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The Benitez Charge

_00_deathscar

By _00_deathscar
in Liverpool FC

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richwilks

richwilks

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He basically made out that the ref needed glasses. Didn't actually say as much, just got his glasses out and cleaned them.

 

I expected him to get a small fine probably but the FA will see this as a great way to publically back the refs at a time when they are outraged by what the old drunk has done.

 

Expect Rafa to come out with at least the same or worse punishment as Mr Ferguson even though his crime was far far more insignificant.

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_00_deathscar

_00_deathscar

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He basically made out that the ref needed glasses. Didn't actually say as much, just got his glasses out and cleaned them.

 

I expected him to get a small fine probably but the FA will see this as a great way to publically back the refs at a time when they are outraged by what the old drunk has done.

 

Expect Rafa to come out with at least the same or worse punishment as Mr Ferguson even though his crime was far far more insignificant.

 

He probably did mean that, being Rafa, but how the hell does one go about proving that though? Couldn't it be easily argued he was just cleaning his glasses?

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The_MC

The_MC

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The FA are a joke, everyone knows that. They bottle it whenever there's a big decision to be made, then make an example of easy targets over trivial incidents.

 

Benitez is an easy target. He gets no love from the media, the one form of protection managers have against the FA's decision making. Why do you think Ferguson usually gets off lightly? It's because the media would be in uproar if he got punished for minor offences.

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Walrus

Walrus

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LIVERPOOL FC OFFICIAL STATEMENT

Jimmy Rice 13 October 2009

Rafa Benitez today attended an FA hearing in Manchester that considered three charges brought against him following Liverpool's opening game of the season at Tottenham Hotspur.

The Commission found that two of the allegations relating to comments made about the match referee were not proven and therefore dismissed.

 

On a third, the Commission accepted that a gesture made with a pair of spectacles was 'in a non-malicious and humorous manner' and taking into account Mr Benitez's previous unblemished record, warned him about his future conduct. No fine was imposed or costs awarded against the Liverpool manager.

 

The Commission also expressed their surprise at the failure of the FA to charge another manager who had made a similar gesture the same weekend.

:applause:

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BDB

BDB

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Who was the other manager on the opening weekend ?

 

Soccernet's article reads a little different on that score.

ESPN Soccernet can also disclose that the FA Commission were critical that Neil Warnock was not similarly charged, when in the same weekend he put his fingers around his eyes in front of the referee, as if to suggest he needed glasses too, after Crystal Palace were not awarded a goal.

 

The FA Commission didn't name Warnock, but he was the manager incensed when the ball entered the net but the goal wasn't given.

 

Also this is interesting.

 

Graham Bean, whose company Football Factors specialises in defending such high profile managers, accompanied Benitez at the hearing.

 

Bean told ESPN Soccernet: "It seems the only people who suffered a sense of humour failure was the compliance office at the FA! Everybody else thought Rafa's gesture was hilarious.

 

"But I think that is reflected in the punishment: a warning, no fine, not even an order for the costs of the case."

 

Bean's next mission is to try to defend Sir Alex Ferguson in his fitness jibe at Alan Wiley, and the FA are likely to show even less of a sense of humour in that hearing.

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Earl Hafler

Earl Hafler

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He basically made out that the ref needed glasses. Didn't actually say as much, just got his glasses out and cleaned them.

 

I expected him to get a small fine probably but the FA will see this as a great way to publically back the refs at a time when they are outraged by what the old drunk has done.

 

Expect Rafa to come out with at least the same or worse punishment as Mr Ferguson even though his crime was far far more insignificant.

 

Managers have been doing that for years.

 

 

The FA are quite possibly the worst governing body on earth. They make the BHA look immaculate.

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