Gary Neville has hit out at the FA’s after they handed Manchester United defender Patrice Evra a four-match ban.
Evra is still upset at the decision, which followed an FA hearing into the so-called ‘Battle of Stamford Bridge’ last season, when the Frenchman clashed with Chelsea groundstaff.
United manager Sir Alex Ferguson’s annoyance increased even further when he discovered details of the case, condemning the conduct of his full-back, plus assistant-boss Mike Phelan, had been posted on the FA website.
As a senior figure within the Professional Footballers’ Association, Neville has extensive knowledge of FA practises. But the Red Devils skipper just gets more confused the more he analyses them.
“The disciplinary process is, at best, erratic,” he said.
“I gave up years ago trying to be a voice, trying to bring reason to certain things.
“You need consistency, which means you need the same people sitting at hearings all the time, professionals who understand the game, who understand the passion of the game, the human element of the game.
“You need sensible people but that doesn’t always happen.”
Neville feels the whole disciplinary system is a lottery, something he discovered from personal experience a number of years ago.
“You haven’t a clue what you’re going to get when you go down there,” he said.
“I was down there three or four years ago and I left bemused. I couldn’t understand what was going on. It’s not football for me, it’s not right.
“You’ve got non-football people sitting on the panel, sitting opposite you with no understanding of the game and that’s a problem.
“They’ve tried to introduce a more professional element but the main decisions are made by the non-football people.
“From what I can see it is more like a criminal case than a football disciplinary hearing.”
After looking at the fixtures he will miss, Evra has reluctantly agreed to accept the punishment.
It means he will miss the festive Premier League fixtures with Stoke and Middlesbrough, plus the FA Cup third round tie with Southampton on January 4 and the first leg of the Carling Cup semi-final at Derby three days later.
[Credit: Soccernet]
