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Last updated: 28th December 2007

Ricardo Carvalho

A record 19 players were dismissed on Boxing Day and a number of high-profile sending offs were for two-footed tackles.

Ricardo Carvalho and Brynjar Gunnarsson both saw red at the weekend for what were deemed to be reckless lunges with both feet.

Their dismissals further fuelled a debate that has been raging in recent weeks following red cards dished out for similar offences committed by Peter Crouch, Didier Zokora, Stephen Ireland and Robbie Keane.

The Professional Game Match Officials Board insist there has been no clampdown directed from up above, but what's your view on the issue?

Are referees going over the top, do players need to show more control and what is a suitable punishment for those that commit two-footed challenges?

Let us know your views by filling in the feedback form below.

Comments

Scott Martin says...

A referee should be afforded a degree of discretion where tackling is concerned. Common sense should, essentially, prevail. Football is becoming too soft and we witness too many dives and theatrics which detract from the game. There is nothing wrong with a full-blooded challenge provided it is fair. Robbie Keane's sending off was a terrible decision but Peter Crouch Should have been sent off prior to his mindless assault on Mikel for being ugly. I advocate strong challenges and I quite enjoy watching the over-reactions and girly fights that ensue thereafter. Players should have more freedom to tackle hard and raise their hands to slap each other afterwards. It may be chauvanistic to say that football is a man's game but I believe the female soccer stars of the US and Germany tackle far harder than fairies like many in the Premiership. I think players should be more harshly punished for playacting and simulation.

Posted 12:59 4th January 2008

Mario Grungo says...

These tackles should be banned. Good for the referees to clamp down on these viscious tackles. Apart from being nasty they can injure, sometimes permanenty, a player, ending his career prematurely.

Posted 09:58 4th January 2008

S Burnett says...

These tackles are simply career ending challenges and they must be treated with greater punishment i.e. longer bans and far greater fines Etc... If a player carries out this type of tackle and it results in ending another player's career then i believe it needs to be treated as a criminal affence of serious assaut and the cancellation of his professional status. As with any crime there are options and you don't have to tackle in such a mindless way!

Posted 01:32 1st January 2008

Dawn Blake (West Ham United fan) says...

Just to put a another angle on this subject and I also suspect it will be received with a degree of derision. I feel that some of these players being sent off for very rash challenges it seems are, I reckon, doing it deliberately. Think about it. A lot of them are foreign. They earn vast amounts of money. They may even be home sick. Have lots of relatives abroad. Yes! you know where I'm going with this. It is a ligitimate way of being unavailable to the team & club, a kind of, in common ordinary workingman parlance, 'throwing a sicky!' It sounds cynical I know, but by looking at it from another perspective you know it makes sense. They have a break. A three match ban which could last for, perhaps 7 to 10 days?? A 3 day excursion or more could easily be arranged in between. Furthermore, they might just fancy a break!

Posted 19:23 30th December 2007

Andy Billington says...

Two footed lunges are red card musts. if a player is injured by one maybe the offender could sit the same length out if guilty. I saw Eduardo for Arsenal try and snap Hibberts leg and didnt even get a warning yet there were two red cards in that game! Typically it was Eduardo who was the match winner with two goals. Maybe the refs should look at themselves and say why the top 4 minus chelsea get away with everything and the others get the true punishment!

Posted 17:07 30th December 2007

Rich Barnes says...

I am a bit annoyed that the referees are getting some of the blame for these tackles and not clamping down. The bottom line is that the players make the challenges, they need to self police and stop it happening. If they stopped this sort of challenge there would not be adebate!!!! and where are their managers????? Don't blame the refs, blame the players!!!!

Posted 07:46 30th December 2007

F. Veerman (Celtic fan) says...

This is a no-brainer. These tackles have everything to do with the huge financial flows in football today. If you want to keep British football the most attractive kind there is, the rules of the game should be followed and these tackles should be banned.

Posted 10:21 29th December 2007

Kieron Fuller (Chelsea fan) says...

I was at the chelsea game i admit the carvaleho sending off was deserved but at times the challenges make the game more tense. The only way they could be fair is if the player gets 100% of the ball

Posted 10:09 29th December 2007

K Ramke (Manchester United fan) says...

Two footed tackle does not have a place in the game of football. It is not an art, but rather an act of violence. Two footed tackle can ruin the entire career of a player, thus it should be punished to the maximum according the law of football - that is a straight RED.

Posted 06:56 29th December 2007

Chris Dudley (Liverpool fan) says...

We have seen two foot challenges in football since football has been played yet we're talking about it like it's a new dimension in the game. I don't like Rafa's idea of checking the video after the game in order to punish players. We seem to be continuously eliminating the human element from the game which is played, refereed and watched by humans. Send off the players who don't play by the rules and move on.

Posted 02:04 29th December 2007

Graeme Singapore (Nottingham Forest fan) says...

I think a red card is way too harsh for a 2 footed tackle. It's good to see players go in with these sorts of challenges - it shows determination, that the game really matters to them, and sometimes its the only way to take the ball from the opponent. Red cards should only be used in severe cases like bullying. It's a fact in football that no one has ever been injured through a 2 footed tackle, so I think it's just a lot of fuss over nothing at all.

Posted 01:03 29th December 2007

Jake Brown (Aston Villa fan) says...

I think the referees are making a mountain out of a mole hill. Yes these tackles are dangerous, but how many actually cause injury? I think there is as much chance of getting injured in any other tackle. Booking if you get the ball, red card if you get the man, or even INTRODUCE SIN BINS!

Posted 00:48 29th December 2007

Ernest Wilkinson says...

Longtime Arsenal fan (since 1936!) Two footed tackles are so dangerous and should be penalised with a red card for that match. However as they are likely to scause serious damage to a player on the receiving end which may put him out for several games, or even months in the event of a broken leg, why shouldn't the offender be suspended for a minimum of six games, with instructions to the club he plays for to suspend wages for that period. That would hurt the player where he would feel it most and the club would soon clamp down on a player who couldn't play for it at what might be a vital time. His team mates wouldn't be too thrilled either if the team lost vital games and the offender was a key member of the team

Posted 23:06 28th December 2007

Kevin Donnelly (Chelsea fan) says...

I agree that two footed tackles deserve an immediate red. The subsequent ban should however not be arbitary. Instead a video panel, preferably consisting of competant people, should decide on the length of the ensuing ban. Intent should be harshly treated whereas accidents (for want of a better term) should be treated less severly. The video panel should also have the power to punish even if the ref did not send the culprit off during the match.

Posted 22:13 28th December 2007

Ken Stephenson says...

Two footed challenges are dangerous and potentially carear threatening. The referees in recent games have been spot on in dishing out red cards. To Jonathon Gibb (Rangers fan) What if Gunnarson had made contact? The Laws are clear attempting to commit a foul is as liable to action being taken as actully commiting the foul. Peter Walton was spot on also I would say Mr Walton's red card is one of the least used in the Premier League. To David Roberts the foul on John Terry was a genuine attempt to play the ball it was mistimed. Take you Chelsea glasses off.

Posted 21:57 28th December 2007

John Lines (Newcastle United fan) says...

Any tackle, whether one or two footed is punishable with a straight red if it endangers the safety of an opponent. Full stop. Contact with the ball, or indeed the opponent is not a consideration within the laws of the game. All fans and players should be made to read the laws. Then we would learn a lot. As a determined amatuer player (centre-half or centre forward) I earned my place on account of flouting the laws of the game. I have broken opponent's legs and in December 2004 I suffered a double fracture of my right leg having 'left my foot in' on a goalkeeper. Dangerous one footed tackle- my fault. In my comeback game after seven months I was wiped out in the 80th minute with a two footed tackle. It was so vicious it gave me new breaks and bent the titanium nail in my shin. The opponent also played the ball, but it was still a hideous tackle. I have mounted a new comeback with some success. I coach my son's team and I have taught them all to tackle with skill and safety in mind. Steve Coppell's description sums it up well "the two footed JUMP tackle". I hope this clampdown continues. It will make the game a much better game.

Posted 21:53 28th December 2007

Baz Chapman says...

Although overseas players have brought a lot of skill full football with them they have also brought alot of unwanted skills with them,diving being one but two footed tackles is the most dangerous type of tackle in football,why players think its ok to tackle in that way and to think why they should not be booked or sent off is way beyond me..there should be a automatic 4 game ban and managers should be fined heavely to get the message across to there players.It will only be a matter of time before these tackles filter down through non league football then sunday/saturday football and end with 9 and 10 yro kids thinking it right to do it.Any two footed tackle whether the ball is won or not should be banned forthwith .

Posted 20:53 28th December 2007

Raymond Mccabe (Hearts fan) says...

Two footed tackles are leg or ankle break jobs and can shatter any players career in the long term. It is the protest of innocence that incenses me when offenders are carded and as other Fans have commented it is only players lacking the skill of tackling who resort to such a tactic.

Posted 20:19 28th December 2007

Steve Banks (Arsenal fan) says...

Rugby is a game for thugs played by gentleman whereas Football is a game for gentleman played by thugs. Red cards for 2 footed tackles fully justified

Posted 20:00 28th December 2007

Pat Dineen (Arsenal fan) says...

With so much attention being given to two footed tackles, I am worried that the one footed leg breakers, over the ball tackles, elbows in he face, follow thru kicks etc. will now be considered less offensive and maybe even acceptable. I can see the Robbie Savages of this world pleading with the referree that he only went in with one foot. Kevin Davis telling the referee he didn't use any feet, just a pointy elbow. John Terry telling the referee that he used no feet or hands when he followed all the way through with his 6' 3" wrestlers frame (Oh, he's English, I shouldn't have said that). Punish the thugs, for ALL bad tackles, then they won't be arround often enough to make two footed challenges.

Posted 18:59 28th December 2007

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