Multi-layer punishments in need of a rethink

It happens in the 60th minute of a fierce, grassroots Northern League football derby.

A wiry, lightning fast striker bumbles his way into the box with just the keeper to beat when whack, a labouring, overweight builder masquerading as a centreback storms in with a late challenge, collecting nothing of the ball and everything of the man.

The crowd groans and the club chairman holds his head. He knows what’s coming: four punishments for one crime. A red card, a penalty, a suspension and a fine.

It’s a scene likely to be seen up and down the country this weekend, as New Zealand’s regional leagues kick off, and if the four-fold punishment seems harsh, it’s because it is — and many top Fifa officials think so too.

The thorny issue of a triple punishment — penalty, sending off and suspension — for players who deliberately prevent a goalscoring opportunity was on the agenda of the International FA Board at its annual meeting this month.

In New Zealand the national body adds an extra kick in the guts in the form of a $25 fine per yellow card ($50 for a red) which costs amateur clubs — many struggling financially — thousands of dollars a year.

UEFA (Europe’s governing football body) submitted a proposal to soften what many fans, players and officials believe is far too draconian a sanction, by suggesting that in the instance of a player deliberately preventing a goalscoring opportunity, the sanction should be a yellow card rather than a red one.

However, the yellow card idea was rejected after a heated debate by the law-making body, with the Fifa board instead deciding to recommend doing away with the automatic onegame ban. The changes, if approved, will take effect from July 1.

But Uefa reckon the international board has missed the point, with the key problem being the mandatory sanction of a red card, which in many cases is too harsh and often kills the game as a contest.

But while a lighter forfeit would likely be welcomed by most clubs in New Zealand, the real crowd pleaser would be for New Zealand Football to drop automatic fines which take money out of clubs that need it most.

Some may argue that the fines assist funding the grassroots game. But any administrative body that needs to budget on taxing on-field misdemeanours to make ends meet has got its financial priorities upside down.

In Europe former Portugal legend and Fifa presidential candidate Luis Figo has championed the move to amend the triple punishment.

For Kiwis it’s worse. Particularly for lower-level clubs, having a player sent off, conceding a penalty, losing him for a couple of weeks — and incurring a fine — is a ridiculous price to pay for a lack of pace and a bit much testosterone.

But who in New Zealand is prepared to do a Figo and lead the fight for more sensible sentencing in football?