Source: Telegraph
Fifa medical officer concerned by 'criminal' tackles in top-flight football
Speaking on the back of Nigel de Jong's leg-breaking collision with Hatem Ben Arfa, and Danny Murphy's assertion that it is the managers to blame for effectively inciting their own players, D'Hooghe believes the 'beautiful game' is being tarnised by "criminal acts" on the pitch.[LNB]D'Hooghe told BBC Sport: "Some players come on the field... simply to provoke injuries in other persons - to break a career," he said. [LNB] Related ArticlesMurphy blasts 'brainless' tacklersBen Arfa refuses De Jong visitDe Jong 'crossed a line' with tackleNewcastle want De Jong punishedMancini defends 'great player' De JongPFA chief wants former players to judge tackles"I have two eyes, where I can see what happens - how some acts are really criminal."[LNB]Murphy, the Fulham captain, yesterday launched a fierce attack on some of the 'brainless' tackling in the Premier League and accused Tony Pulis, Sam Allardyce and Mick McCarthy of being culpable.[LNB]Fulham have lost Bobby Zamora this season to a broken leg following a challenge by Wolves' Karl Henry, while Moussa Dembele has not played following a widely-condemned tackle from Stoke's Andy Wilkinson.[LNB]Fulham were also unhappy with a challenge from Blackburn's El-Hadj Diouf on Mark Schwarzer earlier this season. [LNB]Murphy said: "The pace some of the players are going into tackles at is ridiculous. There are no brains in the players doing that. I don't believe they are going out to break the legs of their opponents but there's no logic or intelligence in what they are doing. [LNB]'You get managers sending teams out to stop other sides from playing, which is happening more and more.[LNB]"Stoke, Blackburn and Wolves - you can say they're doing what they can to win the game - but the fact is that the managers are sending the players out so pumped up that inevitably there are going to be problems."[LNB]"The thing I think people miss is that it's the managers who dictate what the players do and how they behave. If you have a manager in control of his team, who doesn't allow these things to go on you have a more disciplined team." [LNB]Newcastle United, meanwhile, have expressed frustration that, under current Fifa laws, the FA cannot discipline Manchester City midfielder De Jong because match referee Martin Atkinson did not penalise the Dutchman for his tackle on Ben Arfa. [LNB]D'Hooghe, though, feels that if there is clear video evidence, a football association should act accordingly. He said: "It's not because it's not been seen on the field that suddenly nothing happened."[LNB]D'Hooghe, a member of Fifa's executive committee, has also offered his support to Holland coach Bert van Marwijk for dropping De Jong over his leg-breaking tackle.[LNB]"I have made a compilation of brutality over the last two or three years in the main competitions in the world and it is amazing," he said.[LNB]"On the one hand I am happy that some leaders take responsibility - on the other hand I am very sad that he (Van Marwijk) did not do the same at the final of the World Cup."[LNB]
