Manchester United’s winner against Birmingham City at the weekend has re-opened the debate over the issue of putting the ball into touch when an opponent is injured. Rio Ferdinand and Cameron Jerome collided when challenging from the ball, the latter left in a crumpled heap having found Ferdinand’s boot in his thigh. In days of old, it is not unfeasible to believe United would have put the ball into touch to allow the Birmingham Striker to received treatment. As it was, a swift pass forward found Tevez and Ronaldo exchanging deft flicks to allow the Argentinean to break through and score a cracking goal.
The referee did not see any foul play in Ferdinand’s actions nor do I believe there was any. FIFA have for the past season and a half consistently opined that the action of putting the ball into touch has no standing in the Laws of the Game. Yet there had been a ‘gentlemen’s agreement’ that such actions were desirable. Controversy raged in 1998 when Nwankwu Kanu failed to put the ball into touch during Sheffield United’s FA Cup Third Round tie against Arsenal. His pass enabled Marc Overmars to score what would have been the winning goal had his employers not chosen to offer to replay the match. Sportsmanship was the order of the day and that stock rose when Paolo di Canio caught the ball in the penalty area rather than scoring for West Ham against Everton, an opponent injured on the ground. The Italian was rewarded with a Fair Play Award for his endeavours although in the current climate were his actions to be repeated, a yellow card would no doubt follow.
However there was a feeling that more unscrupulous players would seek to take advantage of such a ruling were it to be formalised. An increase in simulation led to the authorities taking more stringent actions against sinners, The Times leading a campaign to eradicate this form of cheating in the game. Against this background, FIFA rightly refused to introduce a rule to enable opponents to put the ball into touch. Cheats were prospering so the majority of honest professionals were ‘punished’ as is always the case in life.
Had Jerome received a head injury, there is little doubt that the referee would have blown to allow treatment. As it was, with no foul play involved, he quite rightly allowed United to continue, a costly decision as far as Birmingham were concerned. Yet there cannot be any complaints to the contrary. The official applied the rules. Whilst I do not suggest that Birmingham have sinned in the past by feigning injuries, the majority are suffering because of the minority and until such times as dishonesty is eradicated from the sport, matters will not change no matter what tabloid pressure may be applied and quite rightly so.
