It's a sad fact of football these days that referees seem no longer to be human beings with feelings and common sense but robots designed to carry out the will of the do-good blazers in charge of football.
My rant for the moment surrounds the issue of players being booked for celebrating. I was reminded of this issue's irksome tendencies when Simon Church was booked then subsequently sent off for scoring Reading's equaliser against Bristol City with the last kick of the game.
I had a heated argument last week with my housemate after watching Younes Kaboul collect a second yellow card for celebrating a last minute equaliser at Sunderland. My housemate defended the referee claiming that the players know the rules therefore shouldn't do it.
An utterly ridiculous and misguided opinion in my view. In the situation that Kaboul was in, scoring an injury-time equaliser away from home to salvage a point for your side that currently sit bottom of the league then you are PERFECTLY within your rights to celebrate. I defy any football fan to restrain himself, put up his hand, say "yep, well done lads" and trot back to the halfway line rather than immerse himself in the madness of scoring a last minute equaliser.
I'm all in favour of consistency but why can't they apply the rules with a bit of common sense. Mike Dean used his oak-aged noggin today and chose not to book Alessandro Diamanti when he put West Ham ahead against Chelsea. Top marks in my view. If he had acted as Adebayor had done against Arsenal then fair enough: book him. But to celebrate in front of your own fans after putting them ahead against the league leaders who also happen to be fierce local rivals then let them enjoy the moment.
With the game slowly becoming a non-contact sport, let's hope the do-gooders don't win this round.
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