Six month ban for Flower

[TrueBlueWarrior]

I think the refs are just poorer and also yes the standard has gone down since Ganson took over.

I am certainly not one for public embarrassment in terms of referees or anyone for that matter as my support for Flower would suggest but there are other ways for referees to be made accountable. Remember there are only 7 SL games each weekend so if a referee is asked to step down for a weekend and loses their match fee for that week I think you will find standards would soon improve.

Are referees asked to justify their decisions/inconsistencies or are they just patted on the back every week?

Premier league referees are stood down if they make a howler and to be honest although it has it's own issues, in general Football referees are more consistent than RL refs, especially when it comes to the big decisions.

I think football is a much easier game to referee as the rules are quite clear and consistent in themselves. One of my biggest issues with RL is that there seems to be a change of the rules every season as a buzz change, one year it was moving off the mark the next its a flop and this year it was "obstruction". I personally think it is very difficult to ref a modern rugby league game because the pace is so frantic, i do think 2 ref's may help that like in the NRL. What the video ref can and cant be used for also needs to be looked at too

Absolutely agree, I just think that refereeing is very difficult to improve standards especially in RL considerably but it should also be very difficult to lower standards considerably but in my opinion and unfortunately that is what is currently happening.

[Southern Softy]

@CP
I did ask but i was looking for some meaningful suggestions not just "Id make it better".

Im not burying my head in the sand im just not jumping on the everyone hates wigan bandwagon - infact throughout these threads its the ones who have no issue with the punishments that have put the sensible suggestions for progress forward, all the people enraged by it seems to just being calling the RFL all names under the sun and saying how rubbish they are and how its so easy to change but then failing to furnish us with the easy solution. All it sounds like to me and probably most other fans at the moment is all the people saying "id make it better" are really saying "id make it better for wigan".

But for the sake of the debate let me clarify my stance on a few things;

1) I do not believe the RFL is run particulary well, and i do not believe that the punishments are consistent, however i dont think they are massively off the mark.

2) I do not believe that lance hohaia's punishment was sufficient but again probably off by 2 games at most.

3) i expected and am happy with the ban on flower given the circumstances and the sheer stand out nature of the incident.

On a seperate note i think the very fact that people claim the westwood and flower incidents are "alike" proves how subjective consistency is. They were polars apart and two very different incidents

If it helps, I'll tell you what the difference was. Flower was a man completely out of control and lashed out violently (first punch)- the ban might be 'unfair' but it was to be expected and if it deters anyone from ever acting like that again - it will still be 'unfair' but it might just be worthwhile. I can't find it in myself to disagree with the punishment if it sets the bar and consistency is followed in the future.

Westwood, however, deliberately attempted to take a key opponent out of the match with a sneak, cowardly attack, which, if it had succeeded, might well have meant that his team won the match. That is the offence which should have merited a very long bam as well. We all know that the punishment was 'soft' because there were Internationals around the corner and it was a disgrace.

It'n not that Flower was treated too harshly - it's that others were treated too leniently for the sake of expediency. If it happens again (and it surely will) I'd hope clubs, players and supporters would complain on the basis of consistency but........ maybe I'm a dreamer.

What really pisses me off is that this kind of thing happens all the time in bloody RU but it's all 'argy-bargy' and the media excuse it as 'a bit of needle' - RL has been demonised because of a single action - it stinks.

[devon jim 1]

Agree with you entirely Southern Softy Lets hope its sets the bench mark and avoids this type of incident ever recurring again.This type of incident and the BAD publicity that follows it does our sport an awful lot of damage.

[Wigan_forever1985]

What really pisses me off is that this kind of thing happens all the time in bloody RU but it's all 'argy-bargy' and the media excuse it as 'a bit of needle' - RL has been demonised because of a single action - it stinks.

It doesnt though and this is the issue were clarity is lost. This is the only such incident im aware of in any type of rugby for at least the last 10 years. Ive seen fights ive seen people knocked out ive seen verbal abuse of stricen players but i have never seen a player stand over a decked player pin him down with one hand and punch him in the face with the other.

Flower could of caused loads more damage with a high a tackle or elbow or leg twist or chickenwing tackle, but it was the image (that we are so frequently reminded of) of this big powerful man stoof over a stricken player pinning him down and punching him flush in the face. That image, that sequence is what everything is about

[Southern Softy]

5 minutes on YouTube would seem to suggest that violence in endemic in union.

http://www.google.co.uk/url?url=http:// ... U_NstK1WPg

would seem to suggest that it happens. 14 weeek ban was the result.

This is not isloated as Flower's was.

[cpwigan]

The problem is SS in our hearts we all know the RFL will revert to type, they did so in dealing with the two offenders. Nothing will change or improve.

Worse every stakeholder in the sport be it the owners, the players or the fans are comp0liant by allowing their sport to return to dark ages and grub around in the dirt for the few seeds thrown our way.

[Fujiman]

Just been reading Dave Hatfields piece in the Independent and he said flower cant train with the rest of the team for the duration of the ban.First time Ive heard this ahs anyone else seen or heard about this?

[Wigan_forever1985]

Theres no doubt that example is a bad one but i would liken that to the Bailey vs Ratford incident, were one player covers up and the other throws a consistent barrage, the knee is bad though.

The difference again is the type, ive seen this type of thing before one cover up while someone throws a few at them.

in that incident the players tangle and the one being punched covers up and is protecting himself face down

In the the flower its the fact he punches him to the ground the stands over him pins him to the ground and gives him one square in the face. Its like i say its that image thats so damaging

[Suzieb]

Agreed feel sorry for Ben with all this hyped up media for gods sake leave him alone let him serve his punishment in peace O and by the way while everyone is on about what Westwood did what about sir Sinfield who blatently head butted a player

[Jimmy Birts]

Lenegan getting a full page lashing in the Mirror today for comparing the hysteria over Ben Flower to that surrounding Beckham's sending off against Argentina in the World Cup. At least you don't have to go about 7 pages in from the back page these days to find the rugby league story lurking somewhere around the sex chat line ads.