When I first saw the news that Chelsea defender Jose Bosingwa will not be punished for his blatant stamp on the back of Liverpool midfielder Yossi Benayoun in Sunday's Premier League clash, my first reaction was one of complete and utter disgust.
How can such a violent act be overlooked when Frank Lampard receives a red card and three-match ban for a "clean" tackle?
The lack of punishment highlights how outrageous FIFA’s current laws are. Currently, a player cannot receive punishment after a game if the incident in question was seen by one of the match-day officials on the day – which is what happened in Bosingwa's case. That is completely ludicrous when it allows a player to get away with a disgraceful stamp on the back of another professional player.
I’m sure the FA would like to do something about it, but unfortunately they have no option other than to let off Bosingwa. I’m sure they would like to hand the Chelsea full-back a hefty fine or lengthy ban, but unfortunately they can’t. The FA’s stupid parents at FIFA won’t let them.
You could also blame the linesman closest to the Bowsingwa incident for not alerting the referee to the stamp. It was truly remarkable that he did not even consider the assault a foul, especially given that he was only one yard away from the incident. In fact, he actually awarded a free-kick against Benayoun for some unknown reason. Even more remarkable.
But the main issue is with FIFA, whose laws do not allow players to be punished after matches for crimes that were seen by match-day officials, not to mention the millions watching on TV.
