Martinelli's challenge on Bednarek

[Francis1947]

Lots of good stuff written here on last nights game. 

So, now I have recovered this morning, may I make a point about the challenge on Bednarek last night that resulted in him being substituted.

My query is why this incident wasn't discussed at all on Sky, either at half time or at the end of the match. No clips were showed at all of it either.

Now in Premiership matches when there is a contentious decision or a bad tackle in a match, usually that incident is disected frame by frame by the pundits and pannelists , and discussion is always held on the severity of the tackle, the timing, whether it was studs up etc.

Absolutely nothing was said last night about what I believed was a pretty dangerous challenge. Martinelli made a back on Bednarek when he was in the air. And for some minutes it looked as though Bednarek was badly hurt. 

And just a further point. As well as being a season ticket holder at Saints I am also have a club membership at Northampton rugby club. It enables me to have a chance of buying my ticket early before they go on general release. I have been a commited supporter of rugby as well as football for nigh on 65 years and I usually attend about 4 of Northampton home matches throughout the season, in between supporting Saints.s

It's a game I know quite well and one I love. Rugby has been through one hell of a rethink in the last 3 years regarding tackle heights and what constitutes dangerous play. And it still is a much more physical contact game than football ever was.

Any challenge on a player in the air in Rugby Union now is almost always punished with a red card. Any player catching the ball in the act of jumping must be allowed to have both feet back on the ground before he is tackled.

This didnt happen last night with the Martinelli challenge and I'm bemused that it wasnt even spoken about for the entire rest of the match and after the game ended.

Any thoughts why and anyone else have a different take on the contact made ?

 

 

 

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[derry]

They did show a replay.  It was horrendous and is happening too often. Martinelli should have been sent off because that sort of challenge is far more likely to result in very serious head or spinal injuries similar to the spearing tackles banned in rugby. No booking, no comment, something seriously amiss there.

Edited 22 April, 2023 by derry

[Francis1947]

Apologies Derry, You are right. They did show a brief replay. I forgot that !

However my point is the same that no mention and no discussion was made of what happened at all by any of the pundits, commentators either at half time or post match.

I thought that was bizarre as I agree with you that it was a very dangerous challenge. And I seem to remember a few weeks ago in another televised match at St.Marys.....I cannot remember who they wre playing !.....Alvarez made a rather rash challenge on someone and was yellow carded. And at half time almost the entire 20 minutes or so was taken up by Garry Neville and his felloq pundits on how bad the tackle was and how lucky Alvarez escaped with just a yellow.

I'm no conspiracy theorist but I do think, for many reasons, clubs like ours in the Prem are refereed to a different standard to the top 6. 

I'm not au fait with the exact remit of VAR but cannot the VAR guys refer this thing back to the ref for him to take a look ? There was time as the game was stopped for many minutes for Bednarkek to get treatment.

And to follow this through, if Martinelli had been found guilty of a rash and dangerous challenge and been sent off , how would that have affected the match ? In my opinion he caused us many many problems on that right wing and KWP struggled to contain him. 

Oh well. If only eh ! 

[The Kraken]

I think there was an essence that they didn’t want to show the contact bendarek had with the floor. They only showed it once in real time and it wasn’t pleasant viewing.  I didn’t watch half time so can’t comment much, but Neville said a few times during the game that it was a bad challenge and it really needs to be stamped out of the game. Looking on another football forum I use which is non-Saints, the consensus was that Martinelli should’ve got a yellow for it. But sounds like things will just move on regardless. 

Edited 22 April, 2023 by The Kraken

[notnowcato]

Considering the niggly fouls that resulted in bookings for Alcaraz and KWP it’s ridiculous that Martinelli wasn’t even shown a yellow. Hooper couldn’t wait to yellow our players. 

[The Cat]

The commentator on the stream I had said something like "looks nasty for Bednarek but absolutely no blame on Martinelli as far as the challenge goes".

Personally I thought that was bollocks. Martinelli knew what he was doing and the likelihood is that the player is going to get hurt, either landing on their neck, back or putting an arm out and breaking a wrist or something.

[Wurzel]

What suprised me most was, bearing in mind his comments in the summer when going to Villa and previous reluctance to put club before country, how insistent Bednarek was that he wanted to carry on.  

[Kenilworthy]

It was a dangerous challenge and outrageous that a yellow card was not shown. If Bednarek did it to Martinelli there would have been outrage.

[saintant]

1 hour ago, Francis1947 said:

Apologies Derry, You are right. They did show a brief replay. I forgot that !

However my point is the same that no mention and no discussion was made of what happened at all by any of the pundits, commentators either at half time or post match.

I thought that was bizarre as I agree with you that it was a very dangerous challenge. And I seem to remember a few weeks ago in another televised match at St.Marys.....I cannot remember who they wre playing !.....Alvarez made a rather rash challenge on someone and was yellow carded. And at half time almost the entire 20 minutes or so was taken up by Garry Neville and his felloq pundits on how bad the tackle was and how lucky Alvarez escaped with just a yellow.

I'm no conspiracy theorist but I do think, for many reasons, clubs like ours in the Prem are refereed to a different standard to the top 6. 

I'm not au fait with the exact remit of VAR but cannot the VAR guys refer this thing back to the ref for him to take a look ? There was time as the game was stopped for many minutes for Bednarkek to get treatment.

And to follow this through, if Martinelli had been found guilty of a rash and dangerous challenge and been sent off , how would that have affected the match ? In my opinion he caused us many many problems on that right wing and KWP struggled to contain him. 

Oh well. If only eh ! 

To be fair Gary Neville stressed more than once after the incident that he hates those type of challenges and said they should be taken more seriously with action against the player for endangering an opponent. It is time this kind of action resulted in a straight red card as it is one of the most dangerous and irresponsible things a player can do.

[skintsaint]

 

[Lord Duckhunter]

1 hour ago, Wurzel said:

What suprised me most was, bearing in mind his comments in the summer when going to Villa and previous reluctance to put club before country, how insistent Bednarek was that he wanted to carry on.  

He is attitude has been spot on since his return.

 

As for the incident, it is something that needs stamping out. It’s never really punished in any circumstances, so it’s not a big club/small club thing. It’s an English football thing, we just don’t punish those challenges. 

[BotleySaint]

Arsenal got away with several bad challenges yesterday and most were not shown. Near the end there was a foot race between Sulemana and an Arsenal defender. The defender basically just shoved him over as he was going to get to the ball. Nothing given and Arsenal back on the attack. 

Seem to recall a challenge on Alcaraz on the edge of the box that looked a foul. No replay or comment made. 

Edited 22 April, 2023 by BotleySaint

[Robbie]

As already said it’s a sending off offence in rugby, it’s also a sending off in the NFL. Football seems to have a real blind spot to this sort of very dangerous challenge. Harry Kane is one of the worst offenders and I’ve seen him actually awarded free kicks for doing it! Martenelli knew exactly what he was doing, then was feigning concern for Bedranek before throwing our physio’s kit off the pitch.

This type of foul needs to be looked at and should be a straight red in my opinion. It’ll probably need a player to end up paralysed before the FA do anything about it.

[FarehamSaintJames]

Harry Kane does this all the time and then collapses in order to win a free kick.

[Lord Duckhunter]

20 minutes ago, FarehamSaintJames said:

Harry Kane does this all the time and then collapses in order to win a free kick.

Its been around years. I was shown how to “make a back” by an old pro when I played in the same side as him during the early 80’s. He said it was a great way to win free kicks, before adding “don’t do it in the box, because they never give a penalty for it”. I used to fall on the ball if I could as well, that almost always gained a free kick. It’s something old fashioned centre forwards used to do all the time, a centre half could get hurt, but as they spent most of the game trying to maim you, I never really thought about it too much. 

My lad plays in the Wessex League, and even at that level  I don’t see many centre forwards using their bodies nowadays. Actually, I don’t see many centre forwards nowadays, they’re all 10’s and false 9’s. 
 

Edited 22 April, 2023 by Lord Duckhunter

[Ken Tone]

2 hours ago, BotleySaint said:

Arsenal got away with several bad challenges yesterday and most were not shown. Near the end there was a foot race between Sulemana and an Arsenal defender. The defender basically just shoved him over as he was going to get to the ball. Nothing given and Arsenal back on the attack. 

Seem to recall a challenge on Alcaraz on the edge of the box that looked a foul. No replay or comment made. 

It was worse than that IMO. Another arsenal player baulked sulemana earlier in the same run, before the 'tackle' you're talking about. Should have been obstruction at least -- not that I can remember any referee giving an indirect free kick fir obstruction for many years.

[VectisSaint]

Gary Neville picked up on it and mentioned it several times, very critical of Martinelli. 

[Francis1947]

4 hours ago, VectisSaint said:

Gary Neville picked up on it and mentioned it several times, very critical of Martinelli. 

Vectis Saint

I admit that I made an error in my original post when I mentioned that it wasnt mentioned or shown. I accept that Neville did comment on it.

However my beef is that in almost any other game in the Prem that I have watched on Sky or BT when someone is laid out for a significant time, as Bednarek was and, both clubs medical teams came onto the pitch and there was a worry that he was badly injured. 

Once that player recovers there is usually an extensive discussion and an almost forensic detailing of what happened .

That did not happen on Friday night and I just wonder why. Is Var able to look at an incident like this whilst the game is suspended and alert the referee ? And if that comes within the remit of VAR why wasnt it done.

That's all. I agree with some here that there were a couple of other fouls on Saints players that looked pretty clear to me and the ref waived play on to both. A trip on Alcarez just outside the penalty box....in clear Ward-Prowse territory !.....and Sulemana was first pushed and then illegally challenged when he tried to break clear in the second half.

I'm not saying there is a conspiracy here regarding refereeing decisions agains clubs such as ours. However it is only human nature for a referee to be intimidated by a hostile home crowd as it was at the Emirates on Friday and to be " persuaded " by a volatile manager gesticulating consatntly on the touchline. As Arteta clear is and was.

That is a luxury the Saints do not have. Our home support is generally meek and quite quiet and Ralph and Selles were never the most demonstrative to the ref on the touchline. The little idiot Jones tried to but no one took him seriously did they !