Crime and Punishment

Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp was clearly incensed by Joey Barton’s 39th minute assault on Pedro Mendes, and he was perfectly entitled to be. The Manchester City midfielder relentlessly pursued and raked Mendes’ Achilles tendon, leaving him in agony before being stretchered off, unable to take any further part in the game.

Unfortunately, the game was refereed by Mike Dean, an official whose arrogance is matched only by his incompetence, so Barton escaped with a yellow card when he should have been given a straight red.

Understandably, Harry found it difficult to contain his anger at this injustice and according to reports he approached the referee at half time to tell him where he had gone wrong. Referees like Mike Dean, undeterred by the fact that they know virtually nothing about the game, do not approve of managers who dare to question their judgement and Harry was duly banished to the stands for the second half.

So thanks to the incompetence and arrogance of the referee, Barton was not given the appropriate punishment for a serious offence and Redknapp was given an inappropriate punishment for telling the truth, albeit no doubt in the most colourful terms.

All of which leaves us wondering what officials like Mike Dean have to do to get punished.