And while I might not have necessarily issued a red card if I had been the man in the middle, the Norwegian official had every right to do so.

For those of you who weren’t fortunate enough to watch the match, I’ll replay the scenario fo you. It was the 37th minute when Barca’s 18-year old Argentine phenom Lionel Messi was racing down the touchline in a pitched battle for the ball with Chelsea’s Arjen Robben (I believe). Down in the corner Messi deftly stole the ball from the Dutchman’s feet then dashed around his opponent only to be met by the out-of-control Del Horno who had already sped past the ball by several feet before sending Messi to the ground with great force.

Now, maybe the extremely rash challenge in and of itself was only worthy of a firm yellow, but add on top of that that Messi was poised to dash along the endline with the ball before Del Horno arrived on the scene. During the minute or two while Messi and Del Horno were on the ground receiving treatment for their wounds, the referee had plenty of time to decide that this wasn’t simply unsporting behavior, but far worse, serious foul play.

And how can anyone argue that? Sure, ESPN’s resident idiot Tommy Smyth was incredulous, thinking that perhaps both players would receive a caution (why Messi would’ve deserved one is beyond me), but there was no mistaking Del Horno’s intentions and the referee took the appropriate action.

I’m sure Chelsea’s arrogant coach Jose Mourinho will raise holy hell in the media, but rather than vilify the officials (who, incidentally allowed Chelsea defender John Terry to steamroll Messi inside the penalty box late in the match), he should be most outraged at the lack of focus and discipline by one of his own men.

And that’s my view from the middle.

Did he jump in the stands to join the United faithful?
No.

Did he make a fascist salute as Lazio’s Paolo DiCanio had done in a match in Rome last year?
No.

Did he taunt his opponents in the wake of what appeared to be certain victory with only stoppage time remaining to be played?
NO!

In fact, all that Neville did was to show his ecstasy and pride by pointing enthusiastically to his jersey in front of the Liverpool faithful who’d made the trip to Old Trafford.

In my opinion, the English FA and FIFA have gone too far in limiting celebrations after a goal. Is it not enough that referees are now required to caution (i.e. show a yellow card) players for excessive celebration? I agree that players like DiCanio who make inflammatory gestures should face sanctions, but Neville’s exuberance was quite benign by comparison.

In the game of football, nothing compares with the emotion of scoring a goal and I believe that allowing players to demonstrate that emotion is an important part of the game. Conversely, I also understand the need to promote sportsmanship and a sense of decorum that doesn’t devolve into a riotous frenzy in the stands. The question remains (to me at least), did Neville cross that line? I argue that he did not.

But common sense needs be employed, both by governing bodies of football as well as those who attend live matches. Without question, the rules regarding celebrations have been established to mitigate the potential for violence, both on the field as well as off. The referees can only control the twenty-two people on the pitch, but the stadium security is responsible for the tens of thousands of supporters in the stands.

Therefore, a great deal of responsibility falls upon each individual who attends a match. How will each of us react to a win or a loss and can crowd violence be effectively eliminated from the game? I believe it can.

Allow players like Neville to properly express themselves on the pitch (which I believe he did) and severely punish those who commit violent acts both inside stadia and beyond. Treat football-related crimes like we do ‘hate crimes’ here in the States and you’ll see much less thuggery in the future. Passion, after all, is to be expected from both players and fans alike, but cracking down on the actions that are truly offensive and dangerous to others is far more important than virtually eliminating post-goal exuberance.

Am I being naive or do you think what I’m saying makes sense?

Until next week’s view from the middle…

Peace,
ac