Week 24: Melbourne Derby

[Agostinho]

I don't know how anyone can look at this and say that he was genuinely going for the ball.



The ball was already past him before he even launched himself.

[sevengoals]

Imagine if that tackle happened at Adelaide Oval but it was Leckie getting floored..

I honestly think the team bus would not get out of the ground..

I think i would "loose it" and head straight for him, straight on to the pitch.

by shinAUFC » 23 Jan 2011, 05:23

I pthink he went in with the intent to get the ball, i honestly belive that.

Sorry shinAUFC but I have to disagree with you.

[shinAUFC]

After watching that gif i would disagree with myself tbh lol

[David Votoupal]

Am I the only one who suspects Muscat might pre-empt a lengthy suspension by announcing his retirement midweek? The press conference for that would be a circus!

[RedsFan31]

Am I the only one who suspects Muscat might pre-empt a lengthy suspension by announcing his retirement midweek? The press conference for that would be a circus!

I honestly thought the same thing today. Would not surprise me to see him do that at all. Would pay good money to be asking the questions in that press conference...

[LincolnFan]

I missed the game and then read the match report on 442 to find out how the game went....
When i read that musck..rat! got sent off again for a bad tackle i had no idea that it was THAT bad!
Watching the tackle and how horrendous it was has actually made me feel sick to my stomach!
The game is poorer for having a player like him playing a life ban i dont think would be enough!
That is now two young up and coming players in the A-league MV have caused serious injuries to! they must be held accountable, the whole club!!!!!!!!!!

[Interloper]

I think he mistimed an attempt to "mistime a tackle" and ended up making his intent incredibly obvious. Good example of why these tackles are illegal regardless of intent.

And I can't think of any league in the world where one team and one person can be so protected for so long at the cost to any integrity.

These sorts of conspiracy theories are putting the cart before the horse for mine.

Muscat doesn't receive any protection (aside from a general aversion to competence within the A-league officialdom.) This will be shown in the large suspension he will receive on Monday.

The vast majority of his offences *in the a-league* are not nearly as obvious as the tackle on Zahra. They usually involve an obvious foul, usually called by the referee, combined with something much more malicious and well-masked, usually missed. (see, Elbow on Hughes, Boot up Mullen's arse, Raking studs down Agostino's thigh.)

The problem isn't that Muscat receives protection. It's that he thrives in and systematically exploits the murky world created by general incompetence from officials (admin and referees) and more notably loopholes that are endemic to the league and sport itself. As long as "The referee dealt with it on the pitch" is gospel, you will have players like Kevin Muscat.

[rug21]

I don't know how anyone can look at this and say that he was genuinely going for the ball.

It typical Muscat he goes for the player but tries to make it look like he is going for the ball, fucking dirty mother fucker. He only had eyes for the player and now he will get crucifed, i hope.

[Agostinho]

After watching that gif i would disagree with myself tbh lol

[RedJase]

Well, I wonder is we should contact SoccerAM and get them to do a "highlights" package of Muscrat's tackling school... They love him over there, as we all know, so might actually happen...

Matter of fact might send off the email now...

[Old Gregg]

The problem isn't that Muscat receives protection. It's that he thrives in and systematically exploits the murky world created by general incompetence from officials (admin and referees) and more notably loopholes that are endemic to the league and sport itself. As long as "The referee dealt with it on the pitch" is gospel, you will have players like Kevin Muscat.

Perfect summary of the situation I reckon. Referees are human - they make mistakes, and at times they can be swayed and intimidated by players. It's up to the league administration and the MRP to make tough calls after the fact, when they need to - not hide behind "the referee dealt with it on the pitch".

Off the top of my head, the biggest penalty the league has handed out to a player was 9 weeks for Ney Fabiano spitting at Cornthwaite. That's disgraceful, sure, but it's hard to believe that they've taken a tougher stance on that than on the sort of shit that the likes of Muscat & Tiatto got away with on a regular basis.

Also: could Merrick get sanctioned for bringing the game into disrepute for his comments?? Absolutely callous he was.

[terry tibbs]

Further to your point Old Gregg, this silence that surrounds the refs doesn't help. I'd love to hear from Beath, Parsons or even Breeze how it feels to have someone like Muscat pressuring you to make a certain call in the middle of a game.

But we don't know because refs never get a chance to show a human face.

Maybe Shane and the boys can get Mark Shields on the Redcast at some point. I'd be interested to hear a ref's view.

[Stuckey]

Maybe Shane and the boys can get Mark Shields on the Redcast at some point. I'd be interested to hear a ref's view.

that sounds great i would love to hear from them!

I think it would look great from an AU point of view that their fans are taking an interest in the refs and not having a laugh.

I guess contacting the FFA directly would be the way to go.

[Nash]

how's Merrick claiming he didn't see the tackle? get farked, even if he didn't see it happen live he would have to of watched a reply. it's his farken job. and surely a head coach would be watching the play, especially when the oppostion was making such a threatening looking attack.

what a sodding liar, a good way to avoid the heat i guess.

[Agostinho]

Even worse than claiming he didn't see it - trying to deflect the heat by criticising the referees and suggesting that they were hard done by...

This all despite having 2 players still on the pitch (Brebner & Allsopp) that should really have been given their marching orders.

No wonder everyone hates them, with Ernie and Muscat running the show there.