Nasri Right To Hack Barton - Gallas
-
Joey Barton made his unceremonious return to football last Saturday, taking to the field for the final few minutes of a 3-0 flattening at the hands of Arsenal, booed by the entirety of the Emirates Stadium. His first act upon taking the field was a heavy and potentially dangerous tackle on Samir Nasri, and despite winning the ball, the manner in which he dove in and goaded the Frenchman thereafter was not to come without consequence.
Moments later, in an off the ball incident, Nasri tripped Barton and, having not been seen by the referee, escaped punishment. It was as if the former Marseille man was making a statement that he would not be bullied in the Premier League, and despite taking a barrage of criticism from Kevin Keegan, who tried to bring the player to the club, he has also made himself a few friends for giving Barton, a renowned thug, a taste of his own medicine.
It is by now known across the country and beyond just what Joey Barton has become during his footballing career. The midfielder has been hit with various assault charges - most infamously on former Manchester City team-mate Ousmane Dabo - for which he recently served a prison sentence. He has since had his Nike sponsorship revoked and was on the verge of leaving St James' Park only for Keegan, in one of his final acts as manager before quitting the club for a second time, pleaded for him to stay and to be supported.
He has been hit with a 12-game ban by the Football Association, six of which are suspended. Therefore, a recently convicted criminal will face only double the initial punishment faced for a two-footed tackle. Arsenal captain William Gallas, who leapt to Nasri's defence upon the final whistle last Saturday, believes the ban should have been far more severe. “In my opinion [the ban] is not long enough, especially when you think about his attack on Ousmane Dabo and everything he has done besides,” the Arsenal captain told the Sunday Express. "I don't understand The Football Association."
Gallas, himself something of a hate figure for his notorious bad attitude, then made a controversial remark of his own, contending that Barton deserved being tripped by Nasri in light of his various misdemeanours. Keegan rightly contended in his post-match press conference that when considering the referee's assistant had seen the challenge from the touchline, it was his duty to flag and for Nasri to be shown a red card.
The Gunners' skipper, with unashamed bias against Barton, felt differently. "The moment Barton came on to the pitch [against Arsenal] he made a bad challenge on Samir Nasri," he said, continuing, "Samir responded with an act that maybe wasn't especially nice. But bearing in mind the player he did it to, then fair enough."crazy captain?
-
i think Wenger should throw Gallas out now..
