The Republic of Ireland hosted Wales in a World Cup qualifier last Friday, a game which was instantly forgettable from a footballing aspect, a drawn out 0-0 draw. However the reason the game will live on in the memory was Seamus Coleman's horrific leg injury which will see him out of action potentially until 2018. Breaking his leg in two places, the Everton full back is set to miss around 8 months of action, and despite FIFA covering his wages, it will be of little condolence to the man who was part of an Everton side on the up. Swansea defender Neil Taylor was the man who committed the foul and the incident is currently undergoing examination by FIFA to see if a retrospective increase in suspension would be appropriate. Taylor wasn't the only Welsh player however guilty of a horror challenge, with Real Madrid forward Gareth Bale escaping a deserved red card after lunging into John O'Shea with his studs showing, the Sunderland defender perhaps lucky not to face the same fate his team mate did in the second half. Bale was awarded a yellow card for his tackle, despite deserving a red in the eyes of a lot of people! However if Bale had been awarded a red for his horrible challenge, would Coleman still be on the end of the horror tackle by Taylor?
It is the job for the referee to make sure the players know exactly what they can and can't get away with on the football pitch. A reason a lot of officials will award an early free kick or yellow card is to show the players that they are not willing to take any trouble. The same can be said to the other extreme as well, for example in big local derbies. The tackles are likely to be flying in more then your average game, but to allow the game to flow the referee may choose to let a few more challenges go then he normally would, it is all about consistency within the game. If a player knows the referee is going to award him with a yellow, or red card for a rash or dangerous tackle he may be more inclined to stand his man up rather then diving in. Going back to Friday nights game, Bale lunged in at O'Shea studs up and with no control over the tackle and was given a yellow card by the match official. Even if he had no intention of doing this, that decision may have said to the rest of the players on the pitch that they can get away with a more dangerous tackle tonight, leading to Taylor's tackle. Taylor, much like Bale before, lunged in on Coleman, completely out of control which lead to the double leg break. Had Bale been rightfully sent off for his first half challenge it may have acted as a warning to the other players on the pitch and Taylor instead of diving in may have taken a step back and challenged Coleman on his feet, taking away the risk of a red card.
Ireland manager Marin O'Neil seemed to agree with this point when during a press conference following the game he was asked if he believes broken leg could have been avoided with a red card for Gareth Bale. He replied: "He may have done. That's true. The referee is in charge of the game." "I thought both challenges when I have seen them back have been very, very poor. very poor indeed." This opinion is one with a lot of merit, the flow of the game would have drastically changed if Bale was sent off and the players would have perhaps felt less inclined to commit such a risky and dangerous tackle.
With Seamus Coleman set to spend a lengthy period of time on he sidelines, the thoughts of all football fans are with him and I'm sure I speak for everyone when I wish him a speedy recovery and hope he returns as good as ever!
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