Why is it free hunting time on Torres?

[John_Gotti]

It's ridiculous to see what treatment he gets from the refs in game after game week in week out in the PL.

It's incredible that he hasn't got a bad injury yet but it will happen sooner or later if the refs let the players kick him around and nothing happens.

It's has gone beyond a joke now, it's disgusting to see every week.

Because he does not dive or dive enough

[Los Rojos]

The general trend was never about to be reversed for Torres at OT was my point.

I know mate

[AFII]

Because he does not dive or dive enough

That is a part of the reason. As it now the refs more or less invites the players to dive because NOTHING happens when they do it and nothing is given and they can get a penalty/dangerous freekick and the opponent booked/sent off when they succeed with conning the ref.

Every dive all over the pitch should be a booking and you should also be able to ban players that dives after the game.

That is something that MUST be done.

[Ron_Mexico]

That is a part of the reason. As it now the refs more or less invites the players to dive because NOTHING happens when they do it and nothing is given and they can get a penalty/dangerous freekick and the opponent booked/sent off when they succeed with conning the ref.

Every dive all over the pitch should be a booking and you should also be able to ban players that dives after the game.

That is something that MUST be done.

the problem is refs seem to struggle with determining what is a foul and what isn't. then they compound the problem by not setting a standard and sticking to it consistently. then there is the problem of consistency amongst the refs as a group, each ref seems to carry his own beliefs about what is a foul, dive, etc. overall the standard is appalling, there are so many idiots making so many big decisions week in week out

they should all be made to watch videos of collina over and over again until they understand what being a ref is all about

[AFII]

the problem is refs seem to struggle with determining what is a foul and what isn't. then they compound the problem by not setting a standard and sticking to it consistently. then there is the problem of consistency amongst the refs as a group, each ref seems to carry his own beliefs about what is a foul, dive, etc. overall the standard is appalling, there are so many idiots making so many big decisions week in week out

they should all be made to watch videos of collina over and over again until they understand what being a ref is all about

[Jennings]

A Liverpool player not being protected by the officials. Shock horror

The refs are just a disgrace and have different rules for different teams. It's as simple as that.

Do you mean they SHOULD protect us because we are Liverpool?

Or

Historically they don't protect us BECAUSE we are Liverpool.

[calvoboy]

I really think the FA dropped a bollock when they instigated the Respect initiative without giving a new importance to the captain. They should be allowed alone to talk to the referee and it would have made the new order much less open to interpretation and would have helped IMO the referees to gain genuine respect if they could explain their decisions more clearly to one person. The example of Rugby is a good one and should be followed but it need to be a genuine and consistent policy and would have been better implemented at the start of a season rather than ad hoc because of media pressure.

Absolutely - following the rugby example is the way to go. Zero tolerance for any abuse of the ref, but allow the captain to ask the question of the ref ("what was that for"). But for this to work as it does in rugby, the ref has to have the responsibility to explain his decisions much more to the captains and other players as rugby refs do.

The FA had a half arsed attempt at following rugby with the "moving the free-kick ten yards" for dissent. But they should have said that it was a penalty if you were within ten yards of the box, instead of a direct free-kick, and it was very inconsistently applied.

In my opinion, the FA should have the balls to go for zero tolerance for dissent, with a simultaneous change in refereeing policy to allow the more conversational style rugby approach to refereeing, and then Keith Hackett should be tasked with ensuring it is applied consistently by all of his refs.

The inconsistency at the moment is maddening though. In the following Arsenal vs Chelsea game there were loads of examples of haranguing of the ref that resulted in no punishment. Giggs jogged 20 yards to argue when he thought Vidic was going to be booked in the first half, yet both he and Vidic got nothing from Bennet, while Torres and Mascher were penalised for far less (though Masher was probably asking for it given he'd told the ref to eff off on a number of occasions before)

Incidentally, I was very disappointed with our "captain" (quote marks because I think Carra is our real captain on the pitch, despite what the armband shows) for not taking more responsibility on Saturday. He had a **** game himself, and never once had a word with the ref about the treatment Torres was getting, and never once tried to calm down the situation with Mascher, who was clearly as wound up by Bennet as much as I was watching the game.

Finally, Bennet is a ****. He has been a **** since his first game in the premiership, and will be a **** until the day he dies. I have never, ever, seen him have a good game, and was worried from the minute I saw he was a ref on Sunday. Andy Gray obviously realises this, as do most of the managers in the game. If Uriah Rennie and Dermot Gallagher can be demoted from the premiership for their mistakes, then how does this complete joke of a man manage to cling on to his lucrative career when he is so clearly unfit to perform the role?

[calvoboy]

Incidentally, on Torres seeing as he's the subject of the thread, I think it is a very clever trick sending him for scans after the game yesterday. It allows him to pull out of the Spain squad and have a nice rest before the derby, and gives us a stronger argument in the defense of Mascher if he is pulled up on an FA charge ("he was just completely disgusted at the treatment that his team-mate was getting, who later ended up with a number of injuries as a result of tackles that were not punished by the referee").

Or am I being too cynical?

[Alan Key]

Where was this thread when we won 5 on the bounce? Stop coming up with excuses, it makes us look pathetic and bitter. There are plenty of other players who get the same treatment and i for one have never seen any niggly **** from say Carragher or Mascher. get over yourself.

[Red Chilli]

Bloody hell I'm sick of hearing how the star players need protection these days. at no time in history have they ever had it so good.

this game is dying and will be dead within 5 years once fifa and all round general do gooders have had their way.

[Marky]

Incidentally, on Torres seeing as he's the subject of the thread, I think it is a very clever trick sending him for scans after the game yesterday. It allows him to pull out of the Spain squad and have a nice rest before the derby, and gives us a stronger argument in the defense of Mascher if he is pulled up on an FA charge ("he was just completely disgusted at the treatment that his team-mate was getting, who later ended up with a number of injuries as a result of tackles that were not punished by the referee").

Or am I being too cynical?

I think that's a good ****ing point, clever thinking sir

[dww]

Bloody hell I'm sick of hearing how the star players need protection these days. at no time in history have they ever had it so good.

this game is dying and will be dead within 5 years once fifa and all round general do gooders have had their way.

I really think this attitude is part of what holds back this country in terms of footballing skill. What exactly is the problem with trying to encourage skillful attacking play and defenders like Bobby Moore as opposed to Vinnie Jones or Neil Ruddock? I don't think anyone here desires non-contact football but the fact is that added athleticism in the game has changed the balance in certain areas in terms both of the game as entertainment and the potential for injury.

The rules of the game are constantly changing in small ways and as the environment in which it is played changes too this is totally correct. The obsession with football being 'a mans game' seems to me to be an excuse for people who don't like change to have a whinge with no substance behind it.

[El Jefecito]

Where was this thread when we won 5 on the bounce? Stop coming up with excuses, it makes us look pathetic and bitter. There are plenty of other players who get the same treatment and i for one have never seen any niggly **** from say Carragher or Mascher. get over yourself.

No excuses, Torres has been having the **** kicked out of him all season, if you can't see that you are blind. Look back at the reading games for proof.

[Redlife]

I really think this attitude is part of what holds back this country in terms of footballing skill. What exactly is the problem with trying to encourage skillful attacking play and defenders like Bobby Moore as opposed to Vinnie Jones or Neil Ruddock? I don't think anyone here desires non-contact football but the fact is that added athleticism in the game has changed the balance in certain areas in terms both of the game as entertainment and the potential for injury.

The rules of the game are constantly changing in small ways and as the environment in which it is played changes too this is totally correct. The obsession with football being 'a mans game' seems to me to be an excuse for people who don't like change to have a whinge with no substance behind it.

As you mention, the tendency to injury is greater now than it ever has been, I think (I'm sure stats can prove it one way or the other), purely because players are so much fitter than ever before. Little pulls, tears, and so on, are so common now. It's not that it didn't happen in the past, but the players today are like thoroughbreds, so well trained that they're paradoxically more susceptible to certain injuries.


Plus, as you say, they run faster and harder than ever before; all of which means that they should be protected as much as is reasonable. It must never be a non-contact sport, but players like Torres (and yes, that arrogant Scum cock) should be given protection to play.