Reuters Soccer Blog
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Ramsey injury was horrific but should not be used to outlaw tackling
Anybody who saw the pictures of Aaron Ramsey’s shattered shin will have winced in disgust but the hysterical reaction to Ryan Shawcross’s tackle that caused it has been based on emotion rather than cold analysis.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger muttered dark thoughts about how it was “no coincidence” that Ramsey, Eduardo and Abou Diaby had all suffered terrible injuries as teams tried to kick Arsenal off the pitch.
Shawcross was sent off for the tackle and, judging by his distraught face as his left the pitch, it was probably the best decision all round.
But though the consequences were appalling, all the more so for the victim being only 19, the tackle itself did not look too bad.
Modern TV enables us to view, in super slow motion, some of the studs-up impacts that leave shins, knees and ankles bending to near-breaking point.
Shawcross’s did not look like that and initially few would have even begun to guess what damage would result.
Analysts have been quick to jump on the tackle, suggesting that it, and the injuries caused, prevail only in the hurly-burly of the Premier League, where high-speed collisions are part of the game.
“That risk has always been part of football and must remain so.”
This bit bothers me, particularly the latter half of the sentence.
“I’ve fallen victim to and handed out plenty of both.”
And this, again it’s the latter half that bothers me, although I am sorry for the ailments you’ve suffered, I have too if it makes you feel any better.
Clearly, we have very different perceptoins of what football should be. I too thought the Shawcross tackle was unlucky, but Steven Taylor’s tackle on Eduardo two years ago deserved a life ban because it was a vicious and malicious act of aggression with no intention to play the ball. And all he got was a three-match ban. It sent the wrong message across and although I am not a great admirer of Wenger’s tirades, he was perfectly right on that one.