On the television it seemed as though Lewis Dunk was trying to say sorry. His hand reached out to referee Anthony Taylor in what appeared to be a gesture of contrition.
The Brighton captain had clearly realised what he had said and how far across the line it had placed him. But by then it was too late. Taylor had heard enough. A straight red card.
And there — almost unnoticed — we had it. The first straight red card issued as punishment for foul and abusive language in the Premier League for more than 11 years.
It is quite extraordinary that it has been so long. Lee Cattermole had been the last player to suffer such a fate while playing in the Tyne-Wear derby for Sunderland. Mike Dean had been the referee.
So if Saturday afternoon at Nottingham Forest’s City Ground felt like a landmark moment then so it should. Match officials in our top division have been putting up with far too much for far too long.
Lewis Dunk was sent off after two bookings for dissent having protested Forest being awarded a penalty
The Brighton defender got in the face of fourth official Andy Davies after his dismissal
Mail Sport has launched a campaign to stop the abuse of referees at all levels of the game
It has always been in their power to issue red cards for being belittled, sworn at and metaphorically kicked around. It’s quite clearly written in IFAB’s Laws of the Game. But for too long, yellow has been the card of choice.
Why? Nobody knows for sure. Maybe it is to do with the fact that if referees applied the law to the letter, they suspect there would be nobody left by the time 90-plus minutes had been played.
In the heat of a quite hectic afternoon in Nottingham, however, Taylor decided it was time to offer a sanction that actually meant something. No slap on the wrist for Dunk but a two-match ban and a dismissal that he should feel quite embarrassed about. In terms of the result, it didn’t change anything. Brighton hung on to win 3-2.
But as Forest midfielder Ryan Yates rose unmarked to power what could have been an equalising header towards goal in stoppage time, the visitors certainly looked like they could have done with a 6ft 3in central defender to clear the danger.
Ultimately, it was Forest manager Steve Cooper who had most to say at full time. He was heavily critical of what he perceived as inconsistencies in Taylor’s performance. His comments were just about on the right side of acceptable. Just.
Managers should be quite within their rights to comment on the way match officials perform. As long as their language is correct and they don’t insinuate bias or ulterior motive, they should feel comfortable expressing a view. Criticism should be allowed to play its part in driving standards. Pretending everything is OK on occasions when it isn’t is of no use to anybody.
What is not OK is the touchline histrionics and full-time melodramas that have become so familiar to all who watch the Premier League on a weekly basis.
It is this blatant disrespect of officials that drips down the football pyramid and distorts the perceptions of those who play on the fields and parks of our island every Saturday and Sunday morning.
Dunk and his tirade will also have been watched and rewatched on TV and across social-media feeds all weekend. But that is only because the outcome was so unusual.
It would be nice — and probably unrealistic — to think team-mates and opponents had clocked it and taken heed. We will watch that particular space.
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