Does Chris Foy deserve a red card?

Manchester City 2 Manchester United 3

Merseyside football referee Chris Foy is usually referred to in the sports pages of our media as a bloke who ‘makes controversial decisions’. In fact, the real problem with Mr Foy is that he is not a very good referee. I am a lifetime 55+ years redeyes Manchester United supporter, but his decision to send off Manchester City’s key defender Konrad in the Derby Game FA Cup-tie this afternoon (Sunday) was probably the daftest and most destructive one I’ve ever seen in more than half a century of watching and playing the game.

His sliding tackle on United’s Nani was not only never a red card, it wasn’t even a foul. The replay on ITV showed quite clearly that Konrad came away with the ball, and had both feet on the ground when the contact occured. Nani didn’t even appeal for a foul. But Chris Foy sent the City man off. Ten minutes later, the referee didn’t award a foul for dreadful tackle by Ryan Giggs. Go figure.

As it happens, United had already gone ahead through a quite remarkable header from Wayne Rooney, and the goals from Welbeck and Rooney (pen) that followed were well-deserved. But Foy’s unfathomable decision destroyed the balance of the game.

There are two points to make here. First, the FA needs to get off its overfed backside and introduce a proper system of monitoring referee performance over time. God knows, the despicable Murdoch pays them enough money. And second, the corrupt regime of Sepp Blatter at FIFA must be brought to an end, and the technology his wallet fears so much introduced for such key game-changing decisions. Not every decision – but certainly for so-called red card possibilities.

Meanwhile, the half-time punditry – with United ahead 3-0 – was truly risible. It says a lot about our knackered, defeatist culture that not a single ‘expert’ in the commentary box thought City had a chance: the Blues would “write the game off”, they would “save their best players’ legs” for other more important games. It was a question of how many United would score.

In fact, City had the score back to 3-2 after 25 minutes. Prior to that, mind you, Foy had turned down an obvious penalty in favour of United in the 75th minute, and then turned down a justified City appeal for penalty handball at the other end. He had a deeply mediocre day…but then, Mr Foy so often does: even at the last, he stood inexplicably in the way of a United clearance, from which City gained what might have been a crucial corner.

All that said, despite the ref’s attempts to ruin it – this was a belter of a Cup-tie. But City’s comeback in the second half showed only too glaringly how the final result could have been very different. Ferguson’s United have several vital players injured, but the man in charge at Old Trafford needs to get a grip: there is a lot of casual assumption in United’s team, with too much mediocrity and old age creeping in. Giggs, for example, is now a beat behind the music, and losing his sense of timing in the tackle. And as for Phil Jones, well, he simply isn’t a United player.

Let me just close by observing that the Peterborough v Sunderland tie later in the afternoon spent the first six broadcast minutes with a loss of commentary sound. It was a blessed relief from gobbledygook about channels, coming forward from the back, forward midfield, keeping it nice and tight, and giving it some.