Manchester City Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread 2011/2012

Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany has issued a response to his failed appeal against a red card picked up during Sunday’s FA Cup derby defeat to Manchester United.

The Belgian was sent off after just 12 minutes for a challenge on Nani by referee Chris Foy, with the FA turning down the defender’s appeal on Tuesday and upholding his four-game suspension.

Kompany then took to his personal Facebook page to offer what he described as “a moment of reflection” on what he sees as the possible beginning of a spate of red cards for similar issues.

He said: “I appealed because I obviously completely disagreed with the interpretation of the officials on the day but that happens in football and we move on.

“I wonder, though, if we are now going to see an unprecedented wave of red cards on matchdays because we sanction ‘ifs’ and ‘maybes’? Are we going to look back at video evidence for every single challenge that goes unnoticed by the officials, look at different scenarios and potential outcomes of what could have been considered a good tackle and then sanction it?

“Players and managers are starting to expect more sendings-off from referees and I think it's for the wrong reasons.

“My understanding is that English football prides itself on the hardness, the fairness and the tradition of its game.

“That is why hundreds of millions of people tune in to watch Premier League football and English referees have always been a key factor to that success in my opinion. So I don't agree with people saying that referees in this country aren't doing well as I think they are the best in the world.

“Hopefully common sense will prevail again in the future and I for one hope not to see consistency in sendings-offs and suspensions when the intent of a player is to win the ball.

“I'd like to add to this that I waited for the suspension to be confirmed before making any comments on the matter as I didn't want to give the impression that I was using the media as a tool to benefit my own personal agenda in this case.

“I'm not speaking on behalf of the club or anybody else, this isn't me defending myself, this is just me raising a genuine concern.

“If football fans decide I'm wrong in raising these concerns then I will have no problem in accepting the fact that times are changing again for our game.”

The 25-year-old's statement drew differing responses from readers on the social network site.

"Well said Vinny. We will miss you for the next four games, no doubt. As you say, we want consistency but we don't want a league bereft of the physicality any more than we do unnecessary injuries," said one commenter.

However, another reader strongly rejected the City captain's words, declaring: "This is rubbish, Vincent. You jumped in two-footed and off the ground with your studs up and you endangered the safety of one of your fellow footballers by doing so.

"You simply cannot do this any more, regardless of whether you get the ball or not. You should know this as referees will have explained it to you at the beginning of the season. It was a blatant red and now you move on."

Another commenter agreed that the physicality of English football should be preserved, saying: "Yeah, I watch the EPL because of the toughness and pride players take in their skills. The EPL is slowly becoming a non-contact sport and it disgusts me. There were many other tackles in that same game that were much worse."