Joey Bastard
I’m a few days late with this but if anything, a few days reflection has just made me angrier. I cannot and never will understand the FA when they hand one player an 11 match ban for gently pushing a referee, whilst giving another player a 6 match ban for violently attacking a player from his own team and breaking his bones. Barton should have been kicked out of football - its one thing to make a rash challenge, its another to square up to an opponent. Its a totally different kettle of fish to not only attack your own team mate but to injure them so badly. And Barton clearly isn’t repentant, hence him smashing up town centres on the weekend and doing bird for a new years eve fracas - once again caught punching someone in the face on the floor, whilst simultaneously screaming “I’m a changed man, I’m a changed man, look at me control my temper!”.
I also don’t understand Newcastle United either - gutless money grabbers who see the need to protect their investment (remembering they bought the player after he smashed up his team mate’s face at another club) rather than deciding after he was jailed for a further assault that enough was enough and he needed a sacking himself. Its the duty of all league clubs (and amateur clubs at that) to protect the game and uphold its image - I can’t see any reason for Newcastle to stand by a man now twice “convicted” of assault (once in the crown court, once by the FA) who clearly cannot control himself on or off the pitch. They are bringing the game into disrepute. For once it would be nice to see the FA take some affirmative action and lay punishment at Newcastle’s door. A points deduction or a large fine would be adequate and sensible for ruining the image of the professional game and providing kids up and down the country an excuse to push, shove and beat up referees, opponents and team mates. Sound a bit OTT? That’s exactly the thought process they used when banning Di Canio for 11 matches, so why not apply the same to Newcastle/Barton?
Keegan should also be ashamed of himself - he repeatedly stands by Barton and even agreed to appear as a character witness for him. I’m not being funny, but I think the CCTV footage of him kicking a young lads head in and the photographs of his team-mate above speak for themselves. Keegan has stated the need for a second chance. Barton had that before he kicked up some young lads food hole.
If you earn £40k a week (almost double what I earn in a year) and you can’t stop yourself criming up someone’s face, regardless of the provocation, you don’t deserve to be where you are. Any other person with a full time 9-5 job that was caught performing such a horrific crime would be sacked without a shadow of a doubt the moment they were convicted and sent down.
Barton obviously can’t help himself, but Keegan/Newcastle and the FA in particular should be ashamed of their decisions.
Filed by Kieran at September 8th, 2008 under Football