Should tough tacklers be given longer bans or are people overreacting?

This week we have seen Manchester City midfielder Nigel De Jong slated for his poor tackle on Hatem Ben Arfa.

The Dutchman wasn’t even booked for the challenge, never mind dismissed but surely he should receive a ban for such a reckless challenge.

Ben Arfa suffered a broken leg in the challenge and it’s put his career at Newcastle in doubt.

The Youngster is on-loan at the Magpies from French champions Marseille but could be out long enough to ensure he might not play for the Toon again. De Jong shouldn’t be able to keep making these reckless tackles and getting away with them.

Holland

Holland has taken action against the midfielder by dropping him from their next international squad. This is quite a thing considering what happened during the Oranje’s World Cup final defeat to Spain in the summer. Holland are obviously trying to save some face by reacting to the challenge.

Teammate

Ben Arfa’s Newcastle teammate Jose Enrique believes De Jong should receive a ban. He told Marca: “It was a hideous tackle by De Jong. He’s one of those players who goes for the kill in every challenge. I hope they ban him for the five or six months that Ben Arfa will be out injured.

“It is not the first time he has seriously injured another player.

“He did something similar last season (to Stuart Holden during an international fixture against USA) and we all know about the boot in Xabi Alonso’s chest at the World Cup”

Previous

Enrique is right De Jong does have a bit of previous for bad tackles. The most famous one being the karate kick on Xabi Alonso during the World Cup final. I never thought De Jong was a dirty player before he arrived at City but some of his recent challenges are starting to make me wonder if I was wrong.

De Jong wasn’t the only player to produce a poor challenge over the weekend. Wolves midfielder Karl Henry produced a poor tackle on Wigan’s Jordi Gomez on Saturday, in my opinion that tackle was far more reckless than that of De Jong.

Unfortunately Henry also has a history of poor challenges and receiving red cards. He also now has a reputation which he has to live with. Referees are more likely to caution him because of his past discretions and this reputation.

Tackling

In recent years the art of the tackle has almost been outlawed. We are getting to the stage were the game is almost a non-contact sport. In years gone by the English game was built on a physical style of play.

Hard men in football are a thing of the past. The likes of Vinnie Jones, Dennis Wise and Roy Keane wouldn’t last five minutes on a football pitch now. Yet we do need to protect the stars of our game. There must be a happy median between De Jong’s challenge and a non-contact sport.

Spain

Atletico Madrid defender Tomas Ujfalusi was recently criticised for an awful tackle on Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi. The tackle didn’t need to be made but the Czech defender hacked the little Argentine down anyway. Ujfalusi has since apologised for the tackle but his reputation also now precedes him.

He did receive a red card and a subsequent ban. As a result of the poor tackle and ban the referees in Spain have clamped down on tough tackling, including a flurry of red cards in last weekend’s fixtures.

Outlawed

I just hope that for the sake of football that the tough tackle isn’t completely outlawed. When a tackle is executed correctly it can raise a crowd or inspire a whole team. It would be a shame to lose such a skill from the game.