Source: Telegraph
Sam Allardyce says using video evidence against Cristiano Ronaldo is 'flawed'
Manchester United forward Ronaldo, who went on to score the winner in Saturday's 2-1 victory, was caught lashing out at Dunn by television cameras. [LNB]Referee Howard Webb failed to take any action, but Ronaldo could be hit with a three-game ban if the FA review the incident. [LNB]Manchester City midfielder Shaun Wright-Phillips is serving a three-match suspension after being banned as a result of retrospective evidence for kicking out at Stoke's Rory Delap last month. [LNB]However, Ewood Park manager Allardyce claims that the biggest losers if Ronaldo suffers a ban would be Blackburn, not United. [LNB]Allardyce said: "The referee should have spotted it, but is it any good to me if the FA take retrospective action? No it isn't. I'd sooner that they take no action against Cristiano Ronaldo than see him punished for it. [LNB]"If they take action against him, then it might ultimately be detrimental to me if he's suspended for games against our rivals. If the FA punish Ronaldo, I could be suffering twice for something that the referee didn't see. [LNB]"I don't think that is right, but in my opinion, the current system of retrospective punishment is totally and utterly flawed. [LNB]"If somebody has done something wrong against us, why should another club get the benefit? [LNB]"Maybe they should bring in the technology that allows us to make the decision there and then at the game. Get the right decision straightaway because it then affects both sides involved."[LNB]Allardyce, whose team face Coventry in a fifth-round FA Cup replay at the Ricoh Arena on Tuesday night, was furious with referee Webb for failing to award a penalty following Rafael da Silva's late foul on Morten Gamst Pedersen. [LNB]And he claims that Webb, due to take charge of the Champions League clash between Atletico Madrid and Porto in Spain on Tuesday, is paying the price for taking charge of too many games. [LNB]The Yorkshire official has refereed 30 games in all competitions this season, three fewer than Phil Dowd and the same number as Mike Dean. [LNB]Allardyce said: "The trouble with Howard is that he is on European duty now, so should he have been refereeing Manchester United against Blackburn or should he have been having a rest. [LNB]"Has he had too many games? They think he is the best referee but I don't."[LNB]Meanwhile, Coventry manager Chris Coleman yesterday claimed: "People may think I'm dreaming, but I'm serious when I say that we can do well in this competition. We are home to Blackburn at it will be hard, yes. But not impossible. If we beat Blackburn we are home to Chelsea. It is not impossible. [LNB]"It is the same team that Chelsea had a month ago, with all of the problems," he went on, downplaying the hype of Guus Hiddink's arrival. "The manager has freshened things up, but they are the same players. Last year they went up to Barnsley and lost."[LNB]Seeing as the squad was laid low with food poisoning inflicted by their own chefs before the original tie with Blackburn, who equalised in added time thanks to a pitch invasion by a streaker dressed as Cupid, one would have forgiven Coleman for feeling that harmony has not been restored yet. Far from it. [LNB]"At the moment there is good harmony," he insisted. "Blackburn is a game we can win, and if we get it right, it is a game we will win." Blackburn defender Martin Olsson doesn't agree, although he admits that his side must focus on the Premier League, and Saturday's important fixture against Hull. [LNB]"We know we are good as a team and we know we can beat Coventry even if we don't have the strongest squad," he said. "It is an important game because we want to go to Wembley, but the Premier League is more important and we have to focus on that."[LNB]
