If you needed more proof that Roy Hodgson is one of the game’s good guys, here it is.
The Fulham manager has made the popular right-back apologise for his ‘disgraceful’ play-acting in an attempt to get Ricardo Fuller sent off in last week’s dull draw at Stoke.
I didn’t like it. We have spoken about it and the action we have taken has been internal. He knows how I feel about it – I didn’t like how he overreacted to the foul. I think he now regrets the situation, although he was the one who was knocked over.
Has he apologised? Yes, he accepted the criticism that this is not what I expect him or any other Fulham player to do.
He should be apologising to the player who was almost sent off, and I am only glad that didn’t happen as then I would be feeling a lot worse about it than I do.
We have to give referee Stuart Attwell a lot of credit for not overreacting.
Hopefully, JP’s learnt his lesson and that will be the end of that particular saga.
Mind you at least Pantsil’s dive wasn’t as bad as this one. Comically funny refereeing – although I doubt I’d have seen it that way if the ref had given that penalty against Fulham. Think of the riots after they scored from the penalty.
