Remember the incident when Ref Drysdale booked Judge for simulation in his attempt to get a last minute penalty? There followed an unseemly incident with Judge shouting at the Ref and wagging his finger at him followed by Drysdale getting up close and personal in Judge's face.
At the FA hearing, Drysdale claims Judge approached him aggressively shouting ' It's a f..king penalty you cheating bald c..t'. The FA suspended Drysdale for four matches and took no action against Judge.
Next time you have any grievance against a Ref, just remember this ruling. If I were a Ref (and when I finished playing I was) my approach would be to award a free kick/penalty for every diving incident because there is absolutely no one in football prepared to defend me if I were to make a wrong call. Perhaps, after enough diving penalties had been awarded, the FA might wake up to the fact that cheats are ruining our game ànd that players need tough displinary measures if they seek to gain an advantage by cheating.
As for the reputation of the FA - well ' Sweet FA' about sums it up!!
Mr Drysdale is a human being. I think most people would understand why he reacted as he did, even if it wasnt the right thing to do. In the amateur leagues referees regularly suffer physical assaults. If Judge can walk away from that incident without penalty, what message is that sending out?
I would be inclined to punish the club in addition to the offending player. If the club were to be deducted a point or two for behaviour as indicated by Glens story, or obvious diving after examination of match footage, I'm sure player discipline would become the credo and perhaps put an end to the amateur dramatics that can spoil the game and can cost other clubs a fortune in a failed promotion push or relegation battle.
