Barry Ferguson On SFA's Vincent Lunny

[Super_Ally 0]

celtc will be a close second to rangers in players getting done.

 

Yeh probably in truth. Though the incident Barry highlights supports the complete opposite. And he missed an opportunity to point that out with clear evidence.

[the gunslinger 3,366]

Yeh probably in truth. Though the incident Barry highlights supports the complete opposite. And he missed an opportunity to point that out with clear evidence.

 

the trouble is evidence would not back him up. my bet is both rangers and celtc exceed all other clubs put together.

 

it's actually hilarious that after years of rangers suffering from lunny dundee utd go wild and ban the bbc the minute they get their firs taste of him.

[Zappa 0]

Just seen Lunny's photo in Barry's article. No wonder he's been nicknamed "father Lunny".

[biggordy 0]

BARRY FERGUSON vents his anger at the sentence passed down to Gunning for flicking a boot at Celtic’s Virgil van Dijk, and says it is a common occurrence during matches.

 

20 Sep 2013 07:22

 

Vincent Lunny.Vincent Lunny.

I DON’T care much for the SFA. I’m unlikely to get a job offer from them any time soon, that’s for sure.

 

And this column won’t help my relationship with them either because I find it impossible to discuss the people in charge of our game without working myself into an angry rant.

 

Here’s the problem. This should be a positive period for the Scottish game. The national team is on the way back under Gordon Strachan and Celtic were a credit to the country in the San Siro.

 

As much as it might stick in my throat as a Rangers man, Neil Lennon and his side were excellent against AC Milan. They were the better team for 75 minutes and didn’t deserve to lose.

 

So that’s all good. We should be feeling better about ourselves again. I should be able to look guys in the eye in the dressing room at Blackpool again and say: “You see, I told you Scottish football isn’t as bad as you lot make out.”

 

But then the SFA go and do something stupid and you’re left to wonder why you bother. The people who run the game in this country seem hellbent on turning us all into a bad joke.

 

And I’m sick of it. For the last week I’ve had guys down here laughing at the Ian Black betting case and asking me: “What the hell is going on up there? Can you guys not get anything right?”

 

And there’s nothing I can say in Scotland’s defence.

 

Down here it’s a different story. The game is run with total transparency, clear rules and disciplinary procedures that are set in stone. Everyone knows where they stand.

 

Cameron Jerome? He broke the rules on betting and got a 50 grand fine. It was all done and dusted in a matter of days.

 

But how long was the Black saga allowed to rumble on for? It dragged from one week to the next, one meeting to another.

 

Even when he was finally hauled to Hampden the SFA kept everyone waiting for the decision. They hummed and hawed but said nothing for hours. And when they did, they refused to give out the details.

 

Would it have been so difficult for chief executive Stewart Regan to come out and explain exactly what had gone on? To give details of the games in which Black had bet against his team and the reasons behind his punishment?

 

Why would he NOT want to get the facts out there? I just don’t get it.

 

I’ve had my say on Black. If he was in my dressing room I wouldn’t be happy with him.

 

But I’ve also been in trouble so many times at Rangers that I know the club’s disciplinary procedures inside out.

 

They get you in, it’s done and dusted within an hour or two then they make a statement.

 

Why do the SFA find it so hard to act as decisively?

 

There’s another thing that annoys me. Can anyone tell me what Vincent Lunny does? Does anyone know his remit or on what basis he decides which player he’s going to ban next?

 

Does he sit in his house with his feet up and glass of red wine on a Sunday night watching the highlights on the BBC?

 

And if he sees some incident replayed in slow motion, is that when he takes it upon himself to act? Because that would be a disgrace.

 

I’ve been playing top-team football for going on 18 years. In that time there must have been about 10 incidents in every game which could have led to a player being slapped on the wrists or fined. It happens all the time.

 

If Vincent wants to apply the rules fairly and across the board he should be watching every minute of every game or, if that’s too much, employ people to watch them for him. There are plenty of ex-pros out there looking for work.

 

But all the games should be reviewed by someone. Anything less is just not right.

 

Look at Gavin Gunning at Dundee United, who was banned for three matches for flicking a boot at Celtic’s Virgil van Dijk. I must flick out a leg three or four times in every game I play.

 

Now Lunny is giving three-game bans for it? Is that what Scottish football has become?

 

On my Rangers debut at Tynecastle, Neil Pointon nearly took my head off 10 minutes in. He smashed me in the face with his shoulder, elbow and fist all in one go. And I thought to myself: “Welcome to first-team football.”

 

I was so dazed I hardly knew where I was. But it was a great lesson for a young player. I knew I was in a man’s game.

 

And that’s the way football should be. Look, if there’s some bampot running around charging into tackles that can break legs or end careers, Lunny should throw the book at him.

 

But three games for flicking out a leg? Come on.

 

I like to see a wee ding-dong out there. Players who are fired up and getting in a few faces.

 

That’s what it’s about in the heat of battle. But I guess Lunny wouldn’t know that.

 

So let me give him some advice, from the front line straight to office desk. The fans love to see these flashpoints too. It’s called passion, Vinny.

 

It’s what this game is built on – and the more you stamp it out the less people will turn up to watch.

 

They don’t want some faceless guy at Hampden making decisions on a random basis that can harm their team.

 

It’s the same for the players. How do you think Gunning would feel if he was sitting suspended and saw a player doing the exact same thing as he did ... and then finds out Lunny hasn’t spotted it on TV?

 

Would that be fair? Look, I get that the whole idea about this compliance officer was to try to modernise the Scottish game. But please, make it fair.

 

It’s the same for Black. He’ll know plenty of players who have been betting on football matches. And yet he’s the only one who gets done for it.

 

I can’t help feel if you’re at Rangers or even Celtic the chances are they will be all over you like a rash.

 

That’s the way I felt when the SFA were dealing with me.

 

And the treatment Black has received shows that, despite their talk of modernising the game, nothing much has changed.

 

Am I the only one who saw the celtic player "flick out" at Gunning provoking him to do the same? Just saying.

[the gunslinger 3,366]

Am I the only one who saw the celtic player "flick out" at Gunning provoking him to do the same? Just saying.

 

i've seen people say that but it looked more like momentum to me.

[forlanssister 3,114]

Am I the only one who saw the celtic player "flick out" at Gunning provoking him to do the same? Just saying.

 

No, noticed that first time I saw the incident.

[Ser Barristan Selmy 222]

Sidenote ... just seen it for the first time. Gunning kicks out at the Yahoo, sure enough. The referee, linesman, and third official were blind enough to miss that yellow card offence. Handing Gunning a three match ban is utterly laughable and I hope they appeal like there is no tomorrow.

It reeks that the BBC highlights this incident, but omits the ones commited by the Hooped Horrors. Biased they may not be, but impartial they are surely not. Double standards et al ...

Yellow card offence

[der Berliner 3,798]

kicking out is a red card offence.

 

Even so, that would have been a one, posssibly a two match ban. Why three? THAT is the bone of contention.

[RANGERRAB 3,731]

celtc will be a close second to rangers in players getting done.

 

No they won't. How many Celtic players has Lunny banned so far?

And don't forget in the game Gunning got banned Stokes blatantly dived to win a free kick from which he scored. Lunny did sweet FA about it

Edited September 21, 2013 by RANGERRAB

[der Berliner 3,798]

No they won't. How many Celtic players has Lunny banned so far?

And don't forget in the game Gunning got banned Stokes blatantly dived to win a free kick from which he scored. Lunny did sweet FA about it

 

He's banned Wilson in January for 2 games, Wanyama's serious foul play dismissal was reduced to a yellow-card offence. In the meantime, he's banned three players after playing against the Scum in 2013, Goncalves (simulation, 2 games), Fraser Wright (violant conduct, 2 games), and now Gunning. Meanwhile, Lennon was banned at least twice in 2013 already, always contested.

 

That is not the real point though. You would like to know how many similar incidents were overlooked by Lunny when committed by the Yahoos, e.g. Stokes antics.