http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/why-has-luis-suarez-been-condemned-when-players-1523071
Ferguson won't be happy that a journo is not towing his 'Anti Suarez' campaign! I expect him to never write for The Mirror again after this!
For those who cannot click the link as you are at work:
'Breathtaking hypocrisy': Why has Luis Suarez been condemned when players get away with it all the time?
7 Jan 2013 15:42
The Liverpool striker committed the kind of action that most rival fans would take all day long if he were playing for their team
He's pretty handy: Luis Suarez celebrates his goal - but does he deserve the abuse? He's pretty handy: Luis Suarez celebrates his goal - but does he deserve the abuse?
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Yes, he shouldn't have done it.
Yes, Luis Suarez set the wrong example and yes, the tainted victory is harsh on Mansfield.
But the stampede of punters queueing up to pillory the Liverpool striker is eye-catching to say the least.
I don't condone what he did at Field Mill the other day. Far from it.
But there are more than a few examples of players that have benefited from infringements not seen by the referee.
Demba Ba denied Reading victory with a handball goal back in September. The match finished 2-2. Referee Andre Marriner failed to spot it.
I didn't see Ba racing to find the referee, begging him to chalk off the strike that earned the Magpies a point.
Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini insisted, also back in September, that the goal handled by Peter Crouch in the 1-1 draw at Stoke was so blatant it belonged in the NBA.
Peter Crouch (L) scores the first goal for Stoke Hand of Crouch: Man City players appeal after Crouch's hand ball
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Crouch didn't go tearing after the official, Mark Clattenburg, on that day to protest that the goal should not have stood.
Southampton hitman Rickie Lambert appeared to strike the ball with his arm before scoring in the Canaries' 1-1 draw against Norwich in November.
The official on THAT day, again Clattenburg, allowed the effort to stand. Did Lambert throw himself at the feet of the official, pleading for justice to be done and for the goal to be disallowed? No chance.
Did any of the clubs that enjoyed their unfair advantages offer to scrap the game and replay it to redress the balance. No!
And yet somehow what Suarez did is different. Somehow what Suarez did was so much worse.
Within minutes of this piece going live on the MirrorFootball website, fans were clinging to the case of Miroslav klose.
Earlier this season the Germany striker guided the ball in with his hand in a Serie A game for Lazio with the score 0-0.
But he went on to ask the referee to disallow the strike for handball.
He was rightly credited for that action. But set against a stack of cases where players would do the opposite, he is a needle in a haystack.
Back in 2005, a Pedro Mendes effort for Spurs bounced two feet over the line at Manchester United before goalkeeper Roy Carroll clawed it back out. The north Londoners should have been awarded the goal and won the match.
Neither the referee on the day Mark Clattenburg nor his assistants gave it. Did Carroll speak up? Nope.
Pedro Mendes of Tottenham Hotspur appeals for a goal after the ball appeared to cross the line during match between Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford Over the line: Spurs' Pedro Mendes appeals for a goal at Old Trafford
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Did any of the players closest to the incidents speak up? No.
Because in a game of football the players take any advantage they can get.
So too do the fans. I have been to hundreds of games for the Daily Mirror and seen players and managers up and down the land screaming for decisions that they are well aware should not go their way.
Isn't that cheating?
Fans are worse. I've seen fans applaud players off the pitch that have committed professional fouls, acts of violence, all sorts in the name of protecting their team. And punters love it - because it has gone their way.
I've seen fans scream for handball decisions against rival players knowing that even if the referee wrongly awards it, their team will benefit.
Which is why the witch hunt over Suarez is so bizarre to watch.
It is breathtaking hypocrisy. The Liverpool striker committed the kind of action that most rival fans would take all day long if he were playing for their team.
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Pretty fair assessment really, IMO
An unbiased Journo???
posted on 11/1/13
Now you are moving things about.....
At the time of a goal being scored, how the hell do I know if it is legitimate or not?
Your original question was flawed, this is not much better, a miss match of things to fit your view..
posted on 11/1/13
Fell
Oh dear, keep wriggling.
The legitimacy of some goals/decisions is obvious. Are you saying when you see these you don't celebrate?
Answer the question. I know you haven't been able to go the match, due to illness recently (I hope your better, by the way). When you've watched the match on telly. Do you refuse to celebrate a wrongly given penalty, for example, or a goal?
Are you still persisting with this 'I'm not a hypocrite' mantra?
posted on 11/1/13
The legitimacy of some goals/decisions is obvious. Are you saying when you see these you don't celebrate?
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So you can call a marginal offside, foul leading up to a goal, handball in a split second...Dear me, we need you working with the officials to improve the standard.
Your question should be, do I celebrate wildly when watching a replay of a goal that shouldn't stand.
By the way Red, I am not ill, I am donating a kidney. I just didn't want to pick up an infection/bug before the OP. Swansea will be my last home game as its going ahead on 31st jan
posted on 11/1/13
Fell
The original question, the one you had to be asked 6 times, didn't specify whether you were at the match, or watching it in telly. You took it upon yourself to 'move things around' to suit the answer you wanted to give. This is why I had to ask a further question specifying watching the match on telly. Like I said keep wriggling.
Ok let's play it your way. Do you celebrate, there's no need for 'wildly', when watching a replay of a goal that shouldn't have stood?
I know what your answer is. I know what the real answer should be. But we'll keep playing.
That's right, my mistake, you were donating a kidney. I hope it all went well .
posted on 11/1/13
* I hope it all goes well .
posted on 11/1/13
I hope it all goes well, its not until 31st
posted on 11/1/13
If you know my answer, why ask. However celebrating a goal I am yet to know is legit or not is not the issue..
Its about poor officials!
posted on 11/1/13
Fell
"If you know my answer, why ask."
Curiosity, want to see if you'll carry on with this Saint Felliani's charade?
It's not about poor officials. That had a brief mention at the beginning of this debate. It's about my claim that football fans, myself included, are hypocritical. You and Alas took exception to this, and started this high and mighty act. Your views on Ayre's comments alone have proven me right.
posted on 11/1/13
a brief mention at the beginning of this debate
That is what it has always been for me, just because you try to move my view on a debatable issue. It doesnt mean that its no longer relevent in this discussion!
posted on 11/1/13
Fell
Come on now. You made mention once, at the very beginning of this debate, of poor officiating. You said, something along the lines of "you Liverpool fans have been whining about poor officials all season. Where are the articles criticising the officials yesterday?". There's been no mention, until today of poor officials. There's been plenty of mention of hypocrisy and football fans, which is the debate sparked by the above quote, and your claims you are not hypocritical. Are you suggesting we've been debating something that's barely been mentioned?
Or is it you that's trying to shift from something that's been proven (your hypocrisy in supporting Everton/rivalry with Liverpool), to something that's been mentioned fleetingly?