Quote tugglesf78="tugglesf78"I might be the first to say this but
Honestly, it was a red card but only just.
Its a Wigan v Saints game. Supposedly the biggest most brutal derby in world RL.
So what if one of our players starts the ruff stuff?. You take the risk when you chuck a late one like that but its not the end of the world.
it wasn't even that bad a challenge. Some people need to get of there soapboxes.
Part of MM's game to play play it close to the wire, sometimes he is going to go a bit over the top. whoop de woo, he got a red.
There were much worse things happening all the time (including on Friday night). Kelvin Skerrett, Les Boyd, Sonny Nickle, Barrie Mac, Gordon Tallis, Adrian Morley, Kurt Sorenson, Alex Murphy, Gaz Hock, Bobbie Goulding, Noel Cleal, Des Drumond Tez Newton, Andy Greg etc etc etc all had a bit of this in them and the majority (Nickle obviously excluded) are held in legendary status as hard men of the game.
Dont give me any rubbish about any of the above playing hard but fair. ALL of them had a nasty streak and were more than capable of chinning someone of the ball.
Rugby is intimidation and there are players who enjoy rattling and hurting an opponent both legally and illegally.
If they go to far, they miss a game or two. It is not the end of the world.'"
Thank you. One of the few sensible posts on this ridiculous thread.
Personally I think it was a red card. But then many offences would be a red card if the rules were actually enforced correctly. Dropping an elbow onto the head of an already tackled player on the floor is at least as dangerous and cowardly as MM's late and high shot to the head of a standing player.
As for the rules, I'm not sure where in the Laws it allows a referee to be given instructions through his earpiece on what punishment to give (many people were asking who sent him off, the ref on the pitch or the one in the stands) nor where in the Laws it allows a referee to view TV footage of the incident on the screen (as he appeared to on Friday night before dismissing MM).
The standard of officiating in the SL this season has been poor. What is worse is that Wigan players and MM in particular seem to be being held to a stricter interpretation and application of the rules than those of other clubs. Many people around me were expressing the view that things are now out of hand. The different approach taken in the CC Final was being widely compared to that taken with MM.
When you add to this the apparent intervention of the fourth official and what seemed to be viewing of the TV footage by the referee, there is clearly an issue here and Wigan should call for an explanation from the RL.
One final point is that it would be nice if for once a significant proportion of Wigan fans could manage not to jump on the bandwagon of Wigan player bashing. Yes MM has been stupid on occasion this season but the lynch mob that is forming need to calm down.