EPL chief condemns horror tackle

Lucky ... EPL chief Richard Scudamore says the McManaman should have been charged for a horror tackle. Source: Paul Ellis / AFP

Barclays Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore insisted Thursday the Football Association should have charged Wigan's Callum McManaman for a 'horror' tackle on Newcastle's Massadio Haidara.

McManaman, who was making his first league start, caught Haidara on the left knee with his studs after careering into a tackle midway through the first half of a Barclays Premier League match at the DW Stadium on Sunday.

The French fullback, 20, had to be carried off on a stretcher, but referee Mark Halsey did not punish 21-year-old McManaman for the challenge.

And the FA added it would not be taking retrospective disciplinary action so as to avoid re-refereeing incidents seen by match officials.

However, the FA's rules do allow it to take retrospective action regarding "exceptional" incidents and Scudamore believes this was a case where they should have exercised their discretion.

"I don't think anybody in the Premier League, perhaps bar Wigan, would have complained had they decided this was exceptional," he said.

"That's where the Premier League is on this, I don't think the rules need changing, I don't think the line needs moving.

"If they have the ability to deal with an exceptional incident, it looked to most of us that was an exceptional incident.

"What we don't want is re-refereeing, everyone is agreed on that. I think the current system works and no one would have criticised the FA if they had decided that was exceptional."

		P	W	D	L	GD	Pts
1	Man United	29	24	2	3	38	74
2	Man City	29	17	8	4	25	59
3	Chelsea	29	16	7	6	28	55
4	Tottenham	30	16	6	8	14	54
5	Arsenal	29	14	8	7	23	50
6	Everton	29	12	12	5	11	48
7	Liverpool	30	12	9	9	18	45
8	West Brom	30	13	5	12	2	44
9	Swansea	30	10	10	10	2	40
10	Fulham	29	9	9	11	-4	36
11	Stoke	30	7	13	10	-8	34
12	Norwich	30	7	13	10	-18	34
13	Newcastle	30	9	6	15	-11	33
14	West Ham	29	9	6	14	-11	33
15	Sunderland	30	7	10	13	-9	31
16	Southampton	30	7	10	13	-10	31
17	Aston Villa	30	7	9	14	-25	30
18	Wigan	29	7	6	16	-21	27
19	Reading	30	5	8	17	-22	23
20	QPR	30	4	11	15	-22	23

The FA's rules limit retrospective action to off-the-ball incidents unseen by match officials unless they are exceptional circumstances and the governing body said this had been agreed with the leagues, the PFA and referees.

Haidara suffered knee ligament damage after the challenge by McManaman, but no action was taken against the Wigan player during the match.

"It's hard to swallow,'' Haidara told Thursday's Le Parisien newspaper. ``I don't understand it. It (the tackle) could have could have ended my career, ruined my life...

"We have to protect the players. We can't tolerate tackles like this in football. It ruins football and the authorities must act."

Newcastle assistant manager John Carver and Wigan assistant coach Graham Barrow have been charged with misconduct by the FA after they clashed following the incident.

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No ban for horror tackle

Callum McManaman ... subbed off after a frightening tackle for Newcastle against Wigan. Source: Jon Super / AP

Newcastle United will ask the Football Association to change its disciplinary rules after learning Callum McManaman is facing no action for his tackle on Massadio Haidara.

Wigan forward McManaman escaped punishment during Sunday's game despite a high challenge which forced Haidara off with a knee injury.

Referee Mark Halsey's report confirmed one or more of the officials had seen the incident and an FA statement said its current rules - agreed with all the game's "stakeholders" before the season began - allow for no retrospective action.

That has angered Newcastle, whose managing director Derek Llambias accused the FA of lacking "the courtesy to contact the club and let us know."

A statement from Llambias read: "It is clear from this decision that the current disciplinary procedures are not fit for purpose.

"Newcastle United, along with other clubs, have had players suspended for incidents reviewed after the game. Whilst not trivialising these incidents, they were not, in our opinion, of the seriousness of Callum McManaman's tackle on Haidara.

"Whilst we understand that the current procedures give the FA limited options, it cannot be correct that the most serious offences can go unpunished, even if the original incident was seen by match officials.

"We will now be making a strong representation to the FA and the Premier League to see how a more appropriate, fair and even-handed disciplinary process can be introduced at the earliest opportunity." 

Llambias was also critical of Wigan owner Dave Whelan, who called McManaman's tackle "fair" and claimed the player had won the ball "as clean as a whistle".

"It was not a fair challenge," he said "This view is shared by countless former players, referees and well-respected media commentators. Indeed it appears to be only Dave Whelan who takes a contrary view."

Haidara, meanwhile, is waiting to discover the full extent of his injury, and Llambias said: "Contrary to comments in the media, there is currently no timescale for his recovery."

A statement from the Football Association said that "because at least one of the match officials saw the coming together, though not the full extent of the challenge" no further action can be taken.

The statement read: "Following consultation with the game's stakeholders in the summer, it was agreed that retrospective action should only be taken in respect of incidents which have not been seen by the match officials.

"Where one of the officials has seen a coming together of players, no retrospective action should be taken, regardless of whether he or she witnessed the full or particular nature of the challenge. This is to avoid the re-refereeing of incidents.

"In the case of McManaman, it has been confirmed that at least one of the match officials saw the coming together, though not the full extent of the challenge. In these circumstances retrospective action cannot be taken.

"The principal objective behind the not seen policy is to address off the ball incidents where match officials are unlikely to be in a position to witness misconduct."  

Read more: http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11678/8577821/Newcastle-call-for-change-in-FA-rules-after-Callum-McManaman-tackle-goes-unpunished

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Video: horror tackle unpunished

Ouch ... Newcastle United's French defender Massadio Haidara in agony. Source: Paul Ellis / AAP

Wigan Athletic manager Roberto Martinez insisted Callum McManaman is not a malicious player after his horror tackle on Massadio Haidara during his side's 2-1 win against Newcastle United.

Meanwhile, Wigan chairman Dave Whelan stands by his assessment that the challenge on Haidara was "fair" despite Newcastle United's "baffled" response.

Newcastle are waiting on the results of a scan on left-back Haidara after he was stretchered off.

The Football Association is awaiting referee Mark Halsey's official match report before deciding whether to take the matter further but Whelan has previously said it was fair.

Newcastle were understood to have been left struggling to comprehend Whelan's opinion but the Wigan chairman has since told Sky Sports News: "I stand by my comments."

"I spoke to Derek Llambias after the match and, I have to say, the Newcastle people who we dined with took it all on the chin and thought, 'yeah it is part and parcel of the game." 

Visiting manager Alan Pardew had been left furious about McManaman's challenge after the final whistle at the DW Stadium at the weekend.

Asked how he would react if a Wigan player had been on the receiving end of the tackle, Whelan, whose own playing career was ended in the 1960 FA Cup final by Norman Deeley, said: "I would be saying, 'football is a tough game'. I do not think there was any intent from our lad to hurt the Newcastle player."

Newcastle assistant coach John Carver and Wigan coach Graham Barrow were both sent to the stands at half-time as tempers boiled over in reaction to the incident.

But Whelan claims Newcastle's hierarchy were not overly angry when he met them over a meal after the game.

"I spoke to Derek Llambias after the match and, I have to say, the Newcastle people who we dined with took it all on the chin and thought, 'yeah it is part and parcel of the game'," said Whelan.

"I know there were some bad things said on the line. But the referee took charge of that and dispatched two of them. So, hopefully, the lad (Haidara) can start playing again next Saturday. Hopefully he will be okay and not be too seriously injured.

"But you are going to get injured if you play football professionally. It is a tough game."

The Latics forward, on his first Barclays Premier League start, caused outrage at the DW Stadium with a reckless knee-high challenge on substitute Haidara, which referee Mark Halsey failed to spot.

But the Spaniard said his young forward wants to contact Haidara to make an apology.

"Remember it's Callum's full debut in the Premier League. I haven't seen the replay, I believe that he touches the ball and then it's a bad challenge, but it's nothing malicious, he's not that sort of boy," Martinez told Sky Sports.

"It's the normal enthusiasm that you get in your debut.

"I can't really comment too much because I haven't seen the action but I can guarantee that Callum McManaman is a young man full of talent and in his debut probably showed the enthusiasm that you expect, but he's not a malicious player."

Regarding an apology, Martinez said: "I think he wants to contact the player. I don't know if he's done it already but he will do that because when you get an injury in that manner you obviously don't want to leave any bad feelings.

"If Callum hasn't apologised yet then he definitely will do that because we're a football club where those values are very important."

Meanwhile, the controversial win over Newcastle has been seen as the potential start to relegation-zone occupants Wigan's perennial escape from the drop.

"We were not at our best yesterday," said Whelan. "But the fighting spirit is still there in Wigan. You can see that from Roberto (Martinez) right through the team.

"They are determined to stay in this league."

Read more: http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11678/8576206/Premier-League-Wigan-s-Dave-Whelan-responds-to-baffled-Newcastle

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