EXCLUSIVE: Gary van Egmond is anxious for the FFA to implement disciplinary measures which would have ruined Joel Griffiths' memorable campaign had they been in place last season.
The Newcastle Jets coach today expressed sympathy for Central Coast Mariners keeper Danny Vukovic who has seen his Beijing dreams shattered by FIFA's international ban.
In contrast Joel Griffiths' so-called sack whack on an assistant referee last season earned him nothing more than a yellow card and didn't prevent him being voted player of the season by his peers.
Van Egmond can understand the arguments of those who point to the vastly differing punishments meted out to Vukovic and Griffiths and wants a system that simply offers consistency.
He told au.fourfourtwo.com: "It has been a very difficult rollercoaster for Danny I'm sure. He has seen the Olympics taken away, then handed back and now taken away again. You wouldn't wish that on anybody."
Van Egmond was part of the Australian Olympic side in Seoul in 1988 so knows just what it's like to be part of a massive event. However, he said: "At the end of the day FIFA is the top dog here and maybe they wanted all the information possible before making a decision."
The Newcastle coach says the bottom line has to be that officials must be respected and you simply cannot touch them.
He said: "Consistency is what we want to see, a system that people can see is consistent. As it stands you can go back and look at an incident where a player hasn't been yellow carded and issue a later, stronger punishment. It happened to us at Newcastle with Jade North and he missed the preliminary final.
"In the case of Joel Griffiths there was no way to look again because of the yellow card handed to him. I believe the FFA are looking at decisions and whether things can be overridden in certain cases. Call it trial by video, whatever you like.
"I think it would be a real positive for sure. You cannot have a situation where players are in the situation that Joel was. It leaves a poor taste and there's no place for that kind of behaviour. He knows that.
"So if there is a way to say that an incident is worth more than the yellow card dished out that the time, then yes, why shouldn't there be a more fitting punishment?
"But I go back to what I said, they key to its success is consistency. That's the crucial thing."
In contrast Joel Griffiths' so-called sack whack on an assistant referee last season earned him nothing more than a yellow card and didn't prevent him being voted player of the season by his peers.
Van Egmond can understand the arguments of those who point to the vastly differing punishments meted out to Vukovic and Griffiths and wants a system that simply offers consistency.
He told au.fourfourtwo.com: "It has been a very difficult rollercoaster for Danny I'm sure. He has seen the Olympics taken away, then handed back and now taken away again. You wouldn't wish that on anybody."
Van Egmond was part of the Australian Olympic side in Seoul in 1988 so knows just what it's like to be part of a massive event. However, he said: "At the end of the day FIFA is the top dog here and maybe they wanted all the information possible before making a decision."
The Newcastle coach says the bottom line has to be that officials must be respected and you simply cannot touch them.
He said: "Consistency is what we want to see, a system that people can see is consistent. As it stands you can go back and look at an incident where a player hasn't been yellow carded and issue a later, stronger punishment. It happened to us at Newcastle with Jade North and he missed the preliminary final.
"In the case of Joel Griffiths there was no way to look again because of the yellow card handed to him. I believe the FFA are looking at decisions and whether things can be overridden in certain cases. Call it trial by video, whatever you like.
"I think it would be a real positive for sure. You cannot have a situation where players are in the situation that Joel was. It leaves a poor taste and there's no place for that kind of behaviour. He knows that.
"So if there is a way to say that an incident is worth more than the yellow card dished out that the time, then yes, why shouldn't there be a more fitting punishment?
"But I go back to what I said, they key to its success is consistency. That's the crucial thing."
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