Eddie Vukovic9 1/2 Weeks?
Sydney Swans full forward Barry Hall, would have been laughing in his pint when he read that Victory's Ney Fabiano was suspended for 9, count them, 9 matches for allegedly spitting at Adelaide United's Robbie Cornthwaite. 9 weeks! It beggars belief. Hall copped a 7 match ban from the AFL tribunal for king hitting West Coast Eagles Brent Staker earlier this year. Imagine what would have happened if he spat on him? Life time ban?
I've already harped on this before and my feelings are known. I don't believe Fabiano was guilty of intentionally spitting. From the video footage I saw, it appeared to be a case of some spittle flying from his lips as he unleashed a verbal tirade at Cornthwaite. It will be interesting to see what Victory does now. How will they appeal the decision? It is known that Travis Dodd was very close to the action, when Spittlegate occured, and sources within the Victory camp believe that his version of events corroborates theirs. Wonder if he'll say anything though, being that he's the captain of Victory's main rivals for the title.
This whole incident has got me thinking though. Why can't the FFA get their disciplinary record sorted. Is spitting worth such a lengthy ban? I'd be interested to hear anyone elses thoughts on this. For mine, hocking a loogie, at an opponent, or at the ground, as per Dino Djulbic, is indeed a thoroughly offensive, disgusting and apprehensible act, but it's not worthy of such a heavy handedness. Last year, Joel Griffiths rabbit punched the assistant referee in the cods and didn't even receive a repramand. If we're talking acts of petulance, I rate smacking a ref in the nuts a wee bit higher than spitting on the ground, vaguely in the direction of an official. Then you have Kevin Muscat's deliberate studding of Paul Agostino which went unpunished by the review panel.
I guess what I'm saying is, there's been a number of violent and aggressive incidents which have either gone unpunished, or haven't been deemed significant enough for more punishment. So, to put it into perspective, Francesco Totti only received 3 matches for spitting directly in the face of Denmark's Christian Poulsen at EURO 2004, not once mind, but several times.
I've already harped on this before and my feelings are known. I don't believe Fabiano was guilty of intentionally spitting. From the video footage I saw, it appeared to be a case of some spittle flying from his lips as he unleashed a verbal tirade at Cornthwaite. It will be interesting to see what Victory does now. How will they appeal the decision? It is known that Travis Dodd was very close to the action, when Spittlegate occured, and sources within the Victory camp believe that his version of events corroborates theirs. Wonder if he'll say anything though, being that he's the captain of Victory's main rivals for the title.
This whole incident has got me thinking though. Why can't the FFA get their disciplinary record sorted. Is spitting worth such a lengthy ban? I'd be interested to hear anyone elses thoughts on this. For mine, hocking a loogie, at an opponent, or at the ground, as per Dino Djulbic, is indeed a thoroughly offensive, disgusting and apprehensible act, but it's not worthy of such a heavy handedness. Last year, Joel Griffiths rabbit punched the assistant referee in the cods and didn't even receive a repramand. If we're talking acts of petulance, I rate smacking a ref in the nuts a wee bit higher than spitting on the ground, vaguely in the direction of an official. Then you have Kevin Muscat's deliberate studding of Paul Agostino which went unpunished by the review panel.
I guess what I'm saying is, there's been a number of violent and aggressive incidents which have either gone unpunished, or haven't been deemed significant enough for more punishment. So, to put it into perspective, Francesco Totti only received 3 matches for spitting directly in the face of Denmark's Christian Poulsen at EURO 2004, not once mind, but several times.
