Sports
Referee Emily Heaslip sparked controversy on Sunday when she confirmed Manchester Metropolis’s Alex Greenwood a second yellow card for time wasting.
Greenwood was sent off within the thirty eighth minute of the 1-1 procedure with Chelsea for taking 26 seconds to restart play with a free-kick.
Ex-England goalkeeper Rachel Brown-Finnis described it as a “ridiculous” resolution, whereas fellow former Lioness Fara Williams known as the dismissal “fine”.
So was 26 seconds too lengthy? We beget taken a peek on the information to discover.
There had been six yellow cards for causing delays to play within the most fresh spherical of Girls’s Huge League fixtures.
Liverpool’s Melissa Lawley and Tottenham’s Ashleigh Neville had little to complain about after kicking the ball away, but what about Greenwood and the three others?
- ‘Ridiculous’ red card mars Man Metropolis procedure with Chelsea
- Match document: Manchester Metropolis 1-1 Chelsea
England defender Greenwood, Liverpool’s Taylor Hinds and West Ham’s Risa Shimizu had been all punished for taking too lengthy over a free-kick.
Hinds was booked 26 seconds after the device-share had been awarded, whereas Shimizu was given her yellow after 23 seconds.
Nevertheless, the everyday extend between a free-kick being awarded and taken within the WSL season so some distance has been 34 seconds, whereas it was 32 seconds over the crammed with the earlier campaign.
One other West Ham player, Lisa Evans, was also penalised by referee Amy Fearn after 11 seconds for delaying a throw-in with her facet 2-0 up against Brighton.
Nonetheless the everyday time extend for a throw-in across the present season and the earlier one has been 16 seconds.
Practical time extend (seconds) | ||
---|---|---|
Put of abode share | WSL 2023-24 (12 games) | WSL 2022-23 (132 games) |
Nook | 35 | 34 |
Purpose-kick | 32 | 29 |
Throw-in | 16 | 16 |
Free-kick | 34 | 32 |
Penalty | 66 | 67 |
Kick-off after aim | 65 | 59 |
Why are referees punishing time wasting overtime and again?
The high of referees’ physique PGMOL Howard Webb acknowledged in August he was “optimistic” that officers wouldn’t “flip a blind search for” to execrable behaviour from players and coaches this season.
Officers within the Premier League and EFL had been extra and additional strict on dissent and time wasting which potential that.
“Other folks will want to mark that some behaviours that previously would had been managed or unnoticed must no longer managed or unnoticed,” Webb acknowledged.
“It is most significant our officers recognise, realize and differentiate between emotion and fervour, but for too lengthy officers have not been in a plight to come by that differentiation too smartly or they’ve became a blind search for to optimistic issues, maybe pondering it was the excellent methodology to contend with it, no longer come by a fuss and no longer procedure attention to what may perchance had been perceived as an error on the area.”
Following Sunday’s sport, Manchester Metropolis boss Gareth Taylor known as for “consistency” with refereeing decisions.
“It was 11 yellow cards and two red cards [in total] and it was no longer a malicious sport in any respect,” Taylor added.
“I’m all about respect. It be this form of laborious job for the officers, especially whereas it’s possible you’ll need players coming at you and perchance workers.
“Nonetheless let’s transfer it a little bit bit slower because, if no longer, this would presumably even be an eight-a-facet league unfortunately – if they are consistent.”
Heaslip’s resolution to disclose Greenwood a second yellow card may perchance beget drawn frequent criticism from former and current players, then, but it with out a doubt appears like swift punishment is here to protect as referees strive to clamp down on time-wasting.
Tranquil, Greenwood can perchance be opinion to be beautiful unfortunate to had been sent off for a extend which wasn’t significant out of the same earlier, and for which hundreds of players beget escaped unpunished just recently.
Crucially, even though, her dismissal will act as a expansive warning to other players any extra.