In the recent Chelsea v Tottenham match the Spurs players completely "lost it" when it finished 2-2 and thereby ended their chances of beating the Foxes to the Premiership. (Many might recall a small party taking place at Mr Vardy's residence
) Mousa Dembele then clearly and incontrovertably made contact with Diego Costa's eye, and was rightly banned.
BUT HE WAS ONLY BANNED FOR SIX MATCHES!
And then Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino brands the ban 'unfair' claiming the punishment for the eye-gouge was at odds with a typical three-match suspension received for a violent tackle.
He seems to have lost sight of the fact that eye-gouging can mean that the victim actually loses their sight (permanently)!
Yet in Rugby Union we see bans of over a year (quite rightly). And some players have been banned where there is actually no clear evidence that contact was made with the eye! (Tigers suffering for this, as we all know).
I am just surprised that this comparative issue has not been raised more in the media (but I may have missed it). It does tend to back up the feeling that football players are worth so much to clubs that they cannot afford to not have them available to play, and that money has blinded clubs and managers to what the real issue is.
So I thought that I would put this before you all - my fellow posters - and invite comments. (Although I can guess what the majority will say). Maybe we should campaign for greater equality between sports for punishing such misdemeanours!
