinking is that if the ref saw the action, then the FA goes with what the ref called. If the ref says he did not see the incident, then post game replay can lead to punishment.

    You can see how this approach puts the ref in a Catch-22, admit you missed a significant incident--hence you 'failed the game'; or say you saw the action (maybe out of the corner of your eye) hence letting the culprit escape from further disclipline.
     
  20. Alberto

    Alberto Member+

    Feb 28, 2000
    Northern, New Jersey
    Club:
    New York Red Bulls
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I can fully appreciate and understand his not seeing it. It happens to all of us. We follow play and an action like this occurs out of our direct view. What annoys me is Clattenburg no doubt had a chance to review the match replay and yet he still stands by his original decision that the foul call was correct. Sorry, but there is incontrovertible evidence to the contrary. It was violent conduct. Be a man and own up to the fact that you missed it and allow the FA to correctly punish Rooney.
     
  21. jayhonk

    jayhonk Member+

    Oct 9, 2007
    (When Rooney first came up, I expected him to do this kind of thing every game, a la Joey Barton. He is still a petulant brat, but SAF has done a good job getting him to focus his energies on the game. And, I am not a fan of either of them or ManU. Just saying I am surprised Rooney doesn't do this more often.)
     
  22. code1390

    code1390 Moderator
    Staff Member

    Nov 25, 2007
    Club:
    Tottenham Hotspur FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    The fact he said he saw it and was happy with his decision is a bit disturbing.
     
  23. Englishref

    Englishref Member

    Jul 25, 2004
    London, England
    Wow, this is a welcome change in attitudes on here! Usually The FA are called arrogant for retrospectively punishing incidents or asked why they think they can ignore the LOAF!

    Very clearly this is VC. Everyone bar Fergie can see that. Unfortunately, once Clattenburg gives the free kick (we can only assume on seeing it out of the corner of his eye), he has stopped The FA being able to take any action, as he has effectively seen it and dealt with it, albeit wrongly.

    Unfortunately, FIFA are stuck in the dark ages where they believe that referees never make mistakes, and therefore you should back them regardless. FIFA don't like it when FAs ignore the "referees decision is final" part of the LOAF. See their over-reaction to The FA's retrospective punishment of Ben Thatcher a couple of years ago. The FA only get around being able to correct incorrect red cards through a loophole.

    The whole issue needs looking at. Referees are generally more than happy to accept when they're wrong, so let them and The FA (and other FAs!) correct clearly incorrect decisions! It's madness that people like Rooney can get away with things like this when there is clear video evidence to show he elbowed someone, just because he was fortunate enough that the referee didn't see the full extent of the coming together! :rolleyes:
     
  24. MassachusettsRef

    MassachusettsRef Moderator
    Staff Member

    Apr 30, 2001
    Washington, DC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I think this is a bit unfair. Hopefully Englishref can come in and explain exactly how things work with the FA right now, but by the way I understand things, Clattenburg is not being as obstinate as some might think. Essentially, his hands are tied.

    He called a foul. Simply by executing that act, he's saying that he has "seen the incident." It's not a case of him looking at the video replay, seeing the elbow, and still insisting that he saw the play and wouldn't have given a red card. If that were the case, I'd agree with you. But I really don't think that's what's happening here.

    The FA has created a weird system where they want to mete out punishment for "unseen" incidents, under the theory that they are not "re-refereeing," violating Law V, and incurring the wrath of FIFA. If the FA sticks to only disciplining incidents that the referee totally missed, then they can argue (weakly, in my opinion) that they are not usurping the mandates of Law V because the referee never exercised his authority (unless he were to explicitly say in a report that he saw an incident fully and chose not to act). By doing this, they have seemed to have kept FIFA off of their backs.

    But in this case, Clattenburg called a foul. He adjudicated the incident and made a decision. I imagine it's very likely he would have called it differently had he seen it from another angle and/or in full. But if he told the FA now that he "didn't see it," he'd have created a paradox (how can he call the foul if he didn't see it?). Also, the incident won't even be in his report since there was no misconduct involved.

    In sum, I really don't think Clattenburg is "standing by his original decision." I think that's highly, highly doubtful. It's just that the system in place doesn't allow the referee to change things when he's already taken action on the field, as was the case here.

    Graham Poll addresses a lot of this in his recent article, but some of the real details appear to be omitted, so it'd be great to have Englishref fill them in: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...bly-let-elbow-incident.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

    EDIT: HA! looks like Englishref was responding as I typed!
     
  25. gosellit

    gosellit BigSoccer Supporter

    May 10, 2005
    Totally agree.
     

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