If we are totally honest, it isn’t always the finesse thatgives the English Premier League a hold on television audiences across theglobe. Instead it is the physical element, the combative streak that, often,the English condone more than most.
There is even a phrase for it. The coaches of teams that arenot in the same fiscal league as Manchester City, United or Chelsea call it''the fight for the right to compete.''
And boy, do they compete at Stoke City. It’s BritanniaStadium is a fortress. The Stoke side is packed with big hitters. The ball isin the air a lot. And the home fans, closer to the field than they are at manystadiums, make an intimidating 12th man with their vocal encouragement. ThrowEverton, another team that is willing to go physical, into that atmosphere, andyou are bound to get what might euphemistically be called a he-man contest.
Nothing wrong with that, if it is played within the rules.But the contest Saturday between the two willfully dispensed with fair play attimes.
Marouane Fellaini, the tall Belgian striker with the darkforest of hair, was kicked, nudged or clasped in bear hugs whenever he nearedthe Stoke penalty area. If it wasn’t Robert Huth, the German defender builtlike a tank, at Fellaini’s back, it was Ryan Shawcross, a hulking Englishman.
With an English referee, Mark Halsey, intent on letting theplay flow, things could, and did, get out of hand. It is true that referees andlinesmen would need a dozen pair of eyes to spot every infringement in a packedgoalmouth, but Saturday’s misdemeanours were hard to miss.
Fellaini is not a shrinking violet. He has bullied thedefences of Manchester United and Arsenal to submission with his high-octaneaggression, his flailing elbows and his considerable skills. United’s veteranmanager, Alex Ferguson, admits to both admiring and fearing Fellaini in equalmeasure.
''He’s quite a handful,'' is the mild version of Ferguson’sdescription of the 6-foot-4-1/2-inch, or 1.94 meter, Belgian.
On Saturday, Shawcross, also a big and beefy man, had hisarms around Fellaini every time his opponent got within sight of goal. It wasillegal manhandling, the black art perfected by Italians. If the referee Halseysaw it, he indulged it. Fellaini, however, got away with thuggish violence. Onthree separate occasions, he elbowed, slapped or head-butted Shawcross.
The head-butt will bring repercussions because what thereferee missed or overlooked, the television cameras picked out in slow motionfor every watching fan to see “ and to emulate, if his deed goes unpunished.
It was so evident, and so ugly, that Fellaini’s teammanager, David Moyes, admitted what most coaches and managers turn a blind eyeto. ''I would expect us to get punished,'' Moyes said in a television interviewafter the game.
''I’ve told Fellaini in the dressing room it’s notacceptable, and whatever punishment he’s handed out by the F.A., he “ and we “deserve it,'' he said, referring to the governing body of English football, theFootball Association.
''I apologise completely,'' said Fellaini in a statement.''I apologise to Ryan Shawcross, my teammates, the manager and our fans. Therewas a lot of pushing and pulling going on inside the Stoke penalty area. Ididn’t feel I was getting any protection from the officials. Nevertheless, Ishouldn’t have done what I did, I lost my temper and it was unprofessional ofme.''
The Stoke manager, Tony Pulis, was in the opposite corner,using the TV spotlight to cite previous matches where he felt his players werethe victims of unpunished violence. He named Chelsea’s David Luiz and AstonVilla’s Ciaran Clark as the perpetrators.
It is hard to give any sympathy to Pulis and his team. Anyteam that lines up at the Britannia Stadium expects to have to ''fight for theright.'' And for a home team that once was built on artistry, thisultracombative approach is the poor man’s answer to the unequal distribution ofwealth within the Premier League.
