Newcastle: FA are not fit for purpose
NEWCASTLE last night accused the FA of being unfit for purpose after they revealed Wigan forward Callum McManaman would go unpunished for his dangerous tackle on Massadio Haidara. McManaman escaped without charge after the FA were told by referee Mark Halsey that one of his officials had seen the incident during Newcastle’s 2-1 defeat at the DW Stadium on Sunday.
Yet Newcastle assistant manager John Carver and Wigan coach Graham Barrow found themselves on a misconduct charge for a halftime bust-up that was sparked by fury over the horror tackle.
Under their own rules — agreed by Premier League clubs last summer — the FA can only take retrospective action i f match officials claim not to have seen an incident. But last night Newcastle managing director Derek Llambias came out fighting by posting a stinging statement on the club’s website.
Llambias said: ‘ We are disappointed to learn that the FA is not going to charge the Wigan player.
‘We were first notified of this decision by a national media outlet who received notification from the FA confirming the decision.
‘This was prior to anyone from the FA having the courtesy to contact the club to let us know. It is clear from this decision that the current disciplinary procedures are not fit for purpose.
‘Newcastle United, along with other clubs, have had players suspended for incidents reviewed after the game. While not trivialising these incidents, they were not, in our opinion, of the seriousness of Callum McManaman’s tackle on Haidara.
‘We will now be making a strong representation to the FA and the Premier League to see how a more appropriate, fair and even-handed disciplinary process can be introduced at the earliest opportunity to prevent incidents of this nature going unpunished in the future.’
Ther e is no doubt that McManamanan could have seriously injured the Newcastle defender and Llambias was quick to take issue with the suggestion by Wigan owner Dave Whelan on Monday that the tackle was clean.
‘I have the greatest respect for Dave,’ added Llambias. ‘I am also aware that Dave’s career was cut short due to injury.
‘I am therefore disappointed and surprised by the comments he made yesterday, in particular his assertion that the tackle by Callum McManaman “was a fair challenge”.
‘It is our strongly held opinion that the tackle on Massadio was extremely dangerous and is the type of challenge that has the potential to cause serious harm and such was the force, and reckless and dangerous nature of the challenge, even end a player’s career. It was not a fair challenge.
‘This view is shared by countless former players, referees and wellrespected media commentators.
‘Massadio was scanned yesterday and will continue to be assessed for the remainder of the week. He will undergo a further scan next week in order to determine the extent of the damage caused.’
Former Aston Villa midfielder Steve Froggatt agreed with Newcastle’s reaction, saying on Twitter: ‘From someone who lost his career through a bad tackle I find the decision from the FA shameful, embarrassing and above al l gutless.’
Joey Barton, who has faced his share of FA charges, tweeted: ‘I am almost certain if I or another player with a negative FA persona had made that challenge, I’d of without doubt received a ban.’
Former Liverpool and Republic of Ireland star Ray Houghton told talkSPORT: ‘The FA have to send out a message that you can’t challenge like that.
‘They need to change the laws that allow players to be punished retrospectively.’
Meanwhile, Halsey has placed death threats he has received from the public in the hands of lawyers and told friends he has no doubts about his competency and fitness levels.
Halsey has also said privately his view of the incident on Sunday was obstructed by a player.