After fining the Croatian Football Federation 30,000 Franks following monkey chanting directed at Emile Heskey during Croatia's 4-1 defeat to England in the World Cup qualifier, FIFA decided to suspend Robert Kovač four matches for an elbow at Joe Cole.
Robert received a straight red card by Slovakian referee Lubos Michel for his "accidental" elbow that hit England's Joe Cole and required 10 stitches to close up the head wound.
"I looked at the TV replay and I'm sure that the referee's decision was based on the blood on Joe Cole's head and pressure from England bench," said Niko Kovač after the match.
Robert, was in total shock after the announced suspension. "It is true, I am aware of the extended suspension, which is unbelievable. This news is shocking, and I am speechless. Srebrić promised me that HNS will protest, and hopefully, the disciplinary committee will realize that I didn't intentionally elbow that English player. If the suspension stays the same, then this match with England at Maksimir will be my final match for Croatia. All of this saddens me, however, this is life."
Now, the question is: Is this the end for Robert Kovač?
Hopefully, Robert changes his mind. A Croatian legend shouldn't be remembered for a red card causing him to retire.
Source : Sportske Novosti
What should Robi do?
~Denis Svirčić, reporting from Lakerville
8 comments:
I doubt it will be the end but it is a good chance for other defenders like Knezevic to have a go.
It is a massive loss though and I wish he could be playing but we really need new young defenders.
Joze,
After EURO 2008, I think it was time for RObi to call it a career. Now, it might be best to give the youngsters a chance and step aside. Its sad that Robi will forever be rememberred for his "accidental elbow" However, like he said, "thats life."
Roberto Baggio will forever be remembered for his penalty that sailed over the bar to give Brazil the world cup in 1994.
I really hope he doesn't call it quits. He is one of our best defenders and I'd hate to see him leave on a bad note. This decision was poor, it shouldn't have even been a red card let alone an 11-month ban.
This is ridiculous and if Fifa doesn't shorten the suspension then we know England has too much influence in the world of soccer. A 4-game suspension for that, if you saw the replay you would see that it wasn't purposely done. Horrible, horrible by Fifa if it holds up.
I can't believe that it means he won't play for Croatia for another 11 months
He's not playing for Dortmund and he's lost at least a yard of pace since wc '06. This latest incident is just one of many poor/late challenges- he has overtaken Simunic in the yellow card dep't( quite an achievment). He was a great player but it's time already to move on.
Now is perfect to introduce Krizanac- he'll have time to gel plus he's probably familiar with many of the Belorussian and Ukrainian players.
Alex,
As much as I love Robi, I agree with you, its time to go. Krizanac would be a perfect replacement for Kovac.
Against the Brits, our defense was thin. Simunic is in his final run, Niko Kovac is like a horse, however even a horse gets older by the day.
A draw against the Ukrainians is not a terrible result. Less than 2 weeks away.
Mladen Petric has been Croatia's only bright spot the last few weeks. Hopefully, he will continue this form until the Ukraine match in a few weeks time.
I'm a big fan of Simunic..I think he's a great player. He played well in the Euro and I think he had a great performance against Turkey.
But in my oppinion his biggest problem is that he panics when he gets beaten by an attacker a couple of times. Walcott was absolutely tearing up our defence and Simunic went stupid and started making poor tackles and near the end of them match it seemed he was putting no effort in.
Walcott showed that all you need is a bit of speed and you can beat the Croatian defence. Pranjic is good but as you said Alex, Kovac is a bit behind in terms of pace.
Bring in Krizanac - he is playing for UEFA Cup and super cup champions and is playing in the Champions League this year. Knezevic is also playing for Juventus this season so he is getting a lot of experience.
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