As a matter of record, Salut! Sunderland notes with satisfaction that Stoke have lost their appeal against Robert Huth’s red card. He collects the standard three-match ban but avoids the extra match the FA disciplinary committee adds for “frivolous” appeals.
Stoke supporters will demand to now why I am pleased, having argued that the lunge at David Meyler probably justified a yellow, not red, card.
They already know the answer: the appalling conduct of Tony Pulis became the issue, rather than the extent of Huth’s wrongdoing.
The FA is not permitted to reduce a card from red to yellow. To a committee judging the matter in retrospect, it had to be either red or nothing. Nothing would have allowed Pulis to claim he was right to make his disgusting allegation of cheating against David Meyler, the victim of Huth’s challenge.
Pulis – for reasons explained here – has forfeited any right to respect for failing to recognise, even after the opportunity for calm reflection, that his comments were misguided and distasteful. Many Stoke fans who feel Huth was harshly treated agree with the essential part of my argument and they are to be applauded for their rational, responsible response.
A successful appeal would have been utterly wrong for football, not because Huth – pictured by Ronnie Macdonald – had no case but because it would have been interpreted, rightly or wrongly, as the FA’s endorsement of Pulis’s scandalous and defamatory claims that Meyler, a man who knows what it is like to suffer serious injury, play-acted with the express intention of getting Huth dismissed.
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These were Martin O’Neill’s words, spoken before the FA’s “independent regulatory commission” made it decision:
First of all, I understand what Tony was saying from a general viewpoint because players do have a responsibility to try to keep fellow players on the field of play.
I hadn’t had a chance to see the incident until Sunday. I saw it and I still have exactly the same opinion, it’s a reckless challenge.
It’s one that the referee sees very, very quickly and his opinion of it was my opinion at the time, that it was a red card. Now obviously, you can see he [Huth] has attempted to pull out at the end, but that’s something the referee can’t see in a split-second, and he still catches Meyler, and Meyler on the way down has hurt himself.
This idea that Meyler feigned an injury – I’m sorry, I know David and David is as brave as they come. He has had two horrendous injuries himself that he is just recovering from, so from that viewpoint I think Tony is wrong.
His general viewpoint about players having responsibility themselves to stop play-acting, I totally agree with that point, but not in this case with David Meyler.
I was talking to Tony afterwards and I knew what he was going to do. That’s fine, that’s totally his prerogative.
But in this instance I will stick up for my player. If I thought any of my own players were out of order, I would like to think I would be able to come here and honestly give that assessment, but not in this case.
I need to add no more, save to say O’Neill is kinder – more diplomatic? – than I care to be about the Stoke manager. My guess is that his private thoughts match mine.
Pulis is the Don Revie of his generation.
Pulis’s comments are reminiscent of Bruce’s excuses prior to his removal. Here we have two managers who achieved some success with limited resources, committed to their own style of play, but without the ability or intellect to see their way out of a corner when their methods don’t work anymore.
Fearful of their position they seek to blame anything other than their own failings – Bruce by bemoaning his luck and Pulis by demeaning others. Of course had Huth not been sent off and Stoke had still lost then he would have had to think of another excuse but I’ve no doubt he would have!
Martinez, McCarthy, Keane or Pulis? Who will be next to go? Don’t bet against TP!
Another home defeat for Pulis. He’ll be taking over at Port Vale this time next year!!!
The issue the FA have to deal with here is their “Respect” campaign. The Players and I assume the managers are expected to offer the refs respectfully treatment, which I would assume would lead them into respecting each other. Pullis appears to believe he is exempt from this, not only does he call Meyler a kid but he accuses him of cheating and feigning injury to get Huth sent off. The cold hard facts are the ref awarded a red card this has lead to differences of opinion, Normal in the biased world of football. An independent body has held up the ref’s decision, matter closed. It was a red card and Huth will miss the next 3 games. David Meyler has remained dignified and silent that is very commendable as has Huth, the only man who knows his real motives but Pullis was disgraceful and should be taken to task by the FA for not upholding the “Respect Campaign” all clubs signed up too.
Pulis 0 Cheaters 1
If the roles were reversed and a Sunderland player was sent off in a similar situation for a tackle on a Newcastle player I wonder what your reaction would be! Don’t need to be Einstein to work it out ! let’s hope next time mailer has a genuine reason for rolling around in apparent agony calling him a cheat is an understatement and as for o Neil his football is worse than pulls ball one shot on target against 10 men pathetic
Max – one shot on target, one shot in the net = 3 points. Maybe you shouldn’t have cleared the snow from your penalty area and McClean would have continued to lose his footing. what goes around, comes around
I do not recall any bad tackles in games with the Mags. As long as it is a good clean game, no complaints. Hard to take defest when it comes, but there you are, it would be hard for the Mags if we won.
This was not about the tackle, it was about the moronic comments made by Tony pulis after the game. I think all Black Cats fans who have commented here would have supported the red card being retrospectively changed to yellow, IF Tony Pulis had kept his mouth shut.
And Meyler did not roll around. Mailer may have done, whoever he is.
The red card was on it’s way out of the ref’s pocket as soon as he saw the same as we all did, his player attemping a tackle at full speed and getting nowhere near the ball,which resulted in contact being made with our player and him going up and hitting the ground in the heavy manner that he did. Any alleged play-acting by Meyler should be irrelevant to Stoke as Huth was going off regardless, rightly or wrongly, nobody can convince me that the ref didn’t make that decision instantly. We all jumped to the same conclusion without the benefit of a replay.
Compare this to O’Nell’s reaction to Leon Osman tripping over his own feet and (successfully)claiming for a penalty at the SoL in our fixture against Everton, an incident that cost us two points. No accusations, no distasteful judgement of characters, no extreme condemnation of the player at all and no using it as an excuse for not gaining the desired result. That is class, that is good P.R that makes me proud of my club and manager.
Pulis should bemoan the lack of shots his team could muster and question the ease in which Mcclean scored, pick his chin up and move on.
Nice call Goldy. I have watched Stoke foul us for years, This is the FIRST one that has been picked up on. The total Pulis setup is based on shirt pulling at corners and bullying goalkeepers. Now that he is being found out, he picks on who “Only He” sees as an easy target. David Meyler. Pulis cannot even get the name correct. Shame on you, Tony Pulis, I used to think you were a decent manager. That opinion has gone forever,
It was a bad late lunge of a tackle,Huth stayed on the pitch and apologised to Myler, that should have been the end of it.Pulis has stoked up the fires(pun intended)I think it shows more about his frustation at losing the last 3 games ,understandable, but he is blowing off at the wrong target maybe he needs to direct his anger at his own players.
Huth has plenty “previous” on bad tackles, Myler does not have a history of diving and kidding refs,Pulis needs to calm down and get this into perpective.
Pulis ‘stoked up the fires’ because Huth did NOT stay on the pitch. And to say Huth has plenty previous on bad tackles is a bit silly, as he hasnt received a red card in the last 8 years…
Oh and Gareth Bale has not got much history of diving in his career, yet look at what happened last night…
So much for the pulis school of only stay down when your leg is broke, train of thought. Because it was not far from that.
for me it was a red card. There is no way in those conditions that huth or pulis or anyone for that matter can say he was in complete control of his body. It doesnt have to be two footed to be a reckless challenge and the fact is that if meyler had stood there without trying to avoid huth then its cud have been very very serious. I think alot of people are taking the fact there was minimal contact to literally, the reason there was minimal contact is because of meyler good judgement in tryin to avoid huth reckless and needless challenge. Also the ball which is the object of a tackle was nowhere to be seen by the time huth was even close to meyler.
Red card, appeal rejected, three match ban. Move on.
Not a red card? It was in the ref’s opinion, the FA’s opinion and, to follow O’Neill’s lead, my opinion when I first saw it; and a first viewing is all a ref has. Even after the replays I still think it was red: Huth wasn’t in control and he could have seriously injured Meyler. Nani, of all people, made no fuss at all over Kompany’s tackle and the City player still had to walk. Meyler’s reaction was irrelevant, and Pulis is using it as a smokescreen to excuse a reckless challenge.
”and Pulis is using it as a smokescreen to excuse a reckless challenge.”
So your saying its reckless? By the letter of the law a reckless challenge is punished with a yellow card…
So the arguments begin, the bottom line is it was not a red card, so the referee didn’t do his job properly. Add to that the ‘disease’ of players trying to get a fellow professionals sent off through simulation and it paints a pretty sorry picture of acceptable standards in the modern game. I’m not saying Meyler should have shrugged it off but was the reaction of staying down and rolling around proportionate to the limited contact that was made? I don’t think so. Indeed as soon as the card was out, Huth was barely at the entrance of the tunnel as Meyler jumped up and starting running to the line to come back on. Pulis makes a valid point that this is indeed is becoming a real issue in the game today, could he have handled it better? Perhaps, but then so could have Meyler.
Your article is an absolute disgrace & when a Sunderland player comes across such an injustice I hope you look back at this & remember what comes around…
I have fully explained my reasons and some Stoke supporters essentially agree with them, ie that Pulis’s comments were deplorable even if Huth deserved some sympathy because he did attempt to pull put of what began as a reckless challenge.
You have not given a single reason for your view.
Sort your Caps Lock. Pulis was a disgrace, We support David Meyler, as he is 100% Not a cheat.
look at the goalmouths. Look at Fuller @ David Meyler, the REVENGE tackle. Stoke City = Cheats.
Don’t you mean “What GOES around…”? 🙂