Arsenal - Chelsea game - What is going on?

[lifeintheslowlane]

Apart from being a poor game in atrocious conditions is a warped idea of sportsmanship robbing fans of a competitive game? Players stopping the game at the demand of opposition player for one of their injured players. I can understand the head injury rule but surely it is at the behest of the referee to decide when a player is so seriously injured they need instant attention.

 

Last night Ramirez went up for a ball and lost out...no foul, he landed awkwardly and (debatably) injured himself. Arsenal played on until several Chelsea players pointed to the prone Ramirez demanding the ball be put out of play. Ramsey halted the attack 25 yards out and played the ball into touch. Players in these circumstances are running and in my opinion ruining the game for the paying punter.

 

Has it gone too far or am I just an old fart who remembers the "bad old days"?

[Batman]

To be fair. The other arsenal players had a right go at him.

 

He should never have kicked it out. They were in their final 3rd and they had a top player out of it.

 

It's the refs job to stop play

[lifeintheslowlane]

I agree...especially as the Chelsea players had virtually stopped playing. Pressing in the final third...the game's stopped...player gets attention...Chelsea boot the ball to the other end of the pitch...job done.

[Sour Mash]

One of the most frustrating things in modern football, I was watching a game the other week when a player kicked it out because an opposition player had cramp!

[stevegrant]

One of the most frustrating things in modern football, I was watching a game the other week when a player kicked it out because an opposition player had cramp!

I remember when England played South Africa in a Champions Trophy game a number of years ago, Graeme Smith was going to pretty much beat us single-handedly before he came down with cramp. Back then, runners were still allowed, but it's always been at the discretion of the opposing captain, and Andrew Strauss rightly refused to let him have one on the grounds that you shouldn't be allowed help for not having the stamina to cope.

 

Similar situation in football, IMO - if you've got cramp, tough ****. Get fitter.

[lifeintheslowlane]

It's bad enough having players feigning injury to get an opponent booked...we've all seen that happen but now it seems players can demand the game stopped for what could be a feigned injury to their team-mate to halt an attack.

 

I hope our players are being put right in this respect and play strictly to the whistle.

[Whitey Grandad]

Some of us remember Leeds under Revie.