Best Of

I think he meant there is usually a player (or ex player) on the appeal panel?

...in 2007 (18 years ago) Matt Bloomfield played 90 minutes, and scored, for Wycombe Wanderers in a 3-0 League Two win over Macclesfield Town at Adams Park. Highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SiysHymDdtU

In 2012 (13 years ago) Matt Bloomfield came on as a 56th minute substitute (replacing Lewis Laing) for Wycombe Wanderers in a 4-1 League One defeat to Scunthorpe United at Glanford Park.

In 2015 (ten years ago) Matt Bloomfield played 89 minutes for Wycombe Wanderers in a 2-1 League Two win over Tranmere Rovers at Prenton Park (replaced by Peter Murphy).

Here’s his quote: Yellow card, absolute nailed on yellow, he’s got that one wrong! If I were his club I’d appeal. He might not get off because you’re dependent on who’s on the panel.

“I think if a player looks at that and he’s on the panel he’s going to say that’s a yellow and not a red.”

I have been arguing myself silly with this one for last few days! It wasn’t the best of challenges but I still cannot understand how under the laws of the game it was given as a red and I’m simply stunned how many Wycombe fans agreed with the ref’s decision. Not going to go back over old ground but pleased that a name such as Keith Hackett agrees with me. Suggests I’m not going mad.

Seems fairly likely there is an unconscious bias creeping in with the question. Any crowd of more than 15K will, by definition, be away from home so our odds of winning are already lower. Ditto they will, by definition, be teams with more history - I hesitate to say they are bigger clubs.

In a couple of years we'll be playing in front of 20k on a regular basis. I'm sure our win ratio will be fine.

I believed at the time that the referee was unduly influenced by Laird’s theatrical rolls and possibly by the reaction of the home fans. It was a careless challenge but not dangerous. Hackett also said that we should appeal the red card.

Thanks, @BSE, as ever.

I'm hearing it is also available in Ultra HD, full surround-sound and all-round sensual overload, live in a crisply cold valley in the Chilterns.

I would argue that while the result of the challenge wasn’t dangerous, challenges like that can be.

A full speed sprint into sliding tackle could very very easily result in serious injury. He caught him on the ankle and it was only a trapped stud or two away from ankle ligament injury or worse.

I guess the question for me would be, do we want referees to punish based on outcome or the type of challenges that go in?

I don’t necessarily completely agree with the refs decision, but I also can’t disagree with it.

Edit: Also, regarding the reaction from the Birmingham player, he may have laid it on thick, but can I remind people that sometimes tackles like that really really really flipping hurt. A lot. Especially if you’re taken a bit by surprise but it.

I maintain any hits I’ve taken on a football pitch hurt a lot more but for less time than any hit or bottom of a scrum mauling I have taken in a rugby game. Rugists literally train themselves to take and to dish out the big hits more so than footballers train to take a tackle like that one.