Source: Daily_Mail
Martin Samuel: Mathieu Flamini's assault brings shame on the Champions League
Put aside UEFA's action against AC Milan captain Gennaro Gattuso. He does not matter. He lost his rag and made a fool of himself in the San Siro on Tuesday night, but he is not the real villain. The real villain is about to get away with it. [LNB]Mathieu Flamini should be facing the most severe punishment this morning. He is the one who should be sweating on his short-term future in the shirt of Milan in Europe.[LNB]Flamini made a despicable tackle that could have ended the career of Tottenham's Vedran Corluka. If there was any justice he should play no further part in the competition for the best part of this year.[LNB]Read Martin Samuel's view from the San Siro in the aftermath of Tottenham's historic win Brutal: Flamini is completely out of control (above) as he flies into his two-footed tackle on Corluka, whose right ankle takes the full force of the Milan midfielder's despicable challenge (below) [LNB] A nice round number, 10 games, shoulddo it. Enough to keep Flamini out of the rest of this tournament, even if Milan were to reach the final. Enough to make a big dent in the groupaction next season, too. [LNB]The midfielder should be given a punishment that stands as a warning and a benchmark: endanger the physical well-being of an opponent and there will be no hiding place. That, however, would take a quality few at the top, UEFA or our own Football Association, possess: most specifically, a spine.[LNB]Football administrators are adept athandling the peripheral or the meaningless. Give them a financial issue, a snood or a goal celebration to regulate and they will sit in meetings all night long. [LNB]Present them with an issue that cuts to the heart of the matter, the protection of players from outright brutality, and they run a mile.[LNB]Flamini will escape with the yellow card awarded by hapless referee Stephane Lannoy because UEFA claim theofficial made a factual decision and they cannot undermine him. This is a lie.[LNB] [LNB] Sorry end: Tottenham are still awaiting results of scans to Corluka's ankle[LNB]Article 77 of FIFA's disciplinary code states that its disciplinary committee has responsibility for rectifying obvious errors in the referee's disciplinary decisions. [LNB]This, one presumes, includes occasions when a referee has meted out the same punishment for a vicious, potentially leg-breaking tackle that he would give for taking off a shirt to celebrate a goal. Indeed, Italy is one of the countries that has already tested this law by using video evidence to act when it was considered the referee erred. [LNB]Milos Krasic, of Juventus, was bannedfor two matches for diving in a Serie A game against Bologna, even though the match official had given a free-kick.[LNB]So it is a myth, this incapacity to act. More significantly, it is a dereliction of duty in club football'smost prestigious competition. Gattuso will be disciplined, no doubt, but his behaviour pales by comparison to Flamini's. [LNB]Gattuso damaged his own reputation and that of the club he captains. Flamini could have put an opponent in hospital or out of football. [LNB]UEFA make a big show of fair play but, when it matters, they are straw men, hiding behind rules that do not exist. [LNB]Champions League? They're having a laugh.[LNB] [LNB] Woodgate: Milan comeback has proved everybody wrong over meUEFA launch probe into AC Milan nutter Gennaro Gattuso after heated clash with Spurs coach Joe JordanThe verdicts on Spurs' memorable night in Milan from Crouch, Gomes and Dawson Jordan accused of 'cowardly' four-letter insult as Gattuso faces lengthy banAll the latest Tottenham news, features and opinion[LNB] Explore more:People: Martin Samuel Places: Milan, Italy, Europe Organisations: Football Association
