Do you remember any good news headlines?
Or are the most memorable ones all bad news and/or shock and horror stories?
In today’s society we are subject to intense media bombardments, and the sad fact of the matter is that we tend to show more interest in the bad news stories rather than the good ones.
In media terms, more interest means more revenue, therefore the old adage of “bad news sells” is perpetuated.
We have seen the classic case of this in a biblical drama of evil vs good, starring the Devil superbly played by Chelsea FC’s Diego Costa, The Archangel, played by someone called Gabriel, a non entity played by a non entity called Mike Dean, and God, played by a media led “independent” anonymous regulatory commission. Oh and a football match.
The Devil Incarnate Diego was his normal snarling aggressive self, winding up the defenders in a masterful display of the dark arts. The normally meek and mild mannered Archangel Gabriel tried intervening and save the honour of the beautiful game by aiming a kick at the said Devil (but missed allegedly).
At this point the non entity Mike Dean tried currying favour with the Devil and dismissed the Archangel from the astral pitch. This of course enraged God, who as an encore decided that it was of course all the Devil’s fault and banished him from the heavenly gates of Stamford Bridge for 3 matches as punishment.
(Match report supplied by St. Greg Dyke of the FA brotherhood.)
(Pride Of London match report here)
Mike Dean of course didn’t see the Diego “assault” (one of many incidents the incompetent buffoon missed on the day, including at least 1 stone wall penalty on Eden Hazard), and that left the pearly gates wide open for the moral guardians of football, collectively known as the media, to come charging through and bombard the audience with endless re-runs of the crime.
The end result as we all now know is Costa was banned for 3 matches (subject to appeal by Chelsea FC) for not being seen to do anything at the time, and the Archangel Gabriel had his 3 match ban for being seen to kick an opponent overturned.
Who says the laws of the game are there for the good for the game!
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Even opposition fans have been stunned by this latest ruling by the FA regulatory committee, however looking back at it in the cold light of day we shouldn’t have been that surprised, and here’s why.
It’s in the media’s interest to provoke bad news stories and controversy, it’s what sells the news remember, so by re-running clips of the “unseen incident” they generate further interest and more money.
Do you honestly think that if the media hadn’t highlighted Costa’s grapple in the box it would have been retrospectively reviewed? Of course it wouldn’t!
As interest was generated the FA then had to be seen to act, hence the retrospective action ruling, meaning more media coverage and an ongoing revenue stream for those concerned, a vicious circle indeed.
Is there a way of breaking this vicious circle though?
With regards to the media showcase that is football I believe there is.
Make the referee submit his match day report BEFORE he leaves the stadium and before he can be influenced by the media’s moral outrages.
This would have the effect of not allowing him to hide behind the “Wenger clause” and decree that he didn’t see any contentious issues. At present he has up to 2 days to compile his match day report ………
2 DAYS???????
What’s he writing? The Testament according to St. Specsavers?
How long does it take to write up a report on the incidents in 90 minutes of football?
At the moment referees are hiding behind the retrospective law, in that if they are unsure of what they’re seeing they can chicken out, say they didn’t see it after watching the media highlights, and let someone else make an unpopular decision for them.
Why can’t they just write their report while it’s fresh in their own minds and not wait up to 2 days to see what the media’s saying!
By doing this you take away the media’s influence on the beautiful and sometimes not so beautiful game that every football fan loves so much.
Let the media then spend all their time pouring over every second of a game WITHOUT it influencing the officials who were supposed to be in charge of it when it was played.
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If a referee is so poor that he is constantly making mistakes then demote him or sack him. Make them accountable and they will improve! Give them the get out clause of retrospective action and they won’t have to.
Of course this would require the FA and all of football’s rulers to stand up against their paymasters, so unfortunately I can’t see any changes forthcoming and we shall be subject to more and more examples of the wonderful inconsistencies of the rulers of English football, the media, I mean the FA.
Will it happen?
Brothers and Sisters of the football community, let us pray.
Next: Chelsea FC Lacking On-Field Leadership