Why?

[Sqad]

Chelsea v Liverpool.

Commentators agreed that if the tackle by Eto on Henderson had been made later on the game and not on the 3rd minute, he would have been given a yellow card.
Why should the time, in a match decide the giving of a yellow card?
Surely if a tackle is worthy of a yellow card then it should be given whenever I'm the game

[pixie373]

Yes.

[Aquariel]

A tackle on its own might not be deemed bad enough to give a yellow card, but the player might have do several borderline tackles during the game and the referee adds them up, making it more likely for a player to be given a yellow card later in the game. What's worse is fouls not given in the penalty area that would be given anywhere else on the pitch!

[Canary42]

When will folk realise the Premier League football is no longer a SPORT but a BUSINESS. So it all comes down to money, including the usual plain brown envelopes which are so rampant today.

[Sqad]

Aquarial

I understand that, but in this case, the commentators indicated that the incident would have got a yellow card if it had been later on the game

Surely that is nonsense

[weecalf]

Who was the commentator

[Sqad]

Weecalf.......ALL the commentators.

[Hypognosis]

//Why should the time, in a match decide the giving of a yellow card? //

I suppose that Refs have an inbuilt fear that, if they find cause to issue a card only 3 minutes into a game that this makes half the crowd immediately think that he's biased against their side so he's going to be in for 87 minutes of verbal abuse.

I'm sure there have been matches with a sending off inside the first 10 minutes and, though the infraction justified the penalty, the rest of the match is one-sided; therefore predictable; therefore boring to watch.

The whole idea of 'match' means that the sides are equally balanced.

Given their ludicrous salaries, I can't help thinking that post-match fines would be a more effective antidote to routine foul play.

[Sqad]

Hypo.....I suppose so.

[SirOracle]

I don't know why the "soccer" authorities do not follow the "sin bin" rules fairly recently introduced by the "rugger" authorities.

I suppose they will eventually get round to this as they are now doing so with the goal mouth technology,following the example of rugby legislators.

[Hypognosis]

Like Canary said, it's Business not sport. If huge amounts of money are being bet on games then the means to ensure fair play and correct judging decisions need to be brought into the game.

Mind you, the Ozzies loved it when Snicko did for one of ours (@Perth) but all booed when the same happened to one of their own (Melbourne).

[Ken4155]

My own personal theory on this is that whilst there are those referees - who shall remain nameless - love nothing better than brandishing red and yellow cards, the majority are wary of producing them very early in a match as it then sets the standard by which they have to continue to officiate. Every similar tackle would merit a yellow and, as we all know, 2 yellows make a red. Before you know it we are down to 9-a-side football and the referee would be deemed to have totally lost control of the match.

[Sqad]

Ken, your theory sounds reasonable to me, but that would mean that a player, put through, one on one with the goalkeeper and brought down, in the first five minutes of a game, would not be sent off.

That seems wrong, as does not getting a deserved yellow card for an offence in the first 5 mins.

[Ken4155]

Of course there are exceptions, sqad. I've seen quite a lot of early sending's off, but i would suggest that they have to be as cut and dried as you point out. Anything less and most referees will find a way out of producing a red.

[Sqad]

Ken..yes, that seems reasonable.