Moscow blue.....sending my E-mail now !

The FA are a complete joke - "men" in suits who know sod all about the game.

Guys - you might also want to take a look at the FIFA Referee Teaching Material on www.fifa.com concerning guidance on Law 12 (Fouls and Misconduct). A sending off requires "serious foul play" (using excessive force or brutality) or "violent conduct". Reckless behaviour (which most of us would agree was the worst that John Stead could have been accused of) merits only a caution (yellow card). It is FIFA (not the FA) that sets the laws of the game.

yeah we dont get any FA favours now sheepshanks has gone,sweet FA!

This is crazy of the FA , but what did we expect from them really ??
I'm not a great fan of stead but even i have to admit he been doing a good job lately,so now what??
Pablo get into starting 11 ?? i'd love it if he did,but dont think it will happen sadly.

Just send my Email........Thanks Moscow Blue !

Dear Sirs

Trust you are all well.

I would like to protest most strongly against today's decision by the FA Disciplinary Panel to not only uphold John Stead's (Ipswich Town) red card against Crystal Palace on December 26th 2009, but to increase the ban from 3 matches to 4 because the appeal "had no prospect of success".

Whilst I understand fully the need for the FA to back up Referee's decisions, the tackle in question was seen by many (including both Crystal Palace players and management) as worthy of a yellow card at worst. Surely this gave every prospect of success at appeal.

This decision was not in the interest of Football in this country and will be seen even to neutral supporters as sending Roy Kean a message, it should be investigated immediately to see if the F.A.'s panel of individuals were conducting their self's with out being compromised.

I would be grateful if this matter could be given your urgent attention and I wait you speedy response.

Yours faithfully,

Best Regards
Northstand boy!

the FA have always been a collection of idiots who nothing about the game but somehow self polic it. this was the way when Cloughie was a manager and NOTHING changes (probably the same old gits on the board)

i don't get it........they have a mechanism in place to allow an appeal to be lodged, yet they then punish additionally for a 'failed' appeal. Why not just take away the appeal system and tell it like it is

WE ARE THE FA AND IT'S OUR BALL - IF YOU DON'T PLAY OUR WAY WE'RE GOING TO TAKE IT HOME SO NOONE CAN PLAY

why are we all so surprised, if we were looking for common sense to prevail we were most definately looking in the wrong place.

Pathetic, the foul was Steads first of the game. A yellow card was what he deserved.

facebook group set up here
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/group.php?gid=254346919459&ref=mf

This is what I sent to the Independent Football Ombudsman. Thanks Moscow Blue for the laws bit. That shows what a farce it all is.

Dear Sir

I wish to complain in the strongest possible way regarding today's unsuccessful appeal to rescind Jon Stead's red card whilst playing for Ipswich against Crystal Palace on Dec 26th.

The overwhelming view from both sides (management, players and fans) is that it was only a yellow card. Stead is not a malicious player and has never been sent off in this career.

To add another game to the ban adds insult to injury.

Any referee should not be supported when they have made genuine mistakes and everyone can see it. I appreciate that they have to make split decisions but afterwards they should admit they got it wrong. What hope is there for the 'respect' campaign if this decision is then supported by the FA. There would be more respect if common sense prevailed and there was admission that referees are only human.

The whole yellow and red card system seems to have gone to the other extreme when you compare what certain players in the 1960s and 70s got away with. A red card then was usually awarded for only very extreme career threatening challenges. Apparently the laws of the game state that a sending off requires "serious foul play" (using excessive force or brutality) or "violent conduct". Reckless behaviour (which most of us would agree was the worst that John Stead could have been accused of - he is a striker not a defender) merits only a caution (yellow card).

I would be very interested in your views on this incident and on the way the FA responds to heartfelt appeals (blindly supporting referees it seems) when a poor decision has been made.

blah blah blah..........

how can the appeals board of old phogies agree it was a red card ,when an opposing sides manager, an experienced man in football said it was never a red card tackle.sack that board and put people in who actually know about football

Football has been slipping into the abyss for a few years now. I despair at todays decision makers. The real game has gone. Today confirms it.
See letter sent to IFO.
Dear Sirs.

I am a football supporter of some 50 years. I have heard of the term "Bringing the game into disrepute" used on many occasions. Today the F. A. themselves have brought the game into disrepute. The decision to send off Jonathan Stead was a mistake. The opposition manager say's so , the opposition players say so, and I who have been watching football for 50 years say so. Why? Because day in day out I see much worse incidents on the football pitch go unpunished. The decision by the referee to send off Stead in the first place was a mistake. It appears to be a foul that warrants possibly a yellow card. But a straight red card for an everyday one footed challenge along the ground was extreme.
To then have the decision upheld after presumably being viewed a few times suggests to me a high degree of incompetence and lack of knowledge of the laws of Association Football. If this type of challenge is to be the bench mark of future red cards, then I despair for the future of the game I love.
There is no consistency in today's decision makers of the game. Can you honestly tell me that every similar challenge in future games from now on will be treated with the same level of harshness? If so, then the game will loose it's very ethos and integrity.
If today's actions from the F. A. are not to be repeated over similar incidents, then one can only assume that in this particular case, they had too much to drink over Christmas or, and more possibly, the F. A have targets to meet in red cards issued. It is possible that the decision is personal and another agenda is going on here. But whatever the reason is for upholding this decision, it is a dark day for football and the game I and so many others enjoy. To witness blatant injustices that have just occurred and see worse continuing on the football pitch just beggars belief.
The F.A. further compound their remoteness from the game by issuing an extra 1 game ban for the player, for a "frivolous" appeal by his club! I believe you would be lucky to find anyone outside the F.A. who wouldn't have done the same. Just who is out of touch with the real game here?
If this was a premiership incident, it would without doubt be receiving a very high profile coverage. As it isn't, then I feel I must do my part in trying to raise the matter and the concerns of all football lovers who are astounded by these recent ludicrous decisions. I despair for the game and the way it is "moving forward". Moving forward into a dark abyss I fear.
Many thanks for your time.

Absolutely scandalous!! I'd love to know who sits on this so-called "independent" panel. Presumably a bunch of former officials who are clearly as incompetent as the one who made the initial decision. Just like Trotter's appeal after his sending off against Portsmouth - unsuccessful - even though the whole world could see the referee clearly got it wrong. The FA are an absolute shower!

To lend support to the scandalous decison I too have sent a letter:

Dear Sir,

I have just heard on Sky Sports News that Ipswich Town's appeal against John Stead's red card has failed and that the FA Disciplinary Panel has increased the ban from 3 matches to 4 because the appeal "had no prospect of success". As an avid football supporter I fear that the FA Disciplinary Panel, by making such decisions, is fast becoming a 'joke'. Football supporters, ex professional footballers, TV commentators and both managers are unanimous in that they believed the foul warranted a yellow card at best; indeed, many referees would have had a stern word with Stead and left it that. For the FA Disciplinary Panel to come to the conclusion that they did, in my view, beggars belief.

The referee, Mr Taylor, has a reputation for being 'card happy' and in this case his decision to issue a red card was plainly wrong; what concerns me is that the FA Disciplinanry Panel, who should have taken an objective view based on the TV evidence appear to have sided with the referree despite the wrong decision that he made. Moreover, they added another game to the ban, which is a nonsensical decision. It begs the question "what is the purpose of the FA Disciplinary Panel?" Surely the apppeals process has been put in place for such incidents? The rest of the footballing world is at odds with the FA Disciplinary Panel and Ipswich Town Football Club had every prospect of a successful appeal, so whilst the decision to uphold the red card was bad enough the additional game's ban is completed unwarranted.

I would be grateful if this matter could be given your urgent consideration - I am deeply concerned by the decision making of the FA Disciplinary Panel.

Yours faithfully,



Pehaps not as detailed or as eloquent as some letters but the more letters/emails we send the harder home we drive the message.

Guys, the IFO letters all look good but reading their complaints procedure they should be the last port of call if you are unhappy with the response to your complaint with the original party (in this case the FA). I've looked at the FA complaints procedure and there's no email route so has to be put in writing and posted. I'm planning on sending something to the FA asap and then when I don't get the response required from them I'll go to the IFO. Some of the letters already sent might work but I'm going to try doing the whole route to see if I can get some sort of decent response.

Great point matt_the_blue and no doubt ITFC should really be going the route of appealing to the FA again if they thought it justified, but we are just passionate supporters who wish to take any route that we can to raise our opinions on this matter. The Club appear to have been silent on the topic (or may be we are acting hastily), but the body of opinion from us is that Stead is being harshly treated so we chose to act. All of the letters to the IFO express heart-felt views from the fans - and we are the customers in what has become a huge business, and I don't feel that our views are heard often enough by the hierarchy in control. If it wasn't for the paying customer there would be no FA.

Maybe the FA should team up with the fashion police & get themselves down to selhust park & dish out a few fines to the pykie palace fans for their god awful dress sense. Someone should be kind enough to mention to them that it really isn't a good idea to go shopping whilst high!!

As roy keane said "Know your player"
I don't think I have Stead make a bloody tackle in all his Town career before that one and the pitch was an ice rink!

wtf stuff those nob ends how the hell was it a red card what idiots its a joke !

Shocking! Having watched the incident on the Beeb, and having read the FIFA law 12 guidelines on "serious foul play", I too am amazed as everyone else that the F.A. upheld this. What was Freddie Sears doing rolling on the floor. I suspect he saw his opportunity, knew Steady was going for it too and could have easily leaped over it but went for the sending off. Having played football myself for over 30 years, I can safely say that I'd have jumped at best or if I'd have had my legs taken from under me causing genuine pain and injury, I'd be rolling around holding my foot/ feet in agony. All I saw was him rolling over and lying face down like a wuss. Freddie Sears is the one who needs sending off for professional misconduct!

this is rubbish....FA ruining the great game once again

Every One..
SEND EMAILS TO THE FOOTBALL LEAGUE AND COMPLAIN FOR THE INCONSISTENCY OF THE CHAMPIONSHIPS
Email: fl@football-league.co.uk

That seems fair - we lose our most in-form striker for 4 games for a bookable one footed challenge because the FA Committee were so aggrieved that they had to look at some video footage of a football match for half an hour. The FA bang on about the "respect" campaign, but when a ref gets it wrong, if he admits it then players and fans alike will respect him more for it, but when the governing body re-inforces his error and makes a spectacle of themselves, its not hard to see why the players jump up and down and scream at referees all the time, and why fans cannot respect the referees either.

WTF? Has this happened before? I've never heard of a ban being extended after being turned down! Dear oh dear, I'm looking forward to hearing mr keanes reaction!!