Campbell red card will stand
Artykuły
Artykuł pochodzi z pisma "Guardian"
Dominic Fifield, Alan Biggs and David Alexander
Friday April 18, 2003
The Guardian
Sol Campbell's faint hopes of featuring in Arsenal's title run-in and the FA Cup final were dashed last night after the referee Mark Halsey upheld his decision to dismiss the England centre-half for elbowing Manchester United's Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Campbell, sent off with eight minutes remaining of Wednesday's explosive 2-2 draw at Highbury, was briefly encouraged yesterday after Arsenal confirmed they would appeal against his second red card of the season. But Halsey's match report submitted to the Football Association will confirm his satisfaction that the 28-year-old was guilty of violent conduct, effectively condemning the defender to a four-match ban and leaving Arsenal's pursuit of a double Double teetering on the brink.
"I am happy with the decision," said the Lancashire official, who insisted that he had seen the 82nd-minute incident clearly and had merely consulted with his assistant Nigel Miller to confirm the severity of Campbell's offence. A subsequent examination on video reinforced his belief that he had made the correct decision.
As a result the defender, his dismissal at Southampton in November increasing the statutory punishment from three to four matches, will now miss the vital Premiership games against Leeds, Southampton and Sunderland as well as the Cup final in Cardiff against the Saints.
Arsene Wenger's immediate reaction was to reject the 49th dismissal of his managerial reign in north London as "a joke", though he must now contemplate life without his defensive linchpin as he attempts to claw back United's three-point advantage at the top. "I have watched the incident again on video and it was obviously accidental," said the Frenchman yesterday. "Sol didn't mean to hurt Solskjaer - I know the man - and the striker's reaction certainly did not help. A four-game ban would be very unjust, so we have appealed."
That process has now been set in motion with the paperwork received at the FA's headquarters in Soho Square last night. However, the authorities will be reluctant to undermine Halsey's authority by asking him to review his decision, with the FA's video panel empowered to act only when incidents are missed altogether by the match officials.
"Sol is so important to us and he'll be a big loss," admitted Dennis Bergkamp. "He is massive not only in the way he plays but also in terms of his inspiration to the rest of us."
Wenger will at least be able to call on Patrick Vieira for the critical final weeks of the campaign after a scan on the midfielder's troublesome knee indicated the injury was not as bad as first feared. Vieira limped off after 34 minutes against United, prompting fears that his season could be over. Instead he will spend the next fortnight resting the joint and is hopeful of returning for the home game against Leeds on May 4.
appeal - odwoływać się
authority - autorytet, władza,
briefly - przelotnie, pokrótce
brink - krawędź, granica
condemn - potępiać, skazywać
confirm - potwierdzać
contemplate - kontemplować, przemysleć, zastanowić się, rozwazyc
dash - ciskać, rzucać, trzaskać; cios, uderzenie
defender - obrońca
dismissal - dymisja, odprawa, odrzucenie, zwolnienie
effective - skuteczny, efektywny
elbow - szturchać, popychać; łokieć
empower - upoważniać, nadać pełnomocnictwo
faint - nikły, słaby
feature - cechować, charakteryzować; cecha, rys szczegołny
indicate - oznaczać, wskazywać
linchpin - podpora
managerial - kierowniczy
merely - jedynie, zaledwie
reign - panować, panowanie
reinforce - wzmacniać
reject - odrzucać
reluctant - niechętny, oporny
severity - ostrość, powaga
statutory - ustawowy, regulaminowy, statutowy
subsequent - następujący, następny
undermine - podważyć, podkopać
unjust - niesprawiedliwy, niesłuszny
