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English Football News: Iain Hume

Andy Greeves on the illegal use of the elbow

As the Football Association continues its 'Respect' campaign, set on tackling abuse towards match officials, a far greater of the game's ills has reared its ugly head again.

On November 8, in a Championship game between Barnsley and Sheffield United, Tykes forward Iain Hume was on the end of a challenge by Blades Chris Morgan that left him with a fractured skull. An injury so serious that Hume received emergency brain surgery and remains in hospital to this day.

Hume's injury was sustained after he was elbowed in the head by Morgan, a player sent off 12 times in his career to date. Amazingly Morgan was only booked for the challenge that left Hume with an 18-inch scar in his head. Even more unbelievably is the fact that Morgan will receive no further disciplinary action by the FA. "We can only bring additional charges in the most exceptional cases and only if it can be proved beyond doubt that the actions of a player were a deliberate attempt to injure an opponent," read an FA statement.

Football fans will share in the hope that there was no malice in Chris Morgan's challenge, that this was a horrible accident that will never happen again. Unfortunately the case is Morgan's defence doesn't look particularly strong. Video replays show the player aggressively swinging his elbow in Hume's direction while still standing on the floor. Barnsley are likely to take legal action against Morgan and/or Sheffield United, with Tykes manager Simon Davey clear on his views on the incident after the November 8 game.

"Iain received no protection whatsoever from the referee on Saturday despite him telling Andy D'Urso about repeated use of the elbow and it sickens me just thinking about it," said Davey. "Our thoughts are with Iain at this time and we all wish him a very speedy recovery from what is a horrendous injury... He could have died. The decision not to show a red card was an absolute disgrace."

The misuse of the elbow in the English game is nothing new. In 1992, Torquay United's John Uzzell had his career ended, after being elbowed in the face by Brentford's Gary Blissett. Uzzell required reconstructive surgery and was almost blinded by this incident. Just a year later, Tottenham skipper Gary Mabbutt had his cheek bone shattered and an eye socket splintered in three sections following an elbow from John Fashunu. In both cases, no action was taken by the FA against Blissett or Fashunu. Legal action by Uzzell against Blissett was also unsuccessful, with a Salisbury court ruling that violent intent could not be proven.

Nicky Summerbee was another victim of the elbow in 2000, when the then Wimbledon defender Ben Thatcher caught him in the face. Despite receiving a red card, Thatcher was banned for just two matches for the offence. He obviously didn't learn his lesson, as in 2006 he drove his elbow into Pedro Mendes' head during a Premiership match between Manchester City and Portsmouth. Mendes was left unconscious, requiring oxygen at pitch side having suffered a seizure. This just three weeks after Thatcher had elbowed a player in the chest, during a pre-season 'friendly'. His victim, Yang Chungang of Shanghai Shenhua, sustained a career-threatening collapsed lung as a result.

Thatcher was banned for eight matches by the Football Association for his elbow on Mendes and fined six weeks wages. There was an overwhelming feeling within the game that punishment was not severe enough, especially as such an assault could have landed someone in prison had in occurred on the street.

Sepp Blatter president of the world governing body Fifa, called upon the referees to "drive out this new devil, the use of the elbow as a weapon in football," ahead of the 2006 World Cup. A tournament which subsequently saw Italy's Daniele de Rossi leave US striker Brian McBride needing three stitches in his head, following an incident described by USA coach as "a vicious elbow that could have broken his (McBride's) face". Di Rossi's punishment for such a blatant offence was a mere four match international ban.

The continued obstacle in taking firmer action against players that use their elbow in an inappropriate way, is the issue of intent. As it is a natural action for players to raise their elbows when challenging for a ball aerially, it is an almost impossible task to decipher the difference between an accidental collision and a malicious act of violence. One thing is for sure, both FIFA and UEFA are concerned about its continuing presence in the game. The most serious concern is that a death could be caused.

Former Scottish referee Hugh Dallas, now a UEFA instructor told a panel of referees in February that he fears the illegal use of arms and elbows is also becoming "more and more dangerous". Dallas emphasized that "aggressive challenges deemed to threaten the safety of an opponent should warrant a straight red card." But is this action enough to eradicate the dangerous use of the elbow? One would think not.

Football associations need to be empowered by FIFA to punish players that use the elbow as a weapon even if the referee fails to send the individual off on the day. Legal action must be taken against offenders and heftier bans, possibly season-long, should be considered.

Andy Greeves

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