Drysdale facing ban after ‘squaring up’ to player
Hreferee charged after flare-up with Ipswich’s Judge hofficial is likely to be stood down from fixture this weekend
Referee Darren Drysdale has been charged with improper conduct and is facing a potential suspension, despite his public apology for squaring up to Ipswich Town midfielder Alan Judge.
Drysdale acknowledged that he behaved unprofessionally when he confronted Judge and leaned his head forward after the Ipswich midfielder had himself marched in his direction and began to jab his finger following a penalty appeal.
Judge was booked for what Drysdale judged to be a dive in the 90th minute of Ipswich’s goalless draw with Northampton, but it is now the referee who is subject to disciplinary action.
The Football Association issued a charge of improper conduct and Drysdale now has until March 4 to formally respond. The disciplinary code treats officials as well as players and managers as “participants” and, although it is extremely rare for a referee to be sanctioned, Drysdale faces the same theoretical punishment of an indefinite ban and fine.
Paul Lambert, the Ipswich manager, described the apology as “soft” and said Judge would be facing a six-month or one-year ban if the roles were reversed, but there was also considerable support across football for Drysdale.
“No need to apologise at all,” said England midfielder Jack Grealish. His Aston Villa team-mate, Tyrone Mings, also urged leniency: “Refs and officials put up with a lot from players. Everyone makes mistakes – nothing to see here.”
Drysdale, a 49-year-old RAF sergeant, who was credited with potentially saving Brad Barry’s life in 2017 when the Chesterfield defender swallowed his tongue, must decide whether to contest the charge. If he does so, an independent disciplinary commission will hear his case. Should the case be proven or he admits the charge, the commission will also decide on the severity of what is an open-ended sanction.
Drysdale is not suspended from matches in the interim period, but the expectation is that he will be stood down from his scheduled fixture this weekend.
The Professional Game Match Officials Board Ltd, which employs
professional referees, released Drysdale’s apology, but made no further comment. “I fully understand that it is important for us as referees to maintain our composure throughout the game and always engage with players in a professional manner,” Drysdale said. “I’m sorry that I did not do that and I can only apologise to Alan and Ipswich.”
The incident coincided with the FA announcing steps to improve the relationship between players and match officials. Andy Ambler, the FA’S director of professional game relations, would like all young players to be educated in refereeing to help them empathise with officials, understand the laws and also have the possibility of following that career path. “That could be a gamechanger – I’d go further and make them referee a couple of games in their academy,” he said. Ambler also wants referees to spend time speaking with players and managers during pre-season.
The FA is planning potential life bans for any referee assault. The current maximum ban is 10 years.
The FA is also open to an increased use of CCTV cameras in amateur football in order to help gather evidence for cases of physical or verbal abuse against a match official. Body cameras have been suggested by some referees, but there is concern this could escalate problems if it is known that officials are holding evidence.
As a trusted lieutenant in Arsene Wenger’s final Arsenal team, Nacho Monreal had a front-row seat for the Frenchman’s bruising Emirates exit. So when the player suggests that history is proving that “wonderful” Wenger did not get the credit he deserved, it is worth listening.
Wenger left the Emirates in August 2018 after years of fan protests finally boiled over. Since then, Arsenal have struggled for form and identity and today sit 10th in the Premier League.
It is a far cry from the days when derision and anger were the background noise to Wenger’s nearperfect record of Champions League qualification.
But Monreal is adamant that history is being kind to Wenger’s achievements – even if the loudmouth fan TV channels never were.
“His work was wonderful,” says Real Sociedad defender Monreal, 34, whose side take on Manchester United in the Europa League last 32 tonight.
“He took over a historic team and he totally changed them. He chose to sign young players, particularly French, and was champion of England. Then he had to evolve and change because when the club moved from Highbury to the Emirates they had to pay for the new stadium by selling their best players.
“But even so, Wenger managed to always keep the team in the top four. Since Wenger left, no one has returned the team to the Champions League.” Wenger signed Monreal in a £10 million deal from Malaga in January 2013. It was hardly a move which set the temperatures on the North Bank soaring – Arsenal themselves can only stretch to calling Monreal “a reliable and popular presence in the dressing room” on their website – yet it proved to be shrewd business, with Monreal going on to make 187 appearances for the Gunners until he left for Sociedad in August 2019.
And speaking exclusively to The Daily Telegraph, Monreal shone a light on what it was like to play under Wenger. He paints a picture of a loyal, calm manager who would do anything to balance the egos and maintain equilibrium in the dressing room.
“He is a great guy who I have a special affection for,” Monreal says. “A great person who always defended the player in front of the press. He always wanted to avoid any bad vibes. He dealt with the dressing room very well, and he gave me the opportunity to live those years in England. He is a man who gave Arsenal a lot in 22 years.”
Wenger’s two decades of relative stability have been followed by a turbulent period in which Unai Emery lasted just 18 months.
Mikel Arteta won the FA Cup in the summer and has remained popular despite an inconsistent season in which his side have shown flashes of promise – such as in their impressive 4-2 win over Leeds last weekend – yet have failed to make sustained progress in the league.
Arteta was appointed Arsenal captain six months after Monreal’s arrival in 2013 and he played under his fellow Spaniard for two years. Monreal reveals Arteta to be an ambitious, intelligent man who is unafraid to ruffle feathers in his pursuit of perfection. It is a fascinating insight into Arteta, who is generally perceived as one of football’s good guys, schooled in the art of high diplomacy.
“He is a very direct guy, who knows what he wants,” Monreal says. “He understood the game, he corrected his team-mates, regardless of his position on the field.
“He knew where each one had to be. He is a leader, he knows how to transmit, reach the footballer. And he always told us that he wanted to be a coach.”
In two years in San Sebastian, Monreal has been part of a side punching above their weight domestically. Already underdogs against United, Sociedad – who are in the Europa League by virtue of their Copa del Rey triumph last term – have been forced to give up home advantage in the first leg tonight.
Spanish government restrictions on arrivals from the UK mean that the first leg is being played in Turin and not Sociedad’s Anoeta Stadium.
Monreal has criticised the “unfair” Uefa ruling which means
that United did not have to give up their own home advantage.
“Playing at home gives you an advantage because you know the pitch perfectly,” Monreal says. “And you get up the same day, without having to make any trip, or take the plane or the bus.
“Now we have to spend a day in a hotel, stay focused and play in a place that we are not used to. We have lost that small advantage.”
In David Silva, Monreal has one of the Premier League’s most decorated stars as a team-mate. The former Manchester City midfielder signed in August to replace Martin Odegaard, who returned to Real Madrid after starring on loan.
Monreal says: “It was a great success for the club. They moved fast.
“Odegaard was a key footballer and we thought he was going to stay, but Real Madrid called him and he had to go back.”
In a quirk of the world of football horse-trading, Odegaard is now on loan again – this time at Arsenal.
“We were left with that little hole but it did not even take three days to convince David Silva,” Monreal says. “What a change! We are delighted with him, it is a luxury to have him.”
A luxury, perhaps. But when you have somebody as reliable as Nacho Monreal in your ranks, you can afford the odd indulgence.