Andrew Johns’ lucky esacpe
Any athlete who has played competitive sport knows that in the heat of the moment things can be said that are regrettable - especially when the tirade is directed at match officials. I know in my younger days I was guilty of expressing my opinions of what I thought were bad calls to match officials - and this was only in junior competition. So imagine - two weeks left in the regular season, in the dying stages of an important professional game, your team is 2 points down with one minute left, and an official makes a horrible call that costs your team the chance of a potential victory.
How would you react?
For Andrew Johns, the best Rugby League player alive, his reaction was to call the official a f..k..g c..t. Unfortunately for Johns, this was not the first time that he has abused match officials in such a manner and faced a 4 week ban - which meant he would miss the finals series.
Andrew Johns leaves he judiciary after getting off with a light two match ban
What should have been an automatic 4 week ban turned in to a 2 week ban when Johns simply said “I’m sorry.” I must say that I agree with Alex Brown from smh.com.au in this article when he says that Johns was the benficiary of a double-standard. Because Johns is the biggest name in the game, it seems as though Johns received preferential treatment over other players who, in the past, have also been sorry for their actions on the field, but have been shown no leniency when they faced the judiciary. This is a horrible precedent that has been set, which will no doubt come back to haunt them in the future.
Now I don’t believe that players should face any bans for language that is used in the heat of the moment, but the rules are there for a reason and should be enforced. It’s a catch-22 situation because I don’t think Johns should have been facing a ban to begin with, but to bend the rules for the premier player in the league isn’t fair on the rest of the players in the league either.
Quote - ‘What should have been an automatic 4 week ban turned in to a 2 week ban when Johns simply said Å0â9¢„Å0ì4IÅ0â9¢„Å6æ4m sorry.Å0â9¢„Å0É9′
I don’t agree, I believe his suspension was only 2 weeks because his manager came out in the press and said the Johns would consider leaving the game if he didn’t play in the finals (http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,,20142865-23209,00.html?from=rss). Plus his brother was selling Andrews sob story on 9 too (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Johns)
True mate, but I still think the token ’sorry’ is what got the length reduced. Without it I think the judiciary would have stuck to their guns. However, I wouldn’t be surprised if the judiciary flat-out told him to apologise so they could give him the reduced ban. Whatever way you look at it, they made a concession because of who he is - which is BS.
I see what your saying Paul, and most of what you’re saying is reasonable. Unfortunately, I am fed up with rugby league in terms of the referees. I understand that referees are always right, but as we saw in the world cup, they really are not. Andrew Johns reaction was natural. As someone who does not go for Newcastle or particularly like Johns, I was just as frustrated at the situation. I believe that referees are a protected species and can do no wrong. I just dont understand why they dont have to apologise for making stupid mistakes, yet andrew johns has to apologise for a natural reaction to a ridiculous decision. Also, I think Andrew Johns is not treated any differently and I think his status in the game actually resulted in him being threatened with a 4 week ban… If Adam Mogg did that, nobody would care… including me!
The fact that he is the best player in the world means that he should be held to a higher standard than everyone else. The reason it got so much coverage in the media was because it was Andrew Johns and not Adam Mogg that said it. I think it’s a natural part of the game to get emotional, but there are also rules in place that punish those who go over the top (like Joey did). I think it’s awful that he got preferential treatment because of his status in the game.