This morning the club announced that James Bolton broke Lucas Torreira’s ankle and that Torreira will undergo tests to learn the extent of the injury and how long he will be unavailable to play for Arsenal.
The injury was caused by Bolton in the 12th minute of Arsenal’s win over Portsmouth when the center back flew in recklessly to stop the Uruguayan player from advancing the ball down the flanks. Despite the fact that the Pompey man won the ball, he also trapped Torreira’s ankle and followed through with a scissors action.
Referee Mike Dean, who has been in charge of three at least matches where opponents have broken an Arsenal player’s leg – Taylor on Eduardo, McNair on Wilshere, and now Bolton on Torreira – didn’t even call a foul.
This tactic of “getting in the Arsenal player’s faces” and kicking Arsenal early in matches has long plagued the League and FA. Fans long believed that managers sent out players with instructions to rough Arsenal up but that belief wasn’t corroborated until Dave Kitson revealed that Pulis encouraged his players to be hyper aggressive against Arsenal because of his hatred for Arsene Wenger:
“But that particular game it was very much, ‘Lads, don’t forget, be aggressive in the tackle, dominate your man’. That was the message.
“It started that sort of feeling where it began to bubble within the players through the course of the week until finally it got to match day. The changing room was full of aggression and I remember the team talk more than anything.
“I remember Pulis pacing up and down shouting random things — this bundle of nervous energy blurting random swear words, trying to burn off his own nervous energy.
“And, of course, the upshot of all of that energy was that we went over the top and it cost Ramsey a year of his career.
“It seemed to me that was as a direct result of players reacting to their manager’s over enthusiasm and buying into that whole thing and carrying out his instructions and crossing the line.
“(Pulis’) desperation to beat Wenger and justify his way of playing football crossed the line. Some of the tackles we would put in — myself included because it was asked of you — were shocking really.”
Prior to instituting VAR, Major League Soccer had a review board for exactly the kind of tackle that Bolton made on Torreira. It wasn’t implemented perfectly but it did tend to catch and punish aggressive play after the match and most fans and players (especially on the receiving end) were grateful for the system. Perhaps something like that needs to be done in England, where the Football Association and Professional Referee Association seems happy to just let leg-breakers get away with nasty challenges week-in and week out.
For Lucas Torreira the remainder of the season is in doubt. Even if it’s a minor break, he will miss several weeks during a crucial time when Arsenal need all of their players as fit as possible in the fight to finish in the European places. Fans who have any empathy will be wishing him a speedy recovery and no lasting effects.
Fans of Pompey, however, were overheard singing “you’re going home in an ambulance” and gleefully cheering the young player’s injury. A disgrace all around.
Third try.
Pompey are classless, and Mike Dean is a dirtbag.
HA! Sorry, cursing is filtered. 🙁
I was dismayed to see some people comment on the Arseblog news site stating that it was a fair tackle and that a scissors tackle wasn’t illegal. And few in the press were willing to say it was anything more than a ‘robust’ challenge. Bolton must have known a tackle of that forcefulness could easily inflict serious damage. But Dean waves it away. Horrible. I despair of the sub par referees in this country.
If there had been VAR in that game I’d have been surprised to see that escape a yellow.
i missed the torreira injury but i have fond memories of fratton park. i absolutely love the great environment they create…particularly with the bells. they sing all game long. i miss their crowd. it’s unfortunate what’s happened to torreira.
they have some bad history with arsenal. robert pires dived to earn arsenal a 1-1 draw against portsmouth in the invincibles season; the reason they always refer to arsenal as cheaters. while there’s been bad blood there, they’ve also showed respect for arsenal so i’m a bit conflicted. i actually recall a game against portsmouth where their fans applauded arsenal’s performance after arsenal absolutely demolished them; one of the coolest things i’ve ever seen in football.
as for the few taunting torreira, there’s always somebody.
i didn’t post on the few previous threads but it seems you’ve made some significant lifestyle changes opposed to what you were doing a year or so ago. you should take a bow. very few can make such dramatic changes, especially at our age. your daughter will need you, even as she goes into her woman-hood. i hope you’re still making your bed as well, lol. cheers!
Just sat down to watch sky sports news where they announced that they are going to show “both sides of the debate” about the Eric Dier incident. I can imagine they will get testimonials from people saying “he is not that kind of person”.
Guess what would’ve happened if it was a foreign, or God forbid, an Arsenal player – the only debate would’ve been should it be a career long ban or a lifetime ban!
A complete joke. if someone is being over the top abusive at the Emirates, you can actually send a text with the seat number. Stewards then arrive and warn the offender or chuck them out. What you don’t do is announce you are Eric Dier’s brother and get involved in an “altercation”. Eric then jumps in to throw his weight around. The way some parts of the media are somehow excusing this is laughable. A PR exercise so he doesn’t miss the rest of the season. And of course he plays for England. Oh that’s alright then! Perhaps the FA might award him damages for defamation of character.
Sammy, think I’d rather a ban than my legs broken, our punishment is capital!
(Ice) hockey went through a long era of having hulking enforcers – a style and method of play which has largely been abandoned in the NHL era of skill and speed – thankfully.
Back in the day, all the top lines had their goon. Want to get scrappy with Wayne Gretzky? You’d have Marty McSorley or Dave Semenko (who once went 3 rounds with Muhammed Ali) to deal with.
Try messing with Mike Bossy or Bryan Trottier on the Stanley Cup Islander teams? Clark Gillies would spend many minutes in the penalty box to make sure you were pounded to the ice never to try another cross check again.
I thought footy would be an escape from that type of game. How wrong I was.
Thanks for the post Tim
Really sorry to hear about Torriera’s injury. I did not see the play so I can’t comment. With the size and athleticism of today’s professional player and the speed at which the game is played I am honestly surprised there are not a lot more ankle fractures and severe ankle ligament injuries. I think the players must develop a 6th sense of when a tackle is coming and they are usually able to avoid planting their foot and thankfully severe injuries are not all that common. I completely agree with the idea of retrospective punishment for dangerous tackles.
https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/football/7862037/arsenal-aaron-ramsey-leg-break-shawcross/
Here is the link of that Dave Kitson piece. I thought it might be of some interest.
That sort of tackle is known in the trade as a “reducer”. The idea is, you get the ball, thus making it “legitimate” but at the same time you take the player out causing as much damage as possible. Im sure some managers coach it as well as encourage it. I thought the laws had changed to stop it? No point in asking Mike Dean. What does he know? Too busy preening to the crowd.
The intention of the Bolton ‘tackle’ was clear: take the ball and make sure the player is smashed. There is no intention to break a leg. but there is a small chance that it could happen. This is a tactic in British football that is not seen so much in the Premier League any more, but is common in the lower leagues. The referees accept it as a part of the game in Britain, but not in continental Europe.
Mike Dean is incompetent at best, downright b£nt at worst. He’s the only referee I am aware of who was employed by a gambling company…and he’s still a top level referee…