Barry Hall, Nick D'Arcy and Danny Vukovic
At least Mark Shield didn't have to referee Hall or D'Arcy on a football field!
So Barry Hall lashes out like a Saturday night thug. Swimmer Nick D'Arcy allegedly smashes Simon Cowley's face in. And Danny Vukovic slaps A-League referee Mark Shields on the arm.
D'Arcy still has a chance of going to the Olympics, it seems. Barry Hall might get a few weeks out. And Vukovic is hanging by a thread, but at the moment he is out of the Olympics.
If D'Arcy goes to the Olympics and Hall gets less than a one year ban, Vukovic should switch codes!
Hitting a referee is wrong, absolutely. But in light of what is happening elsewhere in Australia sport, Vukovic's actions should be seen for what they were.
A glorified tap by a frustrated man.
Mark Shields must be glad Hall or D'Arcy weren't on the pitch!
4 comments:
Let's be fair here and compare like with like. Barry Hall smacked an opposition player, not an umpire
Nick D'Arcy punched (allegedly) what was, more or less, just a member of the public (albeit a well known retired swimmer), not a poolside official.
Vukovic slapped a referee (a match official and the ultimate symbol of on-field authority) on the arm. While the punishment might seem harsh (and inconsistently applied, given comparisons globally), the one thing we are all taught from juniors and all the way through is that the referees are inviolate. You touch a referee and you face the consequences. I have very little sympathy for the guy.
Think back to some of the multi-year and life bans that have been meted out locally in the last few years. Vukovic might consider himself unlucky but others might consider him to be very lucky indeed.
Fair points Shane
but while I totally agree with the rule, "thy must not the ref" I also think Cowley's injuries and the guy Hall hit had to sit out the rest of the game.
just not sure smashing a players face is worth less in terms of discipline than hitting a ref.
Be interesting to see the comparitive sentences. Not saying Vukovic shouldn't be punished he should, but the other guys should get a bigger sentence.
If Vukovic's is fine as it is, Hall should miss the whole season and D'Arcy should not represent Australia at the Olympics.
If it wasn't for the Olympics coming up, would people be complaining that Vukovic's sentence was too harsh? I would argue they wouldn't.
As a former referee, I found myself in fear for my safety on several occasions and I think the "don't touch the referee" mentality saved me from copping something much worse than a mouthful and a "we're going to follow you home you ****" (which is scary enough in a local derby between teams with specific ethnic heritage charged with long-standing emotion).
It's not that D'Arcy shouldn't go to the Olympics, it's more that for the forseeable future D'Arcy should be booted off the team. The Olympics should be irrelevant.
The problem with Barry Hall is the well-established precedents will put him back on the park at some stage this season (I predict 8 weeks myself). Also, I'm not convinced that the Hall incident is as bad as the Victorian media is making it out to be - I've seen much worse.
Vukovic has fallen foul of two things:
"Don't touch the ref" has been so successful over the years that there are few precedents.
He also attacked the symbol of authority on the field, which carries with it greater meaning than just smacking another player when he isn't looking. It's more than the physical act but what it represents - a referee's control of the game depends upon a loose acceptance that the ref's power is absolute. We've all seen what happens when a ref "loses control" of the game - it goes downhill very fast. Imagine if the overall authority of officials started to slip because players got away with manhandling refs week after week. It might seem extreme but the ref's authority really is a fragile thing when you think about it.
As a final point, I think the Griffiths incident earlier in the season was disgraceful and he should have been given a lengthy spell as well. The fact that a yellow card deems it to have been dealt with on the field needs to be reviewed in today's world of TV replays for the top flight.
If it wasn't for the Olympics I wouldn't be complaining saying Vukovic's sentence is to harsh.
Indeed the sentence length isn't to harsh, it's just unfortunate perhaps for him and the FFA and the bleedin hearts like me, that he struck in the last game of the season.
The FFA could hardly give him a three month ban could they, with the off-season about to start.
And of course the Olympics comes pretty early into next season or perhaps even before.
And of course Ref's at all levels need as much protection not just from physical but also verbal abuse which you speak of.
But suggesting Barry Hall smacking a player in the manner he did is less than what Vukovic, well I would argue they are both of equal merit.
And Hall should be out for the season.
Our society is violent enough, seeing much worse as you say you have is to my thought irrelevant, this is on national telly, the kids of all sports see it, perhaps we shouldn't forget the adults in all codes see it.
How violent must some of the games played at lower grade/country grade be?
So give Hall the year ban, Danny to miss the Olympics and Nick D'Arcy booted out as well.
And let's get real and consistent with all our sporting behaviours on and off the field in Australia
It's about time!
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