II Wurzel II Posted May 14, 2012 Report Share Posted May 14, 2012 Must be an obvious answer that im not aware of ?? Why don't footballers get charged for assult when the get caught elbowing or headbutting other players on camera in front of millions of viewers ? Obviously Joey Barton has brought this to mind but theres been a few incidents I can think of Gattuso having a pop at Joe Jordan, Filipe Melo in the 2010 World Cup, Zinedine Zidane's headbutt numerous Wayne Rooney outbursts.... If it was you or I in the street we would get charged with assult and fined.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lrrr Posted May 14, 2012 Report Share Posted May 14, 2012 the same reason rugby players don't when fights break out etc, only time i've ever heard of a rugby player being done was when a punch caused permenant sight damage to the person on the recieving end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Gasbuster Posted May 14, 2012 Report Share Posted May 14, 2012 The latest brawl by the egg chasers (Northampton, last week I think), would surely have lead to prison sentences ? But then, it is just "high jinks" for them though isn't it ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eastonboy Posted May 14, 2012 Report Share Posted May 14, 2012 Duncan Ferguson got sent down years ago for a head-butt whilst playing for Rangers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim S Posted May 14, 2012 Report Share Posted May 14, 2012 I dont know if this is right or not, but Im sure for a person to get charged in most circumstances, the person assaulted has to press charges against them. I know the CPS can bring charges against someone without the person who was assaulted pressing charges - but that's only in more serious cases. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glynriley Posted May 14, 2012 Report Share Posted May 14, 2012 I imagine the police would need to receive a complaint from the victim. Not sure why they can't / wont act on the evidence from tv mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fordy62 Posted May 14, 2012 Report Share Posted May 14, 2012 I imagine the police would need to receive a complaint from the victim. Not sure why they can't / wont act on the evidence from tv mind. Yes, the police wouldn't prosecute without a complaint. Unless it was a pretty major assault. You can have victimless prosecutions (usually domestic assaults witnessed by 3rd parties), but they're hard and the defence would argue (in the absence of Aguero making a complaint) that Aguero consents to such physicalities when he steps onto the football pitch. Plus trials cost thousands of pounds. Why should the police be interested if the person assaulted isn't? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grifty Posted May 14, 2012 Report Share Posted May 14, 2012 I remember when I studied law I asked my lecturer a similar question. This was 6 years ago, but at the time it was along the theme that by entering the field of play the 'victim' would of given consent to physical contact. Otherwise people would start getting done for tackles. Obviously it's not ALL physical contact as it wouldnt include someone coming after you with a baseball bat on the pitch. What Joey Barton did would not of been assault. Especially to Aguero... For a start, that knee was not enough to make a grown man fall over and cry like it did... I couldn't really see a clear cut smack in the face on Tevez, maybe after watching alot of times you can, and putting your head and slightly rubbing it against Kompany's head won't count either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talk Of The Town Posted May 14, 2012 Report Share Posted May 14, 2012 Ive always wondered this. Think of some of those punch ups during ice hockey games Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
II Wurzel II Posted May 14, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 14, 2012 I remember when I studied law I asked my lecturer a similar question. This was 6 years ago, but at the time it was along the theme that by entering the field of play the 'victim' would of given consent to physical contact. Otherwise people would start getting done for tackles. Obviously it's not ALL physical contact as it wouldnt include someone coming after you with a baseball bat on the pitch. What Joey Barton did would not of been assault. Especially to Aguero... For a start, that knee was not enough to make a grown man fall over and cry like it did... I couldn't really see a clear cut smack in the face on Tevez, maybe after watching alot of times you can, and putting your head and slightly rubbing it against Kompany's head won't count either. I can understand that part for ruthless tackles and possibally elbowing as theres always the "momentum" side of the story, but surely walking 5 yards to headbutt or punch someone is diffrent....strange really Same rule applies to us on the terraces, if we were to shout racial abuse for example we would get evicted, prosecuted and banned from the ground for life ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 14, 2012 Report Share Posted May 14, 2012 I remember when I studied law I asked my lecturer a similar question. This was 6 years ago, but at the time it was along the theme that by entering the field of play the 'victim' would of given consent to physical contact. Otherwise people would start getting done for tackles. Obviously it's not ALL physical contact as it wouldnt include someone coming after you with a baseball bat on the pitch. That is how I understand it too. Only in a few instances can you consent to assault/battery, but athletes do but only in so far as it's within the rules of the organized sport. As for why aren't there more prosecutions when players act outside the rules, I imagine the answer lies more in political powers of clubs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
georgebcfc Posted May 14, 2012 Report Share Posted May 14, 2012 It's unenforceable to expect the CPS to prosecute every time something like this happens, although in extreme cases obviously a complaint can be made .etc and would then be pursued Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kermit the Frog Posted May 14, 2012 Report Share Posted May 14, 2012 Ive always wondered this. Think of some of those punch ups during ice hockey games I love Ice Hockey punch-ups, and i suspect that the players do too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nebristolred Posted May 14, 2012 Report Share Posted May 14, 2012 The CPS can enforce charges if they want to in these cases, if the victim complains as well. The rule states that the CPS can charge for any offence that occurs outside of the games rules. However, I would assume they have no interest in pressing charges, given the FA's powers available to them. The CPS will only press charges if it is in the public interest, and given the FA's position, it probably is not in the public's interest to press criminal charges. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedM Posted May 14, 2012 Report Share Posted May 14, 2012 I wonder if he could be prosocuted as he acted after the whistle had blown, and the match stopped, for the 2nd and 3rd offence? Would this make any difference? Yes I can accept players may expect physical contact during the game but when the game has stopped they should be 'safe'. This could also apply to the many incidents that go unseen/unreported in the tunnel too? Would it be in the publics interest? Well I'm not convinced he won't do similar again on or off the pitch, never mind the example set to young fans, or even old ones. A fan hits another in the stands and he'd probably be banned for life but on the pitch you get a fine and an extended holiday and be on full pay. tell me whats right about that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 14, 2012 Report Share Posted May 14, 2012 I wonder if he could be prosocuted There is no doubt he could, but the pfa, FA, clubs etc would all presumably push against it because of the extended negative PR it would cause. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcusX Posted May 14, 2012 Report Share Posted May 14, 2012 I wonder if he could be prosocuted as he acted after the whistle had blown, and the match stopped, for the 2nd and 3rd offence? Would this make any difference? Yes I can accept players may expect physical contact during the game but when the game has stopped they should be 'safe'. This could also apply to the many incidents that go unseen/unreported in the tunnel too? Would it be in the publics interest? Well I'm not convinced he won't do similar again on or off the pitch, never mind the example set to young fans, or even old ones. A fan hits another in the stands and he'd probably be banned for life but on the pitch you get a fine and an extended holiday and be on full pay. tell me whats right about that? I think even Suarez was fully paid during his 8 game suspension. Its so wrong! However, I'm sure Aguero wasnt hurt and couldnt give two sh*ts about what Barton did to him. If the person "assaulted" doesnt complain then that should be the end of it, you cant have everyone running round taking offence on his behalf. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.