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Fulham midfielder
Sean Davis |
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Fulham reserve team coach Steve Kean is fuming after Sean Davis was on
the receiving end of a horror tackle in the 2-0 defeat of the reserves
by Arsenal last Wednesday.
After a tough tackle with Arsenal midfielder John Halls, which ultimately
resulted in a Fulham free kick - Davis was subjected to a vicious two-footed
challenge just outside the Arsenal penalty area from the same player.
Steve Kean said "If you've played the game then you'll understand
the difference between a mistimed challenge and a malicious challenge.
We felt that he certainly went in to hurt Sean Davis. The referee decided
to show him the yellow card but we felt it should have been an automatic
red."
"The really annoying thing for any member of the coaching staff is
when you then hear the same player shouting things like 'break him.' I
asked the referee
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Arsenal midfielder
John Halls |
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what he thought, he told me that he felt the player tried to play the
ball, which I don't agree with."
"Sometimes you get little battles in the game. If it's battles of
skill, you can accept that but if somebody, in our opinion, is trying
to hurt another player - I don't think that's a problem that the coaching
staff should have to deal with. It's up to the referee to discipline each
situation as he sees it, in not doing that, he actually gave their coach
Eddie Niedzwiecki a problem where he had to decide whether to take the
player off or not."
With reserve team games mainly aimed at further developing Academy players
as well as first team regulars on their way back from injury. The fact
that such dangerous challenges could go unpunished would, no doubt, raise
a few eyebrows as to whether the rules of the game are being correctly
enforced.
Only a matter of weeks ago, young Academy prospect David Shevel was lucky
to escape unscathed after a brutally high challenge from Coventry player
Ysreal Zuniga. The challenge could have easily resulted in a serious injury,
yet the only punishment issued by the referee was a mere yellow card.