davieG Posted 16 August 2009 Posted 16 August 2009 It may need clarifying but is he being serious? Oh I forgot he no longer employs one of the biggest faker in the game! Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson says players who feign injury in order to get play stopped are 'killing' the game. The Red Devils tactician remains unhappy Chelsea players failed to kick the ball out of play in the Community Shield at Wembley when Patrice Evra was down injured. The Blues went on to score with United's left-back injured while, in the same game, Michael Ballack stayed down for the game to be stopped only to spring to his feet once the whistle was blown. Ferguson believes the players and not referees should be more professional and that The Football Association needs to act now in order to clear up the unwritten rule about kicking the ball out of play. The experienced Scottish tactician has told his players to try to continue playing whenever possible and to let the referee decide if play should be stopped - something they have struggled to grasp. Opportunist "This unwritten rule has come into the game and opportunist players have just overdone it. They have overcooked the whole thing," he said. "Last week, Evra was through and into the last third of the pitch, the referee stops it and (Michael) Ballack gets up. It could have been a serious problem so he stopped the game. "Then when Evra is fouled, Chelsea don't kick the ball out, the referee plays on and we lose a goal. It is a grey area and something has to be done about it. "The players are killing the game. The players' unprofessionalism is killing the game. Not the referees. The problem is how much the referee can tolerate when the players lie down pretending to be injured. Unwritten rule "There is no doubt that this unwritten rule about players kicking the ball into touch has been exploited to ridiculous degrees now." Ferguson added: "I spoke to my players about it and told them not to kick the ball out, that they should let the referee decide when to stop the game. "But the players wouldn't do it. If players don't put the ball out they get stick off opposing players and opposing fans. "If a referee stops the game twice when players go down and on the third occasion he decides to play on, he makes a rod for his own back. "Last Sunday, Chelsea had plenty of time to kick the ball out when Patrice Evra was injured after being fouled by Michael Ballack."
RedHux Posted 16 August 2009 Posted 16 August 2009 So does this mean Man Utd players will stop rolling about now? Do you think they'll not crowd the referee any more? What about cynically stopping every counter attack against them by committing some petty but un-ignorable foul? Ferguson gets right up nose with his endless "mindgames" and spouting off to the press about refs, other teams, individual players and now it seems how the likes of him and his superstar set of players (I realise it's not just them but...) have changed the game for the worse by instructing their players in the fine art of gamesmanship. But of course, it's not him. It's others using the feigning to get an unfair advantage over his precious sweethearts. I think I might have been Kevin Keegan in a previous life.
Lillehamring Posted 16 August 2009 Posted 16 August 2009 hypocrtical, but a fair point... i have always championed retrospective cards/fines for playacting... for example if a replay shows a player diving with clearly no contact, he is cheating, ban and fine him, soon they will stop... this could apply here, i'm sure some players will still find ways around it, but it's the only way to make players behave.
Benji Posted 16 August 2009 Posted 16 August 2009 Did Nani really need that long to recover from a flick on his shoulder by the brum player? His picture should appear in the dictionary next to the word hypocrite
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