With the lack of "competitive" matches at the moment I've been keeping an eye on so-called pre-season "friendly" matches, and one thing that's caught my attention is the large number of really bad tackles that I've seen. In the QPR match there were a couple of studs up, lunging challenges which in a proper match would have likely got a red card. The Spurs vs Utd game, amongst others, was also very full-blooded and should have seen sendings off. Then I just saw this tackle from a Sevilla player Gnagnon on a Liverpool youngster Larouci which has left him injured: Usually that shouldn't just be a red card, but also an extended ban. Has it always been like this? Are there any precedents for players getting bans for competitive matches for actions taken in a "friendly" match? Do players increasingly feel that without the possibility of real punishment they can get away with just generally being ***** in pre-season fixtures?
Yup: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.sc...ted-red-card-in-celtic-friendly-1-4967367/amp With overseas friendlies, it basically comes down to whether the ref files a report and then whether the host FA forwards it on to our FA to take action.
Hm, interesting. I just noticed that someone posed a similar question to The Guardian's 'The Knowledge' column, though replies won't be for another few days: https://www.theguardian.com/footbal...-managed-by-their-all-time-leading-goalscorer
That's the usual challenge kids would put in on each other at school when one made another look stupid. Red card yes, childish and petulant yes. However, the way it was made out to be the worst tackle ever was a little silly.
There used to be a tradition, or at least an accepted practice, in friendlies whereby the referee would invite the manager to substitute a player who had made a red card tackle or was persistently fouling. This was to avoid the ignominy of being sent off in a non-competitive match. I have no idea if this is still in operation.
A lot of the bad challenges come from either rustiness/loss of condition, or playing against players who are far better than the usual standard the player is used to playing against (i.e. the tackler is too slow and of the pace, thus mistiming the challenge). Certainly doesn't excuse all of them, but I feel its fair to say most aren't maliciously intended. Thankfully, the Roy Keanes of the world aren't ubiquitous.
